TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST; Saint Gertrude the Great (1302 A.D.)

  

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST

 

  

SAINT GERTRUDE
Virgin

 

 

DOUBLE / GREEN
God's way to heaven's peace is as clear and impelling as the life and teaching of Christ. His way is a sharply outlined path -- a path trod by His saints up the hill of history; and His way is marked out also in our ordinary streets and in our homes. God's grace suffices for the willing.

 

 INTROIT Jer. 29:11, 12, 14

Said the Lord: "I think thoughts of peace and not of affliction. You shall call upon Me and I will hear you, and I will bring you back from captivity from all places." Ps. 84:2. Lord, You have blessed Your land; You have restored Jacob from captivity.
V. Glory be . . .

GLORIA

COLLECT
Forgive the offenses of Your people, O Lord, so that through Your merciful goodness we may be freed from the bondage of sin into which we were led by our own weakness. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT GERTRUDE 

Gertrude was a 13th-century Cistercian mystic of Helfta, near Eisleben in Saxony. The book of her life and revelations, which she was asked to write in a vision of God, has been praised by scholars and saints alike. A very intelligent woman, Gertrude was early attracted to secular learning, but after the first of her numerous visions she restricted her reading to the Holy Scriptures and the Fathers of the Church. Her whole life was centered on the Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office. She was one of the first to whom our Lord revealed the mystery of His Sacred Heart; He also asked her to develop a deep love for the cross and to pray for the conversion of souls.

 

O God, the heart of the holy virgin Gertrude was a happy abode that You prepared as Your own. Cleanse our hearts from the stains of sin and let us share in her eternal happiness through the merits and prayers of this saint. Through Our Lord . . .  

EPISTLE Philipp. 3:17-21; 4:1-3
Brethren: Be ye followers of me, and mark those who walk after the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping) that they are enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction: whose God is their belly: and whose glory is in their shame: who mind earthly things. But our conversation is in heaven: from whence also we look for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Therefore my dearly beloved brethren and most desired, my joy and my crown: so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beg of Evodia and I beseech Syntyche to be of one mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have labored with me in the gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life.

GRADUAL Ps. 43:8-9
You have freed us from those who afflict us, O Lord, and You have put to shame those who hate us.
V. In God we will glory all the day, and praise Your name forever.

Alleluia, alleluia! Ps. 129:1-2
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer!
Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matt. 9:18-26
At that time, as Jesus was speaking these things unto them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: "Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live." And Jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples.
And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself: "If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed." But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: "Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole." And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, He said: "Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth." And they laughed him to scorn.
And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.

CREED

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 129:1-2
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer, out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord.

SECRET 
We offer this sacrifice of praise, O Lord, to fulfill our debt of service to You. May Your blessings which we cannot merit, continue to reach us through Your boundless mercy. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT GERTRUDE  

Accept this gift,O Lord, from a people dedicated to You. We offer it in honor of Your Saints for the help we have received from them when we were in trouble. Through our Lord . . . 

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Mark 11:24
Amen I say to you, all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive, and they shall come to you.

POSTCOMMUNION 
You have given us the happiness of participating in this Heavenly Banquet, O Almighty God. Let us not now fall victim to any human danger. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT GERTRUDE  

O Lord, You have feasted Your family with the food of heaven. May we always be refreshed through the intercession of Your Saint whose feast we celebrate this day. Through our Lord . . . 

Saint Albert the Great (1280 A.D.); Saint Leopold the Good (1136 A.D.)

    

SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT
Bishop and Doctor of the Church

St. Leopold of  Babenberg (1075-1136)

[Historical]

DOUBLE / WHITE

Albert the Great, Universal Doctor and Patron of the Sciences, was born in the castle of Lauingen on the Danube early in the 13th century. Under the inspiration of Bl. Jordan of Saxony (St. Dominic's successor), the young count entered the Order of Preachers from the University of Padua, despite family opposition. Following ordination he taught in Dominican houses of study at Hildesheim, Freiburg in Breisgau, Ratisbon, and Cologne, achieving greatest distinction at the Priory of St. Jacques affiliated to the University of Paris. He was a pioneer in the experimental scientific method as well as in Aristotelian philosophy, and his solid achievements in science are acknowledged today. He was probably the most prolific writer on scientific and spiritual subjects in the medieval period. He was also bishop of Ratisbon, and preacher of the last Crusade in Germany. He died in Cologne in 1280, some time after an arduous walk to Paris and back to defend the memory of his greatest disciple, Thomas Aquinas.

