Prayers of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

 

Prayers of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face

A Morning Offering

Boston-Carmel_023bO my God!  I offer You all my actions this day for the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart, my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to His infinite merits; and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of His merciful love. O my God! I ask You for myself and for those whom I hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly Your holy will, to accept for love of You the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be united together in heaven for all eternity.  Amen.

 

 

 

Act of Oblation to Merciful Love

O my God!  Most Blessed Trinity, I desire to Love You and make You Loved, to work for the glory of Holy Church by saving souls on earth and liberating those suffering in purgatory.  I desire to accomplish Your will perfectly and to reach the degree of glory You have prepared for me in Your Kingdom.  I desire, in a word, to be a saint, but I feel my helplessness and I beg You, O my God!  To be Yourself my Sanctity! Since You loved me so much as to give me Your only Son as my Savior and my Spouse, the infinite treasures of His merits are mine.  I offer them to You with gladness, begging You to look on me only in the Face of Jesus and in His Heart burning with Love.

Homily by S. Jerome: Bk. 1. Comm. on Matt. Ch. 5

 

Homily by S. Jerome: Bk. 1. Comm. on Matt. Ch. 5

 

SALT is what the Apostles and Doctors are called; for with them is the whole human race seasoned. But if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned? If a doctor shall err, by what other doctor shall he be corrected? He is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. The example is taken from farm work. For although salt is necessary for seasoning food and preserving meat, it yet is of no use for anything else.

 

WE read in Scripture that certain cities were sown with salt, by avenging conquerors, so that nothing would grow in them. Then let doctors and bishops beware, and let them see that the powerful are powerfully tormented; and that there is no remedy, but that the ruin of the great leads to hell. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid; neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

 

HE teaches boldness in preaching, lest the Apostles should shrink back through timidity, and be like candles under a bushel: but let them come forth freely, and let them proclaim upon the housetops what they have heard in closets. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. Either that he would fulfil what had been prophesied of him by others; or else that he would fulfil by his preaching those things that had been incomplete and imperfect on account of the weakness of the hearers, taking away wrath, forbidding the tooth for a tooth, and condemning the hidden lust of the heart.

 

TILL heaven and earth pass. A new heaven and a new earth are promised unto us, which the Lord God will make. Then if the new ones are to be created, then it follows that the old ones will pass away. But from what follows: One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled; it is shown from the example of a letter, that even that which seems least in the law is full of spiritual mysteries, and that all is gathered up in the Gospels.

Origen on the Penitent Thief

 

Origen on the Penitent Thief

 

quem non gravi solvit metu

latrónis absolútio?

 

The Paschal hymn Hic est dies verus Dei centers our attention on the penitent thief as a sign of both the power of Christ’s death and of his resurrection:

 

            quem non gravi solvit metu

latrónis absolútio?

 

            Opus stupent et ángeli,

pœnam vidéntes córporis

Christóque adhæréntem reum

vitam beátam cárpere

 

Quid hoc potest sublímius,

ut culpa quærat grátiam,

metúmque solvat cáritas

reddátque mors vitam novam?

 

Steven Cartwright’s essay ‘Origen’s Interpretation of Romans’  in A Companion to St. Paul in the Middle Ages (Series Brill's Companions to the Christian Tradition, Volume: 39 Editor: Steven Cartwright) explains the hymn’s interest in the thief. This text was well-known in the Middle Ages and well-respected and as we would expect, much disliked by Luther.

 

In his Commentary on Romans Origen looks for examples of justification by grace alone and finds two: the sinful woman in Luke 7 and the good thief in  Luke 23:42. Origen comments:

 

            In the Gospels nothing else is recorded about his good works, but for the sake of

            this faith alone, Jesus said to him: ‘truly I say to you: today you will be with me

            in paradise. . . . through faith this thief was justified without works of the law.

 

Origen views this as an exception to the rule, because the thief had no time to perform good works. But, while Scripture sometimes describes sinners who are justified by faith alone, normally after receiving baptismal grace, good works and merit are necessary.

 

“Interestingly Origen chooses to exemplify the necessity of mortification by returning to the example of the thief on the cross. . . he had been planted together in the likeness of Christ’s death and of his resurrection, and for that reason deserved paradise since he had been joined to the tree of life.”

