Saints Cosmas and Damian; Ember Saturday

Saints Cosmas and Damian performing transplant surgery.
Attributed to Alonso De Sedano, Burgos, Spain, ca. 1495.

SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN
Martyrs

EMBER SATURDAY

SIMPLE / RED
Doctors and mission dispensaries have special patrons in Cosmas and Damian, brothers who practiced medicine in Syria in the closing years of the third century. They were called in the East "the moneyless ones," because they cared for their patients free of charge. Devout lovers of Jesus, they were even more solicitous for the souls than for the bodies of those they tended. The apostolic brother-physicians converted many sinners and exorcised the possessed. They were given the grace of martyrdom during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian.

INTROIT Eccli. 44:15, 14 
Let the people show forth the wisdom of the saints, and let the Church declare their praise; and their names shall live for all generations.
Ps. 32:1. Rejoice in the Lord, you just; praise befits the upright.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Almighty God, today we are celebrating the birthday of Your blessed martyrs Cosmas and Damian. Hear their prayers and rescue us from all the dangers that threaten us. Through our Lord . . .

O God, who protected the three young men from the flames of fire, grant that the flames of sin may not consume us, Your servants. Through our Lord . . .


  LESSON Wisdom 5:16-20
But the just shall live for evermore: and their reward is with the Lord, and the care of them with the most High. Therefore shall they receive a kingdom of glory, and a crown of beauty at the hand of the Lord: for with his right hand he will cover them, and with his holy arm he will defend them. And his zeal will take armour, and he will arm the creature for the revenge of his enemies.
He will put on justice as a breastplate, and will take true judgment instead of a helmet: He will take equity for an invincible shield.

GRADUAL Ps. 33:18-19
The just have cried out, and the Lord answered them and rescued them from all their distress.
V. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and He will save those who are humble in spirit.

Alleluia, alleluia! V.
Here was true brotherliness which overcame the sinfulness of the world and followed Christ to attain the glorious kingdom of heaven. Alleluia!

GOSPEL Luke 6:17-23
At that time, Jesus, coming down from the mountain, stood in a plain place: and the company of his disciples and a very great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast, both of Tyre and Sidon, Who were come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And they that were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the multitude sought to touch him: for virtue went out from him and healed all.
And he, lifting up his eyes on his disciples, said: "Blessed are ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now: for you shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for you shall laugh. Blessed shall you be when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you and shall reproach you and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Be glad in that day and rejoice: for behold, your reward is great in heaven." 

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 5:12-13
All those who love your name shall glory in You, for You, O Lord, will bless the just man. O Lord, You surround us with Your good will, as with a shield.

SECRET 
O Lord, may Your saints' unfailing prayer of honor render our offerings acceptable to You and obtain Your pardon for us. Through our Lord . . .

Grant that the gifts we offer to Your majesty, O almighty God, may obtain for us the grace of sincere devotion and the reward of a blessed eternity. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 78:2, 11
They have given the dead bodies of Your servants, O Lord, as food to the birds of the air, and the flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. With Your great power, save the sons of those who have been put to death.

POSTCOMMUNION 
O Lord, let Your people find protection in this banquet at which You have generously fed them, and in the prayers of all Your saints. Through our Lord . . .


O Lord, let this Sacrament accomplish in us all that it signifies, so that we may truly obtain that which its outward sign implies. Through our Lord . . . 

Pope Francis tries again on traditionalist reconciliation after Benedict XVI failed

Pope Francis tries again on traditionalist reconciliation after Benedict XVI failed - The Washington Post

VATICAN CITY — Picking up a piece of unfinished business that

English: Bishop Athanasius Schneider O.R.C. celebrating Traditional Latin Mass in Tallinn, Estonia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

consumed the energies of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the Vatican under Pope Francis is again trying to repair a decades-old breach with a controversial group of traditionalist Catholics.

Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who heads the Vatican body responsible for doctrine, held a two-hour meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 23) with the head of the Society of St. Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and other senior officials from the breakaway group.

Read more here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/pope-francis-tries-again-on-traditionalist-reconciliation-after-benedict-xvi-failed/2014/09/23/d3742784-4356-11e4-8042-aaff1640082e_story.html

Latin Mass Altar-Boy Camp Draws Strong Interest

Latin Mass Altar-Boy Camp Draws Strong Interest | Daily News | NCRegister.com

Youth from four states attended the three-day camp
in South Carolina, praying and playing sports together while learning
how to serve the ancient Mass rite.

