Monday, May 30, 2022

SAINT FELIX I (274 A.D.); SAINT JOAN OF ARC (1431 A.D.)

 



SAINT FELIX I 
Pope and Martyr



Virgin
[Patron of France, Historical] 


SIMPLE/RED
Felix I, a Roman by birth, was pope from 269 to 274 A.D. In his love of the true doctrine of the Church, he courageously condemned the heretical bishop of Antioch and is said to have died a martyr under Aurelian. "The sacred Liturgy puts all these gems [the virtues of the saints] before us . . . that guided by them we may follow the saints into glory" (Pope Pius XII).

Introit 
Ps. 17:19-20.
The Lord came to my support. He set me free in the open, and rescued me, because He loves me.
Ps 17:2-3
I love You, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
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.
The Lord came to my support. He set me free in the open, and rescued me, because He loves me.

COLLECT
O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Felix 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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT JOAN OF ARC
St. Joan of Arc is the patroness of soldiers and of France. On January 6, 1412, Joan of Arc was born to pious parents of the French peasant class, at the obscure village of Domremy, near the province of Lorraine. At a very early age, she heard voices: those of St. Michael, St. Catherine and St. Margaret.
At first the messages were personal and general. Then at last came the crowning order. In May, 1428, her voices "of St. Michael, St. Catherine, and St. Margaret" told Joan to go to the King of France and help him reconquer his kingdom. For at that time the English king was after the throne of France, and the Duke of Burgundy, the chief rival of the French king, was siding with him and gobbling up evermore French territory.
After overcoming opposition from churchmen and courtiers, the seventeen year old girl was given a small army with which she raised the seige of Orleans on May 8, 1429. She then enjoyed a series of spectacular military successes, during which the King was able to enter Rheims and be crowned with her at his side.
In May 1430, as she was attempting to relieve Compiegne, she was captured by the Burgundians and sold to the English when Charles and the French did nothing to save her. After months of imprisonment, she was tried at Rouen by a tribunal presided over by the infamous Peter Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais, who hoped that the English would help him to become archbishop.
Through her unfamiliarity with the technicalities of theology, Joan was trapped into making a few damaging statements. When she refused to retract the assertion that it was the saints of God who had commanded her to do what she had done, she was condemned to death as a heretic, sorceress, and adulteress, and burned at the stake on May 30, 1431. She was nineteen years old. Some thirty years later, she was exonerated of all guilt and she was ultimately canonized in 1920, making official what the people had known for centuries. Her feast day is May 30.
Joan was canonized in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

O God, you have chosen Saint Joan of Arc to defend her country against the invading enemy. Through her intercession, grant that we may work for justice and live in peace. We pray through Jesus Christ, your son, living and reigning with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

Lesson 
Lesson from the first letter of St John the Apostle
1 John 3:13-18.
Beloved: Do not be surprised if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In this we have come to know His love, that He laid down His life for us; and we likewise ought to lay down our life for the brethren. He who has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him? My dear children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.


Gradual 
Ps. 119:1-2.
In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me.
V. O Lord, deliver me from lying lip, from treacherous tongue. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 7:2
V. O Lord my God, in You I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers and rescue me. Alleluia.


GOSPEL
Continuation  of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 14:16-24.
At that time, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees this parable: A certain man gave a great supper, and he invited many. And he sent his servant at supper time to tell those invited to come, for everything is now ready. And they all with one accord began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a farm, and I must go out and see it; I pray you hold me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am on my way to try them; I pray you hold me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ And the servant returned, and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house was angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor, and the crippled, and the blind, and the lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, your order has been carried out, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you that none of those who were invited shall taste of my supper.’

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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT JOAN OF ARC
O Lord, on this feast of Saint Joan of Arc, accept this pure offering of the victim who is our salvation. Grant that we may love you in all things and more than all things so that we may live for the praise of your glory. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT JOAN OF ARC
 You have strengthened us, O Lord, with bread from heaven from which Saint Joan of Arc so frequently found light and comfort. May this heavenly nourishment sustain us in the service of our brothers and sisters. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen. 



 

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