Introit
Esth 13:9-11
In Your will are all
things, O Lord, and there is none that can resist Your will; for You
have made all things, heaven and earth, and all things that are under
the cope of heaven. Your are Lord of all.
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law 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.
In Your will are all
things, O Lord, and there is none that can resist Your will; for You
have made all things, heaven and earth, and all things that are under
the cope of heaven. You are Lord of all.
Collect
Guard Your household, we beseech You, O Lord, with unceasing care, that
under Your protection it may be free from all harm and serve You by good
deeds.
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.
R. Amen.
Lesson
Lesson from the letter of St. Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians
Eph 6:10-17
Brethren: Be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of His power. Put
on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of
the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but
against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world rulers of
this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high.
Therefore, take up the armor of God, that you may be able to resist in
the evil day, and stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having
girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breast-plate of
justice, and having your feet shod with the readiness of the Gospel of
peace, in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you may
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take
unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, that is,
the word of God.
R. Thanks be to God.
Gradual
Ps 89:1-2
O Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations.
V. Before the mountains were begotten and the earth and the world were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 113:1
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a barbarous people. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Continuation ✠ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt 18:23-35
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable: The kingdom of
heaven is likened to a king who desired to settle accounts with his
servants. And when he had begun the settlement, one was brought to him
who owed him ten thousand talents. And as he had no means of paying, his
master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that
he had, and payment to be made. But the servant fell down and besought
him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will pay you all!’ And moved
with compassion, the master of that servant released him, and forgave
him the debt. But as that servant went out, he met one of his
fellow-servants who owed him a hundred denarii and he laid hold of him,
and throttled him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ His fellow-servant
therefore fell down and began to entreat him, saying, ‘Have patience
with me and I will pay you all.’ But he would not; but went away and
cast him into prison until he should pay what was due. His
fellow-servants therefore, seeing what had happened, were very much
saddened, and they went and informed their master of what had taken
place. Then his master called him, and said to him, ‘Wicked servant! I
forgave you all the debt, because you entreated me. Should not you also
have had pity on your fellow-servant, even as I had pity on you?’ And
his master, being angry, handed him over to the torturers until he
should pay all that was due to him. So also My heavenly Father will do
to you, if you do not each forgive your brothers from your hearts.
Offertory
Job 1.1
There was a man in the land of Hus, whose name was Job, simple, and
upright, and fearing God, whom Satan besought that he might tempt: and
power was given him from the Lord over his possessions and his flesh;
and he destroyed all his substance and his children, and wounded his
flesh also with a grievous ulcer.
Secret
Graciously accept these sacrificial gifts, O Lord, with which You have
willed us to find favor with You, and, by Your mighty love, restore
salvation to us.
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.
R. Amen.
Communion
Ps 118:81; 118:84; 118:86
My soul pines for Your salvation; I hope in Your word. When will You do
judgment on my persecutors? The wicked persecuted me wrongfully; help
me, O Lord my God!
Post Communion
We who have eaten the food of eternal life beseech You, O Lord, that what we take by mouth, we may strive after with pure minds.
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.
R. Amen.
Saint Wolfgang of Regensburg
Bishop (924-994 A.D.)
[Historical]
Wolfgang
(d. 994) + Bishop and reformer. Born in Swabia, Germany, he studied at
Reichenau under the Benedictines and at Wurzburg before serving as a
teacher in the cathedral school of Trier. He soon entered the
Benedictines at Einsiedeln (964) and was appointed head of the
monastery school, receiving ordination in 971. He then set out with a
group of monks to preach among the Magyars of Hungary, but the
following year (972) was named bishop of Regensburg by Emperor Otto II
(r. 973-983). As bishop, he distinguished himself brilliantly for his
reforming zeal and his skills as a statesman. He brought the clergy of
the diocese into his reforms, restored monasteries, promoted education,
preached enthusiastically, and was renowned for his charity and aid to
the poor, receiving the title Eleemosynarius Major (Grand Almoner).
