FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT – MASS PROPERS

Laetare Sunday

Excerpt from Dom Guéranger’s Liturgical Year

This Sunday, called, from the first word of the Introit, Laetare Sunday, is one of the most solemn of the year. The Church interrupts her Lenten mournfulness; the chants of the Mass speak of nothing but joy and consolation; the organ, which has been silent during the preceding three Sundays, now gives forth its melodious voice; the deacon resumes his dalmatic, and the subdeacon his tunic; and instead of purple, rose-coloured vestments are allowed to be used. These same rites were practiced in Advent, on the third Sunday, called Gaudete. The Church’s motive for introducing this expression of joy into today’s liturgy is to encourage her children to persevere fervently to the end of this holy season. The real mid-Lent was last Thursday, as we have already observed; but the Church, fearing lest the joy might lead to some infringement on the spirit of penance, has deferred her own notice of it to this Sunday, when she not only permits, but even bids, her children to rejoice!

The Station at Rome is in the basilica of Holy Cross in Jerusalem, one of the seven principal churches of the holy city. It was built in the fourth century, by the emperor Constantine, in one of his villas called Sessorius, on which account it goes also under the’ name of the Sessorian basilica. The emperor’s mother, St. Helen, enriched it with most precious relics, and wished to make it the Jerusalem of Rome. With this intention she ordered a great quantity of earth taken from Mount Calvary to be put on the site. Among the other relics of the instruments of the Passion which she gave to this church was the inscription which was fastened to the cross; it is still there, and is called the Title of the Cross. The name of Jerusalem, which has been given to this basilica, and which recalls to our minds the heavenly Jerusalem towards which we are tending, suggested the choice of it as today’s Station.

Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

Madonna and Child with Saints Felicity and Perpetua

Saints Perpetua and Felicity (believed to have died in 203 AD) are Christian martyrs of the 3rd century. Vibia Perpetua was a married noblewoman, said to have been 22 years old at the time of her death, and mother of an infant she was nursing. Felicity, a slave imprisoned with her and pregnant at the time, was martyred with her. They were put to death along with others at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.

The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions is one of the oldest and most notable early Christian texts. It survives in both Latin and Greek forms, and purports to contain the actual prison diary of the young mother and martyr Perpetua. Scholars generally believe that it is authentic although in the form we have it may have been edited by others. The text also purports to contain, in his own words, the accounts of the visions of Saturus, another Christian martyred with Perpetua. An editor who states he was an eyewitness has added accounts of the martyrs’ suffering and deaths.

According to the passion, a slave named Revocatus, his fellow slave Felicitas, the two free men Saturninus and Secundulus, and Perpetua, who were catechumens, that is, Christians being instructed in the faith but not yet baptized, were arrested and executed at the military games in celebration of the Emperor Septimus Severus’s birthday. To this group was added a man named Saturus, who voluntarily went before the magistrate and proclaimed himself a Christian.

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT

STATION AT THE HOLY CROSS IN JERUSALEM

(Indulgence of 10 years or 10 quarantines)

Semi-double  Privilege of the First Class

Violet or rose vestments

Commemoration for Ss. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

INTROIT

Isaias 66: 10-11

Laetare, Jerúsalem: et convéntum fácite, omnes qui dilígitis eam: gaudéte cum lætítia, qui in tristítia fuístis: ut exsultétis, et satiémini ab ubéribus consolatiónis vestræ. Ps. 121. 2. Lætátus sum in his, quæ dicta sunt mihi: in domum Dómini íbimus. V. Glória Patri.

Rejoice, O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation.

Ps. I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we, who for our evil deeds justly deserve to be punished, by the comfort of Thy grace may mercifully be relieved. Through our Lord.