Mass of a DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH, except

Introit
Sir 15:5
In the midst of the assembly he opened his mouth; and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding; He clothed him with a robe of glory.
Ps 91:2
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your name, Most High.
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 the midst of the assembly he opened his mouth; and the Lord filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding; He clothed him with a robe of glory.

 

GLORIA
 
COLLECT 
O God, you made the blessed doctor and bishop Albert great by teaching him to place divine faith above his own human learning. Grant that we may follow his doctrine so that we may enjoy perfect wisdom in heaven. Through Our Lord . . . 

Lesson
Lesson from the second letter of St Paul the Apostle to Timotheus
2 Tim. 4:1-8
Beloved: I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead by His coming and by His kingdom, preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke with all patience and teaching. For there will come a time when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but having itching ears, will heap up to themselves teachers according to their lusts, and they will turn away their hearing from the truth and turn aside rather to fables. But be watchful in all things, bear with tribulation patiently, work as a preacher of the Gospel, fulfill your ministry. As for me, I am already being poured out in sacrifice, and the time of my deliverance is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord, the just Judge, will give to me in that day; yet not to me only, but also to those who love His coming.
R. Thanks be to God.

Gradual
Ps 36:30-31
The mouth of the just man tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right.
V. The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps do not falter. Alleluia, alleluia.
Sir 45:9
V. The Lord loved him and adorned him; He clothed him with a robe of glory. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt 5:13-19
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its strength, what shall it be salted with? It is no longer of any use but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under the measure, but upon the lampstand, so as to give light to all in the house. Even so let your light shine before men, in order that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall be lost from the Law till all things have been accomplished. Therefore whoever does away with one of these least commandments, and so teaches men, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever carries them out and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Offertory
Ps 91:13
The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus. 

 

SECRET 
Look favorably upon our sacrificial offerings, O Lord, so that by the celebration of these mysteries in memory of the passion of Your Son, our Lord, we may devotedly experience their effects through the prayers and example of blessed Albert. Through Our Lord . . .

 

Communion
Luke 12:42
The faithful and wise steward, whom his lord setteth over his family, to give them their measure of wheat in due season.

POSTCOMMUNION 
May the Holy Mysteries that we have received defend us against the attacks of our enemies, O Lord, and grant that we may live in continual peace through the intercession of Your blessed confessor bishop Albert. Through Our Lord . . .

Leopold III, Margrave of Austria. (2022, October 28). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_III,_Margrave_of_Austria

 

Saint Leopold III (1073 – 15 November, 1136)

Leopold was born at Babenberg castle in Gars am Kamp, the son of Margrave Leopold II and Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg. He married twice. His first wife may have been one of the von Perg family, who died in 1105. His second wife was Agnes, the widowed sister of Emperor Henry V whom he had supported against her father Henry IV. This connection to the Salians raised the importance of the House of Babenberg, to which important royal rights over the margravate of Austria were granted. Also, Agnes had influential connections through her previous marriage, one of her sons being Conrad III of Germany.
Leopold called himself "Princeps Terræ", a reflection of his sense of territorial independence. He was considered a candidate in the election of the Kaiser of The Holy Roman Empire in 1125, but declined this honour.
He is mainly remembered for the development of the country and, in particular, the founding of several monasteries. His most important foundation is Klosterneuburg (1108). According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and led him to a place where he found the veil of his wife Agnes, who had lost it years earlier. He established the monastery of Klosterneuburg there. He subsequently expanded the settlement to become his residence.
Leopold also founded the monasteries of Heiligenkreuz, Kleinmariazell and Seitenstetten which developed a territory still largely covered by forest. All of these induced the church to canonize him in 1485.
Leopold also fostered the development of cities, such as Klosterneuburg, Vienna and Krems. The last one was granted the right to mint but never attained great importance.
The writings of Henry of Melk and Ava of Göttweig, which are the first literary texts from Austria, date back to Leopold's time.
He is buried in the Klosterneuburg Monastery, which he founded. His skull is kept in an embroidered reliquary, which leaves the forehead exposed; it also wears an archducal crown.
In 1663, under the rule of his namesake Emperor Leopold I, he was declared patron saint of Austria instead of Saint Koloman.
The brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn, each of whom sang in the choir of St. Stephen's Cathedral, both sang in that capacity at Klosterneuburg on this day. Joseph Haydn later became the more famous composer of the two. Michael Haydn later (1805) wrote a Mass in honour of Leopold, the Missa sub titulo Sancti Leopoldi.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

