WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT; SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE (749 A.D.)

WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

[Commemoration]

SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE
Confessor and Doctor of the Church

SIMPLE / PURPLE
The clear commandments of God are the light of hope for all the world; they are the eternal will, the eternal law of God that keeps everyone and everything in order and in peace. Obedience to God, and to His authority delegated to men, is the first duty of justice and the beginning of wisdom. Disobedience is injustice, shortsightedness, foolishness. Without  a vivid sense of God's rightful sovereignty over everything and every detail of life, there can be no sense of sin and no sorrow for sin.
 
INTROIT (Ps. 30:7-8)
I will hope in the Lord. I shall rejoice and be glad because of Your mercy, for You have regarded my humility.
Ps. 30:2. In You, O Lord, have I hoped.Let me never be put to shame. In Your justice rescue me and set me free.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, may our fasting and our avoidance of sin win for us Your readier forgiveness. Through Our Lord . . .
 

Commemoration of SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE 

Although Christian, John was grand vizier of the Mohammedan caliph of Damascus, when Emperor Leo the Isaurian began his campaign in the eight century against the veneration of holy images. John strongly opposed the destroyers of images, and for that reason lost his high post. John became a monk and passed the rest of his life in prayer, in study, and in writing about the things of God. He composed commentaries on St. Paul, many beautiful poems, and the Fountain of Wisdom, a summary of Christian beliefs. He is the last of the Greek Fathers, and has been called the St. Thomas Aquinas of the East.

Almighty and Eternal God, You endowed blessed John with divine learning and wondrous fortitude of soul in order that he might defend the veneration of sacred images. May the example and prayers of blessed John help us to imitate the virtues and enjoy the protection of the saints whose images we venerate. Through our Lord . . .

LESSON (Ex. 20:12-24)
Thus says the Lord God: "Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayst be long-lived upon the land which the Lord thy God will give thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house; neither shalt thou desire his wife, nor his servant, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is his."
And all the people saw the voices and the flames, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mount smoking; and being terrified and struck with fear, they stood afar off, Saying to Moses: "Speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die."
And Moses said to the people: "Fear not; for God is come to prove you, and that the dread of him might be in you, and you should not sin."
And the people stood afar off. But Moses went to the dark cloud wherein God was. And the Lord said to Moses: "Thus shalt thou say to the children of Israel: You have seen that I have spoken to you from heaven. You shall not make gods of silver, nor shall you make to yourselves gods of gold. You shall make an altar of earth unto me, and you shall offer upon it your holocausts and peace offerings, your sheep and oxen, in every place where the memory of my name shall be."

GRADUAL (Ps. 6:3-4)
Have pity on me, O Lord, for I am weak; heal me, O Lord.
V. For my body is in terror, and my soul. too, is utterly terrified.

TRACT (Ps. 102:10; 78:8-9)
O Lord, repay us not according to the sins we have committed, nor according to our iniquities.
V. O Lord, remember not our iniquities of the past, let Your mercy come quickly to us, for we are being brought very low. (All Kneel.)
V. Help us, O God our Savior, and for the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver us; and pardon us our sins for Your name's sake.

GOSPEL (Matt. 15:1-20)
At that time, then came to him from Jerusalem scribes and Pharisees, saying: "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the ancients? For they wash not their hands when they eat bread." But he answering, said to them: "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God for your tradition? For God said: 'Honour thy father and mother': And: 'He that shall curse father or mother, let him die the death.' But you say: 'Whosoever shall say to father or mother, "The gift whatsoever proceedeth from me, shall profit thee." And he shall not honour his father or his mother': and you have made void the commandment of God for your tradition. Hypocrites, well hath Isaias prophesied of you, saying: 'This people honoureth me with their lips: but their heart is far from me. And in vain do they worship me, teaching doctrines and commandments of men.' "
And having called together the multitudes unto him, he said to them: "Hear ye and understand. Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man: but what cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."
Then came his disciples, and said to him: "Dost thou know that the Pharisees, when they heard this word, were scandalized?" But he answering, said: "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind, and leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both fall into the pit."
And Peter answering, said to him: "Expound to us this parable." But he said: "Are you also yet without understanding? Do you not understand, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the privy? But the things which proceed out of the mouth, come forth from the heart, and those things defile a man. For from the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man. But to eat with unwashed hands doth not defile a man."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 108:21)
O Lord, be merciful to me for Your name's sake, because Your mercy is sweet.

SECRET
O Lord, accept the prayers and sacrifice Your people offer You. May we who celebrate Your sacred rites be guarded from all danger. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE 
O Lord, may our offerings be pleasing to You through the prayerful intercession of blessed John and of Your saints whose images we today venerate in our churches because of the efforts of their defender. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 15:11)
You have made known to me the path of life; You shall fill me with the joy of Your presence, O Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may the heavenly banquet of which we have partaken sanctify us, free us of all error, and make us worthy of Your promise of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .


Commemoration of SAINT JOHN DAMASCENE 
Shield us, O Lord, with Your divine protection through the Gift we have just received. Cover us over with the prayers of blessed John and of all Your saints whose images are held in veneration in our churches today because of his efforts. Through Our Lord . . .

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Almighty God, may we who seek the help of Your protection be delivered from all evil, to serve You with untroubled minds. Through Our Lord . . .