An Illation Conundrum
Tomorrow on my Benedictine calendar is something called “Illation of the Relics of Saint Benedict”.
I have absolutely no idea what this may mean.
There are two feasts of Saint Benedict with which I am familiar:
- March 21: date of the saint’s death (I Class Feast on the Benedictine Calendar)
- July 11: in commemoration of the translation of his relics (or, rather, a portion of them) from Monte Cassino to Fleury Abbey in Saint-benoit-sur-loire. (Memorial on the General Roman Calendar, I (or II) Class Feast designated as “Solemnity” on the Benedictine Calendar – presumably depending on whether your congregation is Italian or French)
Now, the word “illation” normally means something like a deduction or conclusion. The origin of the word is Latin:
from Late Latin illātiō a bringing in, from Latin illātus brought in, from inferre to bring in, from in- + ferre to bear, carry
(source)
None of which really clears it up.
Add to this the rather mysterious way that it appears in the Ordo (i.e. “some monasteries” with no indication of the rank) but not at all in Breviary, and I am genuinely puzzled.
An Internet search comes up empty – though I will note that my Google-fu is weak.
Can anyone shed any light on this?
I have no clue…I will ask Br. Jesus and Fr. Andrew and get back with you.
Thank you! My guess is that whatever it is, it is only celebrated in a small number of Benedictine monasteries.
Update:
Still no idea what this may mean, but I added a commemoration of Saint Benedict to the collect for Lauds this morning.
It’s on my Clear Creek calendar too, and I’ve never seen it before. If you’re using the same calendar, maybe it’s a practical joke on the part of the monks there?
Possibly, though it’s not only on my Clear Creek calendar, it’s also on my Ordo, which is put together by the folks over at Saints Will Arise.
Now, admittedly, they may have gotten it from the Clear Creek monks.
The provenance of the relics of St. Benedict is unclear – they were discovered or uncovered by means of a vision/dream – hence, I suppose the use of “illation” by Clear Creek, although I have never seen the word used in this context previously.
See:
http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stben-relic-invention.html
Thank you, that does seems plausible. Given the more modern meaning of the word “invention”, I can see why they might want to use a different English word.
So presumably the feast for the translation of the relics represents the end of that particular journey.