SAINT JOSAPHAT, Martyr (1623 A.D.); BLESSED HUGH COOK AND HIS COMPANIONS (1539 A.D.) Martyrs; Saint Lawrence O'Toole (1180 A.D.)

  

  

SAINT JOSAPHAT
Bishop and Martyr

Hugh Cook (Faringdon.) (2022, October 3). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Faringdon

COMMEMORATION OF BLESSED HUGH COOK

AND HIS COMPANIONS

Martyrs

DOUBLE / RED
Josaphat, apostle and a martyr of Church unity was baptized John Kuncevyk. When he was 16, in 1595, the Ruthenian Church, to which he belonged, was officially united with Rome. As a young apprentice-merchant with a monastic vocation, he devoted his spare time to learning Church Slavonic, in order to assist more intelligently at the Liturgy and to recite some of the Divine Office each day. As soon as possible he entered the monastery of the Holy Trinity at Vilna. Made Archbishop of Polotsk in 1617, he fought tirelessly to preserve the union with Rome against fierce opposition from many of the people and a schismatic hierarchy. He was beaten to death in a riot incited by his opponents in 1623. St. Josaphat is one of the patrons of Poland.

INTROIT
Let us all rejoice in the Lord as we celebrate the feast in honor of the blessed martyr Josaphat, at whose martyrdom the angels rejoiced and praised the Son of God.
Ps. 32:1. Rejoice in the Lord, you just; praise befits the upright. V. Glory be . . .

GLORIA

COLLECT 
O Lord, infuse into your Church the Spirit that filled the blessed martyr bishop Josaphat when he gave his life for his flock. May that Spirit move and strengthen us through the prayers of this saint so that we may fearlessly sacrifice our lives for our brothers. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of BLESSED HUGH COOK

Blessed Hugh Cook or Faringdon, Abbot of Reading, and two of his monks, John Rugg, and John Eynon, were hanged at Reading, under Henry VIII, on November 15 A.D. 1539.

Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, almighty God, that we who know these glorious Abbots and their Companions, as courageous Martys suffering for the unity of Thy Church, to have been valiant in the confession of their faith, may now be sensible of their holy intercession with Thee. Through our Lord . . .

EPISTLE Heb. 5:1-6 
Brethren: Every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in the things that appertain to God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on them that are ignorant and that err: because he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And therefore he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. Neither doth any man take the honor to himself, but he that is called by God, as Aaron was. So Christ also did not glorify himself, that he might be made a high priest: but he that said unto him: "Thou art my Son: this day have I begotten thee." As he saith also in another place: "Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech."

GRADUAL Ps. 88:21-23 
I have found David, My servant; with My holy oil I have anointed him, that My hand may help him and My arm strengthen him.
V. The enemy shall have no advantage over him, nor shall the son of iniquity have power to hurt him.

Alleluia, alleluia! 
V. This is the priest whom the Lord has crowned. 
Alleluia!

GOSPEL St. John 10:11-16 
At that time, Jesus said to the Pharisees, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. But the hireling and he that is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and flieth: and the wolf casteth and scattereth the sheep, And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd: and I know mine, and mine know me. As the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father: and I lay down my life for my sheep. And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring. And they shall hear my voice: And there shall be one fold and one shepherd."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON St. John 13:13
Greater love than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends.