 

The thief was ‘a plant worthy of paradise which was joined to  the tree of life’. The thief is an example of how faith and works cooperate.

Blessed Clara Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

 

Blessed Clara Gambacorta, Widow, Nun/ Blessed Mary Mancini, Widow and Nun

 

 

Tribue nobis, miséricors Deus, spiritum oratiônis et paeniténtiœ, ut, Beate Clara vestigiis inharéntes, corénam quam ipsa in célis accépit, obtinére mereâmur. Per Dôminum.

 

Grant to us, O merciful God, the spirit of prayer and penitence, that following the footsteps of blessed Clara, we may be worth to obtain the crown she received in heaven.

 

Deus, gratiae largitor et maerentium consolator, qui Beatam Mariam admirabili patentia invictaque animi constantia in adversis vitae roborasti, ipsius nobis intercession concede ut, voluntati tuae sincere corde obsequentes, per varias vitae semitas fideliter ambulemus. Per Dominum.

 

O God, the giver of grace and the consoler of those who mourn, who strengthened Blessed Mary with wondrous patience and invincible constancy in adversity of life, grant to us by her intercession that following your will with a sincere heart, we may walk faithfully in the various paths of life.

 

 

Blessed Clara Gambacorta is a widow and Dominican nun who was known for her and her community's religious observance and her great charity and forgiveness.

 

Born in Pisa in A.D. 1362, Blessed Clara's father became the governor of Pisa when she was seven years old and betrothed her to a young man named Simon di Massa. Although chosen for marriage by her parents, Blessed Cara was devoted, tradition tells, to living a life entirely for God. At the age of 12 Blessed Clara was forced to submit to marriage, but her husband left immediately after the marriage to fight in foreign wars and died in 1377 without ever returning to Pisa. Now a widow at the age of 15, Blessed Clara was determined to join a religious order, but her parents were intent on seeing her remarried.

 

In the face of her parents' opposition, Blessed Clara cut off all her hair, gave all she owned to the poor, and, wearing rough penitential clothes, entered the local Convent of the Poor Clares. In her choice of a religious life, Blessed Clara was encouraged in letters by Saint Catherine of Sienna, whom she had met on the Saint's visit to Pisa two years earlier. In the convent, she exchanged her baptismal name, Thora, for the religious name of Clara. However, she was not in the convent long because her brother, with an armed force, removed her from the convent and took her home where she was kept for many months against her will. However, on the feast of Saint Dominic, Clara's sister-in-law took her to mass a the local Dominican church where she received a call to the religious life as a Dominican.

 

Finally, through patience, Blessed Clara overcame the objections of her family and was allowed to join the Dominican Convent of the Holy Cross outside Pisa.

 

While the Convent of the Holy Cross had a devout and pious spirit, it was not a place of strict religious observance. So, after four years Blessed Clara, and four others, moved into a new convent dedicated to Saint Dominic and built for them by Peter Gambacorta, where strict religious observance was kept by Blessed Clara and her fellow sisters.

 

Blessed Clara was soon chosen as the prioress of the new convent and from it several sisters went on to reform communities throughout the region. The community was renowned for its religious observance and even was responsible for initiating a reform of friars because of their example and prayers.

 

Tradition tells of Count Galeazzo who one day was praying in front of a crucifix in a half-ruined church in the city. From the crucifix came a voice asking that the Count carry it to the Covent of Saint Dominic. While the Count was enroute to the convent, Blessed Clara heard a voice that urged her to the convent's door to meet her spouse. At the door she found Count Galeazzo and the crucifix, which she accepted with great deoviton and hung it above the convent's high altar.

 

Although Blessed Clara's convent lived in strict religious observance, it was a community known for its charity. No poor person who approached the convent was left unaided. And, Blessed Clara organized out-sisters who would work in institutions around Pisa ministering to those in need under the direction of Blessed Clara. As well, Blessed Clara was a spiritual guide for many through her wise counsel and letters. Known for her prudence and charity, Blessed Clara even pardoned the assassins of her father and brothers, even giving the assassin's widow and daughters safe refuge in the convent. Blessed Clara also prized study and encouraged her sisters to do so too.

 

Blessed Clara died on 17 April 1419, at the age of 57. Tradition tells that many miracles and signal graces have been obtained by the intercession of Blessed Clara. She was beatified by Pope Pius VIII.

