THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT; SAINT SABBAS (532 A.D.)

[Wikipedia]

THURSDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT

[Commemoration]
SAINT SABBAS
Abbot

Introit
Ps 24:1-3
To You I lift up my soul: in You, O my God, I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. No one who waits for You shall be put to shame.
Ps 24:4
Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me Your paths.
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.
To You I lift up my soul: in You, O my God, I trust; let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me. No one who waits for You shall be put to shame.

COLLECT 
Put forth Your power, O Lord, we beseech You, and come, that with You as our protector we may be rescued from the impending danger of our sins; and with You as our deliverer, may we obtain our salvation.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

Commemoration of SAINT SABBAS
When Sabbas (439-532), a native of Cappadocia, was twenty years old, he became a disciple of the great solitary, St. Euthymius, in the Judean wilderness. On the death of Euthymius, Sabbas was made leader of the solitaries by the appointment of the patriarch of Jerusalem. Several times he left his loved solitude to intervene with the Emperors of the East for the liberty and welfare of the Church. Venerated for his holiness, Sabbas died on December 5, 532 A.D., at the age of 93.

Let the Blessed abbot Sabbas intercede for us, O Lord. May his prayers win us Your help, since our own actions cannot merit it. Through Our Lord . . .
 
 Lesson
Lesson from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Rom 13:11-14
Brethren: Understand, for it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep, because now our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe. The night is far advanced; the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk becomingly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Gradual
Ps 24:3-4
No one who waits for You shall be put to shame.
V. Your ways, O Lord, make known to me; teach me Your paths.  

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 21:25-33
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations bewildered by the roaring of sea and waves; men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things that are coming on the world; for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the son of Man coming upon a cloud with great power and majesty. but when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And He spoke to them a parable. Behold the fig tree, and all the trees. When they now put forth their buds, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things coming to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near. Amen I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all things have been accomplished. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 

 Secret
May these offerings, O Lord, cleanse us by their mighty power and thus make us come purer before You Who are their author.
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.

 Commemoration of SAINT SABBAS
May the offerings we lay upon Your sacred altar, O Lord, bring us closer to our salvation through the intercession of the blessed abbot Sabbas. Through Our Lord . . .

Post Communion
May we receive Your mercy, O Lord, in the midst of Your temple, and thus prepare with due observance for the coming festal season of our redemption.
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. 

Commemoration of SAINT SABBAS
May the Sacrament we have received and the prayers of the blessed abbot Sabbas protect us, O Lord. Grant also that we may imitate the virtues of this saint who is our intercessor with You in heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

The relics of St. Sabbas in the Catholicon (main church) of Mar Saba monastery, West Bank.

[Wikipedia]