HOLY THURSDAY

Holy Thursday celebrates especially the institution of the Mass at the Last Supper as the Sacrifice and Sacrament of Christian unity. On this day also, Jesus first shared His priesthood with men by ordaining the Apostles. Then He uttered the command that is the reason for every Mass: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This is a day to think of the great love Jesus showed in instituting the Eucharist and to return that love by receiving Him in Holy Communion. Through Holy Communion we are united to Christ and to one another.
By sacrificing His life to unite men to God, by feeding men on Hid own Flesh and Blood, by an example of mutual charity given in washing the Apostles’ feet, by the command to love one another and to wash one another’s feet, by praying that they be one like the Father and Himself, and by showing the actual unity of all of them in Himself as branches in a living vine--in all these ways Jesus taught and molded men into one.

The Holy Thursday liturgy provides a ceremonial washing of feet. Wherever this is performed it is a living picture of Our Lord’s command that we love one another.
Everyone should spend some time today in adoring Jesus at the altar of repose.
The stripping of the Altars after Mass is a sign that Mass will not be offered again until Holy Saturday evening.

INTROIT (Ga. 6:14)
But it is fitting that we should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom is salvation, life and resurrection for us, by whom we are saved and delivered.
Ps. 66:2. May God have mercy on us and bless us; may He let His face shine upon us; and may He have mercy on us. But it is fitting . . .

The Gloria is sung.
After the Gloria, the organ is not played, nor are the bells sounded, until the Mass of the Easter Vigil on Saturday night.

COLLECT
O God, who punished Judas for his crime and rewarded the good thief for his penitence, be merciful to us! Our Lord Jesus Christ in His passion gave each one recompense according to his deserts; may He deliver us from our sins of old, and bestow on us the grace of His resurrection; who lives and rules with You . . .

EPISTLE (I Cor. 11:20-32)
Brethren: When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper. For every one taketh before his own supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry and another is drunk. What, have you no houses to eat and to drink in? Or despise ye the church of God and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, And giving thanks, broke and said: Take ye and eat: This is my body, which shall be delivered for you. This do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood. This do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come.
Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you: and many sleep. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world.

GRADUAL (Philipp. 2:8-9)
For us Christ became obedient to death, even to death on a cross.
V. Therefore God also has exalted Him and has bestowed upon Him the name that is above every name.

GOSPEL (John 13:1-15)
Before the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And when supper was done (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands and that he came from God and goeth to God, He riseth from supper and layeth aside his garments and, having taken a towel, girded himself. After that, he putteth water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: “Lord, dost thou wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him: “What I do, thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” Peter saith to him: “Thou shalt never wash my feet“. Jesus answered him: “If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.” Simon Peter saith to him: “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus saith to him: “He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: “You are not all clean.”
Then after he had washed their feet and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: “Know you what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord. And you say well: for so I am. If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.”

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 117:16, 17)
The right hand of the Lord has exercised power, the right hand of the Lord has lifted me up. I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.

SECRET
O Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God, may our sacrifice be acceptable to You through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who on this day commanded His disciples to perform this rite in commemoration of Him; who lives and rules with You . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (John 13:12, 13, 15)
The Lord Jesus, after He had eaten the supper with His disciples, washed their feet, and said to them, “Do you know what I, your Lord and Master, have done to you? I have given you an example, that you also should do.”

POSTCOMMUNION
We are nourished by the Bread of Life, O Lord our God. may this most sacred rite of our mortal life bestow upon us Your gift of immortality. Through Our Lord . . .

THE PROCESSION
The Blessed Sacrament is carried by the celebrant in procession to the altar of repose. while the Pange lingua is sung.

THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS
During the Stripping of the Altars, the celebrant recites the following antiphon and begins Psalm 21.

They have divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they have cast lots.

Psalm 21: O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.
O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.
But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.
In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them.
They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.
All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.
“He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighteth in him.”
For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother.
I was cast upon thee from the womb. From my mother's womb thou art my God,
Depart not from me. For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.
Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.
They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring.
I am poured out like water; and all my bones are scattered. My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaved to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.
For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me. They have dug my hands and feet.
They have numbered all my bones. And they have looked and stared upon me.
They parted my garments amongst them; and upon my vesture they cast lots.
But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me; look towards my defense.
Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog.
Save me from the lion's mouth; and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.
I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee.
Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him.
Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man. Neither hath he turned away his face form me: and when I cried to him he heard me.
With thee is my praise in a great church: I will pay my vows in the sight of them that fear him.
The poor shall eat and shall be filled: and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever.
All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord: And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.
For the kingdom is the Lord's; and he shall have dominion over the nations.
All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth shall fall before him.
And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him.
There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall shew forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.

They have divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they have cast lots.

The altars are stripped at this time.

WEDNESDAY OF HOLY WEEK

INTROIT (Philipp. 2:10, 8, 11)
At the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth, for the Lord became obedient to death, even so death on a cross. Therefore our Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father.
Ps. 101:2. O Lord, hear my prayer and let my plea be heard. At the name of Jesus . . .

COLLECT
V. Let us pray. Let us Kneel.
R. Arise

Almighty God, deliver us, who are continually afflicted by sin because of our self-indulgence, through the passion of Your only-begotten Son; who lives and rules with You . . .

LESSON (Isa. 62:11; 63:1-7)
Thus says the Lord God, "Behold the Lord hath made it to be heard in the ends of the earth, tell the daughter of Sion: 'Behold thy Saviour cometh: behold his reward is with him, and his work before him. Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength. I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save.'
'Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?' 'I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me: I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath, and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel. For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come. I looked about, and there was none to help: I sought, and there was none to give aid: and my own arm hath saved for me, and my indignation itself hath helped me. And I have trodden down the people in my wrath, and have made them drunk in my indignation, and have brought down their strength to the earth.' 'I will remember the tender mercies of the Lord, the praise of the Lord for all the things that the Lord hath bestowed upon us.' "

GRADUAL (Ps. 68:18, 2-3)
Turn not Your face away from Your servant, for I am in trouble; make haste to answer me. V. Save me, O god, for the waters threaten my life; I am sunk in the deep mire where there is no foothold.

