SAINT THOMAS OF CANTERBURY (1170 A.D.); Within the Octave of Christmas; Saint David the King (973 B.C.)

English: St Thomas Becket enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury from a Nottingham Alabaster in the Victoria & Albert Museum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Martyrdom of St. Thomas Becket

 

St. David the King

SAINT THOMAS OF CANTERBURY
Bishop and Martyr

Within the Octave of Christmas

Saint David the King
(Historical)

DOUBLE / RED
Thomas Becket, like "the good shepherd," laid down his life for the flock entrusted to his care. Already chancellor of England at the age of 35, he was consecrated archbishop of Canterbury in 1162 at the recommendation of Henry II. The king, relying on Thomas' gratitude and friendship, attempted to extend his jurisdiction over ecclesiastical affairs. But the archbishop fearlessly defended the independence of the Church and as a result was punished by banishment. After six years in exile, he returned and was brutally murdered by royal retainers while celebrating Vespers in his own episcopal church on December 29, 1170.

INTROIT
Let us all rejoice in the Lord as we celebrate the feast in honor of the blessed martyr Thomas, at whose martyrdom the angels rejoiced and praised the Son of God.
Ps. 32:1. Rejoice in the Lord, you just; praise befits the upright.
V. Glory be . . .

Gloria

COLLECT
O God, for the cause of the Church the glorious bishop Thomas was slain by the swords of evil men. May all who implore his aid obtain through him the petitions they ask. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of the Octave of CHRISTMAS
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the new birth, in the flesh, of Your only-begotten Son may deliver us whom the bondage of old keeps under the yoke of sin.
Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. 

EPISTLE Heb. 5:1-6
Brethren: Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on them that are ignorant and that err: because he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And therefore he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. Neither doth any man take the honour to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was. So Christ also did not glorify himself, that he might be made a high priest: but he that said unto him: "Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee." As he saith also in another place: "Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech."

GRADUAL Eccli. 44:16, 20
Behold a great priest, who pleased God in his life.
V. There was none found like to him, who kept the law of the Most High.

Alleluia, alleluia! V. John 10:14
I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep, and mine know me. Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 10:11-16
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf casteth and scattereth the sheep, And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd: and I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice: And there shall be one fold and one shepherd." 

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 20:4-5
You have placed on his head a crown of precious stones, O Lord. He asked life of You, and You have given it to him, alleluia!

SECRET
Bless the gifts we have set apart for You, O Lord. may the prayers of Your blessed martyr bishop, Thomas, help these offerings to win Your mercy for us. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of the Octave of CHRISTMAS
 Make holy the sacrificial gifts we offer, O Lord, and by the new birth of Your only-begotten Son cleanse us from the stains of our sins.
Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON John 10:14
I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and mine know me.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may this Communion cleanse us from sin, and bestow on us spiritual health from heaven through the intercession of Your blessed martyr bishop Thomas. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of the Octave of CHRISTMAS
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the Savior of the world, born this day, Who is the author of our birth in godliness, may bestow on us immortal life.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

KING DAVID IN CHRISTIANITY

Originally an earthly king ruling by divine appointment ("the anointed one", as the title Messiah had it), the "son of David" became in the last two pre-Christian centuries the apocalyptic and heavenly who would deliver Israel and usher in a new kingdom. This was the background to the concept of Messiahship in early Christianity, which interpreted the career of Jesus "by means of the titles and functions assigned to David in the mysticism of the Zion cult, in which he served as priest-king and in which he was the mediator between God and man." The early Church believed that "the life of David [foreshadowed] the life of Christ; Bethlehem is the birthplace of both; the shepherd life of David points out Christ, the Good Shepherd; the five stones chosen to slay Goliath are typical of the five wounds; the betrayal by his trusted counsellor, Achitophel, and the passage over the Cedron remind us of Christ's Sacred Passion. Many of the Davidic Psalms, as we learn from the New Testament, are clearly typicalof the future Messias."