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
  

by BRIAN MERSHON
09/03/2014 

Father Christopher Smith,
administrator of Prince of Peace Parish in Greenville, S.C., instructs
participants in the parish's Latin Mass altar-boy camp.

– Stephanie Stewart

TAYLORS, S.C. — More than 60 young men and boys
participated in a three-day camp in late July dedicated to learning to
serve the traditional Latin Mass.



Boys aged 6 to 18, from four states including Virginia, Ohio and
North Carolina, came together at Prince of Peace Parish near Greenville,
S.C., to spent time in prayer, study and sports, while learning to
serve the ancient rite of Mass under the tutelage of two diocesan
priests and a seminarian from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
(FSSP).



Father Christopher Smith, administrator of Prince of Peace, and
Father Renaurd West, both priests of the Diocese of Charleston, together
with Michael Cunningham, a third-year seminarian for the FSSP whose
home is in nearby Spartanburg, S.C., offered boys and young men of all
ages the opportunity to learn altar-boy movements and rubrics as well as
experience three daily Masses culminating with a Missa Cantata (Sung Mass) on July 25.



In addition to the academic and spiritual activities, seminarian
Cunningham led afternoon activities in football, while Father West
competed head-to-head on the basketball floor. The camp was free to all,
with funds donated for food and training materials by area
parishioners, other Catholics and businesses.



“I was at most expecting 10 or 15 from our parish,” said Father
Smith. “The initiative of people who were enthusiastic about the project
led to 62 boys and young men coming from as far away as Ohio.”



Added Father Smith, “I was stunned by the response of the boys, their
families and those who wanted to defray the cost of the camp. I should
learn to trust in God's providence more!”



Parishes dedicated solely to the traditional Latin Mass and
sacraments periodically host altar-boy camps and training sessions, but a
diocesan parish hosting one in the midst of South Carolina and drawing
more than 60 boys is unique.



“Although I am sure that communities like the FSSP could probably do a
better job at training the kids, I think that exposing young people in
diocesan parishes to the riches of the extraordinary form can only be
beneficial to the Church and to the spread of the Latin Mass,” Father
Smith said.



FSSP seminarian Cunningham agreed. “Diocesan parishes are the
heartbeat of the Church, and they are where the vast majority of
Catholics attend Mass,” he said. “This venue gives a much-needed
opportunity for both Catholics who prefer the ancient rite along with
those who primarily attend the ordinary form to meet and interact with
each other.”



The participating boys were equally enthusiastic about their experiences with celebrating both forms of the Mass.



“I really enjoyed learning the low Mass rite,” said Vincent Ortiz, 9,
son of Ivan and Christine Ortiz, parishioners at St. Sebastian Catholic
Church in North Canton, Ohio. “I had only participated in the high Mass
as an altar boy.”



Added the altar boy, “I also liked learning how to stand and
genuflect. It was fun when they used a book to teach us those things.”







Mutual Enrichment



The mutual enrichment of both forms of the Roman rite was one of the benefits anticipated by Pope Benedict XVI, when he issued Summorum Pontificum in July 2007.



“Men and women both have a yearning for the sacredness of God; it is
how we are all wired,” said Cunningham. He described the ancient liturgy
as bearing a particular attractiveness.



Father Smith agreed. “I have seen many times that an authentic
experience of the transcendent, as opposed to the immanent, resonates
with many men at a level they often are at a loss to explain,” he said.
“The objectivity of the rite, the solemnity, the way the sacred ritual
is both manly and graceful at the same time — not unlike many military
ceremonies — often corresponds to a need many men have for order,
hierarchy and meaning.”



Prince of Peace Parish
offers a traditional Latin Mass on Sundays at noon throughout the year,
as well as opportunities for daily Mass and processions on special
feast days and holy days of obligation in the extraordinary form.



The parish is widely known in the area for its numerous altar boys
who serve Mass in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms, while many
of the camp’s participants from other parishes, dioceses and states had
only infrequently or never before experienced the traditional Latin
Mass.



Father Smith said that although he is sensitive to the high work
demands of many of today’s parish clergy, he encourages other parish
priests to host similar events for boys and young men. “It is an
investment in our Catholic men and vocations of all sorts and an
investment we have to make if the Church is to continue to grow in a
world so deaf to Christian values and so threatening to an authentic
understanding of what it is to be a man and a man of God,” he said.



“Involve some good Catholic laymen and seminarians and other young clergy and spread the wealth!”

Brian Mershon writes from Greenville, South Carolina.