V. The Lord be with you.

COLLECT
O God, You willed the ignominious death of Your Son on the cross that we might be delivered from the power of the enemy. Grant that we Your servants may obtain the grace of rising again with Him. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.

LESSON (Isa. 53:1-12)
In those days, Isaias said: "Who a hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
"And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him: Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.
"Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
"He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth. He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.
"And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth. And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand. Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors."

TRACT (Ps. 101:2-5, 14)
O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my plea be heard. V. Turn not Your face away from me; in my day of distress incline Your ear to me. V. Whenever I call to You, answer me quickly. V. For my days are vanishing like smoke, and my bones are dried up as though in an oven. V. I am withered as grass and my heart is shriveled up; I have forgotten to eat. V. You will arise and have mercy on Sion, O Lord, for it is time to pity her.

THE PASSION OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
ACCORDING TO SAINT LUKE (22:39-71; 23:1-53)
At that time, Jesus going out, went, according to his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed him. And when he was come to the place, he said to them: "Pray, lest ye enter into temptation." And he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast. And kneeling down, he prayed. Saying: "Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from prayer and was come to the disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said to them: "Why sleep you? Arise: pray: lest you enter into temptation."
As he was yet speaking, behold a multitude; and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus, for to kiss him. And Jesus said to him: "Judas, dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss?" And they that were about him, seeing what would follow, said to him: "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answering, said: "Suffer ye thus far." And when he had touched his ear, he healed him. And Jesus said to the chief priests and magistrates of the temple and the ancients, that were come unto him: "Are ye come out, as it were against a thief, with swords and clubs? When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against me: but this is your hour and the power of darkness."
And apprehending him, they led him to the high priest's house. But Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall and were sitting about it, Peter was in the midst of them. Whom when a certain servant maid had seen sitting at the light and had earnestly beheld him, she said: "This man also was with him." But he denied him, saying: "Woman, I know him not." And after a little while, another seeing him, said: "Thou also art one of them." But Peter said: "O man, I am not." And after the space, as it were of one hour, another certain man affirmed, saying: "Of a truth, this man was also with him: for he is also a Galilean." And Peter said: "Man, I know not what thou sayest." And immediately, as he was yet speaking, the cock crew. And the Lord turning looked on Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, as he had said: "Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny thrice." And Peter going out, wept bitterly.
And the men that held him mocked him and struck him. And they blindfolded him and smote his face. And they asked him saying: "Prophesy: Who is it that struck thee?" And blaspheming, many other things they said against him. And as soon as it was day, the ancients of the people and the chief priests and scribes came together. And they brought him into their council saying: "If thou be the Christ, tell us." And he saith to them: "If I shall tell you, you will not believe me.
And if I shall also ask you, you will not answer me, nor let me go. But hereafter the Son of man shall be sitting on the right hand of the power of God." Then said they all: "Art thou then the Son of God?" Who said: "You say that I am." And they said: "What need we any further testimony? For we ourselves have heard it from his own mouth." And the whole multitude of them, rising up, led him to Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying: "We have found this man perverting our nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he is Christ the king." And Pilate asked him, saying: "Art thou the king of the Jews?" But he answering, said: "Thou sayest it." And Pilate said to the chief priests and to the multitudes: "I find no cause in this man." But they were more earnest, saying: "He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place."
But Pilate hearing Galilee, asked if the man were of Galilee? And when he understood that he was of Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him away to Herod, who was also himself at Jerusalem in those days. And Herod seeing Jesus, was very glad: for he was desirous of a long time to see him, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to see some sign wrought by him. And he questioned him in many words. But he answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes stood by, earnestly accusing him. And Herod with his army set him at nought and mocked him, putting on him a white garment: and sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate were made friends, that same day: for before they were enemies one to another.
And Pilate, calling together the chief priests and the magistrates and the people, Said to them: "You have presented unto me this man as one that perverteth the people. And behold I, having examined him before you, find no cause in this man, in those things wherein you accuse him. No, nor Herod neither. For, I sent you to him: and behold, nothing worthy of death is done to him. I will chastise him therefore and release him."
Now of necessity he was to release unto them one upon the feast day. But the whole multitude together cried out, saying: "Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas": Who, for a certain sedition made in the city and for a murder, was cast into prison. And Pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release Jesus. But they cried again, saying: "Crucify him, Crucify him." And he said to them the third time: "Why, what evil hath this man done? I find no cause of death in him. I will chastise him therefore and let him go." But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And their voices prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him who for murder and sedition had been cast into prison, whom they had desired. But Jesus he delivered up to their will.
And as they led him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country; and they laid the cross on him to carry after Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of people and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them, said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: 'Blessed are the barren and the wombs that have not borne and the paps that have not given suck.' Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us. And to the hills: Cover us. For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?"
And there were also two other malefactors led with him to be put to death. And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But they, dividing his garments, cast lots. And the people stood beholding. And the rulers with them derided him, saying: "He saved others: let him save himself, if he be Christ, the elect of God." And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, And saying: "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself." And there was also a superscription written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
And one of those robbers who were hanged blasphemed him, saying: "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." But the other answering, rebuked him, saying: "Neither dost thou fear God, seeing; thou art under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly: for we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done no evil." And he said to Jesus: "Lord, remember me when thou shalt come into thy kingdom." And Jesus said to him: "Amen I say to thee: This day thou shalt be with me in paradise."
And it was almost the sixth hour: and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And Jesus crying with a loud voice, said: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." And saying this, he gave up the ghost.
Now, the centurion, seeing what was done, glorified God, saying: "Indeed this was a just man." And all the multitude of them that were come together to that sight and saw the things that were done returned, striking their breasts. And all his acquaintance and the women that had followed him from Galilee stood afar off, beholding these things.
And behold there was a man named Joseph who was a counsellor, a good and a just man, (The same had not consented to their counsel and doings) of Arimathea, a city of Judea: who also himself looked for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus.
And taking him down, he wrapped him in fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre that was hewed in stone, wherein never yet any man had been laid.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 101:2-3)
O Lord, hear my prayer and let my plea be heard. Turn not Your face away from me.