 

Blessed Mary Mancini:

 

    Catherine Mancini was born in Pisa, of noble parentage, and almost in babyhood began enjoying the miraculous favors with which her life was filled. At the age of three, she was warned by some heavenly agency that the porch on which she had been placed by a nurse was unsafe. Her cries attracted the nurse's attention, and they had barely left the porch when it collapsed. When she was five, she beheld in an ecstasy the dungeon of a place in Pisa in which Peter Gambacorta, one of the leading citizens, was being tortured. At Catherine's prayer, the rope broke and the man was released. Our Lady told the little girl to say prayers every day for this man, because he would one day be her benefactor.

 

 

 

    Catherine would have much preferred the religious life to marriage, but she obeyed her parents and was married at the age of twelve. Widowed at sixteen, she was compelled to marry again. Of her seven children, only one survived the death of her second husband., and Catherine learned through a vision that this child, too, was soon to be taken from her. Thus she found herself, at the age of twenty five, twice widowed and bereft of all her children. Refusing a third marriage, she devoted herself to prayers and works of charity.

 

 

 

    She soon worked out for herself a severe schedule of prayers and good works, fasting and mortifications. She        tended  the sick and the poor, bringing them into her own home and regarding them as Our Lord Himself. She gave her goods to the poor and labored for them with her own hands. Our Lord was pleased  to show her that He approved of her works by appearing to her in the guise of a poor young man, sick, and in need of both food and medicine. She carefully dressed his wounds, and she was rewarded by the revelation that it was in reality her redeemer whom she had served.

 

 

 

    St. Catherine of Siena visited Pisa at about this time, and the two saintly women were drawn together into a holy friendship. As they prayed together in the Dominican church one day, they were surrounded by a bright cloud, out of which flew a white dove. They conversed joyfully on spiritual matters, and were mutually strengthened by the meeting.

 

    On the advice of St. Catherine of Siena, Catherine (Mary Mancini) retired to an enclosed convent of the Second Order. In religion, she was given the name Mary, by which she is usually known. She embraced the religious life in all its primitive austerity, and, with Blessed Clare Gambacorta and a few other members of the convent, she founded a new and much more austere house, which had been built by Peter Gambacorta. Our Lady's prophecy of his benefactions was thus fulfilled.

 

    Blessed Mary was favored with many visions and was in almost constant prayer. She became prioress of the house on the death of her friend Blessed Clare Gambacorta and ruled it with justice and holiness until her death.

 

Our Lady Help of Christians

 

This hymn was used for Lauds on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians in appendices to the Roman Breviary of the 19th Century in certain regions.

 

Te Redemptoris, Dominique nostri

Dicimus Matrem, speciosa Virgo,

Christianorum decus, et levamen –

Rebus in arctis.

 

Sæviant portæ licet inferorum,

Hostis antiquus fremat, et minaces

Ut Deo, sacrum populetur agmen,

Suscitet iras.

 

Nil truces possunt furiæ nocere

Mentibus castis, prece quas vocata

Annuens Virgo fovet, et superno

Robore firmat.

 

Tanta si nobis faveat Patrona,

Bellici cessat sceleris tumultus,

Mille sternuntur, fugiuntve turmæ,

Mille cohortes.

 

Tollit ut sancta caput in Sione

Turris, arx firmo fabricata muro,

Civitas David, clypeis, et acri

Milite tuta.

 

Virgo sic fortis Domini potenti

Dextera, cæli cumulata donis,

A piis longe famulis repellit

Dæmonis ictus.

 

Te per æternos veneremur annos

Trinitas, summo celebranda plausu,

Te fide mentes, resonoque linguæ

Carmine laudent. Amen.

 

 

 

Mother of our Lord and Saviour!
First in beauty as in power!
Glory of the Christian nations!
Ready help in trouble’s hour!

Though the gates of Hell against us
With profoundest fury rage;
Though the ancient Foe assault us,
And his fiercest battle wage;

Nought can hurt the pure in spirit,
Who upon thine aid rely;
At thy hand secure of gaining
Strength and mercy from on high.

Safe beneath thy mighty shelter,-
Though a thousand hosts combine,
All must fall or flee before us,
Scatter’d by an arm divine.

