APERITIO AURIUM. — In Western liturgies, before Baptism, the priest, following the example of Our Lord (Mk 7:34), moistens the ears and nostrils of the catechumen with saliva, saying: *Ephphatha*, which means "be opened." In ancient times, a simple sign was made over these senses (Hippolytus, *Traditio Apostolica*, 20, 8). According to John of Incon (Epistle to Senarius, 4), oil was used: "Their ears are touched with oil, their nostrils are touched."
The Gelasian Sacramentary prescribes the use of saliva, which later became common in the Romano-Frankish rite. Sometimes the *aperitio aurium* was combined with the delivery of the Creed, the Our Father, or the Gospels, and it did not always occur on Holy Saturday morning but also on other preceding days, especially Palm Sunday, which in the Gelasian rite bears this note: "Expositio Evangeliorum in aurium apertione ad electos."
According to St. Ildephonsus (*De cognitione baptismi*, 29), the anointing of the ears already belonged to the rite of admission to the catechumenate. Later, when the scrutinies were increased, the Wednesday after the fourth Sunday of Lent became the day for the *aperitio aurium*, along with the delivery of the Creed and the Gospel. The meaning of this ceremony is clear: the ears must now be opened to hear the word of God.
According to recent liturgical provisions, the rite may be omitted for hygienic reasons, but not the accompanying formula (*AAS*, 36 [1944], p. 24).