Ss. Vincentii et Anastasii Martyrum ~ Semiduplex

Scriptura: Feria IV infra Hebdomadam II post Epiphaniam

Thurs, 1/22/26:

Today is the feast of Ss. Vincent and Anastasius, Mm, under the 1954 (semi-double) and 1962 (III class) rubrics.

Mass: Intret of several martyrs outside Paschaltide with proper orations. Red. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Ite. Under 1954, 2nd prayer Deus qui salutis of Our Lady. 3rd prayer either Ecclesiae tuae for the Church or Deus omnium for the pope. No additional prayers under 1962.

Office: Ordinary office. Red. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (1962; I & II = occurring Scripture [II = II & III combined], III = short hagiography). Te Deum. Psalms and antiphons of the feria. All else from the common of several martyrs outside Paschaltide. Proper collect. No commemorations at Lauds. Suffrage of the saints (1954 only). (Source: LB236 on Twitter/X.)

Introitus
Ps 78:11-12; 78:10
Intret in conspéctu tuo, Dómine, gémitus compeditórum: redde vicínis nostris séptuplum in sinu eórum: víndica sánguinem Sanctórum tuórum, qui effúsus est.
Ps 78:1
Deus, venérunt gentes in hereditátem tuam: polluérunt templum sanctum tuum: posuérunt Jerúsalem in pomórum custódiam.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Give heed to our humble prayers, O Lord, that we who know we are guilty of our own sin, may be saved by the intercession of Your blessed Martyrs Vincent and Anastasius.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
de S. Maria tempore post partum
O God, Who by the fruitful virginity of blessed Mary, have bestowed upon mankind the reward of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech You, that we may enjoy the intercession of her through whom we have been found worthy to receive among us the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

for the Pope
O God, the shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, graciously look upon thy servant Leo, who thou hast willed to be chief pastor of thy Church; grant him we beseech thee, by word and example to profit those over whom he rules, that together with the flock entrusted to him, he may attain to life everlasting.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
Luke 21:9-19
At that time, Jesus said unto His disciples: When ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. And so on.

Homily by Pope St Gregory the Great.
35th on the Gospels.
Our Lord and Redeemer willeth us to know what shall be the signs that the end of the world is at hand, to the end that ye may be the less terrified, when that cometh whereof ye have already had warning. Darts strike less which are seen coming: and the plagues of the earth will be to us more bearable, if we are harnessed against them with the shield of foreknowledge. Behold, how He saith When ye shall hear of wars and commotions be not terrified for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. It behoveth us to ponder these words of our Redeemer, wherein He warneth us of suffering, from without, and from within. Wars are the work of a foreign enemy, commotions of the citizens. Therefore, that He may let us know that we shall be troubled from within and from without, He showeth that our wrestling shall be in part against strangers, and in part against our brethren.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
We beseech You, almighty God, that we who have eaten heavenly food may through it be protected from all harm by the intercession of Your blessed Martyrs Vincent and Anastasius.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
de S. Maria (vel ad libitum)
May this Communion, O Lord, cleanse us from sin and, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, make us sharers of Your heavenly healing.

for the Pope
Let the reception of this divine Sacrament protect us, O Lord, we beseech theee: and may thy servant Leo, whom thou has chosen as the chief pastor of thy Church, along with the flock committed to him derive always from it protection and help.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

S. Agnetis Virginis et Martyris ~ Duplex

Scriptura: Feria III infra Hebdomadam II post Epiphania

Wed, 1/21/26:

Today is the feast of St. Agnes, V & M, under the 1954 (double) and 1962 (III class) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Red. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Celebrant bows head at the mention of St. Agnes in the Canon. Ite. No commemorations or additional prayers.

Office: Ordinary office. Red. Proper office. Invitatory and hymn from the common of virgins. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954: 1st nocturn = proper with proper responsories)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (1962: I & II = proper lessons from 1st nocturn of the old Breviary [II = II & III combined], III = lesson IV combined with 1st two sentences [Haec tredecim ... invenit aetate] of lesson V of the old Breviary). Te Deum. Proper psalms and antiphons at Matins. At Lauds, psalms of Sunday with proper antiphons. All else from the proper. Proper Benedictus antiphon. Proper collect. Omit suffrage (1954). At Prime and the hours, psalms and antiphons of the feria. All else from the proper. Proper collect of the feast. At Prime, lectio brevis = Laudabit (1954 only). (Source: LB236 on Twitter/X.)

