SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS (1591 A.D.); SAINT CHRYSOGONUS, MARTYR

 

SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS
Confessor and Doctor of the Church

SAINT CHRYSOGONUS

Martyr

DOUBLE / WHITE
John of the Cross was born near Avila in Spain in 1542. Educated by the Jesuits, he entered the Carmelite Order at the age of 21. He felt attracted to the life of a Carthusian, but Teresa of Avila asked him to co-operate with her in the restoration of the primitive Carmelite rule. After John established several monasteries of Discalced Carmelites, those opposed to the reform had him imprisoned at Toledo. During the nine months of his imprisonment, he wrote many of the poems and prose works that have made him one of the foremost authorities on mysticism in the West. He had asked God for suffering, and he received an abundance of both physical and spiritual torment right up to his death in 1591.


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.
  
COLLECT
O God, who blessed the holy confessor and doctor John with a spirit of complete self-denial and a deep love of the cross, grant that we may always follow his example and thus attain to eternal glory. Though Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of  SAINT CHRYSOGONUS, MARTYR
Mentioned in the Canon of the Mass, Chrysogonus, a Greek Christian, was martyred under Diocletian at Aquileia at the beginning of the fourth century.

O Lord, hear our humble prayers. May the intercession of Your blessed martyr Chrysogonus free us from the guilt of sin which troubles us. Through Our Lord . . .

Lesson
Lesson from the second letter of St Paul the Apostle to Timothy
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.

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  
O Lord, let the blessed confessor and doctor John always help us, and through his intercession accept our offering and pardon our sins. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of  SAINT CHRYSOGONUS
O Lord, be moved to compassion by our offerings and shield us from all danger through the prayers of Your holy martyr Chrysogonus. 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  
O Lord, may this sacrifice bring us closer to our salvation through the intercession of Your blessed confessor and illustrious doctor John. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of  SAINT CHRYSOGONUS
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 . . .

SAINT CLEMENT I Pope and Martyr; SAINT FELICITAS Martyr

  

SAINT CLEMENT I
Pope and Martyr

SAINT FELICITAS
Martyr

DOUBLE/RED

Pope Clement I, third successor of St. Peter, is believed to have ruled the See of Rome during the last ten years of the first century. He was the author of a beautiful and widely celebrated letter to the Corinthians. "They who are great," he wrote, "cannot yet subsist without those that are little, nor the little without the great. In our body, the head without  the feet is nothing, neither the feet without the head. And the smallest members of our body are useful and necessary to the whole." He is said to have been exiled by Trajan to the Chersonese, where he converted so many pagans that the Emperor had him drowned in the sea.

INTROIT Isa. 59:21; 56:7 
The Lord said, "My words which I have put into your mouth shall never be wanting to your lips. And your gifts shall be acceptable upon my altar." 
Ps. 111:1. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Clement 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 FELICITAS, MARTYR 
According to ancient tradition, Felicitas, a Roman widow, was the mother of seven sons executed for the Faith. Felicitas herself was beheaded in the year 165 under Marcus Antoninus.

O Almighty God, may the merits and prayers of Your blessed Martyr Felicitas, whose feast we celebrate today, be our protection. Through Our Lord . . .

EPISTLE Philipp. 3:17; 4:1-3
Brethren: Be ye followers of me, brethren: and observe them who walk so as you have our model. 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. 106:32, 31
Let them extol him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders. 
V. Let them praise the Lord for his merits and for his wondrous deeds to the children of men.

Alleluia, alleluia! Matt. 16:18
Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. 
Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matt. 16:13-19
At that time, Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: "Whom do men say that the Son of man is?" But they said: "Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets." Jesus saith to them:"But whom do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said: "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answering said to him: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven."

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Jer. 1:9-10
Behold, I have placed my words in your mouth; lo, I have set you over the nations and over kingdoms, to root up and to pull down, 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 it pastors, under Your guidance, may be truly pleasing to You. Through Our Lord . . . 

Commemoration of SAINT FELICITAS
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 . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Matt. 16:18
Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.

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 FELICITAS
Increase Your Gifts within us, O Almighty God, and order our lives according to Your will through the intercession of Your saints. Through Our Lord . . .

