Feria Tertia Majoris Hebdomadæ

 ~ Feria privilegiata

S Prisca, Roma

Tues, 4/15/25:

Today is Tuesday in Holy Week under the 1954 (simple; privileged major feria) and 1962 (I class feria) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Station church at St. Prisca. Violet. Omit Gloria. No Tract. Passion of St. Mark (at sung Mass, chanted in the same manner as the Passion on Palm Sunday [deacons of the passion, etc.]). Omit Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Prayer over the people. Benedicamus (1954)/Ite (1962). Under 1954, 2nd prayer either Ecclesiae tuae for the Church or Deus omnium for the pope. No additional prayer under 1962.

Note that the Passion narrative of 1954 begins with the Last Supper, as did St. Matthew's Passion on Palm Sunday. In the 1956/62 form, the Passion begins with Christ in the garden as in the 56/62 form of Palm Sunday.

Office: Ferial office. Violet. Matins of 1 nocturn of 3 lessons (all from occurring Scripture). Omit Te Deum. Psalms of the feria (Lauds = schema II) with proper antiphons at Lauds and the hours. All else from the ferial office for Passiontide. Proper Benedictus antiphon and collect. No commemorations. Preces at Lauds and the hours (1954 only). Omit suffrage (1954 only). At Prime, add displaced psalm 95 (1954 only). (Source LB236 on Twitter/X.)

Collect
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, grant us so to celebrate the mysteries of our Lord's Passion, that we may deserve to obtain forgiveness.
Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

Let us pray.
for the Church
Mercifully hear the prayers of thy Church, we beseech thee, O Lord, that all adversities and errors being overcome, she may serve thee in security and feedom.
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.

Lesson from the book of Jeremias
Jer 11:15-20
15 What is the meaning that my beloved hath wrought much wickedness in my house? shall the holy flesh take away from thee thy crimes, in which thou hast boasted?
16 The Lord called thy name, a plentiful olive tree, fair, fruitful, and beautiful: at the noise of a word, a great fire was kindled in it and the branches thereof are burnt.
17 And the Lord of hosts that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee: for the evils of the house of Israel, and the house of Juda, which they have done to themselves, to provoke me, offering sacrifice to Baalim.
18 But thou, O Lord, hast shewn me, and I have known: then thou shewedst me their doings.
19 And I was as a meek lamb, that is carried to be a victim: and I knew not that they had devised counsels against me, saying: Let us put wood on his bread, and cut him off from the land of the living, and let his name be remembered no more.
20 But thou, O Lord of Sabaoth, who judgest justly, and triest the reins and hearts, let me see thy revenge on them: for to thee I have revealed my cause.

Prayer over the people
Let us pray.
Bow your heads to God.
May thy mercy, O God, cleanse us from all traces of our old nature, and enable us to be formed anew unto holiness.
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.

Photos source & more on church of S Prisca: https://www.walksinrome.com/s-prisca.html

Feria Secunda Majoris Hebdomadæ ~ Feria privilegiata

Santa Prassede, Roma

Mon, 3/30/26:

Today is Monday in Holy Week under the 1954 (simple, privileged major feria) and 1962 (I class feria) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Station church at St. Praxedes. Violet. Omit Gloria. Gradual. Tract with genuflection at Adjuva nos. Omit Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Prayer over the people. Benedicamus (1954)/Ite (1962). Under 1954, commemoration of St. Justin, M, and of Ss. Tiburtius, Valerian and Maximus, Mm. No commemorations under 1962.

Office: Ferial office. Violet. Matins of 1 nocturn of 3 lessons (homily for today's Gospel). Omit Te Deum. Psalms of the feria (Lauds = schema II) with proper antiphons at Lauds and the hours. All else from the ferial office for Passiontide. Proper Benedictus antiphon and collect. No commemorations at Lauds under 1962. Preces at Lauds and the hours (1954 only). Omit suffrage (1954 only). At Prime, add displaced psalm 46 (1954 only).

(Source: LB236 on Twitter/X.)

Collect
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech thee, almighty God, that we who fail through our weakness in so many difficulties, may be relieved through the pleading of the Passion of thy only-begotten Son.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
℟. Amen
Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to John

John 12:1-9
Six days before the pasch, Jesus came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.

Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
50th Tract on John
There they made Him a supper and Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table lest men should deem that it was but by an ocular delusion that they had seen him arise from the dead. He lived therefore, spake, and ate; to the manifestation of the truth, and the confusion of the unbelieving Jews. Jesus, then, sat down to meat with Lazarus and others, and Martha, being one of Lazarus' sisters, served. But Mary, Lazarus' other sister, took a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the Feet of Jesus, and wiped His Feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. We have now heard that which was done; let us search out the mystic meaning thereof.