SECRET
O Lord, accept the gift we offer, and graciously grant that we may be moved to love You through this sacred rite which renews the passion of Your Son our Lord. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Preface of the Holy Cross

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 101:10, 13, 14)
My tears are mingled with my drink, for You have lifted me up only to cast me down, and I am withered as grass. But You, O Lord, abide forever. You will arise and have mercy on Sion, for it is time to pity her.

POSTCOMMUNION
Awaken our sensibilities, almighty God, so that through Your Son's death in the world, which is re-enacted in this holy rite, we may firmly believe that You have bestowed eternal life upon us. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord.

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, look upon Your family; for their sake our Lord Jesus Christ unhesitatingly suffered betrayal into the hands of the wicked and underwent the torment of the cross; who lives and rules with You . . .

MONDAY OF HOLY WEEK

SIMPLE / PURPLE

INTROIT (Ps. 34:1-2)
Fight, O Lord, against those who fight me; war against those who make war upon me. Take Your sword and shield, and rise up to help me, O Lord, the source of my salvation.
Ps. 34:3. Bring up Your lance, and block the way against my persecutors; say to my soul, "I am your salvation." Fight. O Lord, against those . . .

COLLECT
Almighty God, may the merits of the passion of Your only-begotten Son give us new strength, for our own weakness brings nothing but failure in the face of so many difficulties; who lives and rules with You . . .


LESSON (Isa. 50:5-10)
In those days, Isaias said, "The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist: I have not gone back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be confounded. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God."

GRADUAL (Ps. 34:23, 3)
Arise, O Lord, and be watchful in my defense and my cause, my God and my Lord. V. Bring up Your lance and block the way against my persecutors.

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. (Here all kneel.) V. Help us, O God our Saviour, and for the glory of Your name, O Lord, deliver me; and pardon us our sins for Your name's sake.

GOSPEL (John 12:1-9)
Jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life. And they made him a supper there: and Martha served. But Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him. Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said: "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?" Now he said this not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief and, having the purse, carried the things that were put therein. Jesus therefore said: "Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial. For the poor you have always with you: but me you have not always."
A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 142:9-10)
Rescue me from my enemies, o Lord; I flee to You. Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.

SECRET
O Lord, may these sacred rites we perform cleanse us, so that we may be purified and brought closer to God who is their Founder. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 34:26)
Let all who rejoice at my misfortune be put to shame and confounded. Let those who speak maliciously of me be clothed with shame and disgrace.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may Your Sacraments fill us with holy fervor so that we may delight in the celebration and grace of this sacred rite. Through Our Lord . . .

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
Help us, O God of our salvation! Grant that we may come with joy to commemorate Your mercies through which we have been restored to a new life. Through Our Lord . .

THE SEVEN SORROWS
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FRIDAY OF PASSION WEEK

GREATER DOUBLE / WHITE
The psalms of David and the prophecies of Isaias told rather plainly what would happen to Mary's Son. But to help extend God's mercy to all men, Mary suffered the seven great swords of her life and the multitude of little swords. All of them were the cost of mothering the earth's Redeemer and His members. Calvary was the climax of her sorrows.
The graces and merits won by the anguish of Jesus and His Mother continually come to us through her hands. This fruit of her tears makes her also the "cause of our joy" and the sweetness and hope of the world.

INTROIT (John 19:25)
There stood by the cross of Jesus His Mother and His Mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Salome, and Mary Magdalene.
V. "Woman, behold thy Son," Jesus said; and to the disciple, "Behold, thy Mother."
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O God, in Your passion, the prophecy of Simeon was fulfilled that a sword of sorrow should pierce the sweet soul of Your glorious Virgin-Mother Mary. We reverently recall her sufferings and sorrow; mercifully grant us the fruits of the redemption that was paid for by Your own sufferings, through the merits and prayers of all the saints watching beside the cross; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

Commemoration of FRIDAY OF PASSION WEEK
O Lord, fill our hearts with Your grace so that we may avoid sin through our voluntary penance. May we suffer here in this life rather than be condemned to punishment in eternity. Through Our Lord . . .

LESSON (Judith 13:22, 23-25)
The Lord hath blessed thee by his power, because by thee he hath brought our enemies to nought. Blessed art thou, O daughter, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Blessed be the Lord who made heaven and earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off the head of the prince of our enemies. Because he hath so magnified thy name this day, that thy praise shall not depart out of the mouth of men who shall be mindful of the power of the Lord for ever, for that thou hast not spared thy life, by reason of the distress and tribulation of thy people, but hast prevented our ruin in the presence of our God.

GRADUAL
You are sorrowful and tearful, O Virgin Mary, standing by the cross of the Lord Jesus, your Son, our Redeemer. V. O Virgin Mother of God, He whom the whole world cannot contain, the author of life who was made man, bears this punishment of the cross.

TRACT (John 19:25; Lam. 1:12)
By the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ stood the sorrowing Holy Mary, the Queen of Heaven and the Mistress of the world. V. Look, all you who pass by, and see if there is any sorrow like unto mine.

SEQUENCE

At the Cross her station keeping,
Stood the mournful Mother weeping,
Close to Jesus to the last.

Through her Heart, His sorrow sharing,
All His bitter anguish bearing,
Now at length the sword has passed.