In the Middle Ages, "Charlemagne thought of himself, and was viewed by his court scholars, as a 'new David'. [This was] not in itself a new idea, but [one whose] content and significance were greatly enlarged by him." The linking of David to earthly kingship was reflected in later Medieval cathedral windows all over Europe through the device of the Tree of Jesse its branches demonstrating how divine kingship descended from Jesse, through his son David, to Jesus.

Western Rite churches (Roman Catholic, Lutheran) celebrate his feast day on 29 December, Eastern-rite on 19 December. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Church celebrate the feast day of the "Holy Righteous Prophet and King David" on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before the Great Feast of the Nativity of the Lord), when he is commemorated together with other ancestors of Jesus. He is also commemorated on the Sunday after the Nativity, together with Joseph and James, the Brother of the Lord.

EMBER SATURDAY IN ADVENT; SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI Virgin (1917 A.D.)

EMBER SATURDAY IN ADVENT

Mother Cabrini in 1880

SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI
Virgin

[In All Dioceses of the United States]

SIMPLE / PURPLE
The successive groups of Readings, Gradual, and Prayer indicate that the Proper of this Mass was composed for an ordination ceremony. The new priests, each a messenger of love to the spiritual needy, share Christ's one priesthood, and worship in the name of all Christ's members. They prepare "the way of the Lord," in established parishes and among all peoples of the earth, by teaching and sanctifying. They are the first to suffer with Christ from the "mystery of iniquity." But every member of Christ, the One Priest, has a share, by Baptism and Confirmation, in the one priesthood of Christ. Every member has a part in Christ's work of teaching and sanctifying souls and suffering for them.
 
INTROIT Ps. 79:4, 2
Come, O Lord, and show us Thy face, Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim: and we shall be saved.
Ps. 79:2. Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep.
Glory be . . .

Let us pray.
Let us kneel.
Arise.

COLLECT
O God, who seest that we are afflicted because of our iniquity, mercifully grant that we may be comforted by Thy visitation: Who livest . . .

LESSON Isa. 19:20-22
In those days, they shall cry to the Lord because of the oppressor, and he shall send them a Saviour and a defender to deliver them. And the Lord shall be known by Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall worship him with sacrifices and offerings: and they shall make vows to the Lord, and perform them. And the Lord shall strike Egypt with a scourge, and shall heal it, and they shall return to the Lord, and he shall be pacified towards them, and heal them.

GRADUAL Ps. 18:7, 2
His going out is from the end of heaven: and His circuit even to the end thereof. The heavens show forth the glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of His hands.

COLLECT
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that we who are heavy-laden under the yoke of sin may be delivered from the bondage of old by the long-awaited new birth of Your only-begotten Son.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.



Lesson
Lesson from the book of Isaias
Isa 35:1-7
Thus says the Lord: The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers, and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Saron; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: ‘Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, He comes with vindication; with divine recompense He comes to save you.’ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the steppe. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground, springs of water, says the Lord almighty.

Gradual
Ps 18:6-7
He has pitched His tent in the sun, and He comes forth like the groom from his bridal chamber.
V. At one end of the heavens He comes forth, and His course is to their other end.

Collect
Let us pray.
V. Let us kneel.
R. Arise.
Saddened by the guilt of our deeds, we, Your unworthy servants, beseech You, O Lord, to gladden us by the coming of Your only-begotten Son.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

Lesson
Lesson from the book of Isaias
Isa 40:9-11
Thus says the Lord: Go up onto a high mountain, Sion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Juda: ‘Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord God, Who rules by His strong arm; here is His reward with Him, His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, the Lord, our God.’

Gradual
Ps 79:20; 79:3
O Lord God of Hosts, restore us; if Your face shine upon us, then we shall be safe.
V. Rouse Your power, O Lord, and come to save us.