Firm as once on holy Sion,
David’s tower rear’d its height;
With a glorious rampart girded,
And with glistening armour bright:

So th’ Almighty’s Virgin Mother
Stands in strength for evermore;
From Satanic hosts defending
All who her defence implore.

Through the everlasting ages,
Blessed Trinity to Thee!
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!
Praise and endless glory be. Amen.

 

A writing of St Vincent de Paul Serving the poor is to be preferred above all things

 

A writing of St Vincent de Paul

Serving the poor is to be preferred above all things

Even though the poor are often rough and unrefined, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary, if you consider the poor in the light of faith, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor.

  Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews, he showed them that his mission was to preach to the poor: He sent me to preach the good news to the poor. We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions, that is, we must take care of the poor, console them, help them, support their cause.

  Since Christ willed to be born poor, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy, we try to understand the poor and weak. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all men. Therefore, we must try to be stirred by our neighbors’ worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions.

  It is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So, when you leave prayer to serve some poor person, remember that this very service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion, then, we must serve the poor, especially outcasts and beggars. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons.

St. Hildegard of Bingen: Symphonia 17: Ave generosa gloriosa et intacta

 

St. Hildegard of Bingen: Symphonia 17: Ave generosa gloriosa et intacta

 

Ave generosa gloriosa et intacta

puella, tu pupilla castitatis,

tu materia sanctitatis,

que Deo placuit.

 

Nam hec superna infusio in te fuit,

quod supernum Verbum in te carnem induit.

 

Tu candidum lilium quod Deus ante omnem creaturam

inspexit.

 

O pulcherrima et dulcissima,

quam valde Deus in te delectabatur,

cum amplexionem caloris sui in te posuit,

ita quod Filius eius de te lactatus est.

 

Venter enim tuus gaudium habuit

cum omnis celestis symphonia de te sonuit,

quia virgo Filium Dei portasti,

ubi castitas tua in Deo claruit.

 

Viscera tua gaudium habuerunt

sicut gramen super quod ros cadit

cum ei viriditatem infundit, ut et in te factum est,

O mater omnis gaudii.

 

Nunc omnis ecclesia in gaudio rutilet

ac in symphonia sonet

propter dulcissimam Virginem

et laudabilem Mariam,

Dei Genitricem. Amen.

 

Hail, nobly born, glorious and inviolate maiden, you the eye of chastity, you the substance of holiness,

who was pleasing to God. For heaven was poured into you, when the heavenly Word put on flesh within you.   You the white lily which God beheld before every creature. Most beautiful and most sweet, in whom God delighted, when he held you in his warm embrace that his son should be nursed by you. For your womb had this joy, when the whole heavenly symphony sounded forth from you. For as a virgin you bore the Son of God, when your chastity was bright in God.  Your tender body had joy, like dew fallen upon the grass, when freshness is poured upon it, so it happened also to you, O Mother of all gladness. Now the whole Church glows with joy and resounds the symphony, on account of the Virgin and praiseworthy Mary, Mother of God. Amen.

Mozarabic Breviary

 

Benignitatis Fons Deus

 

This hymn was used for Vespers & Lauds for the three day fast leading up to Epiphany in the Mozarabic Breviary. It was also used in that Breviary for Lauds on Ash Wednesday, Vespers and Lauds on the fast from Wednesday through Saturday leading up to Pentecost (only Lauds on Saturday) and Vespers and Lauds on the fasts before the Feast of St. Cyprian (Sept. 14) and St. Martin (Nov. 11) (only Lauds on Saturday). It is also listed for Terce during Lent in the section on the Minor Offices in the Mozarabic Breviary.

 

Benignitatis fons Deus,
Qui non habens finem boni
Super malum scelestium,
Semper pius, semper bonus.

 

O God, fount of goodness, you who no end of goodness, over wicked evil, ever gracious, ever good.

Mœstum=sorrowful we strike down enough the sorrowful heart and beat our sad beat, pour out tears from our eyes, we lead sorrowful cheeks,

 

Mœstum satis cor cædimus,
Et triste pectus tundimus,
Aquas pupillæ fundimus,
Mœstas genas inducimus.

 

Egisse multum pœnitet
Horrens, tetrum, vel pessimum;
Turpissimum, ac sordidum
Fatemur omne noxium.

