THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT; SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER (1253 A.D.)

 

THURSDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

[Commemoration]

SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER

 

SIMPLE / PURPLE
Man's cleverest technique cannot synthesize life nor restore it. Man can frustrate life or destroy it but he cannot compound it. Life's mystery escapes human genius. Only God is the author and lord of life. From Him it comes; to Him it returns. He alone can give or restore human life, either directly or, more commonly, through human agents. He alone gives and restores the supernatural life of the soul. As shared divine life surpasses human life, so the marvel of restoring a soul, through the sacraments of Baptism or Penance from the death of sin to the life of grace surpasses the miracle of restoring physical life. It is the mission of the Church to give soul-life to all men.

INTROIT Ps. 104:3-4
Let every heart that seeks the Lord rejoice. Seek the Lord and find strength; seek the Lord evermore.
Ps. 104:1. Give glory to the Lord and invoke His Name; make known His deeds among the nations.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Almighty God, grant that we may be happy in chastising our bodies through fasting. May we bring our passions under control, and thus more easily attain the rewards of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT RICHARD
Richard was canonized on January 22, 1262, by Pope Urban IV. He is venerated in both the Catholic and Anglican Church with his feast day celebrated April 3. In England, his feast day is especially observed in the dioceses of Westminster, Birmingham, and Southwark. Richard is the patron saint of coachmen, a once common profession before the modern age and the invention of the automobile. He is often depicted either holding a chalice as he is in our church, or with a chalice on its side at his feet. He is also portrayed kneeling with the chalice before him, working a plough, and as a bishop blessing the people with a chalice nearby.
Legend has it that once when Richard was celebrating Mass, he accidentally knocked his chalice, filled with the precious blood of Christ, to the floor, but not a drop was spilled from the chalice. This is why St. Richard is so often portrayed with a chalice either in his hand or somewhere near his person. 

O God, who didst make Thy Church to shine with glorious miracles, by the merits of blessed Richard, Thy Confessor and Bishop, grant that through his intercession, we, Thy servants, may reach the glory of everlasting blessedness. Through our Lord . . . 

 
LESSON IV Kings 4:25-38 [2 Kings 4:25-38]
In those days, a Sunamite woman came to Eliseus to mount Carmel: and when the man of God saw her coming towards, he said to Giezi, his servant: "Behold that Sunamitess. Go, therefore, to meet her, and say to her: Is all well with thee, and with thy husband, and with thy son?" And she answered: "Well."
And when she came to the man of God, to the mount, she caught hold on his feet: and Giezi came to remove her. And the man of God said: "Let her alone for her soul is in anguish, and the Lord hath hid it from me, and hath not told me." And she said to him: "Did I ask a son of my lord? did I not say to thee: 'Do not deceive me?' "
Then he said to Giezi: "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go. If any man meet thee, salute him not: and if any man salute thee, answer him not: and lay my staff upon the face of the child." But the mother of the child said: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." He arose, therefore, and followed her. But Giezi was gone before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child, and there was no voice nor sense: and he returned to meet him, and told him, saying: "The child is not risen."
Eliseus, therefore, went into the house, and behold the child lay dead on his bed: And going in, he shut the door upon him, and upon the child, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up, and lay upon the child: and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he bowed himself upon him, and the child's flesh grew warm. Then he returned and walked in the house, once to and fro: and he went up, and lay upon him: and the child gaped seven times, and opened his eyes. And he called Giezi, and said to him: "Call this Sunamitess." And she being called, went in to him: and he said: "Take up thy son." She came and fell at his feet, and worshiped upon the ground: and took up her son, and went out. And Eliseus returned to Galgal.

GRADUAL Ps. 73:20, 19, 22
Be mindful of Your covenant, O Lord, and forget not forever the lives of Your poor.
V. Arise, O Lord, defend Your own cause; remember the abuse hurled against Your servants.

GOSPEL Luke 7:11-16
At that time, Jesus went into a city that is called Naim: and there went with him his disciples and a great multitude. And when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold a dead man was carried out, the only son of his mother: and she was a widow. And a great multitude of the city was with her. Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: "Weep not." And he came near and touched the bier. And they that carried it stood still. And he said: "Young man, I say to thee, arise." And he that was dead sat up and begun to speak. And he gave him to his mother. And there came a fear upon them all: and they glorified God saying: "A great prophet is risen up among us: and, God hath visited his people."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 69:2, 3, 4
O Lord, make haste to help me. Let all be put to shame who plot evil against Your servants.

