SAINT ZEPHYRINUS (217 A.D.); OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA

SAINT ZEPHYRINUS

Pope and Martyr



OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA

[Historical]

SIMPLE/RED

A native of Rome,
Zephyrinus was Pope from 199 to 217. During part of his rule, the Church
endured the bloody persecution of Emperor Septimus Severus. Pope
Zephyrinus rejoiced in the triumphs of the martyrs, but he had much to
suffer from current heresies and apostasies. It was his glory that the
heretics called this holy Pope the principle defender of Christ's
divinity.



Introit


Ps 83:10-11

Behold, O God, our
Protector, and look upon the face of Your Anointed. Better is one day in
Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

Ps 83:2-3

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord.

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.

Behold, O God, our
Protector, and look upon the face of Your Anointed. Better is one day in
Your courts than a thousand elsewhere.



Mass of a POPE, except



COLLECT

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed
blessed Zephyrinus shepherd of the whole Church, let the prayers of this
martyr and supreme pontiff move You to look with favor upon Your flock
and to keep it under Your continual protection. Through our Lord . . .



Lesson


Lesson from the first letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians

1 Cor. 15:1-10

Brethren: I recall to your minds the Gospel that I preached to you,
which also you received, wherein also you stand, through which also you
are being saved, if you hold it fast, as I preached it to you - unless
you have believed to no purpose. For I delivered to you first of all,
what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and
after that to the Eleven. Then He was seen by more than five hundred
brethren at one time, many of whom are with us still, but some have
fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by the Apostles.
And last of all, as by one born out of due time, He was seen also by me.
For I am the least of the Apostles, and am not worthy to be called an
Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God
I am what I am, and His grace in me has not been fruitless.

R. Thanks be to God.



Gradual


Ps 27:7

In God my heart trusts, and I find help; then my heart exults, and with my song I give Him thanks.

V. To You, O Lord, I call; O my God, be not deaf to me; depart not from me. Alleluia, alleluia.

Ps 80:2-3

V. Sing joyfully to God our strength; acclaim the God of Jacob. Take up a pleasant psalm with the harp. Alleluia.



Gospel

 Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Mark

R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.

Mark 7:31-37

At that time, Jesus departing from the district of Tyre came by way of
Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the district of
Decapolis. And they brought to Him one deaf and dumb, and entreated Him
to lay His hand upon him. And taking him aside from the crowd, He put
His fingers into the man’s ears, and spitting, He sighed, and said to
him, Ephpheta, that is, Be opened. And his ears were at once opened, and
the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak correctly. And
He charged them to tell no one. But the more He charged them, so much
the more did they continue to publish it. And so much the more did they
wonder, saying, He has done all things well. He has made both the deaf
to hear and the dumb to speak.

R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.

S. By the words of the Gospel may our sins be blotted out.  



SECRET

We have offered our gifts to You, O Lord. Let Your light graciously
shine upon Your Church, so that this flock may everywhere prosper, and
its pastors under Your guidance, may be truly pleasing to You. Through
our Lord . . .



POSTCOMMUNION

O Lord, govern the Church, which You
have been pleased to nourish with Your Heavenly Food. Guide her by Your
powerful direction so that she may enjoy greater freedom and remain
unshaken in the fullness of faith. Through our Lord . . .

English:
The Black Madonna of Czestochowa Polski: Ikona Matki Boskiej z Jasnej
Góry w Częstochowie zwana Czarną Madonną (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Feast Day: August 26 - Our Lady of Czestochowa

History:

The origin of this miraculous image
in Czestochowa, according to tradition, the painting was a portrait of
Our Lady done by St. John sometime after the Crucifixion of Our Lord
and remained in the Holy Land until discovered by St. Helena of the
Cross in the fourth century. The painting was taken to Constantinople,
where St. Helena's son, the Emperor Constantine, erected a church for
its enthronement.  During the siege by the Saracens, the invaders
became frightened when the people carried the picture in a procession
around the city; the infidels fled. Later, the image was threatened
with burning by an evil emperor, who had a wife, Irene, who saved it
and hid it from harm. The image was in that city for 500 years, until
it became part of some dowries, eventually being taken to Russia to a region that later became Poland.

After the portrait became the
possession of the Polish prince, St. Ladislaus in the 15th century, it
was installed in his castle. Tartar invaders besieged the castle and an
enemy arrow pierced Our Lady's image, inflicting a scar.
Interestingly, repeated attempts to fix the image, artistically have
all failed.

Tradition says that St. Ladislaus
determined to save the image from repeated invasions, so he went to his
birthplace, Opala, stopping for rest in Częstochowa; the image was brought nearby to Jasna Góra (bright hill")and
placed in a small wooden church named for the Assumption. The
following morning, after the picture was carefully placed in the wagon,
the horses refused to move. St. Ladislaus understood this to be a sign
from Heaven that the image should stay in Częstochowa; thus he replaced
the painting in the Church of the Assumption, August 26, 1382, a day
still observed as the Feast Day. The Saint wished to have the holiest of
men guard the painting, so he assigned the church and the monastery to
the Pauline Fathers, who have devoutly protected the image for the
last six hundred years.

Having survived two attacks upon it,
Our Lady's image was next in peril by the Hussites. The Hussites
successfully stormed the Pauline monastery in 1430, plundering the
sanctuary. Among the items stolen was the image. After putting it in
their wagon, the Hussites went a little ways but
then the horses refused to go any further. Recalling the former
incident that was so similar, the heretics threw the portrait down to
the ground, which shattered the image into three pieces. One of the
plunderers drew his sword and slashed the image twice, causing two deep
gashes; while attempting a third gash, he was overcome with a writhing
agony and died.

The two slashes on the cheek of the Blessed Virgin, together with the one on
the throat, have always reappeared after artistic attempts to fix
them. The portrait again faced danger in 1655 by a Swedish horde of
12,000, which confronted the 300 men guarding the image. The band of
300 routed the 12,000 and the following year, the Holy Virgin was
acclaimed Queen of Poland.

Prayer

(to be said each day upon rising)

HOLY MOTHER of Czestochowa, Thou art full of grace,

goodness and mercy. I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts,

words and actions----my soul and body. I beseech Thy

blessings and especially prayers for my salvation.

Today, I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother, totally

 ----with body and soul amid joy and sufferings to obtain

for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and

eternal life in Heaven. Amen.

Imprimatur: Cardinal O' Boyle, Washington, DC