SECRET  
O Most Merciful God, bless these gifts of ours, and deepen in us that faith which Your blessed martyr bishop Josaphat upheld even at the cost of his life. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of BLESSED HUGH COOK

May the confession of Thy Abbots and Martyrs, Hugh Cook and Companions be pleasing unto Thee, O Lord, and may it commend our gifts unto Thee and ever implore Thy mercy for us. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON St. John 10:14 
I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep and mine know me.

POSTCOMMUNION  
O Lord, may the food of heaven which we have taken fill us with the spiritual strength of Your blessed martyr bishop Josaphat, which made him victorious in defending the Church. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of BLESSED HUGH COOK

Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, o Lord, that the holy Sacrament which we have received may through the prayers of Thy blessed Martyrs Hugh Cook and his companions, foster in us both contempt of the world and steadfastness in the faith. Through our Lord  . . .

Lorcán Ua Tuathail. (2022, September 29). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorc%C3%A1n_Ua_Tuathail

St. Lawrence O'Toole

Confessor, born about 1128, in the present County Kildare; died 14 November, 1180, at Eu in Normandy; canonized in 1225 by Honorius III.

His father was chief of Hy Murray, and his mother one of the Clan O'Byrne. At the age of ten he was taken as a hostage by Dermot McMurrogh, King of Leinster. In 1140 the boy obtained permission to enter the monastic school of Glendalough; in that valley-sanctuary he studied for thirteen years, conspicuous for his piety and learning. So great was his reputation in the eyes of the community that on the death of Abbot Dunlaing, early in 1154, he was unanimously called to preside over the Abbey of St. Kevin. Dermot, King of Leinster, married Mor, sister of St. Lawrence, and, though his character has been painted in dark colours by the native annalists, he was a great friend to the Church. He founded an Austin nunnery, of the reform of Aroaise, in Dublin, with two dependent cells at Kilculliheen (County Kilkenny) and at Aghade (County Carlow), in 1151. He also founded an abbey for Cistercian monks at Baltinglass, and an abbey for Austin canons at Ferns.

St. Lawrence, through humility, declined the See of Glendalough in 1160, but on the death of Gregory, Archbishop of Dublin (8 October, 1161), he was chosen to the vacant see, and was consecrated in Christ Church cathedral by Gilla Isu (Gelasius), Primate of Armagh, early in the following year. This appointment of a native-born Irishman and his consecration by the successor of St. Patrick marks the passing of Scandinavian supremacy in the Irish capital, and the emancipation from canonical obedience to Canterbury which had obtained under the Danish bishops of Dublin. St. Lawrence soon set himself to effect numerous reforms, commencing by converting the secular canons of Christ Church cathedral into Aroasian canons (1163). Three years later he subscribed to the foundation charter of All Hallows priory, Dublin (founded by King Dermot), for the same order of Austin canons. Not content with the strictest observance of rules, he wore a hair shirt underneath his episcopal dress, and practised the greatest austerity, retiring for an annual retreat of forty days to St. Kevin's cave, near Glendalough. At the second siege of Dublin (1170) St. Lawrence was active in ministration, and he showed his political foresight by paying due deference to Henry II of England, during that monarch's stay in Dublin. In April, 1178, he entertained the papal legate, Cardinal Vivian, who presided at the Synod of Dublin. He successfully negotiated the Treaty of Windsor, and secured good terms for Roderic, King of Connacht. He attended the Lateran Council in 1179, and returned as legate for Ireland. The holy prelate was not long in Dublin till he deemed it necessary again to visit King Henry II (impelled by a burning charity in the cause of King Roderic), and he crossed to England in September of that year. After three weeks of detention at Abingdon Abbey, St. Lawrence followed the English King to Normandy. Taken ill at the Augustinian Abbey of Eu, he was tended by Abbot Osbert and the canons of St. Victor; before he breathed his last he had the consolation of learning that King Henry had acceded to his request.

(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia)

Saint Didacus; Saint Stanislaus Kostka (1568 A.D.)

   

SAINT DIDACUS
Confessor

SAINT STANISLAUS KOSTKA

[Historical]  

Didacus, a 15th-century Spanish Franciscan laybrother, labored for some years in the Canary Islands, where he instructed and converted many people. For a time he also headed a large monastery he had founded there. Didacus was above all a contemplative, and his abundant good works were the fruit of his ardent love of Christ. His charity for the sick was especially moving.

