2nd SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY; SAINT HILARY (367 A.D.); SAINT FELIX (260 A.D.)

SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY



[Commemoration]

SAINT HILARY
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

SAINT FELIX
Priest and Martyr

DOUBLE / GREEN
INTROIT (Ps. 65:4)

Let all on earth worship You, O God, and sing praise to You; let them sing a psalm to Your name, O Most High.
Ps. 65:1-2. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing a psalm to the glory of His name; proclaim His glorious praise.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT

Almighty and Eternal God, who governs all things in heaven and on earth, mercifully hear the prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace in our days. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT HILARY

Champion of the divinity of Christ, Hilary was born in Gaul of patrician parents about the year 315. The people of Poitiers chose Hilary as their bishop in 353, and he protected his flock against numerous heretical teachings of the period. The charity of Christ taught Bishop Hilary that, while heresy deserves only hatred, the individual heretic has need of loving compassion. By the time he died in 367, he had been instrumental in purging his country of false belief and winning back many of the heretics into the true fold of Christ.

O God, may blessed Hilary intercede for us in heaven as he once instructed Your faithful on earth and directed them in the way of eternal salvation. 

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX
Felix of Nola, a priest of Campania during the third century, manifested heroic Christian courage in the service of his bishop, St. Maximus, during the cruel persecution under Emperor Decius.

Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that the example of Your saints may urge us on to a better life, so that we may imitate the deeds of those whose feasts we celebrate.
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.

EPISTLE (Rom. 12:6-16)

Brethren: We having different gifts, according to the grace that is given us, either prophecy, to be used according to the rule of faith; or ministry, in ministering; or he that teacheth, in doctrine; he that exhorteth, in exhorting; he that giveth, with simplicity; he that ruleth, with carefulness; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without dissimulation. Hating that which is evil, cleaving to that which is good, loving one another with the charity of brotherhood: with honour preventing one another. In carefulness not slothful. In spirit fervent. Serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Instant in prayer. Communicating to the necessities of the saints. Pursuing hospitality. Bless them that persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that rejoice: weep with them that weep. Being of one mind one towards another. Not minding high things, but consenting to the humble. Be not wise in your own conceits.

GRADUAL (Ps. 106:20-21)

The Lord sent forth His word and healed them, and rescued them from destruction. V. Let them praise the Lord for His mercies, and His wondrous deeds towards the children of men.

Alleluia, alleluia! (V. Ps. 148:2)

Praise the Lord, all you His angels; praise Him, all you His hosts.

Alleluia!

GOSPEL (John 2:1-11)

At that time, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: "They have no wine." And Jesus saith to her: "Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come." His mother saith to the waiters: "Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three measures apiece. Jesus saith to them: "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And Jesus saith to them: "Draw out now and carry to the chief steward of the feast." And they carried it. And when the chief steward had tasted the water made wine and knew not whence it was, but the waiters knew who had drawn the water: the chief steward calleth the bridegroom, And saith to him: "Every man at first setteth forth good wine, and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now." This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 65:1-2, 16)

Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing a psalm to the glory of His name. Come and hear, all you who fear God, while I declare what He has done for me, alleluia!

SECRET

O Lord, sanctify the gifts we offer You, and cleanse us from the stain of our sins. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT HILARY

O Lord, let Your blessed bishop and doctor Hilary always help us, and through his intercession accept our offering and pardon our sins. 

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX
O Lord, graciously accept the gifts we offer You in honor of Your blessed martyr Felix, and help us find in them unending assistance. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (John 2:7, 8, 9, 10-11)

The Lord said, "Fill the waterpots with water, and carry them to the chief steward of the feast." When the chief steward had tasted the water made wine, he calleth the bridegroom, and saith to him: "thou hast kept the good wine until now." This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

POSTCOMMUNION

O Lord, increase Your grace within us, so that this divine Sacrament may bring us life and prepare us for the blessedness It promises. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT HILARY

O Lord, may this Sacrifice bring us closer to our salvation through the intercession of Your blessed bishop and illustrious doctor Hilary. 

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX
We have been nourished by the Sacrament of salvation, O Lord. May we be aided also by the prayers of Your saint Felix, whom we honor this day. Through our Lord . . .