Collect
Let us pray.
V. Let us kneel.
R. Arise.
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the coming festival of Your Son may bring us healing today and rewards eternal.
Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Lesson
Lesson from the book of Isaias
Isa. 45:1-8
Thus says the Lord to His anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him, and disarming kings, opening doors before him and leaving the gates unbarred: I will go before you and level the mountains; bronze doors I will shatter, and iron bars I will snap. I will give you treasures out of the darkness, and riches that have been hidden away, that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, Who calls you by your name. For the sake of Jacob, My servant, of Israel. My chosen one, I have called you by your name, giving you a title, though you knew Me not. I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God besides Me. It is I Who arm you, though you know Me not, so that toward the rising and the setting of the sun men may know that there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, there is no other; I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe; I, the Lord, do all these things. Let the Just One descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop Him down. Let the earth open and a Savior bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the Lord, have created this.

Gradual
Ps 79:3, 2, 3.
Rouse Your power, O Lord, and come to save us.
V. O Shepherd of Israel, hearken, O Guide of the flock of Joseph! From Your throne upon the Cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasse.

Collect
Let us pray.
V. Let us kneel.
R. Arise.
Heed in Your mercy, we beseech You, O Lord, the prayers of Your people, that we, who are justly chastised for our sins, may be consoled by the coming of Your goodness.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

Lesson
Lesson from the book of Daniel
Dan. 3:47-51
In those day, the Angel of the Lord went down into the furnace with Azaria and his companions, drove the fiery flames out of the furnace, and made the inside of the furnace as though a dew-laden breeze were blowing through it. And the flames rose forty-nine cubits above the furnace, and spread out, burning the Chaldeans nearby, the king’s men who were stoking the furnace. And the fire in no way touched them or caused them pain or harm. Then these three in the furnace with one voice sang, glorifying and blessing God:
HYMN
Dan. 3:52-56
Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. And blessed is Your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages. Blessed are You in the temple of Your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever. Blessed are You on the holy throne of Your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Blessed are You upon the sceptre of Your divinity, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Blessed are You Who look into the depths from Your throne upon the Cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Blessed are You Who walk upon the wings of the wind, and on the waves of the sea, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Let all Your Angels and Saints bless You, and praise You and exalt You above all forever. Let the heavens, the earth, the sea and all the things that are in them bless You, and praise You and exalt You above all forever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. Blessed are You, O Lord, the God of our father, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever. 

COLLECT
O God, who didst deaden the flames of fire for the three children: mercifully grant that the flame of vice may not consume us Thy servants. Through our Lord . . .

 Commemoration of  SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI
From childhood Frances Cabrini desired to become a missionary for Christ. After some unsuccessful starts, she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Codogna, Italy; and in 1889 at the urging of Pope Leo XIII, she accepted the invitation of New York's Archbishop Corrigan to work among the numerous Italian immigrants of that era. Mother Cabrini founded orphanages, schools, and hospitals all over the United States, and extended her institute to Central and South America, France, Spain, and England. Everywhere her work succeeded only through her unbounded trust in God's providence. Though always in poor health, she traveled constantly, crossing the Atlantic 25 times in spite of a great fear of ocean voyages. A naturalized citizen of the United States, Mother Cabrini died in 1917 in the convent of her great hospital in Chicago, and was canonized in 1946, the first American citizen-saint.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, You enkindled the fire of Your Sacred Heart in the holy virgin Frances Xavier so that she might win souls for You in many lands, and establish a new religious congregation of women in Your Church. Grant that we too may imitate the virtues of Your Sacred Heart through her intercession, so that we may be worthy of the haven of eternal happiness, who lives and rules with God the Father . . .


EPISTLE 2 Thess. 2:1-8
Brethren, we beseech you, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and of our gathering together unto Him: That you be not easily moved from your sense nor be terrified, neither by spirit nor by word nor by epistle. as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition Who opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God. Remember you not that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way. And then that wicked one shall be revealed: whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.

