Apertio Aurium

APERITIO AURIUM. - In the Western liturgies, before Baptism, following the example of Our Lord (Mc. 7:34), the priest moistens the ears and nostrils of the catechumen with saliva, saying: Eph-thetha, quod est adaperire. In ancient times a simple sign was made upon these senses (Ippolito, Traditio Apostolica, 20, 8). According to Giovanni diacono (Epist. ad Senarium, 4), oil was used: «Tanguntur oleo aures eorum, tanguntur et nares». The Gelasian Sacramentary prescribes saliva, which subsequently became commonly used in the Roman-Frankish rite. Sometimes the a. a. was joined to the handing over of the Creed, the Pater noster, and the Gospels, and took place not always on the morning of Holy Saturday, but also on other preceding days, especially on Palm Sunday, which in the Gelasian bears this note: «Expositio Evangeliorum in aurium apertione ad electos». According to s. Ildefonso (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 of the a. a., together with the handing over of the Creed and the Gospel. The meaning of this ceremony is obvious: the ears must now be opened in order to hear the word of God. According to recent liturgical provisions, the rite may be omitted if there are hygienic reasons, though not the formula that accompanies it (AAS, 36 [1944], p. 24).