O how sad and sore distressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole-begotten One!

Christ above in torment hangs,
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son.

Is there one who would not weep,
'Whelmed in miseries so deep,
Christ's dear Mother to behold?

Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain,
In that Mother's pain untold?

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled,
She beheld her tender Child,
All with bloody scourges rent.

For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.

O sweet Mother! Font of love,
Touch my spirit from above,
Make my heart with yours accord.

Make me feel as you have felt;
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.

Holy Mother, pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.

Let me share with you His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.

Let me mingle tears with you,
Mourning Him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.

By the Cross with you to stay,
There with you to weep and pray,
Is all I ask of you to give.

Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share your grief divine.

Let me to my latest breath,
In my body bear the death
Of that dying Son of yours.

Wounded with His every wound,
Steep my soul till it has swooned
In His very Blood away.

Be to me, O Virgin, nigh,
Lest in flames I burn and die,
In His awful judgment day.

Christ, when you shall call me hence,
Be your Mother my defense,
Be your cross my victory.

While my body here decays,
May my soul your goodness praise,
Safe in heaven eternally.
Amen.

GOSPEL (John 19:25-27)
At that time, there stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: "Woman, behold thy son." After that, he saith to the disciple: "Behold thy mother." And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Jer. 18:20)
Remember, O Virgin Mother, to speak good things in our behalf before the face of God, that He may turn away His anger from us.

SECRET
O Lord Jesus Christ, we offer You our prayers and sacrifices. May we, who commemorate the piercing of the sweet soul of the Blessed Mary, Your Mother, share the reward of the saints through her loving and constant intercession and the prayers of those who stood with her beside the cross, as well as through Your own meritorious death; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

Commemoration of FRIDAY OF PASSION WEEK
O merciful God, may we always serve worthily at Your altar, and be saved by partaking continually of its gifts. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON
Happy the Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who without dying earned the palm of martyrdom beneath the cross of our Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord Jesus Christ, may this Sacrifice which we have received in memory of the sorrows of Your Virgin-Mother obtain for us from Your mercy every grace and help; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

Commemoration of FRIDAY OF PASSION WEEK
O Lord, protect us always by the Sacrament we have received, and shield us against all that is harmful. Through Our Lord . . .

TUESDAY OF PASSION WEEK

SIMPLE / PURPLE
All the world's hatred and suffering are the results of sin, original or personal. To restore all things to love and order and joy, Jesus atoned for sin by His death and won the grace that effects forgiveness. His indwelling life is the basic sanctity of Christians, to be developed into acquired splendor. As His Old Testament prophets suffered the price of preparing for His coming, so the members of His Mystical Body suffer in order to continue His work of restoring all things. All anguish is personalized because consecrated to Christ, through Christ's priesthood exercised in His Church, Jesus did His best to reveal Himself as the world's savior, and then surrendered Himself to suffer and die for all men.

INTROIT Ps. 26:14
Wait for the Lord with courage; let your heart take courage and wait for the Lord.
Ps. 26:1. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Wait for the Lord . . .

COLLECT
May our fasting be acceptable to You, O Lord. Let it atone for our sins, make us worthy of Your grace and lead us to eternal life. Through Our Lord . . .

LESSON Dan. 14:27, 28-42
In those days, the Babylonians came to the king, and said: "Deliver us Daniel, or else we will destroy thee and thy house." And the king saw that they pressed upon him violently: and being constrained by necessity: he delivered Daniel to them. And they cast him into the den of lions, and he was there six days. And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given to them two carcasses every day, and two sheep: but then they were not given unto them, that they might devour Daniel. Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had boiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl: and was going into the field, to carry it to the reapers. And the angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: "Carry the dinner which thou hast into Babylon, to Daniel, who is in the lions' den." And Habacuc said: "Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den." And the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon, over the den, in the force of his spirit. And Habacuc cried, saying: "O Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee." And Daniel said, "Thou hast remembered me, O God, and thou hast not forsaken them that love thee." And Daniel arose, and eat. And the angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place. And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel: and he came to the den, and looked in, and behold Daniel was sitting in the midst of the lions. And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying: "Great art thou, O Lord, the God of Daniel." And he drew him out of the lions' den. But those that had been the cause of his destruction, he cast into the den, and they were devoured in a moment before him. Then the king said: "Let all the inhabitants of the whole earth fear the God of Daniel: for he is the Saviour, working signs, and wonders in the earth: who hath delivered Daniel out of the lions' den."

GRADUAL Ps. 42:1, 3
Do me justice, O Lord; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me.
V. Send forth Your light and Your truth; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain.

GOSPEL John 7:1-13
At that time, Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews feast of tabernacles was at hand. And his brethren said to, him: "Pass from hence and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see thy works which thou dost. For there is no man that doth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, manifest thyself to the world." For neither did his brethren believe in him. Then Jesus said to them: "My time is not yet come; but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you: but me it hateth, because I give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil, Go you up to this festival day: but I go not up to this festival day, because my time is not accomplished." When he had said these things, he himself stayed in Galilee. But after his brethren were gone up, then he also went up to the feast, not openly, but, as it were, in secret. The Jews therefore sought him on the festival day and said: "Where is he?" And there was much murmuring among the multitude concerning him. For some said: "He is a good man." And others said: "No, but he seduceth the people." Yet no man spoke openly of him, for fear of the Jews.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 9:11-12, 13
Let them trust in You who cherish Your name, for You do not forsake those who seek You, O Lord. Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Sion, for He has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

SECRET
O Lord, we offer You as a sacrifice these gifts, which are symbols of our consolation in this life. May they keep us from ever losing hope in the promises of eternal life. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Ps. 24:22
Redeem me, O God of Israel, from all my tribulations.