COMMEMORATION FOR ST PERPETUA AND FELICITAS

Give unto us, we beseech thee, O Lord our God, to reverence with unceasing devotion the glory of Thy holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas; and though it be not ours worthily to honour their triumph, to persevere in offering them the humble tribute of our duty. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE

Galatians 4: 22-31

Brethren: It is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh: but he of the free woman was by promise: which things are said by an allegory. For these are the two testaments. The one from Mount Sinai, engendering unto bondage: which is Agar: for Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which hath affinity to that Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But that Jerusalem which is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written: Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not: break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit: so also it is now. But what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not the children of the bondwoman, but of the free: by the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free.

GRADUAL

Psalm 121: 1-7

I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord. V. Let peace be in Thy strength: and abundance in Thy towers.

TRACT

Psalm 124: 1-2

They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion: he shall not be moved for ever that dwelleth in Jerusalem. V. Mountains are round about it: so the Lord is round about His people, from henceforth now and for ever.

GOSPEL

John 6: 1-15

At that time Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias: and a great multitude followed Him, because they saw the miracles which He did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain: and there He sat with His disciples. Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up His eyes, and seen that a very great multitude cometh to Him, He said to Philip: Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this He said to try him: for He Himself knew what He would do. Philip answered Him: Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one may take a little. One of His disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, saith to Him: There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes: but what are these among so many? Then Jesus said: Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed to them that were set down: in like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, He said to His disciples: Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost. They gathered up therefore, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above to them that had eaten. Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: This is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world. Jesus therefore when He knew that they would come to take Him by force and make Him king, fled again into the mountain, Himself alone.

OFFERTORY

Psalm 134: 3, 6

Praise ye the Lord, for He is good: sing ye to His name, for He is sweet: whatsoever He pleased, He hath done in heaven and in earth.

SECRET

Look down mercifully upon These sacrifices, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that they may increase our devotion and effect our salvation. Through our Lord.

Stained-glass window of St Perpetua of Carthage and Saint Felicity on her left.

COMMEMORATION FOR ST PERPETUA AND FELICITAS

Favourably look down we beseech Thee, O Lord, upon the gifts laid upon Thine altars for the feast day of Thy holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas, and as by these Sacred Mysteries, Thou didst raise Thy Saints to glory everlasting, so through them vouchsafe to us Thy forgiveness. Through our Lord.

PREFACE FOR LENT

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices, elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus qui venit in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.

COMMUNION

Psalm 121: 3-4

Jerusalem, which is built as a city, which is compact together: for thither did the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to praise Thy name, O Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION

Grant us, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, ever to celebrate with sincere worship and receive with faithful hearts Thy holy mysteries, of which we continually partake. Through our Lord.

 

COMMEMORATION FOR ST PERPETUA AND FELICITAS

Thou hast filled us, O Lord, with mystic graces and joys: grant, we beseech Thee, that through the prayers of Thy holy Martyrs, Perpetua and Felicitas, may profit eternally from having in this our time ministered to Thee. Through our Lord.

St. Joseph’s Love for the Child Jesus

The Expectant Madonna with St Joseph by Unknown Master

                MARCH 5

    FIFTH MEDITATION

Invocation of the Holy Ghost

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us Pray

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Joseph’s Love for the Child Jesus

Joseph, son of David, said the angel, “fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. She shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for He shall save his people from their sins.”

The Almighty thus sent an Angel to give solemn, authentic information to St. Joseph of the Incarnation of the Son of God. We are of opinion that long before, St. Joseph heard this secret from the lips of the Blessed Virgin herself; for it is hard to believe that Mary would have kept concealed the knowledge of this sublime mystery and honour from Joseph, her chaste, loving, and tender spouse. After the Blessed Virgin St. Joseph was the first to adore and love the Incarnate Son of God. This love for Jesus became intensified day after day, hour after hour. The nearer we approach the fire the greater the heat, but what thermometer could measure the intensity of the heat of divine love that burned in the soul of St. Joseph, who for so many years lived in the presence of the burning furnace of Uncreated Love, Jesus Christ Himself.

