Saints Mary, Martha & Lazarus

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, cuius Filius in domo beatae Marthae dignatus est hospitari, da, quaesumus, ut, eiusdem intercessione, Christo in fratribus nostris fideliter ministrantes, in aede caelesti a te recipi mereamur.

Almighty everlasting God, whose Son was pleased to be welcomed in blessed Martha’s house as a guest, grant, we pray, that through her intercession, serving Christ faithfully in our brothers, we may merit to be received by you into the halls of heaven.

July 29:  Saints Martha, Mary & Lazarus,  Calendar of the Benedictine Confederation

Deus, cuius Filius de sepülcro ad vitam Lâzarum revocavit, et in domo Marthae dignâtus est hospitâri, da nobis, quaésumus ut, ipsi in frâtribus nostris fidéliter ministrântes, * cum Maria méditatione pasci mereamur. Qui tecum . . .

O God, whose Son called Lazarus from the tomb to life, and to be welcomed into the house of Martha, grant us, we beseech you, that we ministering to him in our brothers, may merit to be fed by the meditation of Mary. 

USCCB

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the example of your Saints may spur us on to a better life, so that we, who celebrate the memory of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus, may also imitate without ceasing their deeds. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Ad Officium lectionis & ad Vesperas: novus

Te gratulántes pángimus,

Martha, beáta múlier,

quæ meruísti sæpius

Christum domi recípere.

Tantum libénter hóspitem

curis ornábas sédulis,

in plúrima sollícita

amóris dulci stímulo.

Pascis dum læta Dóminum,

soror ac frater ávide

possunt ab illo grátiæ

vitæque cibum súmere.

Captúro mortis trámitem

dante soróre arómata,

extrémi tu servítii

vigil donásti múnera.

Magístri felix hóspita,

corda fac nostra férveant,

ut illi gratæ iúgiter

sint sedes amicítiæ.

Sit Trinitáti glória,

quæ nos in domum cælicam

admítti tandem tríbuat

tecúmque laudes cánere. Amen.

We sing your praises, O Martha, blessed woman, who were worthy often to receive Christ into your home. You so joyfully covered your guest with sollicit0us care, anxious in many things under the sweet sting of your love.  While you happily feed the Lord, your sister and brother enthusiastically were able to take from him the food of grace and life. When the Lord was captured on the road to his death, your sister provided him sweet smelling perfume and you gave the gift of final service by keeping watch over him. O happy hostess of the Master, make our hearts to burn to be grateful seats of friendship with him. . To the Trinity be glory, who grants at last for us to admitted into the heavenly home with you to sing praises. Amen.

Ad Laudes matutinas: novus

Quas tibi laudes ferimúsque vota,

nos tuis possint méritis iuváre,

Martha, quam mire sibi corde iungit

  Christus amíco.

Te frequens visit Dóminus tuáque

in domo degit plácida quiéte

ac tuis verbis studiísque lætans

  teque minístra.

Tu prior fratrem quéreris perísse,

cumque germána lacrimáta multum,

áspicis vitæ súbita Magístri

  voce redíre.

Quæ fide prompta stábilem fatéris

spem resurgéndi, Dómino probánte,

ímpetra nobis cúpide in perénne

  pérgere regnum.

Laus Deo Patri, Genitóque virtus,

Flámini Sancto párilis potéstas,

glóriam quorum pétimus per ævum

  cérnere tecum. Amen.

May the praise and prayers which we offer to you, by your merits help us, O Martha, whom Christ marvelously united to his heart in friendship. The Lord often visited you and in your home enjoyed peaceful quiet, happy in your words and zeal and service. At first you lament the death of your brother and with your sister shed many tears, then you see him restored to life at the command of the Master. Moved by faith you announce firm hope in the resurrection, when the Lord asks you, pray that we may eagerly come to the eternal kingdom. Praise to God the Father, strength to the Begotten, equal power to the Holy Spirit, whose glory we with you seek to see through ages.

SS. Joachim and Anne

Ad Officium lectionis & ad Vesperas: saec. XVII?

