Nov. 7th Our Lady's Saturday; Sanctae Mariae Sabbato; Saint Willibrord; Saint Hyacinth Castaneda

 

OUR LADY'S SATURDAY

WITHIN THE OCTAVE

Introit 
Sedelius
Hail Holy Parent, who didst bring forth the King, who rules heaven and earth forever, allelúja, allelúja.
Ps 44:2
My heart hath uttered a good word I speak my works to the king; My tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth swiftly.
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.
Hail Holy Parent, who didst bring forth the King, who rules heaven and earth forever, allelúja, allelúja.

COLLECT

Grant, we beseech thee, O Lord God, unto all thy servants, that they may remain continually in the enjoyment of soundness both of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of the Blessed  Mary, always a Virgin, may be delivered from present sadness, and enter into the joy of thine eternal gladness.
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.

Lesson 
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus
Sir 24:14-16
From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem. And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of mg God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

Alleluia 
Allelúja, allelúja
Num 17:8
The rod of Jesse had blossomed, virgin hath brought forth God and man: God hath restored peace, reconciling in himself the lowest with the highest, alleluia.
Luke 1:28
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Allelúja.

GOSPEL

Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to John
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
John 19:25-27
Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

14

Offertory
Let us pray.
Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, who didst bear the Creator of all things, thou didst bring forth who made thee, and remainest a virgin forever. Alleluia.

Secret 
Through thy mercy, O Lord, at the intercession of blessed Mary, ever Virgin, let this offering obtains for us welfare and peace, both now and forever
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.

Communion

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of Eternal Father, alleluia.

Post Communion 
Grant, O Lord, that we who have partaken of aids of salvation,, may be everywhere defended by the intercession Blessed Mary ever Virgin, in whose honor we have offered these gifts to thy majesty. 

SAINT WILLIBRORD
Apostle of the Frisons, of Holland, Zealand, Flanders and Brabant 
(657 — ca. 738)

[Historical] 

 

Saint Willibrord was born in Northumberland (northeastern England) in 657. His father left the world to enter a monastery, and is honored as a Saint in the monastery of Echternach in the diocese of Treves, and named in the English calendar. When his son was twenty years old he was already wearing the religious habit. Being accustomed to bearing the yoke of the Lord, and finding it light and sweet, he went to Ireland to seek greater perfection and study under Saint Egbert.

When he was thirty years old he desired, with Saint Swidbert and ten other monks of England, to preach the faith in the land of the Frisons, or Vriesland, a province of the Low Countries surrounding the mouth of the Rhine. The Frisons were warriors and had maintained their liberty against the Romans. The Gospel had been preached among them in 678 by Saint Wilfrid, but those efforts had borne little fruit, and the true God was almost entirely unknown among them when the monks arrived.

Willibrord afterwards went on to Rome to ask the papal benediction and authorization to preach the Gospel to the idolatrous nations; he was amply blessed with powers and relics for the churches he would construct. His companion, Saint Swidbert, became the bishop of a group residing near Cologne. The other eleven missionaries preached in the part of Vriesland belonging to the French.  Saint Willibrord was recommended for episcopal consecration by Pepin, royal Palace Steward of France; Pope Sergius changed his name to Clement and consecrated him Archbishop of the Frisons in Saint Peter’s Church in Rome.

He then returned to Utrecht, where he established his residence and built the Church of the Saviour. He repaired the Church of Saint Martin, which later became the Cathedral of Utrecht. He built and governed until his death the abbey of Echternach in Luxembourg. He baptized the son of Charles Martel, named Pepin, who later became king of France. Charles Martel was a benefactor of the churches founded by Saint Willibrord, and conferred on him sovereignty of the city of Utrecht.

Saint Willibrord preached also in Denmark, where a cruel king reigned at that time; the Saint, seeing invincible obstacles to the propagation of the Gospel, merely bought thirty children of the land, whom he baptized and took back with him to Utrecht. He preached on the island of Walcheren, converted many and established several churches. A blow from a saber which an idolatrous priest gave him there made no wound; and the idolatrous priest became possessed by the demon.

Saint Boniface joined him in 720 and spent three years with him before going to Germany. Saint Bede, English historian, wrote of Saint Willibrord, saying he was a venerable old man who had for thirty-six years been a bishop and was “awaiting the rewards of life in heaven, after the generous battles he waged in the spiritual combat.” At Utrecht Saint Willibrord founded schools which became famous. He wrought many miracles, and had the gift of prophecy. He labored unceasingly as bishop for more than fifty years, beloved alike of God and of man, and died full of days and good works. This amiable Saint, noted for his gaiety in conversation and his wisdom in counsel, was buried in the monastery of Echternach in Luxembourg.

Reflection: True zeal has its roots in the love of God. It can never be idle; it must labor, toil, be doing great things. It glows as fire; it is, like fire, insatiable. Reflect whether this spirit exists in you!

Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

Saint Hyacinth Castaneda

Died 1773

November 7

Dominican. Priest. Missionary to China. Missionary to Vietnam. One of the Martyrs of Vietnam.

Born
at Setavo, diocese of Valencia, Spain

Died
beheaded in 1773 in Vietnam

Canonized
19 June 1988 by Pope John Paul II