Martyrs
SAINTS EUPHEMIA, LUCY, AND GEMINIAN
Martyrs
SIMPLE / RED
Pope
Cornelius, who was exiled after a short reign and slain by Decius in
the year 253, strove always for Church unity and for kindness towards
Christians who fell away during persecutions. Cyprian,
an African lawyer and a pagan until middle life, had not been long a
Christian when he was ordained to the priesthood and then made bishop of
Carthage. He became a great leader and an inspired religious writer. At
his martyrdom five years after that of Pope Cornelius, he had the
consolation of being surrounded by crowds of his faithful children in
Christ.
Mass of SEVERAL MARTYRS, except
INTROIT Ps. 78, 11, 12, 10
Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; renderto our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy Saints, which has been shed.
O
God, the heathens are come into Thine inheritance; they have defiled
Thy holy temple, they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.
Glory be to the Father ...
COLLECT
O
Lord, let the prayers of Your blessed martyr bishops Cornelius and
Cyprian, whom we honor today, gain us Your protection. Through our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT EDITH
St. Edith, of royal Anglo-Saxon blood, consecrated herself to God from her earliest childhood and resigned the world and entered the nunnery of Wilton. She built the church of Wilton, in which she was buried near the close of the tenth century.
O God, who didst afford unto Thy faithful an example of chastity in willing that Thy Son our Lord should be born of a Virgin, grant us, by the prayers of St. Edith, Thy Virgin, purity of mind and body, whereby we may obtain our promised happiness from Thee.
Commemoration of SAINTS EUPHEMIA, LUCY, AND GEMINIAN
These
martyrs bore witness to Christ under Diocletian in the fourth century.
Euphemia died at Chalcedon, and Lucy and Geminian in Rome.
Grant
our requests, O Lord, and fill us with joy. Each year we devoutly
observe the day of martyrdom of blessed Euphemia, Lucy, and Geminian;
grant that we may also imitate their resolute faith. Through our Lord . . .
Lesson
Lesson from the book of Wisdom
Wis 3:1-8
The
souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment of death
shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was judged an affliction, and their going forth
from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men,
indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality;
chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried
them and found them worthy of Himself. As gold in the furnace, He proved
them, and as sacrificial offerings He took them to Himself. In the
time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as
sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
R. Thanks be to God.
Gradual
Exo 15:11; 15:6
God is glorious in His Saints, wonderful in majesty, a worker of wonders.
V. Your right hand, O Lord, is magnificent in power; Your right hand has shattered the enemy. Alleluia, alleluia.
Sir 44:14
V. The bodies of the Saints are buried in peace, but their name lives on and on. Alleluia.
Gospel
Continuation ✝ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 21:9-19
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, When
you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; these things
must first come to pass, but the end will not be at once. Then He said
to them, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
and there will be great earthquakes in various places, and pestilences and famines,
and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all
these things they will arrest you and persecute you, delivering you up
to the synagogues and prisons, dragging you before kings and governors
for My name’s sake. It shall lead to your bearing witness. Resolve
therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how you are to make your
defense. For I Myself will give you utterance and wisdom, which all
your adversaries will not be able to resist or gainsay. But you will be
delivered up by your parents and brothers and relatives and friends; and
some of you they will put to death. And you will be hated by all for My
name’s sake; yet not a hair of your head shall perish. By your patience
you will win your souls.
Offertory
Ps 67:36
God is wonderful in His Saints; the God of Israel is He Who gives power and strength to His people. Blessed be God! Alleluia.
SECRET
O Lord, hear the prayers we offer on the
feast of Your saints. Since we cannot rely on our own merits, let the
merits of those who have been pleasing to You be our assistance. Through
our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT EDITH
O
Lord, may Thy blessing, we beseech Thee, come down upon this our
oblation, and may St. Edith obtain from Thee that we ourselves may be
made an acceptable sacrifice unto Thee.
Commemoration of SAINT EUPHEMIA AND HER COMPANIONS
Look
with favor upon the offerings of Your people, O Lord. Let us rejoice in
the protection of Your saints whose feast we are permitted to celebrate
today. Through our Lord . . .
Wis 3:4-6
For if before men they be punished, God tried them; as gold in the furnace, He proved them, and as sacrificial offerings He took them to Himself.
POSTCOMMUNION
We have been nourished by the Sacrament of salvation, O Lord. May we be aided also by the prayers of Your saints whom we honor this day. Through our Lord . . .
Commemoration of SAINT EUPHEMIA AND HER COMPANIONS
Hear our prayers, O Lord. Help us through the intercession of Your blessed martyrs Euphemia, Lucy, and Geminian, whose feast we celebrate today. Through our Lord . . .