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Introitus
Ps 118:95-96
Me exspectavérunt peccatóres, ut pérderent me: testimónia tua, Dómine, intelléxi: omnis consummatiónis vidi finem: latum mandátum tuum nimis.
Ps 118:1
Beáti immaculáti in via: qui ámbulant in lege Dómini.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty, eternal God, You Who choose the weak things of the world to confound the strong, mercifully grant that we who are celebrating the feast of blessed Agnes, Your Virgin and Martyr, may reap the benefit of her patronal intercession with You.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

From the Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew
Matt 25:1
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: The Kingdom of heaven shall be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the Bridegroom and the Bride. And so on.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great
12th on the Gospels
Dearly beloved brethren oftentimes do I warn you to fly corrupt conversation, and to keep yourselves unspotted from the world. But the portion which is this day read from the Holy Gospel doth oblige me to say that even to these good things which ye do, ye must needs take all careful heed. Look ye well to it, that, when ye work righteousness, ye do it not as seeking the praise and admiration of men, for if the lust of praise do once creep in, that which seemeth so fair without, loseth its reward within. Behold how the Redeemer speaketh of these ten virgins. He calleth them all virgins, yet entered not all of them into the door of blessedness, for there were some of them who sought outwardly the honour of virginity, but would take no oil within their vessels with their lamps.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Refreshed with heavenly food and drink, we humbly pray You, our God, that we also may be helped by his prayers in memory of whom we have partaken of these gifts.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Ss. Fabiani et Sebastiani Martyrum ~ Duplex

Scriptura: Feria II infra Hebdomadam II post Epiphaniam

Tues, 1/20/26:

Today is the feast of Ss. Fabian, P, and Sebastian, Mm, under the 1954 (double) and 1962 (III class) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Red. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Ite. No commemorations or additional prayers.

Office: Ordinary office. Red. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (I & II = occurring Scripture [II = II & III comined], III = short hagiography). Te Deum. Psalms and antiphons of the feria. All else from the common of several martyrs outside Paschaltide. Proper collect. No commemorations at Lauds. Omit suffrage (1954).

Introitus
Ps 78:11-12; 78:10
Intret in conspéctu tuo, Dómine, gémitus compeditórum: redde vicínis nostris séptuplum in sinu eórum: víndica sánguinem Sanctórum tuórum, qui effúsus est.
Ps 78:1
Deus, venérunt gentes in hereditátem tuam: polluérunt templum sanctum tuum: posuérunt Jerúsalem in pomórum custódiam.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Be mindful of our weakness, almighty God, and since the burden of our sins weighs heavily upon us, may the glorious intercession of Your holy Martyrs Fabian and Sebastian sustain us.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
Luke 6:17-23
At that time, Jesus came down from the mountain, and stood in the plain, and the company of His disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judea, and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon. And so on.

Homily by St Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
Bk. v. on Luke vi.
Mark well how Jesus goeth upward with His disciples, and downward to the multitude. How should the multitude behold Christ, save in a lower place? Such go not up to the things which are above; such attain not to the things which are high. And when Jesus cometh down, He findeth such as are diseased for such like go not up to the heights. Hence also Matthew saith that there were there all sick people, iv. 23. Of these every man had need of healing, that, when he had received strength, by and by, he might go up into the mountain. And therefore, being Himself come down, He healeth them in the plain, that is to say, He calleth them away from their lust, and freeth them of their blindness. He cometh down to our wounds, to the end that by a certain use of His nature, and by the abundance thereof, He might make us joint-heirs of the kingdom of heaven.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Refreshed by partaking of the sacred gift, we beseech You, O Lord our God, that we may enjoy the benefits of the rite we perform through the intercession of blessed Fabian and Sebastian, Your Martyrs.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Ss. Marii, Marthæ, Audifacis, et Abachum Martyrum ~ Simplex

 Commemoratio: S. Canuti Regis et Martyrum

Collect
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, hear Your people as they humbly pray in union with the patronal intercession of Your saints, that You would grant us to enjoy peace during our life on earth and to find help for life eternal.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
Commemoration St. Canute, King and Martyr
O God, Who for the glory of Your Church, have graciously honored blessed King Canute with the palm of martyrdom and glorious miracles, mercifully grant that, as he was an imitator of the Lord’s passion, so may we, walking in his footsteps, be found worthy to enter into everlasting joys.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Continuation + of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt 24:3-13
At that time, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying: Tell us, when are these things to happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the world? And in answer Jesus said to them, Take care that no one leads you astray. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. For you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars. Take care that you do not be alarmed, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be pestilences and famines and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginnings of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and will put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. And many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. And because iniquity will abound, the charity of the many will grow cold. But whoever perseveres to the end, he shall be saved.

