MAY 24 OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS; ST. JOANNA; STS. DONATIAN AND ROGATIAN, (287 A.D,) Martyrs

 

 

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

 

ST. JOANNA

STS. DONATIAN & ROGATIAN

MARTYRS

DOUBLE / WHITE

Saint Pius V gave Mary the title: "Help of Christians," after the victory of the Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, and he added this invocation to her litany. When Pius VII returned to Rome on May 24, 1814, after spending five years of exile and captivity, he established the Feast of Our Lady, Helper of the Papal States.

The invocation of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the "Sub tuum praesidium," which was found on a papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the third century. This prayer was composed at a time of great danger for Christians and for the Church. "Praesidium" is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner." 

  INTROIT
Hail, holy Parent, that didst bring forth the King who ruleth Heaven and earth for ever and ever. Alleluia, alleluia. Ps. 44:2. My heart hath uttered a good word, I speak of my works to the King. Glory be to the Father . . . Hail . . .

O Almighty and merciful God, who didst wondrously appoint the most Blessed Virgin perpetual help for Christians in need of protection, grant in Thy mercy that after battling in life under such a protectress, we may be able to conquer our enemy at death. 

EPISTLE (Ecclesiasticus 14: 14-16)

¹⁴ From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling place I have ministered before him.

¹⁵ And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem.

¹⁶ And I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints.

Alleluia, alleluia!
  The rod of Jesse hath blossomed, a Virgin hath brought forth God and man; God hath restored peace, reconciling in Himself the lowest with the highest. Alleluia. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women, Alleluia.

GOSPEL Luke 11: 27-28

²⁷ And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck.

²⁸ But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Luke 1:  28, 42
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Alleluia
 

SECRET 
For the triumph of the Christian faith we immolate to Thee, O Lord, these victims of propitiation; may the Blessed Virgin's help render them of profit to us, for such a perfect victory ever comes through her.  

COMMUNION ANTIPHON 

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the Eternal Father. Alleluia!

POSTCOMMUNION 

After refreshing Thy people with a participation of Thy Body and Blood, O Lord, come to their aid, so that with the help of Thy Blessed Mother they may be freed from all evil and danger, and preserved in good works; Who livest and reignest . . .

SAINT JOANNA

Saint Joanna and the Head of Saint John the Baptist

(Wikipedia.org image)

Facts

Feastday: May 24

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Jennifer is a derivative of Joanna whose feast day is May 24th. Joanna was the wife of Chuza, steward of King Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She was one of the women who helped provide for Jesus and the Apostles and was one of the three women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on the first Easter morning.

SAINTS DONATIAN & ROGATIAN 

Brothers of a Roman-Gallo noble family of Nantes, France. Donatian was arrested and soon joined by Rogatian. They were tortured and beheaded by Pictovarius under co-Emperor Diocletian. 

MAY 24 FERIAL; OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS; ST. JOANNA; STS. DONATIAN, ROGATIANartyrs; ROGATION DAY 2,

 

 

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

 

ST. JOANNA; STS. DONATIAN 

MARTYRS

 ROGATION DAY 2, 

 

DOUBLE / WHITE

Saint Pius V gave Mary the title: "Help of Christians," after the victory of the Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, and he added this invocation to her litany. When Pius VII returned to Rome on May 24, 1814, after spending five years of exile and captivity, he established the Feast of Our Lady, Helper of the Papal States.

The invocation of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the "Sub tuum praesidium," which was found on a papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the third century. This prayer was composed at a time of great danger for Christians and for the Church. "Praesidium" is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner." 

  INTROIT Isa. 48:20
Declare it with the voice of joy and let it be heard, alleluia! Announce it to th eends of the earth: the Lord has delivered His people, alleluia, alleluia!
Ps. 65:1-2. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth; sing a psalm to the glory of His name; proclaim His glorious praise.
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O God, the source of all good, grant us Your inspiration that we may have proper thoughts, and Your guidance that we may carry them into practice. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

O Almighty and merciful God, who didst wondrously appoint the most Blessed Virgin perpetual help for Christians in need of protection, grant in Thy mercy that after battling in life under such a protectress, we may be able to conquer our enemy at death. 

Commemoration of ROGATION DAY 2 

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that we, who in our affliction put our trust in Thy mercy, may ever be defended by the protection against all adversity. Through our Lord . . .

EPISTLE James 1:22-27
Beloved: But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass. For he beheld himself and went his way and presently forgot what manner of man he was. But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Religion clean and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation and to keep one's self unspotted from this world.

Alleluia, alleluia!
V. Christ has risen and has given light to us, whom He redeemed with His Blood. Alleluia!
V. John 16:28. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father. Alleluia!

GOSPEL John 16:23-30
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto, you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full. "These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour cometh when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will shew you plainly of the Father. In that day, you shall ask in my name: and I say not to you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came out from God. I came forth from the Father and am come into the world: again I leave the world and I go to the Father." 
His disciples say to him: "Behold, now thou speakest plainly and speakest no proverb. Now we know that thou knowest all things and thou needest not that any man should ask thee. By this we believe that thou camest forth from God."

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, alleluia!

SECRET 
Accept the prayers and offering of the faithful, O Lord, and let our love and devotion lead us to the glory of heaven. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

For the triumph of the Christian faith we immolate to Thee, O Lord, these victims of propitiation; may the Blessed Virgin's help render them of profit to us, for such a perfect victory ever comes through her.  