SAINT CECILIA (230 A.D.) Virgin and Martyr, Patron of Musicians

 

SAINT CECILIA
Virgin and Martyr

DOUBLE / RED
The "Acts" of St. Cecilia say that she was brought up as a Christian amidst all the luxury of a patrician family in pagan Rome. Though she had vowed virginity, her father forced her to marry a young pagan named Valerian. Cecilia told Valerian of her vow, and he was converted by a vision of her guardian angel. Later, Valerian and his brother Tiburtius (also a convert) were beheaded for having given burial to Christian martyrs. When Cecilia interred the bodies of Valerian and Tiburtius at her villa on the Appian Way, she herself was arrested. After the persecutors had tried unsuccessfully to suffocate her in the bathroom of her own home, she was beheaded. St. Cecilia has been chosen as the saint of musicians because of the following sentence in her "Acts," "While the instruments were playing [at her wedding feast] profane music, Cecilia sang rather to God in her heart."

INTROIT Ps. 118:46-47
I spoke of Your testimonies before kings, and I was not ashamed; I meditated on Your commandments, which I loved dearly. 
Ps. 118:1 Blessed are they who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. 
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
We are made happy, O God, by the annual feast of Your blessed virgin martyr Cecilia. May we be inspired by the example of Your saint, as we honor her in this Mass. Through Our Lord . . .

LESSON Eccli. 51:13-17
O Lord my God, You have exalted my dwelling place upon the earth and I have prayed for death to pass away. I called upon the Lord, the Father of my Lord, that He would not leave me in the day of my trouble, and in the time of the proud without help. I will praise Your name continually, and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard. And You have saved me from destruction, and have delivered me from the evil time. Therefore I will give thanks, and praise You, O Lord our God. 

GRADUAL Ps. 44:11, 12, 5
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear, for the king greatly desires your beauty. V. In your splendor and your beauty, make ready, ride on triumphant, and rule.

Alleluia, alleluia! V. Matt. 25:4, 6
The five wise virgins took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And at midnight a cry arose, "Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go forth to meet Christ the Lord."
Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matt. 25:1-13
At that time, Jesus spoke to His disciples this parable, "Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. And five of them were foolish and five wise. But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made: 'Behold the bridegroom cometh. Go ye forth to meet him.' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise: 'Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.' The wise answered, saying: 'Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves.' Now whilst they went to buy the bridegroom came: and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. And the door was shut. But at last came also the other virgins, saying: 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But he answering said: 'Amen I say to you, I know you not.' Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour."


OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 44:15, 16
Behind her the virgins shall be led to the king; her friends shall be brought to you with gladness and joy; they shall be led into the temple of the king, Our Lord.

SECRET 
May this offering, established to atone for our sins and bestow Your peace, O Lord, make us always worthy of Your forgiveness through the intercession of Your virgin martyr Cecilia. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 118:78, 80
Let the proud be put to shame for having unjustly harmed me; but as for me, I will observe Your commandments and Your precepts, that I may not be confounded.

POSTCOMMUNION 
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 . . .

Martyrdom of St. Cecilia in Rome. Image via Wikipedia

THE PRESENTATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

 

THE PRESENTATION OF THE 
BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

GREATER DOUBLE / WHITE
An ancient tradition holds that Our Lady was conducted by her parents to the Temple at Jerusalem to be consecrated entirely to God when she was three years old. This meeting of the ancient Temple of God and the new "Temple of the Savior" reminds us of the continuity between the Old Law and the New. For Mary, the Mother of God's new People, was the personification and completion of all that was good in the Old Testament. Her Magnificat shows that she was steeped in the Scriptures and Law of her fathers: Even as He spoke to our fathers -- to Abraham and to his posterity forever"(St. Luke 1:55).

Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary, except

Introit 

Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth to King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.
Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King.
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.
Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth to King Who rules heaven and earth world without end. 

COLLECT
O God, You willed that the blessed ever-virgin Mary, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, should be presented in the temple on this day. May we be worthy through her intercession to be presented in the temple of Your glory. Through Our Lord . . . in the unity of the same Holy Spirit.



Lesson 
Lesson from the book of Ecclesiasticus
Ecclus 24:14-16
Before all ages, in the beginning, He created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy Tent I ministered before Him, and in Sion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city He has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of my God, His heritage, and my abode is in the full assembly of Saints.

