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A fine cloth, which covered the altar, is then removed from it, and the Cardinal-priest of the church and the six canons pour whine upon the altar, and wash it with their aspergilli or brushes.
While Monsignor Battelli, in his dissertation on the subject, maintains that this custom was instituted for the sake of cleanliness, rather than from a wish to denote any mystery, and that this day was selected as the most convenient, because the altars were already stripped; the abbot Rupert and Belet discover mystical meanings in the sponges, towels, wine, water, and even aspergilli.
They all carry elegant aspergilli of box or other wood, and having prayed for a short time in silence, they chant the anthem "They divided my garments etc." and the psalm "O God, my God, why hast thou abandoned me?"
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