Practical Resolution

The presence of God is Paradise

Jesus is God. And hence the presence of Jesus converted the “Holy House” at Nazareth into a Paradise. In the Blessed Sacrament Jesus is really and truly present; the light of His love shines from the altar; the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the tabernacle, a glowing furnace of burning love, sheds heat and light and lustre upon the Christian world. Before Jesus in the tabernacle the holy soul finds her Paradise on dull earth! “How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” A holy soul when asked how she could spend so many hours before the Blessed Sacrament, replied that she could stay there for all eternity! Because before the Blessed Sacrament she was kneeling in the presence of her God, her Saviour, her Jesus, her love, her all. I resolve to pay every day of my life a reverent visit of love to Jesus in the tabernacle. If I cannot go to the church or oratory, where the Most Adorable Sacrament is preserved and adored, I resolve to kneel down in my room and turn to the nearest tabernacle where Jesus is, and there pay the very same visit, and say the very same prayers as if I were really present before the Most Adorable Sacrament. O Blessed Saviour, help me to, keep my resolution. Holy Virgin and St. Joseph, pray for me.

Prayer

O my loving Jesus! grant me burning love for the Holy Mass, for Holy Communion, and for Thyself, living and reigning in the Most Adorable Sacrament of the altar. May the purest delights of my life be to adore and pay Thee supreme homage, coming down from heaven at the consecration; to receive Thee at the Communion rails with a heart on fire with divine love, and to visit Thee in the tabernacle where Thy Sacred Heart is ever shedding rays of burning love upon the cold, ungrateful hearts of men. When in pain may I run to Jesus in the tabernacle for relief; when in sorrow may I run to Jesus in the tabernacle for consolation; when tempted may I run to Jesus in the tabernacle for help; when in sin may I run to Jesus in the tabernacle for pardon; and when in peace may I run to Jesus in the tabernacle for perseverance.

Prayer to St. Joseph

O great St. Joseph! obtain for me the grace to love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, as thou didst love Jesus in His divine infancy.

Ite ad Joseph! Sancte Joseph ora pro nobis!

FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT- MASS PROPERS

FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT

STATION AT ST LAURENCE’S IN LUCINA

MASS PROPERS

INTROIT

Psalm 85: 17, 1

Fac mecum, Dómine, signum in bonum: ut vídeant, qui me oderunt, et confundántur: quóniam tu, Dómine, adiuvísti me et consolátus es me. Ps 85:1. Inclína, Dómine, aurem tuam, et exáudi me: quóniam inops et pauper sum ego. Glória Patri.

 

Grant me, O Lord, a proof of Your favour, that my enemies may see, to their confusion, that You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me. Ps. Incline Your ear, O Lord; answer me, for I am afflicted and poor. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

O Lord, graciously be with us during this fast, and, we beseech You, help our spirit to abstain from sin as our body fasts from food. Through our Lord.

 

EPISTLE

Numbers 20: 1-3, 6-13

In those days, the Israelites held a council against Moses and Aaron. The people contended, exclaiming, Give us water that we may drink. But Moses and Aaron went away from the assembly to the entrance of the Meeting Tent, where they fell prostrate. They cried to the Lord, and said, O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them Your treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to them, and the Lord said to Moses, Take the staff and assemble the community, you and your brother Aaron, and in their presence order the rock to yield its waters. From the rock you shall bring forth water for the community and their livestock to drink. So Moses took the staff from its place before the Lord, as he was ordered. He and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock, where he said to them, Listen to me, you rebels! Are we to bring water for you out of this rock? Then, raising his hand, Moses struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out in abundance for the community and their livestock to drink. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you were not faithful to Me in showing forth My sanctity before the Israelites, you shall not lead this community into the land I will give them. These are the waters of Meriba, where the Israelites contended against the Lord, and where He revealed His sanctity among them.

GRADUAL

Psalm 27: 7, 1

In God my heart trusts, and I find help; then my heart exults, and with my song I give Him thanks. V. To You, O Lord, I call; O my God, be not deaf to me, do not abandon me.

TRACT

Psalm 102: 10; 78: 8, 9

O Lord, deal with us not according to our sins, nor requite us according to our crimes. Ps. O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may Your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. [Kneel.] V. Help us, O God, our Saviour, because of the glory of Your Name, O Lord; deliver us and pardon our sins for Your Name’s sake.