Prayer over the people
Let us pray.
Bow your heads to God.
Help us, O God, our Saviour, and grant that we may draw nigh with joy, to keep the memory of those mercies, whereby thou didst deign to restore us to 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.
℟. Amen.

(Photo source, more about Santa Prassede: https://www.walksinrome.com/church-of-santa-prassede.html)

Dominica in Palmis

Sun, 3/29/26:

Today is Palm Sunday under the 1954 (semi-double Sunday of the I class) and 1962 (I class Sunday, officially retitled the 2nd Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday in the 1962 books) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Station church at St. John Lateran. Violet. Omit Judica me/Gloria Patri. Omit Gloria. Gradual. Tract. Recitation of St. Matthew's Passion. Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Benedicamus (1954)/Ite (1962). No commemorations or additional prayers are permitted at Mass under both sets of rubrics. At low Masses where the palms are not blessed, the Last Gospel is the pericope of Christ's entry into Jerusalem used as part of the blessing of palms ritual.

Office: Sunday office. Violet. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (1962; lesson II = II & III of the old Breviary combined, III = lesson VII of the old Breviary). Omit Te Deum. Omit Gloria Patri throughout Passiontide where indicated in the ordinary for Passiontide. Psalms of Sunday (Lauds = schema II) with proper antiphons. All else from the proper. Proper Benedictus antiphon. Collect of the Sunday. At Lauds, commemoration of St. Hermenegild, M (1954 only, only commemorated in the Office). No commemorations under 1962. Omit suffrage (1954). At Prime, under 1954, psalms 92, 99, 118.1, 118.2. Under 1962, psalms 53, 118.1, 118.2. Preces at Prime (1954 only).

Collect

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Almighty, eternal God, Who, to provide mankind an example of humility for it to imitate, willed that the Saviour should assume our flesh and suffer death upon the Cross, mercifully grant that we may be found worthy of the lesson of His endurance and the fellowship of His resurrection.
Through the same 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 Matthew
Matt 21:1-9
At that time, when Jesus drew nigh to Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto mount Olivet, then Jesus sent two disciples, Saying to them: And so on.

Homily by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
9th Book on Luke
Beautiful is the type, when the Lord, about to leave the Jews, and to take up His abode in the hearts of the Gentiles, goeth up into the Temple; a figure of His going to the true Temple wherein He is worshipped, not in the deadness of the letter, but in spirit and in truth, even that Temple of God whereof the foundations are laid, not in buildings of stone, but in faith. He leaveth behind Him such as hate Him, and getteth Him to such as will love Him. And therefore cometh He unto the Mount of Olives that He may plant upon the heights of grace those young olive-branches, whose Mother is the Jerusalem which is above. Upon this mountain standeth He, the Heavenly Husbandman, that all they which be planted in the House of the Lord may be able each one to say: “But I am like a fruitful olive-tree in the House of God.” Ps. li. 10.

Post Communion

P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
By the working of this sacred rite, O Lord, may our sins be erased and our just desires fulfilled.
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.

The Ceremonies of Palm Sunday in the Papal Chapel and St. John Lateran as Described in 1839 (Liturgical Arts Journal)

S. Joannis a Capistrano Confessoris ~ Semiduplex

Commemoratio: Sabbato infra Hebdomadam Passionis

Sat, 3/28/26:

Today is the feast of St. John of Capistrano, C, under the 1954 (semi-double) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. White. Gloria. Gradual/Tract. Omit Credo. Preface of Lent. Ite. Commemoration and Last Gospel of the Lenten feria. 3rd prayer A cunctis for the intercession of the saints.

In private (low) Masses offered in parish churches, the Mass of the Lenten feria may be offered in place of the Mass of the feast. Proper Mass. Violet. Station church at St. Lawrence in Lucina. Omit Gloria. Gradual/Tract with genuflection at Adjuva nos. Omit Credo. Preface of Lent. Prayer over the people. Benedicamus. Commemoration of St. John of Capistrano. 3rd prayer A cunctis.

Office: Ordinary office. White. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1st nocturn = Beatus vir with proper responsories, IX = of the feria). Te Deum. Psalms and antiphons of the feria (Lauds = schema I). All else from the common of a confessor not a bishop. Proper collect. Commemoration of the Lenten feria at Lauds (proper Benedictus antiphon and collect). Suffrage.

Introitus
Habac 3:18-19
Ego autem in Dómino gaudébo: et exsultábo in Deo, Jesu meo: Deus Dóminus fortitúdo mea.
Ps 80:2
Exsultáte Deo, adjutóri nostro, jubiláte Deo Jacob.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, Who, through blessed John, made Your faithful people conquer the enemies of the cross by the power of the most holy name of Jesus, grant, we beseech You, that by his intercession we may avoid the snares of our spiritual enemies, and may be found worthy to receive from You the crown of justice.
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.