Dum tuas festo, pater o colénde,

cántico laudes habet hæc coróna,

vocis ac mentis, Ióachim, benígne

  áccipe munus.

Longa te regum séries avórum

Abrahæ prolem tulit atque David;

clárior mundi dómina corúscas

  prole María.

Sic tuum germen benedícta ab Anna

éditum, patrum repetíta vota

implet, et mæsto próperat reférre

  gáudia mundo.

Laus tibi, Prolis Pater increátæ;

laus tibi, summi Súboles Paréntis;

summa laus, compar, tibi sit per omne,

  Spíritus, ævum. Amen.

O venerable father, Joachim, as this crown offers you praise with a festal hymn, kindly receive the gift of voice and mind. The long succession of kings, your ancestors, made you offspring of Abraham and David; you shine brighter because of your child, Mary, Lady of the whole world. Thus, your offspring issuing forth from blessed Anne fulfills the endless prayers of your fathers and hastens to turn the sorrow of the world into gladness. Praise to you, O Father of the uncreated Son, praise to you, O Progeny of the highest Father, highest and equal praise, O Spirit, be to you through all ages. Amen.

Ad Laudes matutinas: saec. XV

Nocti succédit lúcifer,

quem mox auróra séquitur,

solis ortum prænúntians

mundum lustrántis lúmine.

Christus sol est iustítiæ,

auróra Mater grátiæ,

quam, Anna, præis rútilans

legis propéllens ténebras.

Anna, radix ubérrima,

arbor tu salutífera,

virgam prodúcens flóridam

quæ Christum nobis áttulit.

O matris Christi génetrix

tuque parens sanctíssime,

natæ favénte mérito,

nobis rogáte véniam.

The morning star succeeds to night, the dawn soon follows, announcing the rising of the sun, which illuminates the world with light. Christ is the Sun of justice, his Mother the dawn of grace, whom resplendent Anne precedes, driving away the darkness of the old law.  O Anne, the most fruitful root, you, the saving tree, producing that flowering branch, which Christ brings to us. O Mother of the Mother of Christ, and you, Joachim, her most holy parent, by the merits of your daughter, ask for us pardon.

From the Lessons of St. Bridgit of Sweden

 

It was love that led God to create.

There could be nothing lacking in God,
nothing wanting to his goodness or his joy.
It was out of love alone that he willed creation,
that there might be beings, apart from himself,
who would partake of his infinite goodness and joy.
So the Angels came to be,
created by God in countless numbers.
To them he gave free will,
freedom to act, in accordance with their nature,
as they willed.
As he himself is under no necessity
but has created out of love alone,
he will that the Angels,
whom he designed for eternal happiness with him,
should likewise be under no necessity.
He looked for love in response to his love,
obedience to his offer of eternal joy.

St. Laurence Brindisi: Assumption

Today the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Theotocos and Christotocos, is taken into heaven to that court where the King of kings sits upon his starry throne. While angels and saints rejoice together with Christ, it is fitting that we too celebrate and rejoice with them today. Our true Solomon, the King of Peace, seats his Mother, the true Bathsheba, at his right hand today in the heavenly Jerusalem above all the choirs of angels. Today the ark of the covenant of the Lord is brought into the temple and placed in the Holy of Holies. This is the same ark that John saw in the Book of Revelation. Then God=s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen in the temple.  After writing this at the close of Chapter 1 1, as if to clarify the vision, he follows it immediately with the opening verse of Chapter 12:

 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Without doubt this woman is the Virgin Mary, for John adds that she gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all nations... Her child was caught up to God and his throne.

 Christ is that son who has been taken up into heaven and sits at the right hand of God. The ark of the covenant seen by John in the heavenly temple, therefore, is the Most Holy Mother of God, the Ark of the Divinity, in whom dwells the whole fullness of the Godhead bodily. The ark was gilded inside and out; Mary is holy in body and spirit. The ark was placed between the cherubim; Mary was frequently among the angels in a totally angelic life. The ark was covered by the divine propitiatory; the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most high will overshadow you.