 

 

Done a lot of regret

Horrible, horrible or bad;

The most shameful, and unclean

We acknowledge that every noxious thing.

 

 

Elata vox te postulat,
Tu parce, dicit, Conditor,
Iam parce clamat obsecrans,
Ignosce quod commisimus.

 

 

In a loud voice to demands

But you spare this one, he says, Maker of all,

Spare me in and cries out to you, exhorting,

Sorry that I committed.

 

 

Non ira mœstos sorbeat,

Non pœna fessos conterat:
Solare contritos cito,
Et gaudium nobis dato.

 

 

It is not the wrath of the drinks even with a heavy heart,

No penalty tired and crushed

Solar broken quickly,

The joy we wish.

 

Præsta, Pater piissime,
Patrique compar Unice,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
Regnans per omne sæculum. Amen.

From The Soul's Love-Book attributed to our brother, Henry Suso.

 

This Votive Office contains many elements from the medieval Dominican offices dedicated to aspects of our Lord’s Passion. It is usually celebrated on May 4, but may be used at other times.

 

From The Soul's Love-Book attributed to our brother, Henry Suso.

To follow the Passion of Christ.

 

O Eternal Wisdom, you are the reflection of the glory and the expression of the Father' s being, who created all things out of nothing. You descended to this miserable earth to lead the human race back to the joys of Paradise by your own gracious example. As a meek lamb you offered yourself to the Father as an expiation for the sins of all. By your precious blood open my heart that I may behold you, King of kings and Lord of lords, with the eyes of faith.

 

O heavenly strength and constancy of my soul, most sweet Jesus Christ, when you were cruelly led to the house of Annas, you were questioned about your teaching by him and the Jewish leaders who were sitting around the fire. You meekly answered and were repaid by a savage blow to the head. O reflection of the eternal light and spotless mirror, they blindfolded your clear eyes, soiled your adorable face with spittle, and struck your blameless head with repeated blows.

 

O superabundant salvation of the world, most sweet Jesus Christ, after you had endured a night of unspeakable cruelty in the house of Annas. thereby bearing witness to and manifesting your charity to the world, you were led like a thief to the house of Caiphas. When you stood so humbly before the judge, you were falsely accused. Although you were Son of God. with harsh voices they cried out that you were guilty of death.

 

O only sovereign and origin of all that is, Lord of all the hosts of angels. most sweet Jesus Christ, your arms were cruelly stretched, you were 'bound naked to the hard pillar and violently scourged with whips, you were clothed in purple, crowned with thorns, mocked and struck in the face, with your face covered with blood, your head crowned with thorns, and wearing the purple cloak, you were led before the crowd. A sentence of' death was pronounced upon you, the author of life, by a mortal judge.

 

But I know one thing and I hold this one thing to be true: you suffered all this to draw me to your love; you who are the supreme good submitted to savage blows for love of me.

 

Now, my soul, behold his adorable face which he has made red with drops of blood. In him you possess the fullness of all grace. Behold his pierced head with cruel thorns from which fountains of blood flow.

 

O my king, now grant your servant to enter into your passion, to bear evils, to be crucified with you and to be reborn with you unto eternal life, Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas: On John XI: THE DIVINE FRIEND

 

St. Thomas Aquinas: On John XI: THE DIVINE FRIEND

 

His sisters sent to him saying : Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. John xi. 3.

 

Three things here call for thought.

 

1. God’s friends are from time to time afflicted in the body. It is not, therefore, in any way a proof that a man is not a friend of God that he is from time to time sick and ailing. Eliphaz argued falsely against Job when he said, Remember, I pray thee, whoever perished being innocent? Or when were the just destroyed? (Job iv. 7). The gospel corrects this when it says, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick, and the Book of Proverbs, too, where we read, For whom the Lord loveth, he chastises: just as a father the son in whom he delights (Prov. iii. 12).

 

2. The sisters do not say, " Lord, come and heal him." They merely explain that Lazarus is ill, they say, he is sick. This is to remind us that, when we are dealing with a friend, it is enough to make known our necessity, we do not need to add a request. For a friend, since he wills the welfare of his friend as he wills his own, is as anxious to ward off evil from his friend as he is to ward it off from himself. This is true most of all in the case of Him who, of all friends, loves most truly. The Lord keepeth all them that love him (Ps. cxliv. 20).

