MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT; SAINT CHAD (672 A.D.); BLESSED CHARLES THE GOOD (1124 A.D.)

MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT

SAINT CHAD
Bishop, Confessor

INTROIT (Ps, 122:2)
As the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters, so are our eyes on the Lord, our God, until He have pity on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! Ps. 122:1. To You, who are enthroned in heaven, have I lifted up my eyes. V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord of our salvation, change our hearts and enlighten us by Your heavenly teachings, that this Lenten fast may be profitable to us. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT CHAD
St. Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, was a disciple of St. Aidan. He traveled over Ireland and Britain, seeking to spread everywhere the knowledge and charity of Christ. His characteristic virtue was his boundless charity to the poor. He died, A.D. 672.

Almighty and everlasting God who dost gladden us on this, day's feastday of blessed Chad, Thy Confessor and Bishop, we humbly implore Thy clemency, that we, who by this devout office venerate his Feast, may by his loving support, obtain the remedies of eternal life. Through our Lord . . .

LESSON (Ezech. 34:11-16)
For thus saith the Lord God: "Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them. As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the peoples, and will gather them out of the countries, and will bring them to their own land: and I will feed them in the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the habitations of the land. I will feed them in the most fruitful pastures, and their pastures shall be in the high mountains of Israel: there shall they rest on the green grass, and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my sheep: and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost: and that which was driven away, I will bring again: and I will bind up that which was broken, and I will strengthen that which was weak, and that which was fat and strong I will preserve, and I will feed them in judgment," says the Lord Almighty.

GRADUAL (Ps. 83:10, 9)
Behold our protector, O God, and look upon Your servants. V. O Lord, God of hosts, hear the prayers of Your servants.

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 names sake.

GOSPEL (Matt. 25:31-46)
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, "And when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. And all nations shall be gathered together before him: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: 'Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.' "Then shall the just answer him, saying: 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and fed thee: thirsty and gave thee drink? Or when did we see thee a stranger and took thee in? Or naked and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison and came to thee?' And the king answering shall say to them: 'Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.' "Then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: 'Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me not to eat: I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger and you took me not in: naked and you covered me not: sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also shall answer him, saying: 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to thee?' Then he shall answer them, saying: 'Amen: I say to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to me.' And these shall go into everlasting punishment: but the just, into life everlasting."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 118:18, 26, 73)
I will lift up my eyes and consider Your wondrous deeds, O Lord, that You may teach me Your way of justice. Give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.

SECRET
Bless these gifts we offer You, O Lord. May they cleanse us from the stain of our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and rules with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever.

Commemoration of SAINT CHAD
Be propitious unto our supplications, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and through the intercession of blessed Chad, Thy Confessor and Bishop, grant that we who serve the altar of Thy heavenly Sacraments, may be free from all sin, that by Thy purifying grace we may be renewed by the very Mysteries which we serve. Through our Lord . . . 

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Matt. 25:40, 34)
Amen I say to you, whatever you did for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did for Me. Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER
O Lord, may the banquet of salvation, of which we have partaken with joy, bring us a new life. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT CHAD
Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, O Lord our God, that being cleansed by the divine Mysteries, we may, by the intercession of blessed Chad, Thy Confessor and Bishop, progress towards the fullness of that heavenly Sacrament in which we have shared. Through our Lord . . . 

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Free us from the slavery of our sins, O Lord, and mercifully shield us from the punishments these sins deserve. Through our Lord . . .

BLESSED CHARLES THE GOOD

Martyr (1124 A.D.)

[Historical]

 
Charles was born in Denmark, only son of King Canute IV (Saint Canute) and Adela of Flanders. His father was assassinated in Odense Cathedral in 1086, and Adela fled back to Flanders, taking the very young Charles with her. Charles grew up at the comital court of his grandfather Robert I and uncle Robert II. In 1092 Adela went to southern Italy to marry Roger Borsa, duke of Apulia, leaving Charles in Flanders.
In 1111 Robert II died, and Charles' cousin Baldwin VII became count. Charles was a close advisor to the new count (who was several years younger), who around 1118 arranged Charles' marriage to the heiress of the count of Amiens, Margaret of Clermont. The childless count Baldwin was wounded fighting for the king of France in September 1118, and he designated Charles as his successor before he died on the 19th of July 1119.
Charles was noted for his kindness and generosity towards the poor, and during a time of famine he distributed bread to them. He also took action to prevent grain from being hoarded and sold at excessively high prices. Prodded by his advisors, he also began proceedings to reduce the influential Erembald family, which was heavily engaged in this activity, to the status of serfs. As a result, Fr. Bertulf FitzErembald, provost of the church of St. Donatian,^[1] the most important church in Bruges, masterminded a conspiracy to assassinate Charles and his advisors.
On the morning of March 2, 1127, as Charles knelt in prayer in the church of St. Donatian, a group of knights answering to the Erembald family entered the church and hacked him to death with broadswords. The brutal and sacrilegious murder of the popular count provoked a massive public outrage, and he was almost immediately regarded popularly as a martyr and saint, although not formally beatified until 1884.^[2]
The Erembalds, who had planned and carried out the murder of Charles, were arrested and tortured to death by the enraged nobles and commoners of Bruges and Ghent. King Louis VI of France, who had supported the revolt against the Erembalds, used his influence to select his own candidate, William Clito, as the next Count of Flanders.