TRACT Ps. 79:2, 3
Give ear, O Thou that rulest Israel: Thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim, shine forth before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasses. Stir up Thy might, O Lord, and come and save us.

GOSPEL St. Luke 3:1-6
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and Philip his brother tetrarch of Iturea and the country of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina: Under the high priests Anna and Caiphas: the word of the Lord was made unto John, the son of Zachary, in the desert. And he came into all the country about the Jordan, preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins. As it was written in the book of the sayings of Isaias the prophet: A voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill shall be brought low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways plain. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Zac. 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout for joy, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold thy King will come to thee, the Holy and Savior.

SECRET
O Lord, we beseech Thee, look down favorably upon these present Sacrifices: that they may profit us unto both devotion and salvation. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of  SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI
Accept our offerings in honor of the holy virgin Frances Xavier, O Lord, and grant that we too may imitate the Sacred Heart of Your Son and make ourselves an acceptable sacrifice to You. Through the same Jesus Christ . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 18:6, 7
He hath rejoiced as a giant to run the way: His going out is from the end of heaven, and His circuit even to the end thereof.

POSTCOMMUNION
We beseech Thee, O Lord, our God, that the most holy Mysteries, which Thou hast given us for a safeguard of our renewal, may become our remedy both now and for time to come. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of  SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI
From the fullness of the Sacred Heart of Your beloved Son, O God, You have bestowed heavenly gifts upon us. Grant that we may follow Saint Frances Xavier's example and seek the glory of Your Son so that we may attain to the rewards of His kingdom; who lives and rules with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

SAINT THOMAS, Apostle

SAINT THOMAS
Apostle

DOUBLE, SECOND CLASS / RED
When Jesus was about to go to Judea where He was in mortal danger from His enemies, intense love for his Master made St. Thomas say, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him" (John 11:8-16). As Christ said farewell to His disciples on the eve of His Passion, Thomas wanted to know the way to reunion with his Lord. Jesus said to him and to us, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life" (John 14:2-6). After the Resurrection, he sought the reassurance of feeling the wounds of the risen Savior (John 20:24-29). His short-lived but agonized incredulity has served through the centuries to strengthen Christian faith in the Resurrection, and his impulsive exclamation, "My Lord and my God!" is repeated by every Christian at the elevation of the Sacred Host.
According to the martyrology, after Pentecost Thomas preached the Gospel to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, and Hyrcanians, and finally evangelized India, where he was martyred. There is in India today, in the region called Malabar Coast, a Christian community of Syriac Rite which claims that its ancestors were baptized by Thomas himself.

INTROIT (Ps. 138:17) 
Your friends are greatly honored by me, O God; their pre-eminence is definitely established. 
Ps. 138:1-2. O Lord, You have proved me and You know me; You know when I sit and when I stand.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, may we so celebrate the solemn feast of Your apostle Thomas that we may be aided by his prayers to imitate his faith in our lives at all times. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of EMBER FRIDAY
Put forth Your power, O Lord, we beseech You, and come; that those who trust in Your goodness may soon be delivered from all harm.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

 
EPISTLE (Eph. 2:19-22)
Brethren: Now therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners: but you are fellow citizens with the saints and the domestics of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone: In whom all the building, being framed together, groweth up into an holy temple in the Lord. in whom you also are built together into an habitation of God in the Spirit. 

GRADUAL (Ps. 138:17-18)
Your friends are greatly honored, O God; their pre-eminence is definitely established. V. Were I to try to count them, they would be more numerous than the sands.