Maris was a Persian of high rank, who came to Rome in the reign of the Emperor Claudius, with his wife Martha, who was equally noble, and their two sons Audifax and Abachum, to pray at the graves of the Martyrs. Here they comforted the Christians who were in prison, and whom they relieved by their ministrations and alms, and buried the bodies of the Saints. For these acts they were all arrested, but no threats or terrors could move them to sacrifice to idols. They were accordingly mangled with clubs, and drawn with ropes, after which they were burnt by applying plates of red-hot metal to their bodies, and their flesh partly torn off with metal hooks. Lastly their hands were all cut off, and they were fastened together by the neck, in which state they were driven through the city to the thirteenth mile-stone on the Cornelian Way, a place now called Santa Ninfa, where they were to die. Martha addressed a moving exhortation to her husband and sons to hold out bravely to the last, for the love of Jesus Christ; and was then herself drowned. The other three martyrs were next beheaded in the same sand-pit. Their bodies were thrown into a fire. The lady Felicity of Rome collected the half-burnt remains, and caused them to be buried at her own farm. (Breviarium Romanum)

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Be appeased by the prayers of Your Saints, O Lord, and grant, we beseech You, that the rites we perform in this lifetime may avail for our eternal salvation.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
Commemoration St. Canute, King and Martyr
With our strength renewed from having shared in Your sacred gift, we beseech You, O Lord our God, that by the intercession of blessed Canute, Your Martyr, we may feel the benefit of the worship we are offering.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

"Ecce Agnus Dei": Behold the Lamb of God

 

Ecce Agnus Dei, "Behold the Lamb of God"

Christ our Divine Shepherd becomes Himself a Lamb: one of the flock. To save the flock He "turns against Himself" upon the Cross as the one perfect Sacrifice which alone can redeem us from our sins. In the new paschal feast of His own Body and Blood, the fruit of His self-giving in death, He feeds the flock of the Church in the Eucharist. "This is My Body, take and eat. This is the cup of My Blood." Photo: Persian silk rug.

We can have no life in us unless the Lord Himself be our food. The path ahead promises hope for us because His promise to sustain us with His own divine life will never fail us. All of the baptized are called to feast forever one day in the "Supper of the Lamb" in the heavenly wedding banquet of Divine Love. We begin to experience that promise now by meeting Christ each Sunday in the Eucharistic banquet.

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for the The Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Photo by Father Cusick: The shores of the Euphrates River near Juba, Iraq, 

Dominica II post Epiphaniam - "Núptiæ factæ sunt in Cana Galilǽæ: et erat Mater Jesu ibi."

~ Semiduplex Dominica minor

Commemoratio: Ss. Marii, Marthæ, Audifacis et Abachum Martyrum

The Wedding at Cana, Veronese, The Louvre

Sun, 1/18/26:

Today is the 2nd Sunday after Epiphany under the 1954 (semi-double Sunday) and 1962 (II class Sunday) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Green. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Credo. Preface of the Most Holy Trinity. Ite. Under 1954, commemoration of Ss. Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum, Mm, and of  St. Canute, King & M. No commemorations or additional prayers under the 1962 rubrics.

Office: Sunday office. Green. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (1962; I & II from occurring Scripture [Incipt Epistola secunda ... ad Corinthios] as in the 1st nocturn of the old Breviary [II = II & III combined]; III = lesson VII of the old Breviary). Te Deum. Psalms and antiphons of Sunday. All else from the Sunday office per annum. Invitatory at Matins Adoremus Dominum with hymn Primo die on all Sundays from today until Septuagesima Sunday exclusive. At Lauds, hymn Aeterne rerum Conditor on Sundays until the 1st Sunday in Lent exclusive. Collect of the Sunday. At Lauds, under 1954, commemoration of Ss. Marius et al. and of St. Canute. No commemorations under 1962. Suffrage of the saints (1954 only). At Prime, recite the Athanasian Creed (Quicumque) after the 3rd psalm (1954 only). (LB236 on Twitter/X.)