GOSPEL

John 4: 5-42

At that time: Jesus came to a city of Samaria which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water, Jesus saith to her: Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered, and said to her: If thou didst know the Gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee, Give me to drink: thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered, and said to her:  Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again:  but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever. But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into life everlasting. The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered, and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband; for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore. Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me, that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You adore that which you know not; we adore that which we know, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers.  shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him : I know that the Messias cometh, who is called Christ; therefore when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her: I am he, who am speaking with thee. And immediately his disciples came; and they wondered that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said: What seekest thou, or why talkest thou with her? The woman therefore left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not he the Christ? They went therefore out of the city, and came unto him. In the meantime the disciples prayed him, saying: Rabbi, eat. But he said to them: I have meat to eat which you know not. The disciples therefore said one to another: Hath any man brought him to eat? Jesus saith to them: My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work. Do not you say, there are yet four months and then the harvest cometh Behold I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries, for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting; that both he that soweth, and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true: that it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth. I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labour; others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours. Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: He told me all things whatsoever I had done. So when the Samaritans were come to him, they desired him that he would tarry there. And he abode there two days. And many more believed in him because of his own word. And they said to the woman: We now believe, not for thy saying; for we ourselves have heard him, and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world.

OFFERTORY

Psalm 5: 3, 4

Heed my call for help, my King, and my God! To You I pray, O Lord.

SECRET

Look with favour, we beseech You, O Lord, upon the gifts we offer You, that they may be pleasing to you and ever helpful to our salvation. Through our Lord.

PREFACE FOR LENT

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices, elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:

COMMUNION

John 4: 13, 14

He who drinks of the water that I will give him, says the Lord, it shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting.

POSTCOMMUNION

May the reception of this sacrament, O Lord, cleanse us from sin and bring us into the heavenly kingdom. Through our Lord.

 

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE

Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that we who trust in Your protection may, by Your assistance, triumph over all adversities. Through our Lord.

St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family

        Fourth Meditation

Invocation of the Holy Ghost

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated.

R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us Pray

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family           

And coming he dwelt in a city called Nazareth. And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the pasch. . . And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth and was subject to them.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph compose the Holy Family. Jesus was God, and Mary the Mother of God; and yet we see from the sacred text that St. Joseph was head of the Holy Family; for thirty years Jesus and Mary paid him homage and obedience. As a child obeys his parents Jesus obeyed Mary and Joseph. He was subject to them, says the Gospel. This is wonderful humility, says St. Bernard, a God obeying man; but to see a man commanding God is glory without equal. The Eternal Father treated. St. Joseph as the Head of the Holy Family. The very name of the Redeemer of the world was communicated from heaven to St. Joseph. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for He shall save his people from their sins. When the life of Jesus was threatened the Eternal Father sent his commands to St. Joseph alone. Arise, said the angel, and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt. . . Arise and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel. Mary obeyed St. Joseph; at his bidding she promptly set out for Egypt, and from Egypt to Nazareth; and frequently from Nazareth to Jerusalem. 0 great thy dignity, St. Joseph, whom the Immaculate Mother of God regards and looks up to as her master and superior; but unspeakably greater thy dignity, St. Joseph, whom Jesus, the Eternal Son Himself, obeys and pays homage.

Joseph was no doubt pure and holy at the time of the Nativity of the Redeemer; but conceive and express if you can, his sanctity, when for thirty years the eyes of Eternal Justice, sanctity, and love shone and beamed upon him. One word from Jesus converted sinners into saints. St. Joseph heard and drank in divine wisdom from the lips of Jesus for some thirty years. The title Head of the Holy Family speaks volumes on the glory, sanctity, and power of St. Joseph.