Alleluia, alleluia! V. Ps. 32:1.
Rejoice in the Lord, you just; praise befits the upright.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL (John 20:24-29)
At that time, Thomas, one of the twelve, who is called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him: "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails and put my finger into the place of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe."
And after eight days, again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Jesus cometh, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst and said: "Peace be to you." Then he said to Thomas: "Put in thy finger hither and see my hands. And bring hither the hand and put it into my side. And be not faithless, but believing." Thomas answered and said to him: "My Lord and my God." Jesus saith to him: "Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen and have believed."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 18:5)
Their voice has gone forth through all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

SECRET 
We worship You, O Lord, as it is our duty. Guard over the gifts You have bestowed upon us through the prayers of Your blessed apostle Thomas, whose faith we honor by offering You this sacrifice of praise. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of EMBER FRIDAY
Accept our offering and prayers, we beseech You, O Lord; cleanse us by this heavenly rite, and in Your mercy hear us.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen.
 
COMMUNION ANTIPHON (John 20:27)
Bring here thy hand and feel the place of the nails. and be not unbelieving, but believing.

POSTCOMMUNION 
Be close to us, O merciful God, and through the prayers of Your blessed apostle Thomas,watch over the Gifts You have given us. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of EMBER FRIDAY
May the devout reception of Your sacrament, O Lord, give us new strength, purge us of our old selves and let us come to share in the mystery of salvation.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen.

DEC. 20th FERIAL DAY; SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS, (1073 A.D.) Abbot

Image by Lawrence OP via Flickr

FERIAL DAY

[Mass from preceding Sunday]


INTROIT Philipp. 4:4-6Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety; but in every prayer let your petitions be made known to God.
Ps. 84:2. O Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity.V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
Hear our prayers, O Lord, and enlighten the darkness of our minds by Your coming on earth; who lives and rules with God the Father . . . 



EPISTLE Philipp. 4:4-7
Brethren: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety, but in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

GRADUAL Ps. 79:2, 3, 2
O Lord, enthroned above the Cherubim, stir up Your might and come.
V. Take heed, you who rule Israel, you who are shepherd over Joseph.

Alleluia, alleluia! V.
Stir up Your might, O Lord, and come to save us.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 1:19-28
At that time, when the Jews sent from Jerusalem priests and Levites to him, to ask him: "Who art thou?" And he confessed and did not deny: and he confessed: "I am not the Christ." And they asked him: "What then? Art thou Elias?" And he said: "I am not." "Art thou the prophet? And he answered: "No." They said therefore unto him: "Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent us? What sayest thou of thyself?" He said: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias." And they that were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him and said to him: "Why then dost thou baptize, if thou be not Christ, nor Elias, nor the prophet?" John answered them, saying: "I baptize with water: but there hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me: the latchet of whose shoe I am not worthy to loose." These things were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 84:2, 3
O Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity; You have forgiven the sinfulness of Your people.

SECRET 
May we always offer the sacrifice of adoration in such a manner, O Lord, that it will attain the purpose for which You instituted this sacred rite, and bring about our salvation. Through Our Lord . . .



COMMUNION ANTIPHON Isa. 35:4
Say to the fainthearted, "Take courage and fear not. Behold, our God will come and will save us."

POSTCOMMUNION
In Your mercy cleanse us from our sins by these divine Rites, O Lord, and make us ready for the coming feast. Through Our Lord . . . 

SAINT DOMINIC OF SILOS
Abbot

[Historical]

St. Dominic, founder of the Order of Preachers, was named after this Benedictine abbot, who lived a century before him. According to Dominican tradition, St. Dominic of Silos appeared to Blessed Joan of Aza (the mother of the later St. Dominic), who made a pilgrimage to his shrine before the birth of her son, and named him after the abbot of Silos.

Dominic of Silos was born in Navarre, Spain, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, and was a shepherd boy, looking after his father's flocks. He acquired a love of solitude and as a young man became a monk at the monastery of San Millan de la Cogolla. He eventually became prior of the monastery and came into conflict with the king of Navarre over possessions of the monastery claimed by the king. The king drove Dominic out of the monastery, and Dominic went with other monks to Castille, where the king of Castille appointed Dominic abbot of the monastery of St. Sebastian at Silos.