 Mary is the ark in which the tablets of the divine law were to be perpetually reserved by her perfect and unconditional observance of the law. She is that urn filled with heavenly manna; filled with grace: Hail, full of grace. She is that staff which miraculously burst into bloom and bore fruit; she conceived as a fruitful virgin, gave birth to the God-Man as a virgin and, after giving birth, remained a virgin. She is, therefore, halmah, a perpetual virgin. She is that heavenly ark seen by John in God’s heavenly temple.

St. Laurence Brindisi, Pastor

 

 

Qui docti fúerint, fulgébunt quasi splendor firmaménti et, qui ad iustítiam erúdiunt multos, quasi stellæ in perpétuas æternitátes.

Those who are learned will shine as the splendor of the firmament and will instruct many in righteousness, as the stars of eternity.

Deus, qui pro nóminis tui glória et animárum salúte beáto Lauréntio, presbýtero, spíritum consílii et fortitúdinis contulísti, da nobis in eódem spíritu et agénda cognóscere et cógnita, eius intercessióne, perfícere.

O God, who for the glory of your name and the salvation of souls, did bestow on the blessed priest Laurence, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, grant to us by the same spirit and thought to know what must be done and through his intercession, bring it to completion.  

O doctor óptime, Ecclésiæ sanctæ lumen, beáte N., divínæ legis amátor, deprecáre pro nobis Fílium Dei.

O great Doctor, light of holy Church, blessed N. lover of divine law, pray for us to the Son of God.

St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

 

Qui odit ánimam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam ætérnam custódit eam.

He who hates his own life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Dírige fidéles tuos, Dómine, in viam salútis ætérnæ, quam beátus Apollináris, epíscopus, doctrína et martýrio monstrávit, et fac nos, eódem intercedénte, sic in mandátis tuis perseveráre, ut cum ipso coronári mereámur.

Guide your faithful, O Lord, in the way of eternal life, which the blessed bishop Apollinaris demonstrated in his teaching and martyrdom, and make us by his intercession so to persevere in your commandments, that we may be worthy to be crowned with him.

In cæléstibus regnis sanctórum habitátio est et in ætérnum réquies eórum.

The dwelling place of the saints is in the kingdom of heaven and their rest is eternal.

St. Mary Magdalene

 

Vespers: St. Robert Bellarmine, S.J. (1542-1621).

 

Pater superni luminis,

Cum Magdalenam respicis,

Flammas amoris excitas,

Geluque solvis pectoris.

 

Amore currit saucia

Pedes beatos ungere,

Lavare fletu, tergere

Comis, et ore lambere.

 

Astare non timet Cruci,

Sepulcro inhæret anxia:

Truces nec horret milites,

Pellit timorem caritas.

 

O vera, Christe, caritas,

Tu nostra purga crimina,

Tu corda reple gratia,

Tu redde cæli præmia.

 

Patri, simulque Filio,

Tibique Sancte Spiritus,

Sicut fuit, sit iugiter

Sæclum per omne gloria. Amen.

 

 

Monastic Diurnal

 

O FATHER of celestial rays,

When thou on Magdalene dost gaze,

The flame of burning love appears,

Her icy heart dissolves

in tears.

 

Wounded by love, she hastens o'er

The feet of Christ her tears to pour,

Anoints them, wipes them with her hair,

And prints adoring kisses there.

 

Fearless, the Cross she will not leave:

And grieving, to the Tomb doth cleave: 

No ruthless soldiers cause her dread:

For from her love all fear hath fled.

 

O Christ, true Charity thou art;

Purge thou the foulness of our heart,

Fill every soul with grace and love,

And give us thy rewards above.

 

All laud to God the Father be;

All praise, eternal Son, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To God the Holy Paraclete. Amen.

 

Matins: att. St. Gregory the Great

 

Nardo Maria pistico

Unxit beatos Domini

Pedes, rigando lacrimis,

Et detergendo crinibus.

 

Honor, decus, imperium,

Sit Trinitati unicæ,

Patri, Nato, Paraclito,

Per infinita sæcula. Amen.

 

 

His sacred feet with tears of agony

She bathes; and prostrate on the earth adores;

Steeps them in kisses chaste, and wipes them dry

With her own hair; then forth her precious ointment pours.