POSTCOMMUNION
O Almighty God, may our ceaseless search of divine things make us worthy of the reward of heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE
O Lord, grant that we may persevere in being obedient to Your will so that our own day may see an increase in the numbers and merits of Your faithful. Through Our Lord . . .

PASSION SUNDAY

DOUBLE, FIRST CLASS / PURPLE
Jesus, eternal God, became mortal man in order to mediate our redemption, to form a new people that would be His Mystical Self, and to bring all men into an eternal union with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There can be no living of Christ without living the price of mediation for souls. That price may vary, from mere fidelity in the performance of monotonous duty, to bearing with loneliness and misunderstanding, or even to suffering violence and death. Sin continues, and therefore suffering for sin must continue. Since Christians share Christ's priesthood through Baptism and Confirmation, His passion becomes their passion, for an "eternal inheritance."

INTROIT(Ps. 42:1-2)
Do me justice, O God, and fight against a faithless people; from the deceitful and impious man rescue me. For You, O God, are my strength.
Ps. 42:3. Send forth Your light and Your truth; they shall lead me on and bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling place. Do me justice, O God . . .

COLLECT
O Almighty God, look with mercy upon Your family. Guide and guard us in body and soul by Your bounteous grace and protection. Through Our Lord . . .

EPISTLE (Heb. 9:11-15)
Brethren: But Christ, being come an high Priest of the good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hand, that is, not of this creation: Neither by the blood of goats or of calves, but by his own blood, entered once into the Holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and of oxen, and the ashes of an heifer, being sprinkled, sanctify such as are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?
And therefore he is the mediator of the new testament: that by means of his death for the redemption of those transgressions which were under the former testament, they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

GRADUAL (Ps. 142:9, 10; 17:48-49)
Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord. Teach me to do Your will.
V. O Lord, who preserved me from the wrathful nations, You will exalt me above my adversaries,You will rescue me from the man of violence.

TRACT (Ps. 128:1-4)
Often they have fought against me from my youth.
V. Let Israel now say, "Often have they fought against me from my youth.
V. Yet they could not prevail over me. The wicked have furrowed my back.
V. They have continued their iniquity, but the Lord, who is just, will humble the pride of the sinners."

GOSPEL (John 8:46-59)
At that time, Jesus said to the crowds of the Jews, "Which of you shall convince me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me: He that is of God heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not, because you are not of God."
The Jews therefore answered and said to him: "Do not we say well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil?" Jesus answered: "I have not a devil: but I honour my Father. And you have dishonoured me. But I seek not my own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: If any man keep my word, he shall not see death for ever."
The Jews therefore said: "Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets: and thou sayest: If any man keep my word, he shall not taste death for ever. Art thou greater than our father Abraham who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom dost thou make thyself?"
Jesus answered: "If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father that glorifieth me, of whom you say that he is your God. And you have not known him: but I know him. And if I shall say that I know him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know him and do keep his word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and was glad." The Jews therefore said to him: "Thou art not yet fifty years old. And hast thou seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them: "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I AM." They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON(Ps. 118:17, 107)
I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart. Be good to Your servant, that I may live and keep Your words. O Lord, give me life according to Your word.

SECRET
O Lord, may these offerings free us from the bondage of sin and win for us the gift of Your mercy. Through Our Lord . . .

Preface of the Holy Cross

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (I Cor. 11:24, 25)
"This is My Body which shall be given up for you; this cup is the New Covenant in My Blood," said the Lord. "Do this as often as you receive it, in remembrance of Me."

POSTCOMMUNION
Be close to us, O Lord our God, and with Your unfailing help defend those who have been renewed through Your Sacrament. Through Our Lord . . .

Rose Chasable

http://www.saintbedestudio.bizland.com/

FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT
LAETARE SUNDAY

SAINT ISIDORE THE FARM LABORER
Confessor

IN ALL DIOCESES OF THE UNITED STATES

DOUBLE, FIRST CLASS / ROSE or PURPLE
Lent is half over, and Easter is enticingly near. This Sunday is a foretaste of Easter joy. Knowing the ebb and flow on intensity even in our best efforts, God deals with us tenderly in rhythms of consolation and desolation. So today, the thoughts of freedom and joy come in the middle of Lent. But the joy does more than cushion our failing energies and needle our lagging spirits. It is a positive, meaningful joy, born of our fruitful life in Christ and of our sweet freedom as His purchased children. The Eucharistic banquet of heavenly Bread, foreshadowed by the multiplied loaves and fishes and become now the Bread of Life for the whole Christian world, adds to our Laetare joy the quiet gladness of every festive meal.

INTROIT (Isa. 66:10-11)
Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and come together all you who love her. rejoice with joy, you who have been in sorrow, that you may exalt, and be filled from the abundance of your consolation.
Ps. 121:1. I rejoice at the tidings that were told me, "We shall go into the house of the Lord."
V. Glory be . . .

COLLECT
O Almighty God, we are being justly punished for our sins, but comfort us with Your grace, that we may live. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT ISIDORE
In the twelfth century, Isidore earned his living as a day laborer on an estate just outside Madrid. Because he attended Mass daily, some fellow laborers, reported to the owner that Isidore was neglecting his work. St. Isidore was not troubled by what was said of him, because he knew that the Christian must have patience and must keep up his courage, "for the coming of the Lord is at hand"

O Merciful God, shield us from the pride that comes from learning, through the intercession of Your holy farm worker Isidore. May his merits and example help us to please You by our humble service. Through Our Lord . . .

EPISTLE (Gal. 4:22-31)
Brethren: For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman and the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh: but he of the free woman was by promise. Which things are said by an allegory. For these are the two testaments. The one from Mount Sinai, engendering unto bondage, which is Agar. For Sina is a mountain in Arabia, which hath affinity to that Jerusalem which now is: and is in bondage with her children. But that Jerusalem which is above is free: which is our mother. For it is written:

Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not: break forth and cry thou that travailest not: for many are the children of the desolate, more than of her that hath a husband.

Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born according to the flesh persecuted him that was after the spirit: so also it is now. But what saith the scripture? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman." So then, brethren, we are not the children of the bondwoman but of the free: by the freedom wherewith Christ has made us free.

GRADUAL (Ps. 121:1, 7)
I rejoice at the tidings that were told me, "We shall go into the house of the Lord." V. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your towers.

TRACT (Ps. 124:1-2)
They who trust in the Lord are like Mount Sion; he who dwells in Jerusalem shall never be moved.
V. Mountains are round about it, and the Lord is round about His people, from henceforth and forever.

GOSPEL (John 6:1-15)
At that time, After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, because they saw the miracles which he did on them that were diseased. Jesus therefore went up into a mountain: and there he sat with his disciples.
Now the pasch, the festival day of the Jews, was near at hand. When Jesus therefore had lifted up his eyes and seen that a very great multitude cometh to him, he said to Philip: "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" And this he said to try him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him: "Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them that every one may take a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, saith to him: "There is a boy here that hath five barley loaves and two fishes. But what are these among so many?" Then Jesus said: "Make the men sit down."
Now, there was much grass in the place. The men therefore sat down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to them that were set down. In like manner also of the fishes, as much as they would. And when they were filled, he said to his disciples: "Gather up the fragments that remain, lest they be lost." They gathered up therefore and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which remained over and above to them that had eaten.
Now those men, when they had seen what a miracle Jesus had done, said: "This is of a truth the prophet that is to come into the world." Jesus therefore, when he knew that they would come to take him by force and make him king, fled again into the mountains, himself alone.

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON (Ps. 134:3, 6)
Praise the Lord, for He is good; sing praise to His name, for He is sweet. All He has willed, He has done in heaven and on earth.

SECRET
Look with favor upon these offerings, O Lord, that they may be an aid to our devotion and to our salvation. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT ISIDORE
Let our prayers win peace for Your people, O Lord, so that their offerings may be pleasing in Your sight. Grant the requests we confidently make of You through the intercession of Your blessed confessor Isidore. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION ANTIPHON (Ps. 121:3-4)
Jerusalem was built as a city with compact unity; to it the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, to give praise to Your name, O Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION
O merciful God, we never fail to be nourished by Your Sacrament. May we offer it with true devotion and receive it always with faith. Through Our Lord . . .

Commemoration of SAINT ISIDORE
May this Heavenly Sacrament bring us health of soul and body, O Lord, and through the intercession of Your blessed confessor Isidore make us feel the power of the sacred rite that we have celebrated. Through Our Lord . . .

FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK IN LENT

ENTRANCE HYMN (Ps. 85:17)
Show me, O Lord, a sign of Your beneficence, that my enemies may see, to their confusion, that You, O Lord, have helped and comforted me. Ps. 85:1. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am needy and poor. V. Glory Be . . .

PRAYER
May our Lenten fast please You, O Lord. May we keep our minds free from sin as we deprive our bodies of food. Through our Lord . . .

READING (Num. 20:1-3, 6-13)
In those days, the children of Israel, and all the multitude came into the desert of Sin, in the first month: and the people abode in Cades. And Mary died there, and was buried in the same place.
And the people wanting water, came together against Moses and Aaron: And making a sedition, they said: "Would God we had perished among our brethren before the Lord." And Moses and Aaron leaving the multitude, went into the tabernacle of the covenant, and fell flat upon the ground, and cried to the Lord, and said. "O Lord God, hear the cry of this people, and open to them thy treasure, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied, they may cease to murmur." And the glory of the Lord appeared over them. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Take the rod, and assemble the people together, thou and Aaron thy brother, and speak to the rock before them, and it shall yield waters. And when thou hast brought forth water out of the rock, all the multitude and their cattle shall drink."
Moses therefore took the rod, which was before the Lord, as he had commanded him, And having gathered together the multitude before the rock, he said to them: "Hear, ye rebellious and incredulous: Can we bring you forth water out of this rock?" And when Moses bad lifted up his hand, and struck the rock twice with the rod, there came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank, And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: "Because you have not believed me, to sanctify me before the children of Israel, you shall not bring these people into the land, which I will give them." This is the Water of contradiction, where the children of Israel strove with words against the Lord, and he was sanctified in them.

GRADUAL (Ps. 27:7, 1)
My heart has trusted in God, and I have found help. I have thrived once again, and with all my will I shall give praise to Him. V. To You, O Lord my God, I cry; be not deaf to me, nor depart from me.

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 4:5-42)
At that time, Jesus cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour.
There cometh a woman of Samaria, to draw water. Jesus saith to her: "Give me to drink." For his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: "How dost thou, being a Jew; ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans." Jesus answered and said to her: "If thou didst know the gift of God and who he is that saith to thee: Give me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water."
The woman saith to him: "Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank thereof, himself and his children and his cattle?" Jesus answered and said to her: "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him shall not thirst for ever. But the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting."
The woman said to him: "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw." Jesus saith to her: "Go, call thy husband, and come hither." The woman answered and said: "I have no husband." Jesus said to her: "Thou hast said well: I have no husband. For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband. This, thou hast said truly."
The woman saith to him: "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain: and you say that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore." Jesus saith to her:"Woman, believe me that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit: and they that adore him must adore him in spirit and in truth." The woman saith to him: "I know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ): therefore, when he is come, he will tell us all things." Jesus saith to her: "I am he, who am speaking with thee."
And immediately his disciples came. And they wondered that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said: "What seekest thou?" Or: "Why talkest thou with her?" The woman therefore left her waterpot and went her way into the city and saith to the men there: "Come, and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not he the Christ?" They went therefore out of the city and came unto him.
In the mean time, the disciples prayed him, saying: "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them: "I have meat to eat which you know not." The disciples therefore said one to another: "Hath any man brought him to eat?" Jesus saith to them: "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, that I may perfect his work. Do not you say: There are yet four months, and then the harvest cometh? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes, and see the countries. For they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages and gathereth fruit unto life everlasting: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. For in this is the saying true: 'That it is one man that soweth, and it is another that reapeth.' I have sent you to reap that in which you did not labour. Others have laboured: and you have entered into their labours."
Now of that city many of the Samaritans believed in him, for the word of the woman giving testimony: "He told me all things whatsoever I have done." So when the Samaritans were come to him, they desired that he would tarry there. And he abode there two days. And many more believed in him, because of his own word. And they said to the woman: "We now believe, not for thy saying: for we ourselves have heard him and know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world."