The monastery was in terrible shape, spiritually and materially, and Dominic set about to restore the monastery and to reform the lives of the monks. He preserved the Mozarbic Rite (one of the variants of the Latin Rite) at his monastery, and his monastery became one of the centers of the Mozarbic liturgy. His monastery also preserved the Visigothic script of ancient Spain and was a center of learning and liturgy in that part of Spain.

Dominic of Silos died on December 20,1073, about a century before the birth of his namesake, St. Dominic of Calaruega. Before the Spanish Revolution of 1931, it was customary for the abbot of Silos to bring the staff of Dominic of Silos to the Spanish royal palace whenever the queen was in labor and to leave it at her bedside until the birth of her child had taken place.

In recent times, great interest in Dominic of Silos has arisen since the literary treasures of the library of Silos have become known. The abbey had a profound influence on spirituality and learning in Spain. Today the monastery is an abbey of the Benedictine Congregation of Solesmes housing a library of ancient and rare manuscripts.

Thought for the Day: St. Dominic of Silos came to know God in the solitude of a shepherd boy. It was this love of solitude that drew him into monastic life where he could be alone with his God. Most of us are so busy we scarcely have time for Sunday Mass. We should cultivate a little solitude, too.

From 'The Catholic One Year Bible': . . . In heaven, the temple of God was opened and the ark of his covenant could be seen inside. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed and roared, and there was a great hailstorm and the world was shaken by a mighty earthquake.—Revelation 11:19

Taken from "The One Year Book of Saints" by Rev. Clifford Stevens published by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc., Huntington, IN 46750.

EMBER WEDNESDAY IN ADVENT

EMBER WEDNESDAY
IN ADVENT

SIMPLE / PURPLE
Three days of fasting, prayer, and charity consecrate to God each of the four seasons of the year. "Let the abstinence of him that fasts become the meal of the poor man," says St. Leo, reminding us that we fast not only for ourselves but for our neighbors. These are also days of praying and meriting grace for those to be ordained on Saturday. The Epistle in the Mass deals with the promise of the Saviour, and the Gospel with the announcement of His coming. So these Advent Ember Days are, finally, a spiritual preparation for His advent.

INTROIT Isa. 45:8

Drop down dew, you heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just one. Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Saviour.
Ps. 18:2. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
V. Glory be . . .

PRAYER
V. Let us pray. Let us kneel.
R. Arise

O Almighty God, may the coming feast of our redemption bring us Your help in this life and the reward of everlasting happiness hereafter. Through our Lord . . .

LESSON Isa. 2:2-5
In those days, the prophet Isaias said:
In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go, and say: Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall come forth from Sion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge the Gentiles, and rebuke many people: and they shall turn their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into sickles: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they be exercised any more to war. O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord our God.

GRADUAL Ps. 23:7, 3, 4
Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted, O eternal gates; and the king of glory shall enter in.
V. Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean.

COLLECT
Make haste to come, O Lord, we beg You! Grant us Your heavenly aid, so that those who trust in Your goodness may be consoled by Your coming; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

LESSON Isa. 7:10-15
In those days, the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying:
"Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God, either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above."
And Achaz said: "I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord." And he said: "Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel. He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil, and to choose the good."

GRADUAL Ps. 144:18, 21
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.
V. My lips shall speak the praise of the Lord; let all men bless His holy name.

GOSPEL Luke 1:26-38
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: "Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end."
And Mary said to the angel: "How shall this be done, because I know not man?" And the angel answering, said to her: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God." And Mary said: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Isa. 35:4
Take courage, and be afraid no longer. Behold, our God will render justice; He Himself will come and save us.

SECRET
May our fasting be acceptable to You, O Lord. Let it atone for our sins and make us worthy of Your grace, so that we may attain the fulfillment of Your everlasting promises. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Isa. 7:14
Behold, a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may the banquet of salvation, of which we have partaken with joy, bring us a new life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and rules with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit; one God forever and ever.

EXPECTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY; TUESDAY THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

EXPECTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
TRADITIONAL FEAST DAY DECEMBER 18


TUESDAY THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT

Today is one of the most inspiring days preceding Christmas! It is the feast of "Our Lady of Expectation," mostly unknown to many in these modern times, but still kept alive in many countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy and Poland as well as in a few religious orders. In older editions of missals, this feast is still listed as a votive Mass.

The feast is celebrated on the 18th of December, a week before Christmas Day. Our Blessed Lady, well advanced in pregnancy, is portrayed in the highest dignity of her Divine Motherhood. Dressed in royal apparel as daughter of David the King, she awaits with joy the arrival of her divine Son, Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Her whole posture suggests how she remains wholly consumed in contemplation of her Son under her heart. Her immaculate womb has become a living portable sanctuary of divinity. There are special prayers and novenas to "Our Lady of Expectation" available for women who cannot conceive or bear a child.

The votive Mass of "Our Lady of Expectation" is theologically enlightening and spiritually enriching for the time of Advent and Christmas. With the entrance antiphon, the Church prays with the prophet for the coming of the Just One from heaven that the earth may be ready to welcome the Savior: "Send victory like a dew, you heavens, and let the clouds rain down the just. Let the earth open for salvation to spring up" (Is 45:8). In the opening prayer, the Church offers the prayer to God through Mary's intercession: "O God who wished that your Word would take the flesh from the womb of the Virgin as announced by the Angel and whom we confess to be the true Mother of God, may we be helped by her intercession."

This wonderful feast also reminds us that it has been almost nine months since the Annunciation/Incarnation (March 25) and that Jesus developed in Mary's womb just like we did in our mother's womb. Think of all the millions of babies who never make it through the nine months because their mothers have aborted them. May God, through the intercession of the Expectant Mother Mary, take their souls into His Kingdom.

INTROIT Isa. 45:8

Drop down dew, you heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just one. Let the earth be opened and bud forth a Saviour.
Ps. 18:2. The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O God, Who didst will that at the message of an angel Thy word should take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary: grant that we, Thy suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her intercession with Thee. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, 
world without end.
R.Amen.  

Let us pray.
Lend Your ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech You; and brighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of Your coming.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.
R. Amen

Lesson
Lesson from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Philippians
Phil 4:4-7
Brethren: Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known to all men. The Lord is near. Have no anxiety, but in every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God. And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.

Gradual
Ps 79:2-3, 2.
From Your throne, O Lord, upon the Cherubim, rouse Your power, and come.
V. O Shepherd of Israel, hearken, O Guide of the flock of Joseph!

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to John
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
John 1:19-28
At that time, the Jews sent to John from Jerusalem priests and Levites to ask him, Who are you? And he acknowledged and did not deny; and he acknowledged, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? Are you Elias? And he said, I am not. Are you the Prophet? And he answered, No. They therefore said to him, Who are you? that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What have you to say of yourself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as said Isaias the prophet. And they who had been sent were from among the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said to him, Why, then, do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elias, nor the Prophet? John said to them in answer, I baptize with water; but in the midst of you there has stood One Whom you do not know. He it is Who is to come after me, Who has been set above me, the strap of Whose sandal I am not worthy to loose. These things took place at Bethany, beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

SECRET
Strengthen in our minds, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the mysteries of the true faith, that, confessing Him Who was conceived of the Virgin to be true God and true man, we may deserve, through the power of His saving resurrection, to attain everlasting joy. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever.
R.Amen. 

We beseech You, O Lord, that the gift we dedicate to You, may be sacrificed continually, so that the sacramental rite You have ordained may be fully observed, and the work of Your salvation may be wonderfully effective within us.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen.

POSTCOMMUNION
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God 
Forever and ever. 
R. Amen.

We entreat You, merciful Lord, that these divine helps may cleanse us from our sins and prepare us for the coming festal season.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Our Lady of Expectation: Pray for us!