SECRET
Cleanse us, O merciful God. Let the prayers of the Church, which are so pleasing to You when they are accompanied by this offering, be even more acceptable to You because our souls are free from sin. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT RICHARD
Vouchsafe, we beseech Thee, O merciful God, that the oblation we offer in the sight of Thy Majesty may, by the intercession of blessed Richard, Thy Confessor and Bishop, obtain for us the grace to live a good life now, and win for us everlasing glory. Through our Lord . . . 

 
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 70:16, 17, 18
O Lord, I will be mindful of Your singular justice. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and when I am old and gray, O God, forsake me not.

POSTCOMMUNION

O Lord, let us not be condemned by unworthily receiving this Gift of Heaven which was instituted for the spiritual health of Your faithful. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT RICHARD
May the reception of these most holy Mysteries, O Lord, which blessed Richard, Thy Confessor and Bishop, devoutly ministered, avail us unto salvation. Through our Lord . . . 

 
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O God, Creator and Ruler of Your people, free Your own from the temptations assailing them, so that they may please You and be protected by You. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ . . .

WEDNESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT; [Commemoration] SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA, Hermit (1507 A.D)

 

WEDNESDAY OF THE 

FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

[Commemoration]

SAINT FRANCIS OF PAOLA 

SIMPLE / PURPLE
INTROIT Ezech. 36:23-26
When I shall be sanctified in you, I will gather you from every land; and I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from your filthiness, and I will give you a new spirit.
Ps. 33:2. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall ever be in my mouth.
V. Glory be . . .

Let us pray.
Let us kneel.
Arise.

O God, You reward the just man and grant pardon to the sinner if he does penance by fasting. Be merciful to Your people who implore You, and forgive us our sins through our confession of guilt. Through our Lord . . .

LESSON Ezech. 36:23-28
Thus says the Lord God: "And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the Gentiles, which you have profaned in the midst of them: that the Gentiles may know that I am the Lord, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land. And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols. And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them. And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God," says the Lord Almighty.

GRADUAL Ps. 33:12, 6
Come, children, hear me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
V. Turn to Him that you may be enlightened, and your faces may never blush with shame.

COLLECT
O Almighty God, grant that we may be happy in chastising our bodies through fasting. May we bring our passions under control, and thus more easily attain the rewards of heaven. Through our Lord . . .
 

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS

Francis’s parents were childless for many years, but following prayers for the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi, they had three children; Francis was the oldest. Following a pilgrimage in his teens to Rome and Assisi in Italy, he became a hermit in a cave near Paola. Before he was 20 years old he began to attract followers. By the 1450‘s the followers had become so numerous that he established a Rule for them and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474. In 1492 they were renamed the Franciscan Order of Minim Fiars, which means they count themselves the least of the family of God.
Prophet. Miracle worker. Reputed to read minds. In 1464 Francis wanted to cross the Straits of Messina to reach Sicily, but a boatman refused to take him. Francis laid his cloak on the water, tied one end to his staff to make a sail, and sailed across with his companions. Franz Liszt wrote a piece of music inspired by the incident.
Defender of the poor and oppressed. Gave unwanted counsel and admonitions to King Ferdinand of Naples and his sons. Traveled to Paris at the request of Pope Sixtus IV to help Louis XI prepare for death. Used this position to influence the course of national politics, helping restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis XI to return some disputed land.
In an old tradition that has certain saints opposing on an equivalent demon, Francis is the adversary of Belial since his simple humility cancels the demons raging pride.[From http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-francis-of-paola/]

O God, the exaltation of the lowly, who hast raised Thy blessed Confessor Francis to the glory of the Saints; grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits and example we may happily obtain the rewards promised to the lowly. Through Our Lord . . .


LESSON Isa. 1:16-19
Thus says the Lord God: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your devices from my eyes, cease to do perversely, Learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge for the fatherless, defend the widow. And then come, and accuse me", saith the Lord: "If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool. If you be willing, and will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land," says the Lord Almighty.

GRADUAL Ps. 32:12, 6
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen for His own inheritance! V. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all the celestial bodies thereof were created.

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 names sake.


