ST LONGINUS; FEAST DAY 15th MARCH

 ST LONGINUS

FEAST DAY 15th MARCH

St Longinus. Detail of stained glass window, Church of St Nectan, Devon

James Tissot, (1800's - 1902), "The Confession of St Longinus".

Bernini, (1629-1638), Statue of Longinus, St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican.

Longinus was the name attributed to the soldier who pierced the side of Christ with a lance. He is venerated as a martyr, with his feast day, by the traditional calendar, on 15th March.

The Martyrologium Romanum, 2017 (Justisias Books), provides, at p. 62: “Idibus Martii. Luna 15: Caesareae, in Cappadocia, passio sancti Longini militis, qui Domini latus lancea perforasse perhibetur.”

The piercing of the side of Christ by the centurion is specifically mention in John’s Gospel, (19:25-35), as follows:

”19. And Pilate wrote a title also, and he put it upon the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20. This title therefore many of the Jews did read: because the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin.

21. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews.

22. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written.

23. The soldiers therefore, when they had crucified Him, took His garments (and they made four parts, to every soldier a part), and also His coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout.

24. They said to one another: Let us not cut it, but let us cast lots for it, whose it shall be; that the scripture might be fulfilled, saying: “They have parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they have cast lots.” And the soldiers indeed did these things.

25. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary of Cleophas and Mary Magdalen.

26. When Jesus therefore had seen His mother and the disciple standing whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son.

27. After that, He saith to the disciple: Son, behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

28. Afterwards, Jesus, knowing that all things were accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst.

29. Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, put it to His mouth.

30. Jesus therefore, when He had taken the vinegar said: It is consummated. And bowing His head, He gave up the ghost.

31. Then the Jews, (because it was the parasceve) that the bodies might not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day (for that was a great Sabbath day), besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.

32. The soldiers therefore came, and they broke the legs of the first and of the other that was crucified with Him.

33. But after they were come to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

34. But one of the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out blood and water.

35. And he that saw it hath given testimony; and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe."

The Missal provides that, in the offering of the Bread and Water, the priest “pours a few drops of water into the chalice containing wine, in remembrance of the water and blood which flowed from the side of Jesus when pierced by the soldier’s lance”, after which the following Offertory prayer is said:

"O God, who, in creating human nature, didst wonderfully dignify it, and hast still more wonderfully restored it, grant that, by the mystery of this water and wine, we may become partakers of His divine nature, who deigned to become partaker of our human nature, even Jesus Christ our Lord, Thy Son, who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen."

Tradition has it that the centurion became a Christian convert, and such a conversion is certainly probable according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Although it is unclear whether or not the centurion mentioned in these Gospels is the same one as spoken of by St John, popular interpretations have it that the centurion who recognised Christ as the Son of God was the same one who pierced His side. It is asserted that Greek sources say that Longinus suffered martyrdom in Cappadocia, (and the entry in the Martyrology seems to support this assertion).

Matthew 27:

"54. Now the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake and the things that were done, were sore afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son of God."

Mark 15:

"34. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani? Which is, being interpreted, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?

35. And some of the standers by, hearing said: Behold, He calleth Elias.

36. And one running and filling a sponge with vinegar, and putting it upon a reed, gave Him to drink, saying: Stay, let us see if Elias come to take Him down.

37. And Jesus having cried out with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.

38. And the veil of the temple was rent in two, from the top to the bottom.

39. And the centurion who stood over against Him, seeing that crying out in this manner He had given up the ghost, said: Indeed this man was the Son of God."

Mark, in 15:34, relates Christ calling to God in the terms of the first passage of Psalm 21, (set out below), a Psalm seemingly of despair, but which concludes with joyful obedience to the ways of the Lord; ”And to him my soul shall live; and my seed shall serve him”, together with “my praise in a great church” where “all the ends of the earth shall be converted to the Lord; for the kingdom is the Lord’s and He shall have dominion over nations”. The Psalm also makes specific reference to the casting of lots for the vestments, (in Psalm 21: at 19, below).

Luke 23:

"45. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.

46. And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said: Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. And saying this, He gave up the ghost.

47. Now the centurion, seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: Indeed this was a just man."

The name bestowed upon this saint, “Longinus,” is most probably derived from the Latin word for the lance that was used by him and, although it was possible that conversions truthfully occurred within the Roman military upon witnessing the events of the Crucifixion of Our Lord, nevertheless, the importance of this saint lies not in his actual conversion but in his witness and presence as an archetype in the narrative of the Sacrifice of Christ and His Passion. That is, Longinus was a man who was called upon to commit an act that he was bound to obey by virtue of his station – a centurion beholden to the Roman commanding officer. In obeying the authority to whom he was bound, he pierced the side of Christ, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Zacharias 12:10: “And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.”

Legend tells us that Longinus assisted in the cleansing of the body of the crucified Christ, and, if the events of the Passion had resulted in the conversion of the hardened hearts of the Roman military, it is a beautiful image to contemplate – a battle-weary soldier of Imperial Rome recognising the true nature of the man whom he had witnessed crucified and humbly attending to His care with reverence and due respect.

The statue of St Longinus, by Bernini, is set within a niche in the dome of St Peter’s Basilica. A fragment of the Holy Spear is also in the Basilica.

Below is set out Psalm 21 – a Psalm worth meditating on, as we contemplate the period leading up to Christ’s Passion and death on the Cross:

Psalm 12: 1 -31

O God, my God, look upon me: why hast Thou forsaken me?

Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.

3. O my God, I shall cry by day, and Thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.

4. But Thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.

5. In Thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped and Thou hast delivered them.

6. They cried to Thee and were saved: they trusted Thee and were not confounded.

7. But I am a worm and no man: the reproach of men and the outcast of the people.

8. All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips and wagged the head.

9. He hoped in the Lord: let Him deliver him: let Him save Him, seeing He delighteth in Him.

10. For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.

11. I was cast upon thee from the womb: From my mother’s womb Thou art my God.

12. Depart not from me for tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.

13. Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.

14. They have opened their mouths against me: as a lion ravening and roaring.

15. I am poured out like water: and all my bones are scattered: my heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.

16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.

17. For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet.

18. They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon me.

19. They parted my garments among them and upon my vesture they cast lots.

20. But Thou, O Lord, remove not Thy help to a distance from me: look towards my defence.

21. Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog.

22. Save me from the lion’s mouth and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.

23. I will declare Thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church I will praise Thee.

24. Ye that fear the Lord praise Him: all ye seed of Jacob, glorify Him.

25. Let all the seed of Israel fear Him: because He hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man.

26. With Thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear Him.

27. The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek Him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever.

28. All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord.

29. For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and He shall have dominion over the nations.

30. All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before Him.

31. And to Him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve Him.

32. There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth His justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.