Liturgy: Second Sunday after Epiphany - The Wedding 

Almighty God, faithful to His promise to Abraham and his children, sent His Son to save His people; while in His mercy He willed to redeem the heathen as well. Therefore Christ is the King whom, as its Redeemer, the whole world must hail and adore (Introit and Gradual).

In this miracle at Cana, a type of the Holy Eucharist, did our Lord formally manifest His divinity, i.e. His character as divine and therefore royal, and "His disciples believed in Him". The turning of water into wine is a type of transubstantiation, called by St. Thomas the greatest of all miracles, by which the wine of the Eucharist becomes the blood of the covenant of peace which God has made with His Church. Since also the divine King wishes to espouse our souls and since, as Bossuet says, it is through the Eucharist that this mystical marriage is consummated, the marriage feast at Cana also signifies the union of the Word with His spouse the Church.

"Having been invited to the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee," says St. Augustine, "our Lord attended, that being alone the author of the sacrament of Matrimony, He might confirm conjugal chastity." He also meant to make known to us the mystery of which these nuptials were the sign, that is, the union of Christ with His Church. For even those who, by a vow, have bound themselves to almighty God in the virginal state are not without nuptials since, with the whole Church, they have a part in the nuptials in which Christ Himself is the Spouse, and in this case, our Lord is typified by the bridegroom who kept to the end the good wine, that is, the Gospel.

Liturgical note: the Time after Epiphany begins on January 14 and lasts so far as the Temporal cycle is concerned, until Septuagesima, and in the Sanctoral cycle until the Purification, February 2. 

Source: Dom Gaspar Lefebvre, OSB, 1945, adapted and abridged.

Introitus
Ps 65:4
Omnis terra adóret te, Deus, et psallat tibi: psalmum dicat nómini tuo, Altíssime.
Ps 65:1-2
Jubiláte Deo, omnis terra, psalmum dícite nómini ejus: date glóriam laudi ejus.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty, everlasting God, You Who govern both the heavens and the earth, graciously hear the humble prayers of Your people and grant us Your peace all the days of our life.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
Commemoration S. Maurii et Soc. Mart.
O Lord, hear Your people as they humbly pray in union with the patronal intercession of Your saints, that You would grant us to enjoy peace during our life on earth and to find help for life eternal.

Commemoration S. Canuti Regis et Martyrum
O God, Who for the glory of Your Church, have graciously honored blessed King Canute with the palm of martyrdom and glorious miracles, mercifully grant that, as he was an imitator of the Lord’s passion, so may we, walking in his footsteps, be found worthy to enter into everlasting joys.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

From the Holy Gospel according to John
John 2:1-11
At that time, there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee: and the mother of Jesus was there. And Jesus also was invited, and his disciples, to the marriage. And so on.

Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
Tract. 9 in John
Even setting aside any mystical interpretation, the fact that the Lord was pleased to be asked, and to go to a marriage, showeth plainly enough that He is the Author and Blesser of marriage. There were yet to be those of whom the Apostle hath warned us as forbidding to marry; who say that marriage is a bad thing in itself, and a work of the devil. Yet we read in the Gospel that when the Lord was asked, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? He answered that it was not lawful, except it were for fornication. In which answer ye will remember that He used these words: What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord, we beseech You that the effects of Your power may ever increase within us; and, strengthened by the divine sacrament, we may be prepared by Your grace to lay hold of what it promises.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
Commemoration Chair of St. Peter at Rome
O Lord, may the gift we offer bring us joy, that as we praise Your wondrous work in Your Apostle Peter, so through him may we share Your generous forgiveness.
Commemoration S. Priscæ Virginis
Filled with the sacrament of salvation, we beseech You, O Lord, to help us by the prayers of her whose feast we are celebrating.
Pro S. Paulo
Made holy by the sacrament of salvation, we beseech You, O Lord, that the prayers of him under whose patronal care You have granted us to be ruled may never fail us.
Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.