 

Praise in the highest to the Father be;

Praise to the mighty coeternal Son;

And praise, O Spirit Paraclete, to Thee,

While ages upon everlasting ages run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lauds: attr. St. Odo of Cluny, (878-942).

 

Æterni Patris Unice,

Nos pio vultu respice,

Qui Magdalenam hodie

Vocas ad thronum gloriæ.

 

In thesauro recondita

Regis est drachma perdita,

Gemmaque lucet inclita

Ex luto luci reddita.

 

Iesu dulce refugium,

Spes una pœnitentium,

Per peccatricis meritum

Peccati solve debitum.

 

*Nos vitiorum stimuli

Iugi vexant instantia,

Et blandimentis sæculi

Corrumpunt lenocinia.

 

*Libet, nec licet libere

Tibi pro voto psallere,

Dum mens ægra sub miseræ

Carnis gemiscit onere.

 

Pia mater et humilis,

Naturæ memor fragilis,

Nos rege tuis precibus

In huius vitæ fluctibus.

 

Uni Deo sit gloria

Pro multiformi gratia,

Qui culpas et supplicia

Remittit, et dat præmia. Amen.

 

*Verses omitted in monastic texts and translations.

 

THOU only Son of God on high,

Regard us with a gracious eye,

Who weeping Magdalene dost own

And call unto thy glorious throne.

 

Lo! In the royal coffers laid

Again, the long lost coin displayed;

The noble gem of sparkling sheen,

From mire recovered, glows serene.

 

Jesu, our refuge sure and sweet,

Thee, hope of penitents, we greet;

Forgive the hearts that fain would break,

For that repentant sinner's sake.

 

And may that Mother kind and meek

Think on our nature frail and weak,

And raise her prayer that we may gain

A passage safe o'er life's rough main.

 

To God alone be honor paid

For grace so manifold displayed:

Their guilt he pardons who repent,

And gives reward for punishment. Amen

Pray for Pope Francis, whose first concern should be always the Unity of the Church. Pray for all those who use the Extra-Ordinary form of the Mass. Pray for bishops that they may graciously accomodate the use of the Latin Mass. Pray for souls who through the Latin Mass were converted, lead to the truth and became members of the Catholic Church.

Most of all pray for those who will be lost.

Saint Bonaventure: Mary as Queen; Queenship of Mary: Royal Dignity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 

 

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the Mother of the great King by reason of a noble kind of conception according to the message given her by the Angel. "Behold," he said, "thou shalt conceive and shall bring forth a Son"; and again, "The Lord God will give Him the throne of David His father, and He shall be king over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end." This is as if to say in so many words, "Thou shalt conceive and bear a Son who is King, eternally reigning on the royal throne, and because of this thou wilt reign as the Mother of the King, and as Queen thou wilt be seated on the royal throne." For if it becomes a son to give honor to his mother, it is also fitting that he share his royal throne with her; and so the Virgin Mary, because she conceived Him on whose thigh was written, "King of kings and Lord of lords," was Queen not only of earth but also of heaven as soon as she conceived the Son of God. This is indicated in the Apocalypse where it says, "A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon was under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars."

Mary the Queen outshines all others in glory, as the Prophet clearly shows in the Psalm which particularly concerns Christ and the Virgin Mary. It first says of Christ, "Thy throne, O God, stands forever and ever," and shortly thereafter of the Virgin, "The queen takes her place at Thy right hand," that is, in the position of highest blessedness, for it refers to glory of soul. The Psalm continues, "In garments of gold," by which is meant the clothing of glorious immortality which was proper to the Virgin in her Assumption. For it could not be that the garment that clothed Christ, the garment completely sanctified on earth by the incarnate Word, should be the food of worms. As it was fitting for Christ to grant the fullness of grace to His Mother at her Conception, so it was fitting that He grant her the fullness of glory at her Assumption. And so, we are to hold that the Virgin, glorious in soul and body, is enthroned next to her Son.

