Dec. 1st Ferial Day; St. Edmund Campion and Companions (1581 A.D.); Saint Eligius (660 A.D.)

  

Saint Eligius at the feet of the Virgin and Child by Gerard Seghers

[wikipedia.org]

Ferial Day

Mass from Sunday

[Commemoration]

SAINT ELIGIUS
Bishop

[Historical] 

SAINT EDMUND CAMPION

Priest/Martyr

[Historical]

Eligius, a goldsmith at Paris, was commissioned by King Clotaire to make a throne. With the gold and precious stones given him he made two. Struck by his rare honesty, the king gave him an appointment at court, and demanded an oath of fidelity sworn upon holy relics; but Eligius prayed with tears to be excused, for fear of failing in reverence to the relics of the Saints. On entering the court he fortified himself against its seductions by the austerities and continual ejaculatory prayers. He had a marvelous zeal for the redemption of captives, and for their deliverence would sell his jewels, his food, his clothes, and his very shoes, once by his prayers braking their chains and opening  their prisons. His great delight was in making rich shrines for relics. His srtiking virtue caused him, a layman and a goldsmith, to be made Bishop of Noyon, and his sanctity in this holy office was remarkable. He possessed the gifts of miracles and prophecy, and died in 665.

INTROIT Ps. 24. 1-3
To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Ps. 24:4 Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

COLLECT
Arise in Thy strength, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and come: from the dangers which threaten us because of our sins, be Thy presence our sure defense, be Thy deliverance our safety for evermore. Who livest and reignest, with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Commemoration of SAINT ELIGIUS

 O Almighty God, grant that our solemn celebration of the feast of Your confessor bishop Eligius may increase our devotion and bring us closer to our salvation. Through Our Lord . . .

  
EPISTLE Rom 13. 11-14
Brethren, knowing the time, that it is now the hour for us to rise from sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is past, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.

GRADUAL Ps. 24. 3, 4
None of them that wait on Thee shall be confounded. Show, O Lord, Thy ways to me, and teach me Thy paths.

Alleluia: Ps. 84. 8
Alleluia, alleluia. Show us O Lord, Thy mercy: and grant us Thy salvation. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Luke 21. 25-33
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: "There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves: men withering away for fear and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. For the powers of heaven shall be moved; and then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand."
And He spoke to them a similitude: "See the fig tree, and all the trees; when they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; so you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen I say to you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 24. 1-3
To Thee have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust, let me not be ashamed: neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait for Thee shall be confounded.

SECRET PRAYER
May, O Lord, these Sacred Rites enable us, whom by Thy mighty power Thou hast cleansed from sin, to come pure in heart before Thee who art their author. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 84. 13
The Lord will give goodness: and our earth shall yield her fruit.

POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER
May we in the midst of Thy holy temple, O Lord, receive of Thy mercy, who seek with fitting honor to welcome the coming festival of our Redemption. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

English: Advent wreath, First Advent Sunday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SAINT EDMUND CAMPION

& COMPANIONS

[Alexander Briant, SJ, Ralph Sherwin, Thomas Ford, John Shert, Robert Johnson, William Filby, Luke Kirby, Lawrence Richardson, Thomas Cottam, SJ.]

[Wikipedia]   Born 24 January 1540, executed at Tyburn 1 December 1581 Beatified December 1886, canonized 1970 COLLECT O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst bestow on them the glory of being betrayed, tortured, and put to an ignominious death, so that Thy Priests blessed Edmund and Companions might resemble Thee in Thine own Passion, grant that by their merits and intercession, we may bear Thy Cross with constancy, and so reach the everlasting crown of glory. Who livest and reignest . . .

Edmund Campion was born in London, the son of a Catholic bookseller, who later became Protestant. Anti Catholic feeling during this period of the Reformation meant that England was a hotbed of religious conflict, and from 1534 Catholics were increasingly persecuted for their faith. After schooling at Christ’s Hospital, his precocious scholarship led him to study at St John’s College, Oxford, where he became a Fellow at only seventeen years of age. He was a renowned speaker and teacher, and was chosen to present an address to Queen Elizabeth at the age of twenty six. He impressed her so much that she tried to recruit him to her service, an offer which he declined. He later became a Deacon of the Church of England, and seemed destined to become a rising star in that church. However he became uneasy about the validity of their teachings, convinced that religious truth lay with the Catholic Church. In June 1571 he left England to study at the English College at Douai where he was received into the Catholic faith. Three years later he moved to Rome and entered the Jesuit noviciate, afterwards spending time in Vienna and Prague. He was ordained priest in 1578. In 1580 he returned to England as part of the English Mission, ministering to Catholics in this area (particularly Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire) as well as in the north of England. During this time he wrote his famous pamphlet “Decem Rationes” – Ten Reasons, which argued against the validity of the Church of England. This was secretly printed at Stonor Park, near Henley, a place which frequently provided him with refuge. The pamphlet was distributed anonymously and caused a sensation, leading to an increasingly intensive manhunt. He was finally captured at Lyford Grange, near Wantage and taken to the Tower of London. Here he was questioned in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, who asked if he acknowledged her as the true Queen of England. He affirmed this, and was offered wealth and dignities if he would renounce his Catholic faith. He refused and remained in prison, being tortured several times. He was summoned to four public conferences and despite having no time to prepare and suffering the effects of torture, he reportedly conducted himself so easily and readily that he won much admiration from those present. He was finally convicted of treason on trumped up charges that he had conspired against the life of the Queen and had fomented rebellion. He and his fellow accused priests received their death sentence by joining in the singing of the Te Deum Laudamus. After spending his last days in prayer he was taken to Tyburn and hanged, drawn and quartered, a martyr for the Catholic faith. Edmund Campion was Beatified in 1886 by Pope Leo XIII and declared a Saint in 1970 by Pope Paul VI as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His Feast Day is 1 December.