OFFERTORY HYMN (Ps. 5:3-4)
Hearken to the voice of my prayer, O my King and my God; for to You I pray, O Lord.

SECRET PRAYER
O Lord, look kindly upon these gifts we offer, so that they may please You and always prove helpful to us. Through Our Lord . . .

COMMUNION HYMN (John 4:13, 14)
"He who drinks of the water that I will give him," said the Lord, "it shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto life everlasting."

POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER
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 Almighty God, we trust in Your protection. Help us to overcome all the difficulties that face us. Through Our Lord . . .

FROM http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2009/03/papal-letter-about-lifting-of-sspx.html

Here, now, is the full text of the Pope's letter regarding the lifting of the SSPX excommunications itself, which has already been published in the most prestigious and reliable German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an NLM translation:

Dear brethren in the Episcopal ministry!

The lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988 without a mandate of the Holy See has led, both within and outside the Catholic Church, for a variety of reasons, to a discussion of such vehemence as we had not experienced for a long time. Many bishops felt at a loss before an event which came unexpectedly and could barely be integrated positively among the questions and tasks of the Church of today. Although many pastors and faithful were willing in principle to value positively the Pope's desire for reconciliation, against this was the question of the appropriateness of such a gesture, given the real urgency of a believing life in our time. Several groups, however, accused the Pope openly of wanting to return behind the Council. An avalanche of protests was set into motion, the bitterness of which made injuries visible which transcended the moment. Therefore I feel pressed to address to you, dear brethren, a clarifying word, which is meant to help to understand the intentions which have guided me and the competent organs of the Holy See in this step. I hope in this way to contribute to peace in the Church.

One mishap for me unforeseeable, was the fact that the Williamson case has superimposed itself on the remission of the excommunication. The discreet gesture of mercy towards the four bishops ordained validly but not legitimately, suddenly appeared as something entirely different: as a disavowal of the reconciliation between Christians and Jews, and therefore as the revocation of what in this area the Council had clarified for the way for the Church. The invitation to reconciliation with an ecclesial group separating itself had thus become the opposite: an apparent way back behind all the steps of reconciliation between Christians and Jews which had been made since the Council and which to make and further had been from the outset a goal of my theological work. The fact that this superposition of two opposing processes has occurred and has disturbed for a moment the peace between Christians and Jews as well as the peace in the Church I can only deeply regret. I hear that closely following the news available on the internet would have made it possible to obtain knowledge of the problem in time. I learn from this that we at the Holy See have to pay more careful attention to this news source in the future. It has saddened me that even Catholics who could actually have known better have thought it necessary to strike at me with a hostility ready to jump. Even more therefore I thank the Jewish friends who have helped to quickly clear away the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust, which - as in the time of Pope John Paul II - also during the entire time of my pontificate had existed and God be praised continues to exist.

Another mishap which I sincerely regret, is that the scope and limits of the measure of 21 January 2009 have not been set out clearly enough at the time of the publication of the procedure. The excommunication affects persons, not institutions. Episcopal consecration without papal mandate means the danger of a schism, because it calls into question the unity of the Bishops' College with the Pope. The Church must, therefore, react with the harshest punishment, excommunication, and that is to call back the persons thus punished to repentance and into unity. 20 years after the ordinations this goal has unfortunately still not been achieved. The withdrawal of the excommunication serves the same purpose as the punishment itself: once more to invite the four bishops to return. This gesture was possible after the affected had expressed their fundamental recognition of the pope and his pastoral authority, albeit with reservations as far as obedience to his magisterial authority and that of the Council is concerned. This brings me back to the distinction between person and institution. The releasing of the excommunication was a measure in the field of ecclesial discipline: the persons were freed of the burden of conscience of the heaviest ecclesial censure. From this disciplinary level one has to distinguish the doctrinal area. That the Fraternity of Saint Pius X does not possess a canonical position in the Church is not based ultimately on disciplinary grounds but on doctrinal ones. As long as the Fraternity does not possess a canonical position in the Church, its officials do not exercise legitimate offices in the Church. One has therefore to distinguish between disciplinary level affecting the persons as persons, and the level of doctrine, at which office and institution are concerned. To say it once again: As long as the doctrinal issues are not resolved, the Fraternity has no canonical status in the Church and its ministers, even if they are free from ecclesiastical censure, do not exercise in a legitimate way any ministry in the Church.

Given this situation, I intend to connect the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", which since 1988 is responsible for those communities and individuals who, coming from the Fraternity of Pius X or similar groups, want to return into full communion with the Pope, in the future with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This shall make it clear that the problems now being treated are essentially doctrinal in nature, especially those concerning the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the postconciliar Magisterium of the Popes. The collegial organs through which the Congregation works on the questions arising (especially the regular assembly of the Cardinals on Wednesday and the General Assembly every one or two years) guarantee the involvement of the prefects of various Roman congregations and of the worldwide episcopate in the decisions to be made. One cannot freeze the magisterial authority of the Church in 1962 and - this must be quite clear to the Fraternity. But to some of those who show off as great defenders of the Council it must also be recalled to memory that Vatican II contains within itself the whole doctrinal history of the Church. Who wants to be obedient to it [sc. the Council] must accept the faith of the centuries and must not cut the roots of which the tree lives.