Practical Resolution

The Eternal Father has honoured St. Joseph and recognized him as Head of the Holy Family; and to St. Joseph He sent His commands by His heavenly ambassadors. Jesus the Incarnate Son of God, and Mary His Immaculate Mother rendered homage and obedience to St. Joseph as Head of the household. Since Heaven has elevated St. Joseph to such a high pinnacle of glory, I resolve to regard St. Joseph all the days of my life as the greatest saint in heaven after Our Blessed Lady, next to her in dignity, sanctity, and power. St. Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, pray for me.

Prayer

Memorare to St. Joseph 

Remember, O most amiable, most benevolent, most kind, and most merciful father, St. Joseph, that the great St. Teresa assures us that she never had recourse to thy protection without obtaining relief. Animated with the same confidence, 0 dear St. Joseph, I come to thee, and groaning under the heavy burden of my many sins, I prostrate myself at thy feet. O most compassionate father, do not, I beseech thee, reject my poor and miserable prayers, but graciously hear and answer my petition. Amen. St Joseph, obtain for me the grace to love and serve my God faithfully all the days of my life.

 

MONTH OF ST. JOSEPH: St. Joseph, the Guardian and Protector of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The Rest on the Flight into Egypt by Giambattista Pittoni

THIRD MEDITATION

Invocation of the Holy Ghost

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love. V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us Pray

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Joseph, the Guardian and Protector of our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

“An Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother and fly into Egypt; and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. Who arose and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt. . . But when Herod was dead, behold an Angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel. For they are dead who sought the life of the child. Who arose and took the child and his mother and came into the land of Israel” (Matt. 2: 13-21).

Oh, how sublime and heavenly was the mission of St. Joseph! Jesus was God, and therefore could protect Himself; but no, He prefers the services of St. Joseph. Jesus was the Omnipotent, and therefore his very breath could wither and annihilate His enemies; but no, He loves to shelter Himself in the loving arms of St. Joseph. God might have sent His Angel to extend his wings over the Infant Saviour and protect him; but no, God sends that Angel to St. Joseph, that St. Joseph may have the privilege and honour to be the Saviour of the world, One might expect God would send His Angel to the Blessed Virgin, as Mary was unspeakably higher and holier than St. Joseph; but no, God recognized the position of St. Joseph as head of the Holy Family. God might have transported by the hands of Angels the Holy Family, as He did the Holy House from Bethlehem to Egypt, and from Egypt to Israel, and thus spare them all the fatigues and privations of the long journey; but no, the arms of Mary and Joseph alone were privileged to carry the precious treasure, the Infant Jesus. Here a wide field for meditation expands before the pious soul.

Practical Resolution

Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is as helpless as the Infant Jesus. Through love for man Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has exposed Himself to the sacrileges, irreverence, and insults of His enemies, as the Infant Jesus at Bethlehem. By the grace of God, I resolve to treat, as far as in my power, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, with the same reverential, loving care that St. Joseph showed to the Infant Saviour. O sweet Jesus, help me to keep my resolutions. Secondly, I resolve, by the grace of God, to practice myself, and by all the means in my power to extend among others, Devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Prayer

O St. Joseph! who watched over Jesus, watch over me. St. Joseph, who protected Jesus from the cruel Herod, protect me from a more cruel enemy, the devil and sin. St. Joseph, who promptly obeyed the whisper of an Angel, pray that I may be ever obedient to the inspirations of grace. St. Joseph, who lovingly carried Jesus in thy arms through the desert into Egypt, protect me in my journey through life, till I arrive at “Horeb the mountain of God.” St. Joseph, pray that I may treat Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with the same reverence, love, and care that thou didst treat the Infant Jesus. I beseech thee, O glorious St. Joseph, by the paternal love with which thy heart was inflamed for Jesus, and by his filial love for thee, to take special care of the salvation of my soul. Be thyself my director, my guide, my father, and my model in spiritual life, and in the way of perfection, that imitating thy example, I may, like the Saints, possess God eternally, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sancte Joseph, ora pro nobis!

