WEDNESDAY OF PASSION WEEK; SAINT CUTHBERT (687 A.D.) Bishop, Confessor

 

 

WEDNESDAY OF PASSION WEEK

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SAINT CUTHBERT
Bishop, Confessor 

SIMPLE / PURPLE
Justice to God and justice to men go hand in hand. Superficial piety given to God, or external charity to men, is no substitute for justice. To God, out of due regard for Him as the absolute Lord and as the source of every good, all men owe the justice of believing in His word and in His works, of keeping His commandments, and of offering to Him sincere, corporate worship. To men, in obedience to God and out of regard for God-given natural rights, everyone owes the preservation of life and reputation, as well as the rendering of just wages, forgiveness, and love.

INTROIT (Ps. 17:48-49)
You, who preserved me from the wrathful nations, will exalt me above my adversaries. You, O Lord, will rescue me from the man of violence.
Ps. 17:2, 3. I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my support, my refuge, and my deliverer. You, who preserved me . . .

COLLECT
O God, sanctify the Lenten fast and in Your mercy enlighten the hearts of Your faithful. Hear the prayers of those who, by Your grace, call upon You with devotion. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT CUTHBERT
Cuthbert was thought by some to be Irish and by others, a Scot. Bede, the noted historian, says he was a Briton. Orphaned when a young child, he was a shepherd for a time, possibly fought against the Mercians, and became a monk at Melrose Abbey. In 661, he accompanied St. Eata to Ripon Abbey, which the abbot of Melrose had built, but returned to Melrose the following year when King Alcfrid turned the abbey over to St. Wilfrid, and then became Prior of Melrose. Cuthbert engaged in missionary work and when St. Colman refused to accept the decision of the Council of Whitby in favor of the Roman liturgical practices and immigrated with most of the monks of Lindisfarn to Ireland, St. Eata was appointed bishop in his place and named Cuthbert Prior of Lindisfarn. He resumed his missionary activities and attracted huge crowds until he received his abbot's permission to live as a hermit, at first on a nearby island and then in 676, at one of the Farnes Islands near Bamborough. Against his will, he was elected bishop of Hexham in 685, arranged with St. Eata to swap Sees, and became bishop of  Lindisfarn but without the monastery. He spent the last two years of his life administering his See, caring for the sick of the plague that decimated his diocese, working numerous miracles of healing, and gifted with the ability to prophesy. He died at Lindisfarn. Feast day is March 20.

O God, who by the inestimable gift of Thy grace dost glorify Thy Saints, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of blessed Cuthbert, Thy Confessor and Bishop, we may worthily attain to the heights of virtue. Through our Lord . . .  

LESSON (Lev. 19:1-2, 11-19, 25)
In those days, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel. And thou shalt say to them: 'Be ye holy, because I the Lord your God am holy. You shall not steal. You shall not lie: neither shall any man deceive his neighbour. Thou shalt not swear falsely by my name, nor profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not calumniate thy neighbour, nor oppress him by violence. The wages of him that hath been hired by thee shall not abide with thee until the morning. Thou shalt not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind: but thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, because I am the Lord. Thou shalt not do that which is unjust, nor judge unjustly. Respect not the person of the poor: nor honour the countenance of the mighty. But judge thy neighbour according to justice. Thou shalt not be a detractor nor a whisperer among the people. Thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy neighbour. I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: But reprove him openly, lest thou incur sin through him. Seek not revenge, nor be mindful of the injury of thy citizens. Thou shalt love thy friend as thyself. I am the Lord. Keep ye my laws. I am the Lord your God.' "

GRADUAL (Ps. 29:2-4)
I will extol You, O Lord, for You have upheld me, and have not let my enemies rejoice over me. V. O Lord my God, I cried out to You and You healed me, O Lord, You have brought my soul up from the depths, You have preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

TRACT (Ps. 102:10; 78:8-9)
O Lord, repay us not according to the sins we have committed, nor according to our iniquities. V. O Lord, remember not our iniquities of the past; let Your mercy come quickly to us, for we are being brought very low. (All kneel.) V. Help us, O God our Savior, and for the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver us; and pardon us our sins for Your name's sake.

GOSPEL (John 10:22-38)
At that time, And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem: and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. The Jews therefore came round about him and said to him: "How long dost thou hold our souls in suspense? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered them: "I speak to you, and you believe not: the works that I do in the name of my Father, they give testimony of me. But you do not believe, because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. And I know them: and they follow me. And I give them life everlasting: and they shall not perish for ever. And no man shall pluck them out of my hand. That which my Father hath given me is greater than all: and no one can snatch them out of the hand of my Father. I and the Father are one."
The Jews then took up stones to stone him. Jesus answered them: "Many good works I have shewed you from my Father. For which of those works do you stone me?" The Jews answered him: "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy: and because that thou. being a, man, makest thyself God."
Jesus answered them: "Is it not written in your law: I said, you are gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God was spoken; and the scripture cannot be broken: Do you say of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world: Thou blasphemest; because I said: I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though you will not believe me, believe the works: that you may know and believe that the Father is in me and I in the Father."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 58:2)
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God; and defend me from my adversaries, O Lord.

SECRET
O merciful God, hear us, and grant that we may offer this sacrifice of praise and reparation with true devotion. Through Our Lord . . .

 Commemoration of SAINT CUTHBERT
Receive, we beseech Thee, O Lord, the sacrificial Victim of man's redemption and by the intercession of blessed Cuthbert, Thy Confessor and Bishop, mercifully grant us health of mind and body. Through our Lord . . . 

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 25:6-7)
I wash my hands in innocence, and go around Your altar, O Lord, listening to the sound of Your praises and recounting all Your wondrous deeds.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Almighty God, we humbly beg the heavenly blessings of Your Sacrament which we have received. May it bring us Your grace and salvation. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT CUTHBERT
May Thy holy Sacraments of which we have partaken, ever defend us by their power, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and by the intercession of blessed Cuthbert, Thy Confessor and Bishop, whose life was gloriously resplendent, guard us in peace and holiness. Through our Lord . . .   

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Hear our petitions, Almighty God. You gave us hope because of Your goodness, now graciously shield us with Your mercy. Through Our Lord . . .