 Mary the Queen is also the distributor of grace. This is indicated in the book of Esther in the passage, "The little spring which grew into a river and was turned into a light and into the sun." The Virgin Mary, under the type of Esther, is compared to the out- pouring of a spring and of light, because of the diffusion of graces for two uses, that is, for action and for contemplation. For the grace of God, which is a healing for the human race, descends to us through her as if through an aqueduct, since the dispensing of grace is attributed to the Virgin not as to its beginning, but because of her position through merit. By position the Virgin Mary is a most excellent Queen towards her people: she obtains forgiveness, overcomes strife, distributes grace; and thereby she leads them to glory.

From John Mason Neale/from Divine Lamp/ Psalm 113: Sunday Lauds

 

St Thomas Aquinas gives the following indications of how he viewed this Psalm.

This is a Psalm about Christ who turned the once barren Church (i.e., Israel, see Isa 54:1; Gal 4:21-31) into the fruitfulness of holiness.  In this Psalm it is the voice of the Church which is heard giving praise. It is the voice of the Church to God.   Likewise, it is the voice of the Church which she utters to her faithful children, who are born again in the holy font, whatever be their flesh or age.

St Bede the Venerable gives his view, stating that the Psalm explains the words of its title: “For as it is Alleluia, Praise ye the Lord, so the Psalm itself begins.  The Prophet David in the first part exhorts the devout always to offer praise to God, and to proclaim Him in all the world: Praise the Lord, ye servants.  Secondly, he does himself what he exhorts others to do: Who is like unto the Lord our God?

According to the Syriac Psalter “It is spoken as an earnest warning touching the ministry of the Lord to be performed by the priests at the morning season.  It urges us, a new people, born again of water and the Spirit, that we should be ready to minister, with hearts sprinkled and washed by the Holy Ghost, and with pure minds.

In Gregorian and Monastic usage, the Psalm was employed for Vespers on Sundays and Festivals, including Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Common of Apostles.  The Ambrosian, Parisian, and Lyons Offices or Psalters used it for Vespers on Sundays, and the Quignon for Tuesday Vespers.

The most common Antiphon used with this Psalm in the various ancient Offices was: “Let the Name of the Lord be blessed forever more.”  In light of how the Philippians Canticle ends, this is a thoroughly appropriate antiphon for use on Ascension Thursday.  The Antiphon used in the current Office is based upon John 16:28, “I came forth from the Father and am come into the world: again I leave the world and I go to the Father.”

With this Psalm begins the Hallel, or “Great Alleluia of the Jews,” namely, the group of Psalms 113-118 inclusive, which was sung at the Passover, Pentecost, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Dedication, and on all the New Moons.  At the Passover it was divided into two parts, the first consisting of Psalms 113-114, sung before the second Cup at the Paschal Supper was passed around, and thus consequently before the meal itself, which began immediately after that ceremony.  The second part consisted of Psalms 115-118, sung after the filling of the fourth Cup, and supposed to be “the hymn” which Christ and the Apostles are stated to have sung after the Last Supper, before they went out to Gethsemane (Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26).  It is interesting in another aspect, from forming the intermediate link in Hebrew poetry between the Son of Hannah and the Magnificat, with each of which it has something in common.

Catena Aurea: St. Mark:6:7-13

 

Augustine, de Con. Evan., 2, 30: Or else; according to Matthew, the Lord immediately subjoined, “The workman is worthy of his meat,” [Matt 10:19] which sufficiently proves why He forbade their carrying or possessing such things; not because they were not necessary, but because He sent them in such a way as to shew, that they were due to them from the faithful, to whom they preached the Gospel.

From this it is evident that the Lord did not mean by this precept that the Evangelists ought to live only on the gifts of those to whom they preach the Gospel, else the Apostle transgressed this precept when he procured his livelihood by the labor of his own hands, but He meant that He had given them a power, in virtue of which, they might be assured these things were due to them.