 

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT – MASS PROPERS

THURSDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT

STATION AT HOLY MARTYRS COSMAS AND DAMIAN

INTROIT

Psalm 77:1

Salus pópuli ego sum, dicit Dóminus: de quacúmque tribulatióne clamáverint ad me, exáudiam eos: et ero illórum Dóminus in perpétuum. Ps. Atténdite, pópule meus legem meam: inclináte aurem vestram in verba oris mei. Gloria Patri.

I am the salvation of the people, saith the Lord: from whatever tribulation they shall cry to Me, I will hear them; and I will be their Lord forever. Ps. Attend, O My people, to My law; incline your ear to the words of My mouth. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

May the blessed feast of Thy Saints, Cosmas and Damian, magnify Thee, O Lord, for on this day Thou didst, in Thine ineffable providence, confer on them everlasting glory, and on us the resource of their help. Through our Lord.

EPISTLE

Jeremias 7:1-7

In those days, the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord; and proclaim there this word, and say: Hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye men of Juda, that enter in at these gates, to adore the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Make your ways and your doings good; and I will dwell with you in this place. Trust not in lying words, saying: The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, it is the temple of the Lord. For if you will order well your ways and your doings; if you will execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; if you oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after strange gods to your own hurt; I will dwell with you in this place; in the land which I gave to your fathers from the beginning, and forevermore: saith the Lord almighty.

GRADUAL

Psalm 144:15, 16

The eyes of all hope in Thee, O Lord; and Thou givest them meat in due season. Thou openest Thy hand, and fillest every living creature with blessing.

GOSPEL

Luke 4:38-44

At that time, Jesus, rising up out of the synagogue, went into Simon’s house: and Simon’s wife’s mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her. And standing over her, He commanded the fever, and it left her: and immediately rising, she ministered to them. And when the sun was down, all they that had any sick with divers diseases, brought them to Him: but He laying His hands on every one of them, healed them. And devils went out from many, crying out, and saying: Thou art the Son of God. And rebuking them, He suffered them not to speak, for they knew that He was Christ. And when it was day, going out He went into a desert place; and the multitudes sought Him, and came unto Him; and they stayed Him that He should not depart from them. To whom He said: To other cities also I must preach the kingdom of God, for therefore am I sent. And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

OFFERTORY

Psalm 137:7

If I shall walk in the midst of tribulation, Thou wilt quicken me, O Lord: and Thou wilt stretch forth Thy hand against the wrath of my enemies; and Thy right hand shall save me.

SECRET

We offer Thee, O Lord, in the meritorious death of Thy Saints, this sacrifice, from which alone martyrdom hath sprung. Through our Lord.

PREFACE FOR LENT

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices, elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:

COMMUNION

Psalm 118:4-5

Thou hast commanded Thy commandments to be kept diligently: O that my ways may be directed to keep Thy statutes.

POSTCOMMUNION

May we be allotted, O Lord, the salvation pledged by Thy sacrament, which we implore by the merits of Thy blessed Martyrs Cosmas and Damian. Through our Lord.

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE

May heavenly favour increase the people that is subject to Thee, O Lord, and ever make it to serve Thy bidding. Through our Lord.

 

 

 

 

NOVENA TO ST. GREGORY THE GREAT – SECOND DAY

Papa Sancte Gregorius Magnus, ora pro nobis!

Novena Prayer to St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory, you are known for your zeal for the Catholic faith, love of liturgy, and compassion and mercy toward those in need.  Please help and guide us so that we may share in these virtues and thereby bring Jesus into the hearts of our families and all we encounter.  We especially ask for blessings on our parish family, our priests and our deacons.

I also ask that you graciously intercede for me before God so that I might be granted the special assistance and graces that I seek…

    (state personal intentions here)

Help me to live as a faithful child of God and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven.

PRAYER OF ST. GREGORY THE GREAT    

Acclaim To The Suffering Christ

O Lord, You received affronts

without number from Your blasphemers,

yet each day You free captive souls

from the grip of the ancient enemy.

 

You did not avert Your face

from the spittle of treachery,

yet You wash souls in saving waters.

 

You accepted Your scourging without murmur,

yet through your meditation

You deliver us from endless chastisements.

