187. CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Golden Rose
A precious and sacred ornament made of pure gold by skilled artificers, which the popes have been accustomed for centuries to bless each year, and occasionally confer upon illustrious churches and sanctuaries as a token of special reverence and devotion, upon Catholic kings or queens, princes or princesses, renowned generals or other distinguished personages, upon governments or cities conspicuous for their Catholic spirit and loyalty to the Holy See, as a mark of esteem and paternal affection.
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Home Encyclopedia Summa Fathers ... G > Golden Rose A B C D ... Z Golden Rose A precious and sacred ornament made of pure gold by skilled artificers, which the popes have been accustomed for centuries to bless each year, and occasionally confer upon illustrious churches and sanctuaries as a token of special reverence and devotion, upon Catholic kings or queens, princes or princesses, renowned generals or other distinguished personages, upon governments or cities conspicuous for their Catholic spirit and loyalty to the Holy See , as a mark of esteem and paternal affection. The significations of the rose and (fourth of Lent ), the day on which it is blessed, so blend that the Sunday is oftentimes called Rose Sunday, and rose-coloured vestments, altar and throne and chapel draperies (signs of hope and joy) are substituted for the penitential purple during the solemn function. The Church on this Sunday bids her children who have been so far engaged in prayer, fasting and other penitential works, as also in serious meditation upon the malice of sin and the terrible punishment exacted on account of it, to look up and beyond Calvary and see in the first rays of the Easter sun, the risen Christ, Who brings them redemption, and "Rejoice". The golden flower and its shining splendour show forth Christ and His Kingly Majesty, Who is heralded by the prophet as "the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys"; its fragrance shows the sweet odour of Christ which should be widely diffused by His faithful followers (Pope Leo XIII, Acta, vol. VI, 104); and the thorns and red tint tell of His Passion according to Isaias (lxiii, 2): "Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?" | |
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