GOSPEL John 9:1-38
At that time Jesus, passing by, saw a man who was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him: "Rabbi, who hath sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" Jesus answered: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, whilst it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
When he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and spread the clay upon his eyes, And said to him: "Go, wash in the pool of Siloe," which is interpreted, 'Sent.' He went therefore and washed: and he came seeing.
The neighbours, therefore, and they who had seen him before that he was a beggar, said: "Is not this he that sat and begged?" Some said: "This is he." But others said: "No, but he is like him." But he said: "I am he." They said therefore to him: "How were thy eyes opened?" He answered: "That man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me: 'Go to the pool of Siloe and wash.' And I went: I washed: and I see." And they said to him: "Where is he?" He saith: "I know not."
They bring him that had been blind to the Pharisees. Now it was the sabbath, when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees asked him how he had received his sight. But he said to them: "He put clay upon my eyes: and I washed: and I see." Some therefore of the Pharisees said: "This man is not of God, who keepeth not the sabbath." But others said: "How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?" And there was a division among them. They say therefore to the blind man again: "What sayest thou of him that hath opened thy eyes?" And he said: "He is a prophet."
The Jews then did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight,
And asked them, saying: "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see?" His parents answered them and said: "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind: But how he now seeth, we know not: or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. Ask himself: he is of age: Let him speak for himself."
These things his parents said, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had already agreed among themselves that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore did his parents say: "He is of age. Ask himself."
They therefore called the man again that had been blind and said to him: "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner." He said therefore to them: "If he be a sinner, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind. now I see." They said then to him: "What did he to thee? How did he open thy eyes?" He answered them: "I have told you already, and you have heard. Why would you hear it again? Will you also become his disciples?" They reviled him therefore and said: "Be thou his disciple; but we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses: but as to this man, we know not from whence he is." The man answered and said to them: "why, herein is a wonderful thing, that you know not from whence he is, and he hath opened my eyes. Now we know that God doth not hear sinners: but if a man be a server of God and doth his, will, him he heareth. From the beginning of the world it hath not been heard, that any man hath opened the eyes of one born blind. Unless this man were of God, he could not do anything." They answered and said to him: "Thou wast wholly born in sins; and dost thou teach us?" And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, he said to him: "Dost thou believe in the Son of God?" He answered, and said: "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?" And Jesus said to him: "Thou hast both seen him; and it is he that talketh with thee." And he said: "I believe, Lord." And falling down, he adored him.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 65:8-9, 20
Bless the Lord our God, you nations; loudly sound His praise. He has given life to my soul, and has not let my feet falter. Blessed be the Lord, who has not refused my prayer nor His mercy to me!

SECRET
O Almighty God, wash away our sins through these sacrificial gifts so that we may receive Your blessings of true health of mind and body. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS
 O Lord, may these gifts of Thy devout people, which we heap upon Thine altars, become pleasing to Thee through the merits of blessed Francis, and by Thy mercy profitable to ourselves. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Jo. 9:11
The Lord made clay with spittle and anointed my eyes, and I went and washed, and I saw; and I believed in God.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord our God, may the Sacrament we have received nourish us with spiritual food and comfort us with bodily aid. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FRANCIS
 Having received, O Lord, Thy heavenly Sacrament, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of blessed Francis, Thy Confessor, it may in this present life bring us aid for life eternal. Through Our Lord . . . 
 
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, in Your mercy hear the prayers of those who call upon You. Make their wills like Your will so that You may fulfill their every desire. Through our Lord . . .

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT; SAINT HUGH OF GRENOBLE (1132 A.D.)

  

TUESDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

SIMPLE / PURPLE
It is man's perennial temptation to forget whence he comes, why he exists, and to whom he owes worship. Disavowing his true Creator, man sometimes makes a god out of an ambition and burns up his energies in a holocaust of devotion to it; or he makes a god of himself by saying that his own nobility of action and his own sense of achievement are sufficient guarantee of truth and morality, as well as sufficient reward. Such subtle but monstrous pride forgets that only God is sufficient reason for His own action and glory. "He who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory."

INTROIT (Ps. 54:2-3)
Hearken, O God, to my prayer and turn not away from my pleading; give heed to me, and answer me.  
Ps. 54:3-4. I am tossed about in my grief, and am troubled at the uproar of th enemy and the oppression of the wicked.  
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, may our observance of the Lenten fast increase our piety and bring us Your continued merciful help. Through Our Lord . . .

LESSON (Ex. 32:7-14)
In those days, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned. They have quickly strayed from the way which thou didst shew them: and they have made to themselves a molten calf, and have adored it, and sacrificing victims to it, have said: 'These are thy gods, O Israel, that have brought thee out of the land of Egypt.' "
And again the Lord said to Moses: "I see that this people is stiffnecked: Let me alone, that my wrath may be kindled against them, and that I may destroy them, and I will make of thee a great nation." But Moses besought the Lord his God, saying: "Why, O Lord, is thy indignation enkindled against thy people, whom thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, with great power, and with a mighty hand? Let not the Egyptians say, I beseech thee: 'He craftily brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains, and destroy them from the earth': let thy anger cease, and be appeased upon the wickedness of thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou sworest by thy own self, saying: 'I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven: and this whole land that I have spoken of, I will give to your seed, and you shall possess it for ever' ": And the Lord was appeased from doing the evil which he had spoken against his people.

