TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT; SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA (1507 A.D.)

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

[Commemoration]

SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA 

SIMPLE / PURPLE
It is man's perennial temptation to forget whence he comes, why he exists, and to whom he owes worship. Disavowing his true Creator, man sometimes makes a god out of an ambition and burns up his energies in a holocaust of devotion to it; or he makes a god of himself by saying that his own nobility of action and his own sense of achievement are sufficient guarantee of truth and morality, as well as sufficient reward. Such subtle but monstrous pride forgets that only God is sufficient reason for His own action and glory. "He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory."

INTROIT (Ps. 54:2-3)
Hearken, O God, to my prayer and turn not away from my pleading; give heed to me, and answer me.  
Ps. 54:3-4. I am tossed about in my grief, and am troubled at the uproar of th enemy and the oppression of the wicked.  
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, may our observance of the Lenten fast increase our piety and bring us Your continued merciful help. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS

Francis’s parents were childless for many years, but following prayers for the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, they had three children; Francis was the oldest. Following a pilgrimage in his teens to Rome and Assisi in Italy, he became a hermit in a cave near Paola. Before he was 20 years old he began to attract followers. By the 1450‘s the followers had become so numerous that he established a Rule for them and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474. In 1492 they were renamed the Franciscan Order of Minim Fiars, which means they count themselves the least of the family of God.
Prophet. Miracle worker. Reputed to read minds. In 1464 Francis wanted to cross the Straits of Messina to reach Sicily, but a boatman refused to take him. Francis laid his cloak on the water, tied one end to his staff to make a sail, and sailed across with his companions. Franz Liszt wrote a piece of music inspired by the incident.
Defender of the poor and oppressed. Gave unwanted counsel and admonitions to King Ferdinand of Naples and his sons. Traveled to Paris at the request of Pope Sixtus IV to help Louis XI prepare for death. Used this position to influence the course of national politics, helping restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis XI to return some disputed land.
In an old tradition that has certain saints opposing on an equivalent demon, Francis is the adversary of Belial since his simple humility cancels the demons raging pride.[From http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-francis-of-paola/]

O God, the exaltation of the lowly, who hast raised Thy blessed Confessor Francis to the glory of the Saints; grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and example we may happily obtain the rewards promised to the lowly. Through Our Lord . . .


LESSON (Ex. 32:7-14)
In those days, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned. They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: 'These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.' "
And again the Lord said to Moses: "I see that this people is stiffnecked: Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation." But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: "Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand? Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: 'He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth': let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: 'I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever' ": And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.

GRADUAL (Ps. 43:26, 2)
Arise, O Lord, and help us, and save us for Your name's sake.
V. O God, our ears have heard, our fathers have declared to us the deeds You performed in their time, in the days of old.

GOSPEL (John 7:14-31)
At that time, about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews wondered, saying: "How doth this man know letters, having never learned?" Jesus answered them and said: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do the will of him, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true and there is no injustice in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why seek you to kill me?" The multitude answered and said: "Thou hast a devil. Who seeketh to kill thee?" Jesus answered and said to them: "One work I have done: and you all wonder. Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers): and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man. If a man receive circumcision on the sabbath day, that the law of Moses may not be broken: are you angry at me, because I have healed the whole man on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance: but judge just judgment." Some therefore of Jerusalem said: "Is not this he whom they seek to kill? And behold, he speaketh openly: and they say nothing to him. Have the rulers known for a truth that this is the Christ? But we know this man, whence he is: but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth, whence he is."
Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: "You both know me, and you know whence I am. And I am not come of myself: but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. I know him, because I am from him: and he hath sent me." They sought therefore to apprehend him: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. But of the people many believed in him.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 39:2, 3, 4)
I have waited and waited for the Lord, and He inclined towards me and heard my cry. And He put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God.

SECRET
May this offering cleanse us from our sins, O Lord, and may it sanctify Your servants in body and soul for the celebration of this Sacrifice. Through Our Lord . . .


Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS
 O Lord, may these gifts of Thy devout people, which we heap upon Thine altars, become pleasing to Thee through the merits of blessed Francis, and by Thy mercy profitable to ourselves. Through Our Lord . . .
 
Communion Antiphon
Ps 19:6
May we shout for joy at Your victory and raise the standards in the Name of the Lord our God.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, cleanse us from sin through the reception of this Sacrament and lead us toward the kingdom of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS
 Having received, O Lord, Thy heavenly Sacrament, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of blessed Francis, Thy Confessor, it may in this present life bring us aid for life eternal. Through Our Lord . . . 


 
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, have mercy on Your people and strengthen them in their daily trials and labors. Through Our Lord . . .