Pope and Confessor
SATURDAY OF SECOND WEEK IN ADVENT
THE HUMILITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
OUR LADY QUEEN OF ANGELS
[Historical]
WITHIN THE OCTAVE
SIMPLE / WHITE
The Spaniard Damasus was pope from 366 to 384. During his reign he had to contend with an antipope at Rome, schism at Antioch, Constantinople, and Sardinia, and Arian heresy over the whole Empire. St. Jerome, whom he commissioned to prepare the Vulgatetranslation
of the Bible, calls him "an incomparable person, learned in the
Scriptures, a virgin doctor of the virgin Church, who loved chastity and
heard its praise with pleasure." Pope Damasus had great veneration for
the Christian martyrs,
wrote many of the epitaphs for their tombs, and out of humility, would
not allow himself to be buried among his martyred predecessors.
INTROIT (John 21: 15-17)
Simon
Peter, if thou lovest Me, feed My lambs, feed My sheep. Alleluia,
alleluia' Ps. 29:1 I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me,
and hast not made mine enemies to rejoice over me. Glory be to the
Father . . . Simon Peter, if . . .
COLLECT
O
Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Damasus shepherd of the whole
Church, let the prayers of this confessor 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 MONDAY SECOND WEEK IN ADVENT
Stir
up our hearts, O Lord, to prepare the ways of Your only-begotten Son,
so that through His coming we may be able to serve You with purified
minds.
Commemoration of THE HUMILITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The
whole life of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a continual practice of
humility. She had renounced all the vanities and honors of the world
from the moment when, as a child, she offered herself to God in the
Temple. She ever sought to appear as a servant although she had been
exalted to be the Mistress of the universe. She was in very deed the
humble handmaid of the Lord, as she terms herself in the Magnificat.
O
God, who regardest the humble and removest Thine eyes from the proud,
grant that we Thy servants may imitate with pure heart the humility of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, who pleased Thee by her virginity and who by
her humility, became the Mother of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who
liveth and reigneth . . .
Lesson
Lesson from the first letter of St Peter the Apostle
1 Pet. 5:1-4, 10-11.
Beloved: I exhort the presbyters among you - I, your fellow presbyter
and witness of the sufferings of Christ, the partaker also of the glory
that is to be revealed in time to come - tend the flock of God which is
among you, governing not under constraint, but willingly, according to
God; nor yet for the sake of base gain, but eagerly; nor yet as lording
it over your charges, but becoming from the heart a pattern to the
flock. And when the Prince of the shepherds appears, you will receive
the unfading crown of glory. But the God of all grace, Who has called us
unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself, after we have
suffered a little while, perfect, strengthen and establish us. To Him is
the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Gradual
Ps 106:32, 31.
Let them extol him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
V. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His kindness and His wondrous deeds to the children of men. Alleluia, alleluia.
Matt 16:18
You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt. 16:13-19
At that time, Jesus, having come into the district of Caesarea Philippi,
began to ask His disciples, saying, "Who do men say the Son of Man is?"
But they said, Some say, John the Baptist; and others, Elias; and
others, Jeremia, or one of the prophets. He said to them, "But who do you
say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God. Then Jesus answered and said, "Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My
Father in heaven. And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I
will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against
it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever
you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you shall
loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
OFFERTORY (Jer. 1: 9-10)
Behold
I have given My words in thy mouth, lo, I have set thee over the
nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to build,
and to plant, Alleluia.
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 MONDAY SECOND WEEK IN ADVENT
Be
appeased, we beseech You, O Lord, by the prayers and offerings of our
human frailty, and where the support of our own merits is lacking, come
to our assistance with Your protection.
Commemoration of THE HUMILITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Through
the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, may this
offering, we beseech Thee, O Lord, obtain for us the grace of true
humility and take from our hearts the concupiscence of the flesh and of
the eyes and all worldly ambition, so that we may live soberly and
justly and piously and thus attain our eternal reward. Through our Lord .
. .
COMMUNION (Matt. 16:18)
Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.
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 MONDAY SECOND WEEK IN ADVENT
We
who have been refreshed by the food of spiritual nourishment, humbly
beseech You, O Lord, that through partaking of this sacrament You will
teach us to disdain the things of earth and love those of heaven.
Commemoration of THE HUMILITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
May
the partaking of this sacrament remove from us the stain of sin, O
Lord, and through the prayers of the glorious and blessed Virgin Mary
bring us by the road of humility unto the kingdom of heaven. Through our
Lord . . .
Image via WikipediaToday we honor Mary as Queen of the Angels. As our thoughts fly up to heaven, we pass by all the nine choirs of angels up to the very throne of God, to behold the Queen of all these heavenly spirits. We can call Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, because she was more favored by God than all the angels, and she can and really does do more for our souls than the heavenly spirits could ever do. These spirits are the servants of God; but Our Blessed Lady is the Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, and Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. All through her life we see the angels about our Blessed Mother:
1. We see the Archangel Gabriel announcing to the Blessed Virgin that she is to be the Mother of God. This Archangel salutes her, greets her, honors her, because he realized that Mary was his Queen.
2. At Bethlehem we hear the angels announce the birth of Jesus, the Son of God in a stable. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will." There was a multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and honoring their Queen, even though she was a humble, simple Jewish Mother. These heavenly messengers came from the throne of God to tell the world that this Child was really the Son of God.
3. Again the angels enter Our Lady's life when they warned St. Joseph to take the Child and flee into Egypt. What is the power of the sword, when the angels of God spread their wings to protect the Infant Son of God? The angels protected the Holy Family as they made that perilous, tedious trip to a foriegn land, and also during their sojourn there.
4. After the Death and Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the angels were at the tomb. One of them rolled away the stone and then announced: "Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid." (Matt. 28: 5) They helped Mother Mary to see her risen Son.
5. Finally, on Ascension day two angels addressed the disciples, with Our Lady accompanying them, as they looked at the departing Master: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, shall come in the same way as you have seen Him going up to heaven." (Acts 1:11)
6. According to an unquestionable tradition of Mother Church, Our Lady was taken into heaven by the hands of angels. Thus, all through her life messengers of the Almighty waited upon her, honored her, and brought her messages. Prayer and devotion to Our Lady, Queen of Angels, and all the choirs of angels throughout our life on earth and especially in death, gives us hope that we too will be assisted into heaven by their hands.
[Adapted from a sermon by Rt. Rev. Arthur Tonne, c/o Didde Printing Co.]
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