TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK IN LENT; SAINT AELRED, Abbot (1166 A.D.); SAINT CUNEGUNDA (1033 A.D.)

TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK
IN LENT

SAINT AELRED
Abbot

SIMPLE / PURPLE

INTROIT Ps. 89:1, 2

O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations; You are from eternity to eternity.
Ps. 89:2. Before the mountains were made, or the earth was formed, from eternity to eternity You are God.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT

Look kindly upon Your household, O Lord. May the mortification of our bodies purify our minds also and make us desire You. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT AELRED
St. Aelred, Abbot of Rievauls, retired from the world where the highest honors awaited him at the court of his friend, St. David. Full of labors and merits, he entered into his eternal rest on January 12. A.D. 1166.

Almighty and everlasting God, who did not cease to instruct the children of Thy Church, even as Thou failest not to sustain them, mercifully grant to Thy faithful people, through the intercession of the blessed Abbot Aelred, whom Thou gavest them as a minister of salvation, both the knowledge and also the power, to fulfill what is right. Through our Lord . . . 

LESSON Isa. 55:6-11
In those days, the prophet Isaias spoke, saying:
Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
For as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

GRADUAL Ps. 140:2
Let my prayer come like incense before Your sight, O Lord.
V. The lifting up of my hands, like an evening sacrifice.

GOSPEL Matt. 21:10-17

At that time, when Jesus was come into Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the multitudes said, "This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee."
And Jesus entered into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money–changers, and the seats of them that sold the doves; and he saith unto them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer: but ye make it a den of robbers."
And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple: and he healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children that were crying in the temple and saying, "Hosanna to the son of David;" they were moved with indignation, and said unto him, "Hearest thou what these are saying?" And Jesus saith unto them, "Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" And he left them, and went forth out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 30:15-16

I have placed my trust in You, O Lord; I said, "You are my God, my life is in Your hands."

SECRET

O Lord, be moved to compassion by our offerings and shield us from all danger. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT AELRED
May the holy Abbot Aelred, we beseech Thee, O Lord, obtain by his prayers, that the Sacrifice laid on Thy holy altar may profit us unto salvation. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 4:2

When I called upon You, You answered me, O my just God; when I was in distress, You upheld me. Have pity on me, O Lord, and hear my prayer.

POSTCOMMUNION

Almighty God, grant that we may attain the salvation promised us through this Sacrament. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT AELRED
May the pleading of blessed Aelred, the Abbot, for us, as well as the reception of Thy Sacrament, protect us, O Lord, that we may both share in the glory of his works, and receive the help of his intercession. Through our Lord . . .

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Let our prayers come before You, O Lord. Drive away all evil from Your Church. Through our Lord . . .

SAINT CUNEGUNDA

Empress (1033 A.D.)

[Historical]

Saint Cunigunde of Luxembourg (c. 975 – 3 March 1040 at Kaufungen), also called St. Cunegundes and St. Cunegonda, was the wife of the Holy Roman Emperor Saint Henry II. She is the Patroness of Luxembourg; her feast day is 3 March.
Her parents were Siegfried I of Luxembourg (922 – 15 August 998) and Hedwig of Nordgau (c. 935 – 992). She was a seventh-generation descendant of Charlemagne. Her marriage to St. Henry was a spiritual one, that is, they married for religious companionship and by mutual agreement did not consummate their relationship.
Calumniators accused her of scandalous conduct, but her innocence was signally vindicated by Divine Providence, as she walked over pieces of flaming irons without injury, to the great joy of her husband, the Emperor.^[1]
She was very active politically. As the closest adviser of her husband, she took part in Imperial councils.
In 1014, St. Cunigunde went with her husband to Rome and became Empress, receiving together with St. Henry the Imperial Crown from the hands of Pope Benedict VIII.
After St. Henry's death in 1024, she became regent together with her brother and handed over the Imperial insignia when Conrad II was elected to succeed.
As a widow, St. Cunigunde was left comparatively poor, owing to the enormous wealth given away by her and St. Henry in charitable works.^[2]
In 1025, exactly one year after the death of her husband St. Cunigunde retired to Kaufungen Abbey, a convent of Benedictine nuns she founded at Kaufungen, (Hesse), Germany. She died in 1040, and was buried at Bamberg Cathedral near her husband. She was canonised by Pope Innocent III on 29 March 1200.
It was reported in the Papal Bull that St. Cunigunde fell asleep one night and was carried into bed. Her maid also fell asleep and a candle set the bed on fire. The blaze awoke both of them and upon Cunigunde executing the Sign of the Cross, the fire immediately disappeared, saving them from burning.