Gradual 

Blessed and venerable are you, O Virgin Mary, who, without spot to your maidenhood, were made the Mother of the Savior.
V. O Virgin Mother of God, He Whom the whole world does not contain, becoming man, shut Himself in your womb. Alleluia, alleluia.
V. After childbirth you still remained an inviolate virgin: O Mother of God, intercede for us. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Luke 11:27-28
At that time, as Jesus was speaking to the multitudes, a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that nursed You. But He said, Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.
R. Praise be to Thee, O Christ.  

Creed
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things, visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. And born of the Father, before all ages. God of God: Light of Light: true God of true God. Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven. And became incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary: and was made man. He was crucified also for us, suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, of whose kingdom there shall be no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life, proceeding from the Father and the Son. Who together, with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who spoke by the prophets. And in one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come. Amen.

Offertory

Luke 1:28, 42
Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

SECRET
O Lord, through Your mercy and the intercession of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, let this offering bring us prosperity and peace now and forever. Through our Lord . . .

Communion

Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, grant that we who have received the Sacrament of our salvation may be protected through the intercession of the Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, in whose honor we have offered this Sacrifice to Your majesty. Through our Lord . . .

TWENTY FORTH AND LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST; Saint Felix of Valois (1212 A.D.); SAINT EDMUND King, Martyr (870 A.D)

 

TWENTY FORTH AND LAST
SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

 

SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS
Confessor

SAINT  EDMUND
King, Martyr  

DOUBLE /GREEN

God so made the human mind that it remembers joys more easily than pains. Man's very destiny is eternal joy, and joy is the life of his hope. But for Christ's members, even pain has a vast meaning and dignity, because it is the price by which Christ opened heaven, and the price He asks every Christian to pay in imitation of Him. The Final Judgement will reveal what use each soul has made of joy and of pain. During the past year  of worship, what increased sorrow for sin, what deepened love for our Lord, and what greater kindness to others, especially the poor and forsaken, have prepared you for the joyous peace of heaven?

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 . . .

COLLECT
O Lord, stir up the wills of the faithful that they may be more eager to seek the fruits of divine grace, and to discover in Your mercy greater healing for their sinfulness. Through Our Lord . . .

 

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS 

Felix renounced life at the royal court of France and had already grown old as a hermit in a forest of Valois when St. John of Martha visited him there in the year 1200. God had given both of them the idea of founding an order devoted to ransoming the numerous Christians captured by the Saracen pirates on the Mediterranean at that time. Together they secured approval from Pope Innocent III in Rome and established the order of the Trinitarians. John became superior of the order, and Felix took charge of the monastery of Cerfroid in France, where he died in 1212.

 

 O God, through a messenger from heaven You called the blessed confessor Felix to come out of the desert to labor for the ransom of captives. May his intercession free us from the slavery of our sins and bring us safely to our home in heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT EDMUND 
Martyred king of the East Angles. He was elected king in 855 at the age of fourteen and began ruling Suffolk, England, the following year. In 869 or 870, the Danes invaded Edmund's realm, and he was captured at Hone, in Suffolk. After extreme torture, Edmund was beheaded and died calling upon Jesus. His shrine brought about the town of Bury St. Edmund's. He is depicted as crowned and robed as a monarch, holding a scepter, orb, arrows, or a quiver.

O God of ineffable tenderness, who didst enable the most blessed King, Edmund, to overcome his enemy by laying down his life for Thy Name, mercifully grant that we, Thy servants, may, by his intercession, overcome and destroy in ourselves the temptations of our old enemy. Through our Lord . . .

EPISTLE Col. 1:9-14

Brethren: Therefore we also, from the day that we heard it, cease not to pray for you and to beg that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding: That you may walk worthy of God, in all things pleasing; being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God: Strengthened with all might according to the power of his glory, in all patience and long-suffering with joy, giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins.

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
V. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my prayer!
Alleluia!

GOSPEL Matt. 24:15-35
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: "When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand. Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains: And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house: And he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat. And woe to them that are with child and that give suck in those days. But pray that your flight be not in the winter or on the sabbath. For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be. And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.
"Then if any man shall say to you, 'Lo here is Christ,' or 'there': do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand. If therefore they shall say to you, 'Behold he is in the desert': go ye not out. 'Behold he is in the closets': believe it not. For as lightning cometh out of the east and appeareth even into the west: so shall also the cowling of the Son of man be. Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together.
"And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of heaven shall be moved. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty. And he shall send his angels with a trumpet and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.
"And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh. So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors. Amen I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Heaven and earth shall pass: but my words shall not pass."