Mass of a CONFESSOR OF THE FAITH, except:

Introit 
Ps 91:13-14
The just man shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow: planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.
Ps 91:2
It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praise to Your name, Most High.
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.
The just man shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow: planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God.

GLORIA

COLLECT
Almighty and eternal God, Your wondrous providence has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong. Hear our humble prayer and grant that the prayers of Your blessed confessor Didacus may make us worthy of eternal glory in heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

Lesson
Lesson from the first letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
1 Cor. 4:9-14
Brethren: We have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, but we are without honor! To this very hour we hunger and thirst, and we are naked and buffeted, and have no fixed abode. And we toil, working with our own hands. We are reviled and we bless, we are persecuted and we bear with it, we are maligned and we entreat, we have become as the refuse of this world, the offscouring of all, even until now! I write these things not to put you to shame, but to admonish you as my dearest children, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gradual
Ps 36:30-31
The mouth of the just tells of wisdom, and his tongue utters what is right.
V.The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps do not falter. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 111:1
V. Happy the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commands. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 12:32-34
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, Do not be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure unfailing in heaven, where neither thief draws near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.
R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ. 

OFFERTORY Ps. 20: 2-3

In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man
shall joy, and in Thy salvation he shall
rejoice exceedingly: Thou hast given
him his heart's desire

SECRET
Accept this offering which we humbly present in honor of Your Saints, O God, and through it purify our bodies and our souls. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION Matt. 19: 28-29

Amen I say to you, that you, who have
left all things and followed Me, shall
receive a hundredfold, and shall
possess life everlasting.

POSTCOMMUNION
Almighty God, we pray that the reception of this Bread of Heaven may strengthen  us against all adversity through the intercession of Your blessed Confessor Didacus. Through our Lord . . .

SAINT STANISLAUS KOSTKA
Jesuit, Patron of Youth 
(1550-1568)

Saint Stanislaus Kostka was born in Poland in 1550, of a noble Polish family. At the age of fourteen he was sent with his older brother Paul to study at the Jesuit College in Vienna. Twice a day he would pray at length in the chapel, and he never failed to recite a crown of the Rosary. He avoided the company of students too free in their speech and behavior, and often fasted and inflicted on himself a rude discipline. His love for God did not cease to augment with these practices, and he decided to make a vow to enter the Company of Jesus. He told his confessor of it only six months later, as he wanted it to remain unknown until he would be in a position to carry it out.

He fell ill, and the demon appeared in his room under the form of a black dog which lunged at his throat. The young Saint drove him away with the sign of the Cross; but his illness was growing worse. He was lodged in the residence of a Protestant who would not permit the Blessed Sacrament to be brought to him. Saint Stanislaus remembered having read that those who invoked Saint Barbara never died without the Sacraments, and he begged that she would assist him in his danger and not permit that he die without the Viaticum. His prayer was answered; one night, when his life was despaired of, he saw this beautiful virgin-martyr, accompanied by two Angels, enter his room with the Blessed Sacrament. He was greatly consoled by this favor and another which immediately followed it; the Blessed Virgin also appeared and assured him that God wanted him to enter the Jesuit Society. Soon he felt better and was restored to complete health.

Saint Stanislaus Kostka was brutally bullied by his brother and fled to Rome, to join the Jesuits at the Novitiate, where he died not long after. This painting, by Andrea Pozzo, is in the first of the rooms dedicated to Kostka's memory. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

He was still too young to enter the Order in Vienna without his parents’ permission; he therefore determined to go to another province where it might be possible. Stanislaus had always been gentle and cheerful, and his sanctity was felt as a reproach by his brother Paul, who had been surveying him constantly and often spoke rudely to him, even going so far as to strike him. Stanislaus nonetheless succeeded in evading him when he left for Augsbourg, dressed as a beggar, to go to Father Peter Canisius, Provincial of Upper Germany, with letters of recommendation he had received from a Father of the Company. His brother, when he realized he had left, pursued him, but even though Stanislaus was on foot, passed him by without recognizing him. A little farther on, Paul’s horses refused to advance and he was obliged to return to Vienna.

