SAINT BIBIANA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR (4th C.; ) SATURDAY OF OUR LADY

 

  SAINT BIBIANA

Virgin and Martyr

                               

                                                               

SIMPLE / RED

According to tradition, Bibiana belonged to a family of martyrs. When persecution broke out at Rome during the reign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, her father Flavian, former prefect of the city, was branded in the face with a hot iron and sent into exile. Her mother, Dafrosa, was beheaded. Bibiana herself was handed over to a wicked woman named Rufina, to be corrupted by her; but she proved stronger than her temptress, and was finally condemned to death. About the year 363, she was beaten with leaded whips until she died. St. Bibiana is one of the three virgin martyrs particularly venerated in Rome, the other two being St. Cecilia and St. Agnes.

Mass of a Virgin Martyr, except:


Introit
Ps 118:95-96
Sinners wait to destroy me, but I pay heed to Your decrees, O Lord. I see that all fulfillment has its limits; broad indeed is Your command.
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.
Sinners wait to destroy me, but I pay heed to Your decrees, O Lord. I see that all fulfillment has its limits; broad indeed is Your command.

GLORIA
 
COLLECT
O God, the giver of all good gifts, You united the grace of virginity and the palm of martyrdom in the blessings conferred upon Your servant Bibiana. Unite our souls to You by love Through the intercession of this saint, so that we may be shielded from all danger and obtain the rewards of eternity. Through Our Lord . . .

Collect of the Blessed Virgin Mary
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 . . .

 
Lesson
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus
Ecclus 51:13-17
O Lord, my God, You have exalted my dwelling place upon the earth, and I have prayed for death to pass away. I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, that He would not abandon me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help. I will ever praise Your name, and will praise it with thanksgiving; and my prayer was heard. And You saved me from destruction, and delivered me from the evil time. For this reason I thank You and I praise You, O Lord, our God.

Gradual
Ps 45:6, 5.
God will help her with His countenance. God is in her midst; she shall not be disturbed.
V. There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God; the Most High has sanctified His dwelling. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. This is a wise virgin, and one of the number of the prudent. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt 13:44-52
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; he who finds it hides it, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds a single pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea that gathered in fish of every kind. When it was filled, they hauled it out, and sitting down on the beach, they gathered the good fish into vessels, but threw away the bad. So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from among the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes. And He said to them, So then, every Scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth from his storeroom things new and old. 

Offertory
Ps 44:3
Grace is poured out upon your lips; thus God has blessed you forever, and for ages of ages.  
 
SECRET
O Lord, graciously accept the gifts we offer You in honor of Your blessed virgin martyr Bibiana and grant us Your unending assistance through these offerings. Through Our Lord . . .

of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Through thy mercy, O Lord, and the intercession of blessed Mary ever Virgin, may this oblation obtain for us prosperity and peace both now and forever.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord . . .

Communion
Ps 118:121-122; 118:128
I have fulfilled just ordinances, O Lord; let not the proud oppress me. For in all Your precepts I go forward; every false way I hate.  


 POSTCOMMUNION
We have been nourished by Your Divine Gift, O Lord our God. May the reception of this Bread of Heaven bring us eternal life through the intercession of Your blessed virgin martyr Bibiana. Through Our Lord . . .

of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Grant, O Lord, that we, who had partaken of the aids of salvation, may be everywhere protected by the patronage of blessed Mary ever Virgin, in whose honor we have offered these gifts of thy majesty.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord . . . 

Santa Bibiana by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini at Church of Santa Bibiana. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)