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
O Lord, lend a responsive ear to our petitions. Receive the offerings and prayers of Your people, and turn the hearts of us all towards Yourself, so that we may be drawn from earthly desires to the joys of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

 

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS 

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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT EDMUND
Almighty God, we beseech Thee, mercifully look on this sacrifice of our redemption, and by the intercession of blessed King Edmund, Thy Martyr, graciously accept it on behalf of Thy household. Through our Lord . . .  

 

Communion
Mark 11:24
Amen I say to you, all things whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you shall receive, and it shall be done to you. 

POSTCOMMUNION 

O Lord, cure the evil in our hearts by the healing power of the Sacrament we have received. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT FELIX OF VALOIS

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 Felix. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT EDMUND 
Let the homage of our service be agreeable unto Thee, O almighty God, that, by the intercession of the blessed King Edmund, Thy Martyr, the Sacrament we have received may profit us unto the recompense of everlasting life. Through our Lord . . .  

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY (1231 A.D.); SAINT PONTIANUS, Pope & Martyr (236 A.D.)

  

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
Queen and Widow

SAINT PONTIANUS
Pope and Martyr

DOUBLE / WHITE
Daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth was taken at the age of four to the castle of her future husband, Louis IV, Duke of Thuringia, who was then eleven. The pair grew up together, loved each other deeply, and were married in 1221. During their brief married life, Elizabeth extended her ceaseless charity toward the needy and the sick of the kingdom. After Louis had joined Emperor Frederick II on the Fifth Crusade, he caught the plague at Otranto and died. His uncle drove Elizabeth and her three children from the court in midwinter. After she had suffered great hardships, the Duke's companions returned from the Crusade and she was restored. Her children provided for, Elizabeth became a Franciscan tertiary. She died at the age of 24.

Mass of a HOLY WOMAN, except



Introit 
Ps 118:75, 120.
I know, O Lord, that Your ordinances are just, and in Your faithfulness You have afflicted me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances.
Ps 118:1
Happy are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
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.
I know, O Lord, that Your ordinances are just, and in Your faithfulness You have afflicted me. Pierce my flesh with Your fear; I fear Your ordinances.
  
COLLECT
O God of mercy, enlighten the hearts of Your faithful and grant us grace through the prayers of the glorious blessed Elizabeth, so that we may scorn the wealth of the world and see heaven as our joy and consolation. Through our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT PONTIANUS
Pontianus was pope from 230 to 235, during the harsh persecution of Emperor Alexander Severus. He was seized and banished to the Sardinian mines, where ill treatment brought about his death.

O Eternal Shepherd, who appointed blessed Pontianus 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 . . .

Lesson
Lesson from the book of Proverbs
Prov 31:10-31
When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and makes cloth with skillful hands. Like merchant ships, she secures her provisions from afar. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household. She picks out a field to purchase; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is girt about with strength, and sturdy are her arms. She enjoys the success of her dealings; at night her lamp is undimmed. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She fears not the snow for her household; all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom, and on her tongue is kindly counsel. She watches the conduct of her household, and eats not her food in idleness. Her children rise up and praise her; her husband, too, extols her: Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her a reward of her labors, and let her works praise her at the city gates.

Gradual
Ps 44:3-5
Grace is poured out upon your lips; thus God has blessed you forever.
V. In the cause of truth and mercy and for the sake of justice: may your right hand show you wondrous deeds. Alleluia, alleluia.
Ps 44:5
In your splendor and your beauty ride on triumphant, and reign. Alleluia.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt. 13:44-52
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field; he who finds it hides it, and in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he finds a single pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net cast into the sea that gathered in fish of every kind. When it was filled, they hauled it out, and sitting down on the beach, they gathered the good fish into vessels and threw away the bad. So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the among the just, and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes. And He said to them, So then, every Scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth from his storeroom things new and old.

Offertory

Ps 44:3
Grace is poured out upon your lips; thus God has blessed you forever, and for ages of ages.

SECRET 
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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT PONTIANUS
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 . . .

Communion
Ps 44:8
You love justice and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

POSTCOMMUNION 
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 . . .

Commemoration of SAINT PONTIANUS
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 . . .