Saint Peter sent Stanislaus to Rome, a very long distance in those days, over a rugged and dangerous road, where rocks, mountains and rivers made the journey very difficult. Saint Francis of Borgia received him in Rome as a treasure sent by God, and he was clothed in the Jesuit habit in October 1567. His father was very irritated, but the son answered his letters with modesty and firmness, and continued to apply himself to every practice that might lead him closer to God and religious perfection. In ten months it is said that he advanced more than many do over a period of fifty or sixty years. During those ten short months he always had Our Lady in his mind, in his heart and on his lips. A custom was introduced for the novices during his sojourn in Rome; they would turn toward Her church of Saint Mary Major and ask, kneeling, for Her benediction; this practice has been conserved in the Roman novitiate ever since that time.

The fervent novice ardently desired to be in heaven on the feast of Her Assumption; he fell ill of a fever on the 9^th of August, and it was revealed to him that his desire would be fulfilled. In effect, his holy soul departed to rejoin His Heavenly Mother, when She came to claim him at a little after 3 o’clock on the morning of the 15^th of August, 1568. He was eighteen years old. We often see him with the Infant Jesus in his arms, because when Our Lady came to cure him in Vienna with Her Divine Treasure in Her arms, She had placed the Infant Saviour on his bed. Many illnesses were cured at his tomb, and his body was found incorrupt three years after his death. He was soon considered as a Saint in Italy and Poland; in 1604 he was declared Blessed and was canonized in 1726. Paul Kostka wept for long years over his mistreatment of his younger brother, and was about to enter the Society of Jesus himself in 1607, when he died suddenly on November 13^th, anniversary of the discovery of the incorrupt remains of Saint Stanislaus.

Sources: Petite vie illustrée de Saint Stanislas Kostka (Éditions F. Paillart: Abbéville, 1925); Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13.

Saint Martin I, Pope & Martyr (655 A.D.); SAINT MACHAR Bishop, Confessor

 

   

SAINT MARTIN I
Pope and Martyr

SAINT MACHAR

Bishop, Confessor

SIMPLE / RED
Martin I, formerly papal ambassador at the court of Constantinople, was elected Pope in July, 649. In October of the same year he convoked the Lateran Council which condemned the heresy of the Monothelites (who denied that Christ had a human will). Emperor Constans II favored the heresy, and, after an unsuccessful attempt on the Pope's life, had him arrested, taken to Constantinople, and condemned to death. When the death sentence was commuted to exile, Pope Martin was banished to the Chersonese, where he died in 655, broken by his sufferings.

Mass of a POPE


Introit 
John 21:15-17
If you love Me, Simon Peter, feed My lambs, feed My sheep.
Ps 29:1
I will extol You, O Lord, for You drew me clear and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
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.
If you love Me, Simon Peter, feed My lambs, feed My sheep.

GLORIA

COLLECT
O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Martin shepherd of the whole Church, let the prayers of this martyr 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 SAINT MACHAR

St. Machar, a native of Ireland. Patron of the ancient cathedral of Aberdeen, he worked as a missionary in Scotland and was companion of St. Columba. He died near the end of the sixth century.

O God, who didst will that blessed Machar Thy Confessor and Bishop, should in Thy Church rule as a shepherd, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who honor his heavenly birthday, may not be bereaved in our hope for future joys. Through our Lord . . . 

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. 

Gradual
Ps 106:32, 31.
Let them extol 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
V. 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 the kingdoms, to root up, and pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant. 


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 SAINT MACHAR

Cleanse, we beseech Thee, almighty God, the minds of Thy household,  by the light of the Holy Spirit, that through the prayers of blessed Machar, Thy Confessor and Bishop, these gifts of our devotion may be accepted by Thee. Through our Lord . . .

Communion 
Matt 16:18
Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
  
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 SAINT MACHAR

We who have been nourished with the Food of our redemption, humbly entreat Thy loving-kindness, O Lord, that by the pleading merits of blessed Machar, Thy Confessor and Bishop, we may receive the gifts of everlasting salvation. Through our Lord . . .