God
gives the very grace by which men seek Him throughout a fervent Lent,
just as He called Moses to the mountain top of revelation for a stay of
forty days and nights, and as He fed Elias for a walk of forty days and
nights to the mount of God. The lenten Ember Days have
a double purpose: to offer to God the spring season with its sowing and
planting, and to pray and fast for those to be ordained this coming
Saturday.
INTROIT (Ps. 24:6, 3, 22)
Remember,
O Lord, Your compassion and Your mercy are from of old, that our
enemies may never rule over us. Deliver us from all our distress, O God
of Israel. Ps. 24:1-2) I have lifted up my soul to You, O Lord; in You, O my God, I place my trust. Let me not be put to shame.V. Glory be . . .
PRAYER
V. Let us pray. Let us kneel.
R. Arise!
O Lord, mercifully hear our prayers and let Your right hand of power shield us against our enemies. Through Our Lord . . .
LESSON (Ex. 24:12-18)
In
those days, the Lord said to Moses: "Come up to me into the mount, and
be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and the law, and the
commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them."
Moses
rose up, and his minister Josue: and Moses going up into the mount of
God, Said to the ancients: "Wait ye here till we return to you. You have
Aaron and Hur with you: if any question shall arise, you shall refer it
to them."
And
when Moses was gone up, a cloud covered the mount. And the glory of the
Lord dwelt upon Sinai, covering it with a cloud six days: and the
seventh day he called him out of the midst of the cloud. And the sight
of the glory of the Lord, was like a burning fire upon the top of the
mount, in the eyes of the children of Israel. And Moses entering into
the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain: And he was there
forty days and forty nights.
GRADUAL (Ps. 24:17-18)
The
cares of my heart are multiplied; deliver me from my distress, O Lord.
V. See my wretchedness and my suffering, and forgive all my sins.
COLLECT
O
Lord, look with favor upon the devotion of Your people. As we mortify
our bodies through abstinence, may our souls be refreshed by this good
work. Through our Lord . . .
TRACT (Ps. 24:17, 18, 1-4)
Deliver me from my distress, O Lord. See my affliction and my suffering, and forgive all my sins. V. I have lifted up my soul to You, O Lord; in You, O my God, I place my trust. Let me not be put to shame, nor let my enemies exult over me. V. No one who waits for You shall be left in confusion; let all those be confounded who trust in vain things.
GOSPEL (Matt. 12:38-50)
At that time, certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying: "Master, we would see a sign from thee." Who answering said to them: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. The men of Ninive shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they did penance at the preaching of Jonas. And behold a greater than Jonas here. The queen of the south shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold a greater than Solomon here. "And when an unclean spirit is gone out of a man he walketh through dry places seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith: 'I will return into my house from whence I came out.' And coming he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is made worse than the first. So shall it be also to this wicked generation."
As he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And one said unto him: "Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee." But he answering him that told him, said: "Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?" And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: "Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother."
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 118:47-48)
I will meditate on Your commandments, which I love dearly; and I will lift up my hands to Your commands, which I cherish.
SECRET
We offer this sacrifice to You, O Lord, to atone for our sins. Mercifully absolve us from our wrong-doing and exert Your power over the inconstancy of our hearts. Through our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 5:2-4)
Hear my call for help and hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God; for to You I pray, O Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may the reception of Your Sacrament cleanse us from our hidden faults, and guard us against the deceptions of our enemies. Through our Lord . . .
PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, enlighten our minds with Your own clear light, that we may understand our duties and fulfill them with courage. Through Our Lord . . .
Since he exhibited both Iconodule sympathies and the willingness to follow imperial commands when they were not contrary to the faith, he was selected as Patriarch of Constantinople by the Empress Irene in 784, even though he was a layman at the time. Nevertheless, like all educated Byzantines, he was well versed in theology, and the election of qualified laymen as bishops was not unheard of in the history of the Church.[2]
He reluctantly accepted, on condition that church unity would be restored with Rome and the oriental Patriarchs.[3] To make him eligible for the office of patriarch, Tarasios was duly ordained to the deaconate and then the priesthood, prior to his consecration as bishop.[4]
Together with her brothers, Saint Willibald and Saint Winibald, she travelled to Francia (now Württemberg and Franconia) to assist Saint Boniface, her mother's brother, in evangelizing among the still-pagan Germans. She had been well prepared for the call. She was educated by the nuns of Winborne Abbey, Dorset, where she spent twenty-six years as a member of the community. Thanks to her rigorous training, she was later able to write St. Winibald's vita and an account in Latin of St. Willibald's travels in Palestine, so that she is often credited with being the first female author of both England and Germany.[2]
She became a nun and lived in the double monastery of Heidenheim am Hahnenkamm near Eichstätt, which was founded by her brother, Willibald, who appointed her his successor; after his death in 751, she became abbess. Walpurga died on 25 February 777 or 779 and was buried at Heidenheim; that day still carries her name in the Catholic calendar. In the 870s, her remains were transferred to Eichstätt, and in some places, e.g. Finland, Sweden, and Bavaria, her feast day commemorates the translation of her relics on 1 May.