 

You endured ill-treatment of all kinds,

yet You want to give us a share

in the choirs of angels in glory everlasting.

 

You did not refuse to be crowned with thorns,

yet You save us from the wounds of sin.

 

In your thirst You accepted the bitterness of gall,

yet You prepare Yourself to fill us with eternal delights.

 

You kept silence under the derisive homage

rendered You by Your executioners,

yet You petition the Father for us

although You are his equal in Divinity.

 

You came to taste death,

yet You were the Life

and had come to bring it to the dead. Amen.

 

NOVENA TO ST. GREGORY THE GREAT

March 3 – March 11

Novena Prayer to St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory, you are known for your zeal for the Catholic faith, love of liturgy, and compassion and mercy toward those in need.  Please help and guide us so that we may share in these virtues and thereby bring Jesus into the hearts of our families and all we encounter.  We especially ask for blessings on our parish family, our priests and our deacons.

I also ask that you graciously intercede for me before God so that I might be granted the special assistance and graces that I seek…

    (state personal intentions here)

Help me to live as a faithful child of God and to attain the eternal happiness of heaven.

St. Gregory the Great pray for us.  Amen.

St. Joseph, chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

MEDITATIONS IN HONOR OF ST. JOSEPH

St. Joseph, chaste Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary

When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things behold the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

St. Joseph’s greatest dignity, honour, and glory is comprised in the title ‘reputed father of Jesus’ his next greatest privilege is that he was in truth, as the above texts clearly prove, the real spouse or husband of Mary. It is from his relations with Jesus and Mary that the mind conceives an adequate idea of the dignity, the grandeur, the glory, and the sanctity of St. Joseph. Think how much is contained in this title — ‘husband of Mary.’ Who is Mary? She is the Immaculate Mother of God. Long before her birth Prophet after Prophet announced her glories, her dignity, and her sanctity. In the Old Testament she is pronounced all fair; without spot; beautiful, sweet, and comely; the perfect one; the only one. The New Testament styles her blessed; full of grace; and proclaims that all generations shall call her blessed. In one word the Blessed Virgin was the purest, the most holy, the most immaculate soul ever created by the Almighty. God gave her a Saint for her father, and a Saint for her mother. Who but the greatest Saint could be her spouse. From among the sons of men God raised up one Saint; God in a special manner sanctified his soul and body, and made him worthy to be not only the companion, but the real husband of the purest of virgins, the Immaculate Mother of the Redeemer of the world. No wonder the pious Gerson exclaims, O sublime elevation! O admirable dignity of Joseph, whom the Mother of God, the Queen of heaven, deemed worthy to call her spouse. St. Leonard of Port Maurice writes: —  The Evangelists say very little of the virtues and life of St. Joseph; but when they style him the spouse of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, they give him the most glorious title possible; for he was nearest in every way to Mary, the purest creature ever made by God Almighty. 0 Jesus, make us chaste; 0 Jesus, make us pure. St. Joseph, pray for us, and recommend us to Jesus and to Mary.

Practical Resolution

In order to create in my soul, by the grace of God, a lasting and living Devotion to St. Joseph, I resolve to pay a visit, every day of my life, to an altar, statue, or picture of St. Joseph, and there to pray to St. Joseph to obtain for me the grace of a happy death.

Prayer

O dearest St. Joseph! take my salvation under thy protection. O most chaste spouse of Mary, the purest of virgins, obtain for me purity of soul and body; obtain for me from Jesus the grace to lead a pure, chaste, and holy life; and the grace of a happy death. I salute thee, most chaste spouse of Mary; I salute thee as spouse and companion to her, who was the Mother of Jesus, and is now the Queen of heaven. St. Joseph, ask Mary to recommend me to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph ask Mary to adopt me as her child, to make me her client, then I am sure to be saved.