It is also often asked, how it comes that Matthew and Luke have related that the Lord commanded His disciples not to carry even a staff, whilst Mark says, “And He commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only.” Which question is solved, by supposing that the word ‘staff’ has a meaning in [p. 110] Mark, who says that it ought to be carried, different from that which it bears in Matthew and Luke, who affirm the contrary. For in a concise way one might say, Take none of the necessaries of life with you, nay, not a staff, save a staff only; so that the saying, nay not a staff, may mean, nay not the smallest thing; but that which is added, “save a staff only,” may mean that, through the power received by them from the Lord, of which a rod is the ensign, nothing, even of those things which they do not carry, will be wanting to them.

The Lord, therefore, said both, but because one Evangelist has not given both, men suppose, that he who has said that the staff, in one sense, should be taken, is contrary to him who again has declared, that, in another sense, it should be left behind: now however that a reason has been given, let no one think so.

So also when Matthew declares that shoes are not to be worn on the journey, he forbids anxiety about them, for the reason why men are anxious about carrying them, is that they may not be without them. This is also to be understood of the two coats, that no man should be troubled about having only that with which he is clad from anxiety lest he should need another, when he could always obtain one from the power given by the Lord.

In like manner Mark, by saying that they are to be shod with sandals or soles, warns us that this mode of protecting the feet has a mystical signification, that the foot should neither be covered above nor be naked on the ground, that is, that the Gospel should neither be hid, nor rest upon earthly comforts; and in that He forbids their possessing or taking with them, or more expressly their wearing, two coats, He bids them walk simply, not with duplicity. But whosoever thinks that the Lord could not in the same discourse say some things figuratively, others in a literal sense, let him look into His other discourses, and he shall see, how rash and ignorant is his judgment.

Our Lady on Saturday: Catherine of Cleaves: Hours of the Virgin Matins

Our Lady on Saturday: Catherine of Cleaves: Hours of the Virgin Matins

Our Lady on Saturday: Catherine of Cleaves: Hours of the Virgin Matins

The crowned Virgin stands on an inverted silver crescent moon, holding her Child and an ink bottle into which He dips His pen. Across His lap lies an illegible scroll, and an empty scroll case hangs over the arm of the Virgin. Both figures, encompassed by a gold mandorla, are placed within a shallow chapel, possibly Catherine's own, surmounted by flying buttresses, crenelations, two turrets with music-making angels and, in the central niche, a statue in a gesture of benediction, holding a gold object (a church?) in its other arm. The statue may represent Saint Nicholas who was patron saint of the castle chapel at Cleves. Beneath the statue hangs a heraldic shield å bouche, Barry of eight argent and sable. Catherine kneels at the Virgin's right with an open book and a banderole inscribed O mater dei memento mei. In the border are the arms of Catherine as Duchess of Guelders and those of four of her ancestors. These forebears have been identified by F. Gorissen as four of Catherine's great-great-grandfathers (Count Diderik of Cleves, Count Engelbert of Mark, Duke Ludwig of Bavaria, and Duke Ludwig of Liegnitz); by P. Pieper and D. H. Horstmann as four of her great-grandparents. 

What to do about Pope Francis. What to do about those Francis hates. What to do about all the folks we cannot stand: Shut no one out from your love.

 

What to do about Pope Francis. What to do about those Francis hates. What to do about all the folks we cannot stand: Shut no one out from your love.

Maximus the Confessor: Centuries on Charity 4, 82ff

Do all you can to love everyone. If you are not yet able to, at the very least don't hate anyone. Yet you won't even manage this if you have not reached detachment from the things of this world. You must love everyone with all your soul, hoping, however, only in God and honoring him with all your heart.

Christ's friends are not loved by all, but they sincerely love all. The friends of this world are not loved by all, but neither do they love all.

Christ's friends persevere in their love right to the end. The friends of this world persevere only so long as they do not find themselves in disagreement over worldly matters.

A faithful friend is an effective protector. When things are going well, he gives you good advice and shows you his sympathy in practical ways. When things are going badly, he defends you unselfishly and he is a deeply committed ally. 

Many people have said many things about love. But if you are looking for it, you will only find it in the followers of Christ. Only they have true Love as their teacher in love.

This is the Love about which it is written: 'If I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, but have not love, I am nothing.' [1 Cor. 13:2]

Whoever has love has God, because God is Love. [1 John 4:16]