 

3. These two sisters, who so greatly desire the cure of their sick brother, do not come to Christ personally, as did the centurion and the man sick of the palsy. From the special love and familiarity which Christ had shown them, they had a special confidence in Him. And, possibly, their grief kept them at home, as St. Chrysostom thinks. A friend if he continues steadfast, shall be to thee as thyself, and shall act with confidence among them of thy household (Ecclus. vi.)

ST ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM: ON EVIL THOUGHTS: The Tares

 

ST ISIDORE OF PELUSIUM: ON EVIL THOUGHTS: The Tares

 

Whence is it that evil thoughts come forth from the heart, and defile a man? (Mt. xv. 19). Doubtless, because the laborers are asleep who should be keeping watch, so as to safeguard and preserve the fruits of the good seed that is growing up. For unless we have weakened in our vigilance, by gluttony and by sloth, defiling the divine image, that is, corrupting the good seed, the Sower of tares would not have found a way to creep up on us, nor would he have sown within us tares worthy of the fire; that is, evil thoughts which come forth from and which defile a man.

 

Wilt thou that We go and gather it up? Thus, speak the angels, ever prepared with eager devotion to serve the divine will, as they see our inactivity and sloth, and the infinite forbearance of God. But they are forbidden, lest they uproot the good wheat together with the tares, that is, so that the sinner may not be cut off while in his mind there is yet a possibility of repentance; lest innocent children be destroyed together with their parents, who though perhaps yet in their parents' loins, nevertheless with God, Who sees all things, they already are.

 

For the ranks of the Angels, fellow servants of creation, know not the things that as yet exist not. But God both knows and has wrought because of these very circumstances. For He did not cut off the evil— doing Esau, who had not yet begotten; lest together with him Job might also perish, who from him took descent. Nor did he slay Matthew, who had given himself to the exacting of the tribute so that He might not thus impede the preaching of the gospel. Neither did He destroy the harlots who served lust and immodesty, lest models of repentance might be wanting. He avenged not Peter's denial, because already He beheld his burning tears of repentance. Nor did he strike down with death the persecuting Saul, lest the ends of the earth be deprived of salvation.

 

All tares therefore that await the time of the harvest, and do not change themselves into fruits of repentance, are being got ready for the great fire, since they have flowered wholly unto fruitlessness. But they whose roots are deep, whose ears of corn are abundant, who are bending over at harvest time with the weight of fruit and all but calling for the sickle of the harvesters, these Christ orders to be carried by the angels to the heavenly seats, to share their joy, to reign with Him, and be sharers of His immortal happiness, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth world without end. Amen.

St. Gregory, The Doctor of Desire

 

St. Gregory, The Doctor of Desire

 

In my opinion, which fortunately counts for nothing, St. Gregory’s Memorial ought to be a Solemnity with an octave. But as it happens Jean Leclercq, OSB, would agree with me.

 

 

St. Gregory was a great Pope, a great man of action; his Pastoral Care and his Letters have become one of the sources of Moral Theology, Canon Law, and of the medieval pastoral theology.  But he was also a great contemplative, a great doctor of the life of prayer, and it is through the writings in which he has given spiritual doctrine that he has had the most influence on monastic culture.

 

As a matter of fact, there can be found in St. Gregory a full and authentic theology of the Christian experience, a doctrine of Christian life and Christian prayer which, as in Origen and St. Augustine, is marked by continual recourse to experience. For this reason, St. Gregory bridges the gap between the patristic age and the monastic culture of the Middle Ages. His teaching is  much more than a simple empiricism; he devotes a profound and, as we would say today, structured reflection to the subject of Christian experience. In order to formulate it, he uses terms which are both constant and precise: the dialectics of presence and absence, possession and non-possession, certainty and uncertainty, light and darkness, faith and eternal life (The Love of Learning and the Desire for God, pp. 31-32).

