Saint Christina of Bolsena (307 A.D.); Saint Francis Solano (1610 A.D.); Vigil of St. James "the Greater"

  

SAINT CHRISTINA 

of Bolsena

Virgin and Martyr

SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
Priest

VIGIL OF SAINT JAMES
Apostle

SIMPLE / RED
Christina, born in Tuscany, Italy, destroyed the pagan idols in her father's home and distributed their gold among the poor. Her father then delivered the young girl to the persecutors. Christina was martyred about A.D. 307 at the age of ten or eleven.

Mass of a VIRGIN MARTYR, except 

INTROIT Ps 118:95-96 

The wicked have waited for me to
destroy me: but I have understood Thy
testimonies, O Lord: I have seen an
end of all perfection; Thy command is
exceeding broad. (Ps. 118: 1)
Blessed are the undefiled in the way:
who walk in the law of the Lord. Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the
beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. The wicked
have waited for me to destroy me: but
I have understood Thy testimonies, O
Lord: I have seen an end of all
perfection; Thy command is exceeding
broad.

GLORIA

COLLECT
O Lord, pardon our sins through the intercession of the blessed virgin martyr Christina, who pleased You by her purity and faith. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
South American missionary of the Order of Friars Minor; b. at Montilla, in the Diocese of Cordova, Spain, 10 March, 1549; d. at Lima, Peru, 14 July, 1610. His parents, Matthew Sanchez Solanus and Anna Ximenes, were distinguished no less for their noble birth than for their virtue and piety. When Francis was twenty years old, he was received into the Franciscan Order at Montilla, and after his ordination, several years later, he was sent by his superiors to the convent of Arifazza as master of novices. In 1589 he sailed from Spain to the New World, and having landed at Panama, crossed the isthmus and embarked on a vessel that was to convey him to Peru. His missionary labours in South America extended over a period of twenty years, during which time he spared no fatigue, shrank from no sacrifice however great, and feared no danger that stood in the way of evangelizing the vast and savage regions of Tucuman and Paraguay. So successful, indeed, was his apostolate that he has been aptly styled the Thaumaturgus of the New World. Notwithstanding the number and difficulty of the dialects spoken by the Indians, he learned them all in a very short time, and it is said that he often addressed tribes of different tongues in one language and was understood by them all. Besides being engaged in active missionary work, he filled the office of custos of the convents of his order in Tucuman and Paraguay, and later was elected guardian of the Franciscan convent in Lima, Peru. In 1610, while preaching at Truxillo he foretold the calamities that were to befall that city, which was destroyed by an earthquake eight years later, most of the inhabitants perishing in the ruins. The death of St. Francis, which he himself had foretold, was the cause of general grief throughout Peru. In his funeral sermon at the burial of the saint, Father Sebastiani, S.J., said that "Divine Providence had chosen Father Francis Solanus to be the hope and edification of all Peru, the example and glory of Lima and the splendour of the Seraphic Order". St. Francis was beatified by Clement X, in 1675, and canonized by Benedict XIII, in 1726. His feast is kept throughout the Franciscan Order on the twenty-fourth of July. 

O God, who by means of blessed Francis didst bring a number of the tribes of America into the bosom of the Church, do Thou, through his merits and prayers, turn away Thine indignation from our sins, and graciously send down the fear of Thy name to the nations that have not known Thee. Through our Lord . . . 

Lesson Ecclesiasticus 51:13-17

O Lord my God, Thou hast 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 leave me in
the day of my trouble, and in the time
of the proud without help. I will praise
Thy Name continually, and will praise
it with thanksgiving, and my prayer
was heard. And Thou hast saved me
from destruction, and hast delivered
me from the evil time. Therefore I will
give thanks and praise to Thee, O
Lord our God. 


Gradual Psalms 45: 6, 5
God will help her with His
countenance: God is in the midst of
her, she shall not be moved. The
stream of the river maketh the city of
God joyful: the Most High hath
sanctified His own tabernacle.

Alleluia, alleluia. This is a wise virgin,
and one of the number of the prudent.
Alleluiame, incline Your ear to me, make haste to deliver me! Alleluia.

Gospel Matt. 13: 44-52
At that time, Jesus spoke to His
disciples this parable: The Kingdom of
Heaven is like unto a treasure hidden
in a field. Which a man having found,
hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth
that field. Again the Kingdom of
Heaven is like to a merchant seeking
good pearls. Who when he had found
one pearl of great price, went his way,
and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Again the Kingdom of Heaven is like
to a net cast into the sea, and
gathering together of all kind of fishes.
Which, when it was filled, they drew
out, and sitting by the shore, they
chose out the good into vessels, but
the bad they cast forth. So shall it be
at the end of the world: the angels
shall go out, and shall separate the
wicked from among the just, and shall
cast them into the furnace of fire: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Have ye understood all these
things? They say to him: Yes. He said
unto them: Therefore every scribe
instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is
like to a man that is a householder,
who bringeth forth out of his treasure
new things and old. 

OFFERTORY Ps. 44:3

Grace is poured abroad in thy lips:
therefore hath God blessed thee for
ever

SECRET
O Lord, graciously accept the gifts we offer you in honor of Your blessed virgin martyr Christina, and grant us Your unending assistance through these offerings. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
May the gift which we offer unto Thee give unto us, we beseech Thee, almighty God, an increase of faith, hope, and charity and that we may attain unto that which Thou dost promise, do Thou, through the intercession of blessed Francis Thy confessor, make us to love that which Thou commandest. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION
Psalms 118: 121, 122, 128

I have done judgement and justice, O
Lord, give me not up to them that
slander me: I was directed to all Thy
commandments, I have hated all
wicked ways.

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 Christina. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS SOLANO
Do Thou, O Lord, through the intercession of blessed Francis Thy confessor, make us ever to obey Thy commandments, that we may become worthy of the gifts of which we have partaken. Through our Lord . . .