 

Meditations for the Month of March in honor of St. Joseph

Month of March in honor of St. Joseph

The devout Client of Mary longs for the dawn of  May-day, and dedicates that whole month of flowers and roses to our Blessed Lady. During May we love to meditate on the Glories of Mary; and by the grace of God we try to enkindle in our hearts a tender, loving, and lasting devotion to Mary Immaculate. The month of June sets the world on fire with love and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Solemn and holy are the thoughts of the pious soul during the month of July, dedicated to the honour of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph comprise the Holy Family; as June is for Jesus, May for Mary, so is March for St. Joseph.

During the month of March we glorify God for the dignity, sanctity, and power of St. Joseph; and we invoke the aid of our Saint to lead a holy life, and die a happy death.

We cannot fail to obtain favour from the king, if we have at court influential and powerful friends; nor can we fail to secure from the King of kings the grace of a happy death, if during life we have won for ourselves, by practical devotion, the friendship of St. Joseph, the patron of a happy death. To the praise, glory, and honour of the one Eternal God in three Divine Persons, and to the most adorable Trinity, three Divine Persons in one God; in love, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition to Jesus, the Incarnate Son of the living God; in honour of our peerless Queen, Mary Immaculate Mother of God; to make our sweet St Joseph better known, and hence better loved among the simple faithful; and to secure at court his patronage for the grace of a happy death for ourselves.

Prayer

Omnipotent, Eternal God, have mercy on us. Most adorable Trinity, in one God, have pity on us. Jesus, Incarnate Son of God, have compassion on us. Mary, Mother of the Word made Flesh, watch over our salvation. St. Joseph, reputed father of Jesus, and spouse of Mary, obtain for us the grace of a happy death. All ye Saints in heaven, ye nine Orders of Blessed Spirits in Paradise, especially ye Guardian Angels, pray that we may lead holy lives and die happy deaths in the peace and love of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Amen.

Invocation of the Holy Ghost

Come, O Holy Ghost, replenish the hearts of thy servants, and enkindle in them the fire of Thy divine love. V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and our hearts shall be regenerated. .R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray

O God, who by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, didst instruct the hearts of the faithful; grant that by the same Divine Spirit we may have a right understanding in all things, and evermore rejoice in His holy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

FIRST MEDITATION

St. Joseph, the reputed father of the Incarnate Word of God, our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:16). And his father and mother were wondering at those things which were spoken concerning him (Luke 2:33). And his parents went every year to Jerusalem at the solemn day of the pasch. . . behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. (Luke 2:48). And Jesus himself was beginning about the age of thirty, being (as it was supposed) the son of Joseph. Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know (John 6:42).

Jesus is the Incarnate Son of God, the Word made flesh. Jesus is infinite sanctity, infinite purity, infinite love. Jesus is the Saviour and Redeemer of the world; and yet, as we see from the above texts, He passed among men as the son of Joseph! St. Joseph called Him son; and Jesus called St. Joseph father; and for thirty years Jesus and Joseph lived in the intimate relationship of father and son. St. Bernard puts it thus: — ” The nature and dignities of St. Joseph are summed up in the title wherewith God honoured him, in such a way that all styled him and believed him to be the father of Jesus.” In the title, reputed father of Jesus, we have the exalted dignity, sanctity, and glory of St. Joseph.

Practical Resolution

O dear St. Joseph! reputed father of Jesus, my Blessed Saviour; after Mary Immaculate, Mother of God, dearest and nearest to Jesus; next to Mary, most powerful with Jesus ; and after Mary the holiest soul ever created and sanctified by God; to secure thy intercession in life and at the hour of death, I resolve, every day after my morning prayers and every night before I close my eyes in deep, to recite piously the following aspirations: — Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I offer to you my heart and soul. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.

Prayer

A Prayer of St. Teresa to St. Joseph

Omnipotent and all merciful Lord, who didst give to the Virgin Mary, Thy most holy Mother, the blessed Joseph, the son of David, as her spouse, and didst choose him for Thy foster-father, grant to Thy Church, through the prayers and by the merits of this great Saint, peace and tranquility, and give us the grace and joy of one day seeing Thee eternally in heaven, who livest and reignest with God the Father, and in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.