 

St. Gregory the Great: Commentary on Job II, 1

 

Holy Writ is set before the eyes of the mind like a kind of mirror, that we may see our inward face in it; for therein we learn the deformities, therein we learn the beauties that we possess; there we are made sensible what progress we are making, there too how far we are from proficiency.  It relates the deeds of the Saints, and stirs the hearts of the weak to follow their example, and while it commemorates their victorious deeds, it strengthens our feebleness against the assaults of our vices; and its words have this effect, that the mind is so much the less dismayed amidst conflicts as it sees the triumphs of so many brave men set before it.  Sometimes however it not only informs us of their excellencies, but also makes known their mischances, that both in the victory of brave men we may see what we ought to seize on by imitation, and again in their falls what we ought to stand in fear of.  For, observe how Job is described as rendered greater by temptation, but David by temptation brought to the ground, that both the virtue of our predecessors may cherish our hopes, and the downfall of our predecessors may brace us to the cautiousness of humility, so that whilst we are uplifted by the former to joy, by the latter we may be kept down through fears, and that the hearer's mind, being from the one source imbued with the confidence of hope, and from the other with the humility arising from fear, may neither swell with rash pride, in that it is kept down by alarm, nor be so kept down by fear as to despair, in that it finds support for confident hope in a precedent of virtue.

 

 

A sermon by St Bede the Venerable

 

A sermon by St Bede the Venerable

Jesus saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him

Jesus saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him: Follow me. Jesus saw Matthew, not merely in the usual sense, but more significantly with his merciful understanding of men.

  He saw the tax collector and, because he saw him through the eyes of mercy and chose him, he said to him: Follow me. This following meant imitating the pattern of his life – not just walking after him. St John tells us: Whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

  And he rose and followed him. There is no reason for surprise that the tax collector abandoned earthly wealth as soon as the Lord commanded him. Nor should one be amazed that neglecting his wealth, he joined a band of men whose leader had, on Matthew’s assessment, no riches at all. Our Lord summoned Matthew by speaking to him in words. By an invisible, interior impulse flooding his mind with the light of grace, he instructed him to walk in his footsteps. In this way Matthew could understand that Christ, who was summoning him away from earthly possessions, had incorruptible treasures of heaven in his gift.

  As he sat at table in the house, behold many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. This conversion of one tax collector gave many men, those from his own profession and other sinners, an example of repentance and pardon. Notice also the happy and true anticipation of his future status as apostle and teacher of the nations. No sooner was he converted than Matthew drew after him a whole crowd of sinners along the same road to salvation. He took up his appointed duties while still taking his first steps in the faith, and from that hour he fulfilled his obligation and thus grew in merit. To see a deeper understanding of the great celebration Matthew held at his house, we must realize that he not only gave a banquet for the Lord at his earthly residence, but far more pleasing was the banquet set in his own heart which he provided through faith and love. Our Saviour attests to this: Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

  On hearing Christ’s voice, we open the door to receive him, as it were, when we freely assent to his promptings and when we give ourselves over to doing what must be done. Christ, since he dwells in the hearts of his chosen ones through the grace of his love, enters so that he might eat with us and we with him. He ever refreshes us by the light of his presence insofar as we progress in our devotion to and longing for the things of heaven. He himself is delighted by such a pleasing banquet.

 

Prayers for the Dead

The Church prays for the dead, and this prayer says much about the reality of the Church itself. It says that the Church continues to live in the hope of eternal life. Prayer for the dead is almost a battle with the reality of death and destruction that weighs down upon the earthly existence of man. This is and remains a particular revelation of the Resurrection. In this prayer Christ himself bears witness to the life and immortality to which God calls every human being.

Gathering in the Presence of the Body

When the family first gathers around the body, before or after it is prepared for burial, all or some of the following prayers may be used. It is most fitting that family members take part in preparing the body for burial.

All make the Sign of the Cross:  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.

Then one member of the family reads:

My brothers and sisters, Jesus says: "Come to me, all you who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light."

The body may then be sprinkled with holy water.

The Lord God lives in his holy temple
yet abides in our midst.
Since in Baptism N. became God's temple,
and the spirit of God lived in him (her),
with reverence we bless his (her) mortal body.

Then one member of the family may say:

With God there is mercy and fullness of redemption.
Let us pray as Jesus taught us:  Our Father.

Then this prayer is said:  Into your hands, O Lord,
we humbly entrust our brother (sister) N.
In this life you embraced him (her)
with your tender love;
deliver him (her) now from every evil
and bid him (her) enter eternal rest.
The old order has passed away:
welcome him (her), then, into paradise,
where there will be no sorrow,
no weeping or pain,
but the fullness of peace and joy
with your Son and the Holy Spirit
for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

All may sign the forehead of the deceased with the Sign of the Cross. One member of the family says:

Blessed are those who have died in the Lord;
let them rest from their labors,
for their good deeds go with them.

