SAINT STANISLAUS, Bishop and Martyr (1079 A.D.); ROGATION DAY LESSER LITANIES

 

SAINT STANISLAUS
Bishop and Martyr

ROGATION DAY 
LESSER LITANIES

DOUBLE / RED
Early in the eleventh century, Stanislaus, a holy priest, was made bishop of Cracow. The ruler of Poland was then King Boleslas II, a famous warrior but a man of lust and cruelty. Bishop Stanislaus alone had the courage to rebuke the violent ruler; and when Boleslas persisted in his misdeeds, Stanislaus excommunicated the royal culprit. Boleslas then went to a chapel where the bishop was saying Mass and murdered him at the altar.

Mass of a MARTYR DURING EASTERTIME, except


Introit
Ps 63:3
You have sheltered me, against the council of malefactors, alleluia, against the tumult of evildoers, alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 63:2
Hear, O God, my voice in lament; from the dread enemy preserve my life.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
You have sheltered me, against the council of malefactors, alleluia, against the tumult of evildoers, alleluia, alleluia.


COLLECT
O God, the glorious bishop Stanislaus fell beneath the swords of evil men in defending Your name. May all of us who seek his help be brought closer to our salvation through his intercession. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of the MASS OF ROGATION  

The death and resurrection of Jesus have opened heaven and won the grace to avoid sin and to gain eternal happiness. But many of the consequences of sin still remain; and every person has his guilt to confess and atone for. Besides, there are the countless needs of soul and body that put all men on their knees before God. Earthquakes and other calamities afflicted Europe in the fifth century and St. Mamertus, instituted a penitential procession with public supplications in his Diocese. Hence, the special days of petition, called Rogation Days, marked by a special Mass, the Litany of the Saints, and, where possible, a procession during which the Litany is sung. It is well to join penance and fasting to all prayer. In 816 A.D., Pope Leo III introduced this Mass in Rome, and soon after it became a general observance throughout the Church.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we, who in our affliction put our trust in Thy mercy, may ever be defended by the protection against all adversity. Through our Lord . . .
Lesson
Lesson from the book of Wisdom
Wis 5:1-5
The just shall stand with great assurance before their oppressors who set at nought their labors. Seeing this, these shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the suddenness of the unlooked-for salvation. They shall say among themselves, rueful and groaning through anguish of spirit: These are they whom once we held as a laughingstock and as a type for mockery, fools that we were! Their life we deemed madness, and their death dishonored. See how they are accounted among the sons of God; how their lot is with the Saints! 

 Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 88:6
The heavens proclaim Your wonders, O Lord, and Your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. Alleluia.
Ps 20:4
You placed on his head, O Lord, a crown of pure gold.

Gospel
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to John
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
John 15:1-7.
At that time, Jesus to His disciples, I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in Me that bears no fruit He will take away; and every branch that bears fruit He will cleanse, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remain on the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast outside as the branch and wither; and they shall gather them up and cast them into the fire, and they shall burn. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done to you.
 
SECRET 
Bless the gifts we have set apart for You, O Lord. May the prayers of Your blessed martyr bishop Stanislaus, help these offerings to win Your mercy for us. Through Our Lord . . .


Commemoration of the MASS OF ROGATION 
 May these oblations, O Lord, we beseech Thee, loosen the bonds of our wickedness, and obtain for us the gifts of Thy mercy. Through our Lord . . .  

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 Stanislaus. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of the MASS OF ROGATION 
Favorably receive our prayers, O Lord, we beseech Thee; may we in our distress be consoled by Thy gifts and grow in love accordingly. Through our Lord . . .