Commemoration of ROGATION DAY 2 

 May these oblations, O Lord, we beseech Thee, loosen the bonds of our wickedness, and obtain for us the gifts of Thy mercy. Through our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 95:2
Sing to the Lord, alleluia! Sing to the Lord, and bless His name; announce His salvation day after day, alleluia, alleluia!

POSTCOMMUNION 
Grant that we, who have been fed at Your Heavenly Banquet, O Lord, may desire only what is right and that we may fulfill these holy desires. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

After refreshing Thy people with a participation of Thy Body and Blood, O Lord, come to their aid, so that with the help of Thy Blessed Mother they may be freed from all evil and danger, and preserved in good works; Who livest and reignest . . .

Commemoration of ROGATION DAY 2  

Favorably receive our prayers, O Lord, we beseech Thee; may we in our distress be consoled by Thy gifts and grow in love accordingly. Through our Lord . . .   

SAINT JOANNA

Saint Joanna and the Head of Saint John the Baptist

(Wikipedia.org image)

Facts

Feastday: May 24

---

Jennifer is a derivative of Joanna whose feast day is May 24th. Joanna was the wife of Chuza, steward of King Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She was one of the women who helped provide for Jesus and the Apostles and was one of the three women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on the first Easter morning.

Brothers of a Roman-Gallo noble family of Nantes, France. Donatian was arrested and soon joined by Rogatian. They were tortured and beheaded by Pictovarius under co-Emperor Diocletian. 

 

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS; ST. JOANNA; STS. DONATIAN AND ROGATIAN, MARTYRS

OUR LADY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

(Historical)

Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, except:

COLLECT

O Almighty and merciful God, who didst wondrously appoint the most Blessed Virgin perpetual help for Christians in need of protection, grant in Thy mercy that after battling in life under such a protectress, we may be able to conquer our enemy at death. Through our Lord . . .

SECRET

For the triumph of the Christian faith we immolate to Thee, O Lord, these victims of propitiation; may the Blessed Virgin's help render them of profit to us, for such a perfect victory ever comes through her. Through our Lord . . .

POSTCOMMUNION

After refreshing Thy people with a participation of Thy Body and Blood, O Lord, come to their aid, so that with the help of Thy Blessed Mother they may be freed from all evil and danger, and preserved in good works; Who livest and reignest . . .

In the Paschal Season, the first reading is from the 12th chapter of the Apocalypse; the rest of the year it is from the 3rd chapter of Genesis. Both texts prophesy the victory of "the Woman" over the Serpent or the Dragon. One occurs at the beginning of the Bible, the other at the end. This Woman, whose offspring or son is the instrument of victory, is understood to be the image of the New Sion, the Church, the holy people of messianic times. Yet at the same time she can be considered the image of Mary, daughter of Sion, type of the Church and mother of the redeemed people. In these readings, Mary is the New Eve; she is the Mother of the Living. In both cases she faces conflict and this conflict continues for "the rest of her children" who are also menaced. However, the Woman is always there to assist them.

The assistance of the Woman is especially helpful to those engaged in "new wars" and who keep the commandments of God."

Saint Pius V gave Mary the title: "Help of Christians," after the victory of the Christian fleet over the Turks at Lepanto on October 7, 1571, and he added this invocation to her litany. When Pius VII returned to Rome on May 24, 1814, after spending five years of exile and captivity, he established the Feast of Our Lady, Helper of the Papal States.

The invocation of Mary as Help of Christians is part of the oldest prayer addressed directly to Mary, the "Sub tuum praesidium," which was found on a papyrus dating, at the latest, from the end of the third century. This prayer was composed at a time of great danger for Christians and for the Church. "Praesidium" is translated as "an assistance given in time of war by fresh troops in a strong manner."

Yet, Mary help of all Christians is not only helpful to those engaged in new wars, as the Gospel shows quite clearly. She is the bearer of joy, readying all Christians of good will to receive God's grace and the many gifts of life. Yes, ultimately, it is the caring woman of Cana who makes victory over dragon and serpent possible -- in letting Christ act on his own terms and at his own hour. Anthony de Mello writes in conclusion to the introduction of his last book:

"I dedicate this book to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who has always been for me a model of contemplation. She has been more: I am convinced that it is her intercession that has obtained for me, and for many of the people I have guided, graces in prayer that we should never have acquired otherwise. There, then, is my first piece of advice to you if you would make progress in the art of contemplation: Seek her patronage and ask for her intercession before you start out on this way. She has been given the charisma of drawing down the Holy Spirit on the Church, as she did at the Annunciation and at Pentecost, when she prayed with the Apostles. If you get her to pray with you and for you, you will be very fortunate indeed."

This, then, is Mary, the help of all Christians and as such, she is the star that prepares the coming of the rising sun, Christ. 

SAINT JOANNA

Saint Joanna and the Head of Saint John the Baptist

(Wikipedia.org image)

Facts

Feastday: May 24

---

Jennifer is a derivative of Joanna whose feast day is May 24th. Joanna was the wife of Chuza, steward of King Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. She was one of the women who helped provide for Jesus and the Apostles and was one of the three women who discovered the empty tomb of Jesus on the first Easter morning.

Brothers of a Roman-Gallo noble family of Nantes, France. Donatian was arrested and soon joined by Rogatian. They were tortured and beheaded by Pictovarius under co-Emperor Diocletian.