FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

St. Laurence Justinian as Patriarch of Venice

SAINT LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
Bishop and Confessor

DOUBLE / GREEN 
INTROIT Ps. 85:1, 2-3
Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me. Save Your servant who trusts in You. Have pity on me, O Lord, for to You I call all the day.
Ps. 85:4. Gladden the soul of Your servant, for I have lifted up my soul to You, O Lord.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, let Your abiding mercy purify and defend the Church. Govern her always by Your care, for without Your assistance she cannot remain safe. Through our Lord . . . 

Commemoration of SAINT LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
When Lawrence Justinian's father, a Venetian noble of illustrious line, died, his mother of equally distinguished rank and even more distinguished holiness, devoted herself exclusively to bringing up her six young children as good citizens and Christians. Granted a vision of the Eternal Wisdom when he was 19 years old, Lawrence fled from the family mansion and joined the austere community of canons regular of St. George, becoming a priest in 1406. As bishop of Castello ( which included part of Venice), and later patriarch of Venice ( a title created for him by Pope Nicholas V), he changed the face of the diocese, healing political and spiritual strife by prayer, preaching, charity, and the force of his own austerity of life and gentleness of heart. He died in 1455, at 74 years of age.

O Almighty God, grant that our solemn celebration of the feast of Your confessor bishop Lawrence Justinian may increase our devotion and bring us closer to our salvation. Through our Lord . . .
 
EPISTLE Gal. 5:25-26; 6:1-10
Brethren: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be made desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Brethren, and if a man be overtaken in any fault, you, who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens: and so you shall fulfill the law of Christ. For if any man think himself to be some thing, whereas he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every one prove his own work: and so he shall have glory in himself only and not in another. For every one shall bear his own burden. And let him that is instructed in the word communicate to him that instructeth him, in all good things. Be not deceived: God is not mocked. For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit of the spirit shall reap life everlasting. And in doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing. Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

GRADUAL Ps. 91:2-3
It is good to praise the Lord, and to sing to Your name, O Most high.
V. To proclaim Your mercy in the morning and Your truth throughout the night. 

Alleluia, alleluia! V. Ps. 94:3
For the Lord is a great God, and a great king over all the earth. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Luke 7:11-16
At that time, Jesus went into a city that is called Naim: and there went with him his disciples and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother: and she was a widow. And a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her:"Weep not." And he came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it stood still. And he said: "Young man, I say to thee, arise." And he that was dead sat up and begun to speak. And he gave him to his mother. And there came a fear upon them all: and they glorified God saying: "A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited his people."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 39:2, 3, 4
I have waited and waited for the Lord, and He inclined toward me and heard my cry. And He out a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. 

SECRET 
O Lord, may Your Sacrament safeguard and defend us always against the attacks of the devil. through our Lord . . . 



Commemoration of SAINT LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
 O Lord, may Your saints everywhere be a source of joy for us, and may we feel the power of their intercession with You as we solemnly recall the deeds of their lives. Through our Lord . . .
 
COMMUNION ANTIPHON John 6:52 
The Bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the world.

POSTCOMMUNION
Let the grace of your Heavenly gift rule our minds and bodies, O Lord, that we may overcome the unruly impulses of our nature. Through our Lord . . .


Commemoration of SAINT LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
O Almighty God, may the expression of our gratitude to You for all Your gifts bring us even greater benefits, through the intercession of Your blessed confessor bishop Lawrence Justinian. Through our Lord . . .