Saint Christina of Bolsena (307 A.D.); Saint Francis Solano (1610 A.D.); Vigil of St. James "the Greater"

SAINT CHRISTINA 

of Bolsena

Virgin and Martyr

SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
Priest

VIGIL OF SAINT JAMES
Apostle

SIMPLE / RED
Christina, born in Tuscany, Italy, destroyed the pagan idols in her father's home and distributed their gold among the poor. Her father then delivered the young girl to the persecutors. Christina was martyred about A.D. 307 at the age of ten or eleven.

Mass of a VIRGIN MARTYR, except 

COLLECT
O Lord, pardon our sins through the intercession of the blessed virgin martyr Christina, who pleased You by her purity and faith. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
South American missionary of the Order of Friars Minor; b. at Montilla, in the Diocese of Cordova, Spain, 10 March, 1549; d. at Lima, Peru, 14 July, 1610. His parents, Matthew Sanchez Solanus and Anna Ximenes, were distinguished no less for their noble birth than for their virtue and piety. When Francis was twenty years old, he was received into the Franciscan Order at Montilla, and after his ordination, several years later, he was sent by his superiors to the convent of Arifazza as master of novices. In 1589 he sailed from Spain to the New World, and having landed at Panama, crossed the isthmus and embarked on a vessel that was to convey him to Peru. His missionary labours in South America extended over a period of twenty years, during which time he spared no fatigue, shrank from no sacrifice however great, and feared no danger that stood in the way of evangelizing the vast and savage regions of Tucuman and Paraguay. So successful, indeed, was his apostolate that he has been aptly styled the Thaumaturgus of the New World. Notwithstanding the number and difficulty of the dialects spoken by the Indians, he learned them all in a very short time, and it is said that he often addressed tribes of different tongues in one language and was understood by them all. Besides being engaged in active missionary work, he filled the office of custos of the convents of his order in Tucuman and Paraguay, and later was elected guardian of the Franciscan convent in Lima, Peru. In 1610, while preaching at Truxillo he foretold the calamities that were to befall that city, which was destroyed by an earthquake eight years later, most of the inhabitants perishing in the ruins. The death of St. Francis, which he himself had foretold, was the cause of general grief throughout Peru. In his funeral sermon at the burial of the saint, Father Sebastiani, S.J., said that "Divine Providence had chosen Father Francis Solanus to be the hope and edification of all Peru, the example and glory of Lima and the splendour of the Seraphic Order". St. Francis was beatified by Clement X, in 1675, and canonized by Benedict XIII, in 1726. His feast is kept throughout the Franciscan Order on the twenty-fourth of July. 

O God, who by means of blessed Francis didst bring a number of the tribes of America into the bosom of the Church, do Thou, through his merits and prayers, turn away Thine indignation from our sins, and graciously send down the fear of Thy name to the nations that have not known Thee. Through our Lord . . . 

Lesson
Lesson from the letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Romans
Rom. 6:3-11.
Brethren: All we who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. For we were buried with Him by means of Baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ has arisen from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, we shall be so in the likeness of His resurrection also. For we know that our old self has been crucified with Him, in order that the body of sin may be destroyed, that we may no longer be slaves to sin; for he who is dead is acquitted of sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live together with Christ; for we know that Christ, having risen from the dead, dies now no more, death shall no longer have dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives unto God. Thus do you consider yourselves also as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.

Gradual
Ps. 89:13, 1.
Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!
V. O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Ps. 30:2-3. In You, O Lord, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In Your justice rescue me and release me, incline Your ear to me, make haste to deliver me! Alleluia.

Gospel
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Mark
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

Mark 8:1-9
At that time, when there was a great crowd with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat, He called His disciples together and said to them, I have compassion on the crowd, for behold, they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away to their homes fasting, they will faint on the way, for some of them have come from a distance. And His disciples answered Him, How will anyone be able to satisfy these with bread, here in a desert? And He asked them, How many loaves have you? And they said, Seven. And He bade the crowd recline on the ground. Then taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to distribute; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few little fishes; and He blessed them, and ordered them to be distributed. And they ate and were satisfied; and they took up what was left of the fragments, seven baskets. Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He dismissed them.
R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.
S. By the words of the Gospel may our sins be blotted out.  

SECRET
O Lord, graciously accept the gifts we offer you in honor of Your blessed virgin martyr Christina, and grant us Your unending assistance through these offerings. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
May the gift which we offer unto Thee give unto us, we beseech Thee, almighty God, an increase of faith, hope, and charity and that we may attain unto that which Thou dost promise, do Thou, through the intercession of blessed Francis Thy confessor, make us to love that which Thou commandest. Through our Lord . . .

POSTCOMMUNION 
We have been nourished by Your Divine Gift, O Lord our God. May the reception of this Bread of Heaven bring us eternal life through the intercession of Your blessed virgin martyr Christina. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
Do Thou, O Lord, through the intercession of blessed Francis Thy confessor, make us ever to obey Thy commandments, that we may become worthy of the gifts of which we have partaken. Through our Lord . . .