I hope, dear brethren, that with this both the positive meaning as well as the limit of the measure of 21 January 2009 is clarified. But now the question remains: Was this necessary? Was this really a priority? Are there not much more important things? Of course, there are more important and urgent things. I think that I have made clear the priorities of the pontificate in my speeches at the beginning of it. What I said then remains my guideline unchangedly. The first priority for the successor of Peter, the Lord has unequivocally fixed in the Room of the Last Supper: "You, however, strengthen your brethren" (Lk 22, 32). Peter himself rephrased this priority in his first letter: "Be ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you." (1 Peter 3, 15). In our time, in which the faith in large parts of the world threatens to go out like a flame which can no longer find food, the first priority is to make God present in this world and to open to men the access to God. Not to just any god, but to the God who spoke on Mount Sinai, that God whose face we recognize in the love unto the end (John 13, 1)- in the crucified and risen Jesus Christ. The real problem of our historic hour is that God is disappearing from the horizon of men and that with the extinguishing of the light coming from God disorientation befalls mankind, the destructive effects of which we are seeing ever more.

To lead men to God, to the God speaking in the Bible, is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and the successor of Peter in this time. From it then it follows on its own that we have to be concerned for the unity of believers. For their strife, their internal dissent, calls their talking about God into question. Therefore, the effort for the common witness of faith of the Christians - for ecumenism -is included in the highest priority. Then there is also the necessity that all who believe in God seeking peace with each other, trying to become closer to each other, in order to walk, in the different-ness of their image of God, yet together towards the source of light - inter-religious dialogue. Those who proclaim God as love unto the end, must give the witness of love: devoted to the suffering in love, fending off hatred and enmity - the social dimension of the Christian Faith, of which I have spoken in the encyclical "Deus caritas est".

If then the struggle for Faith, hope and love in the world is the true priority for the Church in this hour (and in different forms always), then still the small and medium-sized reconciliations also belong to it. That the quiet gesture of a hand stretched out has become a great noise and thus the opposite of reconciliation, we have to take note of. But now I have to wonder: Was and is it really wrong, also in this case, to go to meet the brother, who "hath any thing against thee" and to try for reconciliation (cf. Mt 5, 23f)? Does not civil society, too, have to try to prevent radicalizations, to bind their possible supporters - if possible - back into the major creative forces of social life to avoid isolation and all its consequences? Can it be entirely wrong to strive for the lessening of tensions and constrictions and to give room to the positive which can be found and integrated into the whole? I myself, in the years after 1988, have experienced how by the return of communities previously separating themselves from Rome the interior climate there has changed, how the return to the great, wide and common Church overcame onesided-ness and lessened tensions, so that now they have become positive forces for the whole. Can a community leave us totally indifferent in which there are 491 priests, 215 seminarians, 6 seminaries, 88 schools, 2 university institutes, 117 brothers, 164 sisters? Should we really calmly leave them to drift away from the Church? I am thinking, for example, of the 491 priests. The plaited fabric of their motivations we cannot know. But I think that they would not have made their decision for the priesthood, if next to some askew or sick elements there hot not been there the love of Christ and the will to proclaim Him and with Him the living God. Should we simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical marginal group, from the search for reconciliation and unity? What will then be?

Certainly, we have long and have again on this occasion heard many dissonances from representatives of this community - pride and a patronizing know-it-all attitude, fixation into onesidedness etc. For the love of truth I must add that I have also received a series of moving testimonials of gratitude, in which was made perceptible an opening of hearts. But should the great Church not also be able to be magnanimous [in German its a play on words: "great Church - great of heart"] in the knowledge of the long wind she has; in the knowledge of the promise which she has been given? Should we not, like good educators, also be able not to hear some bad things and strive to calmly lead out of the narrowness? And must we not admit that also from ecclesial circles there have come dissonances? Sometimes one has the impression that our society needs at least one group for which there need not be any tolerance; which one can unperturbedly set upon with hatred. And who dared to touch them - in this case the Pope - lost himself the right to tolerance and was allowed without fear and restraint to be treated with hatred, too.

Dear brethren, in the days in which it came into my mind to write this letter, it so happened that in the seminary of Rome I had to interpret and comment the passage of Gal 5, 13-15. I was surprised at how directly it speaks of the present of this hour: "Do not make liberty an occasion to the flesh, but by charity of the spirit serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if you bite and devour one another; take heed you be not consumed one of another." I was always inclined to regard this sentence as one of the rhetorical hyperbole which occasionally there are with St. Paul. In some respects it may be so. But unfortunately, the "biting and devouring" is there in the Church even today as an expression of a poorly understood freedom. Is it surprising that we are not better than the Galatians? That we at least are threatened by the same temptations? That we have always to learn anew the right use of freedom? And that we have always to learn anew the first priority: love? On the day on which I had to speak about this in the seminary, in Rome the feast of the Madonna della Fiducia - our Lady of Trust - was celebrated. Indeed - Mary teaches us trust. She leads us to the Son, in Whom we all may trust. He will guide us - even in turbulent times. So at the end I would like to thank from my heart all the many bishops who have given me in this time moving signs of trust and affection, but above all the gift of their prayers. This thank I extend to all the faithful who have shown me during this time their unchanged fidelity to the successor of St. Peter. The Lord preserve us all and lead us on the path of peace. This is a wish that spontaneously rises from my heart, especially now at the beginning of Lent, a liturgical time particularly propitious to inner purification, and which invites us all to look with new hope towards the radiant goal of Easter.

With a special Apostolic Blessing, I remain


Yours in the Lord

Benedictus Pp. XVI

From the Vatican, on 10 March 2009