He also served as tutor to Emperor Henry II (r. 1014-1024) while he was
still king. Wolfgang died at Puppingen near Linz, Austria. He was
canonized in 1052 by Pope St. Leo IX (r. 1049-1054). Feast day: October
31.
Saint Quentin was a Roman, descended from a senatorial
family. Full of zeal for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, he left his
country and went into Gaul, accompanied by eleven other
apostles sent from Rome. They separated to extend their campaign of
evangelization to the
various regions of France. Saint Quentin remained at Amiens and
endeavored by his prayers and
labors to make that region part of Our Lord’s inheritance. By the force
of his words and works he preluded the glory of his martyrdom. He gave
sight to the blind, vigor to paralytics, hearing to the deaf, and
agility to the infirm, in the name of Our Lord, simply by the sign of
the Cross. At all hours of the day he invoked his God in fervent
supplications.
But this apostolate could not escape the notice of
Rictiovarus, the Roman prosecutor who at that time represented Maximian
Herculeus in Gaul. Saint Quentin was seized at Amiens, thrown into
prison, and loaded with chains. Rictiovarus asked him: “How does it
happen that you, of such high nobility and the son of so distinguished a
father, have given yourself up to so superstitious a religion, a folly,
and that you adore an unfortunate man crucified by other men?” Saint
Quentin replied: “It is sovereign nobility to adore the Creator of
heaven and earth, and to obey willingly His divine commandments. What
you call folly is supreme wisdom. What is there that is wiser than to
recognize the unique true God, and to reject with disdain the
counterfeits, which are mute, false and deceiving?”
When the holy preacher was found to be invulnerable to
either promises or threats, the prosecutor condemned him to the most
barbarous torture. He was stretched on the rack and flogged. He prayed
for strength, for the honor and glory of the name of God, forever
blessed. He was returned to the prison when the executioners who were
striking him fell over backwards, and
told Rictiovarus they were unable to stand up, and could scarcely speak.
An Angel released the
prisoner during the night, telling him to go and preach in the city, and
that the persecutor would
soon fall before the justice of God.*
His sermon, a commented paraphrase of the Apostles’ Creed, has been
conserved. To his profession of faith in the Holy Trinity, he added
that Our Lord Jesus Christ, whom he adored, “gave sight to the blind,
hearing to the deaf, health to the sick and even life to the dead. At
His voice, the lame leaped up and ran, paralytics walked, and water was
changed into wine... He has promised to be forever with those who hope
in Him, and He never abandons those who place their hope in Him; by His
omnipotence He delivers them, whenever it pleases Him, from all their
tribulations.” His guardians discovered that he had disappeared, though
all doors were barred, and found him in the city preaching. They were
converted by the prodigy. But Rictiovarus was furious and said to them:
“You, too, have become magicians?”
Brought back before the tribunal as a sorcerer, Saint
Quentin said: “If by persevering in my faith, I am put to death by you,
I will not cease to live in Jesus Christ; this is my hope, I maintain
it with confidence.” He was again placed on the rack and beaten, and
tortured with other demoniacal means; his flesh pierced with two iron
wires from the shoulders to the thighs, and iron nails were thrust into
his fingers, his skull and body. Finally, this glorious martyr was
decapitated, after praying and saying: “O Lord Jesus, God of God, Light
of Light..., for love of whom I have given up my body to all the
torments... ah! I implore Thee, in Thy holy mercy, receive my spirit and
soul, which I offer Thee with all the ardor of my desires. Do not
abandon me, O most kind King, most clement King, who livest and reignest
with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever!”
His death occurred on October 31, 287.
His body was twice buried secretly, and twice it was
rediscovered miraculously — in the years 338 and 641, first by Saint
Eusebie of Rome, on a marshy island, where it had remained intact; later
near the city of Augusta, by Saint Eloi. Saint Quentin remains in
great honor in France above all, where more than fifty-two churches and
as many localities were, at the
beginning of the 20th century, dedicated to his memory; he is
honored also in Belgium and in Italy. Charlemagne and the kings of
France have gone to venerate the relics of Saint Quentin.
Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13.
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