GRADUAL (Ps. 43:26, 2)
Arise, O Lord, and help us, and save us for Your name's sake.
V. O God, our ears have heard, our fathers have declared to us the deeds You performed in their time, in the days of old.

GOSPEL (John 7:14-31)
At that time, about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews wondered, saying: "How doth this man know letters, having never learned?" Jesus answered them and said: "My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do the will of him, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh the glory of him that sent him, he is true and there is no injustice in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why seek you to kill me?" The multitude answered and said: "Thou hast a devil. Who seeketh to kill thee?" Jesus answered and said to them: "One work I have done: and you all wonder. Therefore, Moses gave you circumcision (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers): and on the sabbath day you circumcise a man. If a man receive circumcision on the sabbath day, that the law of Moses may not be broken: are you angry at me, because I have healed the whole man on the sabbath day? Judge not according to the appearance: but judge just judgment." Some therefore of Jerusalem said: "Is not this he whom they seek to kill? And behold, he speaketh openly: and they say nothing to him. Have the rulers known for a truth that this is the Christ? But we know this man, whence he is: but when the Christ cometh, no man knoweth, whence he is."
Jesus therefore cried out in the temple, teaching and saying: "You both know me, and you know whence I am. And I am not come of myself: but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. I know him, because I am from him: and he hath sent me." They sought therefore to apprehend him: and no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come. But of the people many believed in him.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 39:2, 3, 4)
I have waited and waited for the Lord, and He inclined towards me and heard my cry. And He put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God.

SECRET
May this offering cleanse us from our sins, O Lord, and may it sanctify Your servants in body and soul for the celebration of this Sacrifice. Through Our Lord . . .

 Communion Antiphon
Ps 19:6
May we shout for joy at Your victory and raise the standards in the Name of the Lord our God.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, cleanse us from sin through the reception of this Sacrament and lead us toward the kingdom of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .
 
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, have mercy on Your people and strengthen them in their daily trials and labors. Through Our Lord . . .

 

 SAINT HUGH OF GRENOBLE

Hugh of Châteauneuf (French: Hugues de Châteauneuf, 1053 – 1 April 1132), also called Hugh of Grenoble, was the Bishop of Grenoble from 1080^[a] to his death. He was a partisan of the Gregorian reform and opposed to the Archbishop of Vienne, later Pope Callixtus II.

Biography

Hugh (right) on a stained glass window in Grenoble Cathedral; Bruno of Cologne is on the left.

Born at Châteauneuf-sur-Isère, County of Albon to Odilo of Valence, Hugh showed piety and theological facility from a young age. While still a layman, Hugh was made a canon of Valence. His piety was such that it was said of him that he only knew one woman by sight.

At the Council of Avignon in 1080, he was elected bishop of Grenoble, though he was not yet ordained. The See of Grenoble had fallen into a very poor state and Hugh was selected to be its Gregorian renovator. Conducted by a papal legate to Rome, Hugh was ordained by Pope Gregory VII himself. Upon his return, he immediately set to the task of reforming the abuses in his new diocese. When he had succeeded in countering abuse and fostering devotion after two years, he tried to resign his bishopric and enter the Benedictine monastery at Cluny. However, the Pope ordered him to continue his episcopal work.^[1]

For the rest of the 11th century, his episcopate was marked by strife with Count Guigues III of Albon over the possession of ecclesiastic lands in the Grésivaudan, a valley in the French Alps. Hugh alleged that the Count had usurped the lands from the bishopric of Grenoble with the help of Bishop Mallen of Grenoble. An accord was finally reached between Hugh and Count Guigues only in 1099. The Count agreed to cede the disputed territories while Hugh admitted to the Count's temporal authority within the vicinity of Grenoble.^[1]

Hugh was also instrumental in the foundation of the Carthusian Order. He received Bruno of Cologne, perhaps his own teacher, and six of his companions in 1084, after seeing them under a banner of seven stars in a dream. Hugh installed the seven in a snowy and rocky Alpine location called Chartreuse. They founded a monastery and devoted their lives to prayer and study, being oft visited by Hugh, who was reported to have adopted much of their way of life.^[1] Hugh also founded the nearby Monastère de Chalais, which grew into an independent order.^[2]

^{From wikipedia.org}