V. Eternal rest grant unto him (her), O Lord.
R. And let perpetual light shine upon him (her).

V. May he (she) rest in peace.
R. Amen.

V. May his (her) soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

All make the Sign of the Cross as one member of the family says:

May the love of God and the peace
of the Lord Jesus Christ
bless and console us
and gently wipe every tear from our eyes:
in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
R. Amen.

Lord Jesus, our Redeemer,
you willingly gave yourself up to death,
so that all people might be saved
and pass from death into a new life.
Listen to our prayers;
look with love on your people
who mourn and pray for their brother (sister).

Lord Jesus, holy and compassionate,
forgive N. his (her) sins.
By dying you opened the gates of life
for those who believe in you:
do not let our brother (sister) be parted from you,
but by your glorious power
give him (her) light, joy, and peace in heaven,
where you live for ever and ever.  
R. Amen.

Prayers at the Graveside

Aside from the time of mourning, the month of November, including especially All Saints' day and All Souls' day, is a traditional time for visiting graves, as is the anniversary of death. Some or all of the following prayers may be used at the graveside of a family member or friend.

All make the Sign of the Cross. The leader begins:

Praise be to God our Father, who raised Jesus
Christ from the dead. Blessed be God for ever.

All respond:

Blessed be God for ever.

The following Scripture text may be read:  2 Cor 5: 1

We know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.

After a time of silence, all join in prayers of intercession, or in one of the litanies or other prayers. All then join hands for the Lord's Prayer:  Our Father.

Then the leader prays:

Lord God,
whose days are without end
and whose mercies are beyond counting,
keep us mindful that life is short and the hour of death is unknown.
Let your Spirit guide our days on earth
in the ways of holiness and justice,
that we may serve you in union with the whole Church,
sure in faith, strong in hope, perfected in love.
And when our earthly journey is ended,
lead us rejoicing into your kingdom,
where you live for ever and ever. 
R. Amen.

or:

Lord Jesus Christ,
by your own three days in the tomb,
you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you
and so made the grave a sign of hope
that promises resurrection,
even as it claims our mortal bodies.
Grant that our brother (sister) N.
may sleep here in peace
until you awaken him (her) to glory,
for you are the resurrection and the life.
Then he (she) will see you face to face
and in your light will see light
and know the splendor of God,
for you live and reign for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

V. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.

V. May they rest in peace.
R. Amen.

V. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.

All make the Sign of the Cross as the leader concludes:

May the peace of God,
which is beyond all understanding,
keep our hearts and minds
in the knowledge and love of God
and of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Amen.

Additional Prayers for the Dead

V. Do not remember my sins, O Lord,
R. When you come to judge the world by fire.

V. Direct my way in your sight, O Lord, my God,
R. When you come to judge the world by fire.

V. Give him (her) eternal rest, O Lord, and may your light shine on him (her) for ever,
R. When you come to judge the world by fire,

V. Lord, have mercy,
R. Christ, have mercy, Lord, have mercy.

All : Our Father . . . trespass against us.

V. And lead us not into temptation,
R. But deliver us from evil.

V. From the gates of hell,
R. Deliver his (her) soul, O Lord.

V. May he (she) rest in peace.
R. Amen.

V. Lord, hear my prayer,
R. And let my cry come to you.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And also with you.

Let us pray. 
Lord, welcome into your presence your son (daughter) N., whom you have called from this life. Release him (her) from all his (her) sins; bless him (her) with eternal light and peace; raise him (her) up to live for ever with all your saints in the glory of the Resurrection.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

For a parent:

Let us pray.
Almighty God, you command us to honor father and mother. In your mercy forgive the sins of my (our) parents and let me (us) one day see him (her) again in the radiance of eternal joy.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

For a brother or sister:

Let us pray.
God, our Maker and Redeemer, in your mercy hear my (our) prayer. Grant forgiveness and peace to my (our) brother (sister) N. and N., who longed for your mercy.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

V. Give him (her) eternal rest, O Lord.
R. And may your light shine on him (her) for ever.

V. May he (she) rest in peace.
R. Amen.

V. May his (her) soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
R. Amen.