Let us pray.
Commemoration Sabbato infra Hebdomadam Passionis
O Lord, may the people dedicated to You desire to serve You more and more, that, taught by these sacred rites, they may be enriched by more precious gifts as they grow in favor with Your majesty.
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.

Luke 9:1-6
At that time: Jesus called the twelve Apostles together and gave power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases. And so on.

Homily by St. Bonaventure, (Cardinal) Bishop of Albano.
On Luke ix.
Apostles are so called as a mark of their authority, for this word Apostle signifieth sent, and they were sent out to preach, as it is written: 1 Cor. i. 17, “Christ sent me not to baptize but to preach the gospel.” They were sent to preach not any small thing but a very great thing, even the Kingdom of God, whereby we may understand the teaching of the truth, as it is said, Matth. xxi. 43, The Kingdom of God should be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. The Kingdom of God may also be understood to signify the grace of the Holy Ghost, as it is written: Rom. xiv. 17, “The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”; as also it was said: Luke xvii. 21, “The Kingdom of God is within you.” The Kingdom of God may also be understood to signify eternal glory, as it is said: John iii. 5, “Amen, I say unto thee, except a man be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.”

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Filled with heavenly food and invigorated by the spiritual chalice, we beseech You, almighty God, by the intercession of St. John, Your Confessor, to protect us against our wicked enemy and keep Your Church in lasting peace.
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 Sabbato infra Hebdomadam Passionis
O Lord, our God, we beseech You, that we who have been filled with the riches of Your divine gift may always find life when we partake of it.
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.

Septum Dolorum Beatæ Mariæ Virginis ~ Duplex majus

Commemoratio: S. Joannis Damasceni Confessoris et Ecclesiæ Doctoris

Fri, 3/27/26:

Today is the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady under the 1954 (double major, assigned to the Friday after Passion Sunday) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. White. Gloria. Gradual. Tract. Sequence Stabat Mater. Credo. Preface of Our Lady (et te in Transfixione). Ite. Commemoration of St. John Damascene (collect ). Commemoration and Last Gospel of the Passiontide feria.

Under 1954, in parish churches, the Mass of the Passiontide feria may be offered at private (low) Masses, either in place of the Mass of the feast (if only one Mass is offered) or as a second Mass. Station church at St. Stephen on the Caelian Hill. Violet. Omit Gloria. Gradual. Tract with genuflection at Adjuva nos. Omit Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Prayer over the people. Benedicamus. Commemoration and Last Gospel of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady. Commemoration is also of St. John Damascene.

Introitus
Joann 19:25
Stabant juxta Crucem Jesu Mater ejus, et soror Matris ejus, María Cléophæ, et Salóme et María Magdaléne.
Joann 19:26-27.
Múlier, ecce fílius tuus: dixit Jesus; ad discípulum autem: Ecce Mater tua.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the saints faithfully standing by the Cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Your passion.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
R. Amen

Let us pray.
Commemoration St. John Damascene, Confessor
Almighty, eternal God, Who to defend the honor paid to sacred images, filled blessed John with heavenly learning and wondrous strength of soul, grant that, by his intercession and example, we may imitate the virtues of those whose images we honor and may enjoy the help of their patronage.
For the Feria
Graciously pour forth Your grace into our hearts, we beseech You, O Lord, that, keeping our sinful inclinations under control by self-denial, we may suffer for a brief while rather than be condemned to everlasting punishment.
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 19:25-27.
In that time stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. And so on.

Homily by St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo.
11th Tract on John.
This is that hour whereof Jesus, when He was about to turn water into wine, had said unto His Mother Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. John ii. 4. He had spoken of this hour, which then was not yet come, wherein, being about to die, it should be His duty to acknowledge her of whom He had been born in a dying Body. Then, since He was about to work the works of God, He thrust from Him, as though He knew her not, her who was His Mother, not in that nature as touching which He is equal to the Father, but in that as touching which He is inferior to the Father. But now, since He is suffering the pains of Man, He careth, with a Man's love, for her of whom He hath been made Man. And herein He giveth us a lesson. He doth that which He would have us to do. The Good Master, by His Own example, commandeth that among His disciples, dutiful children should succour their parents, as though even that Tree whereupon His dying Limbs were nailed, even that Tree were to be a pulpit for His teaching.

49

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, may the sacrifices of which we have partaken, while devoutly celebrating the piercing of Your Virgin Mother’s soul, obtain for us, through Your kindness, the good effect of salvation.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
R. Amen

Let us pray.
Commemoration St. John Damascene, Confessor
We beseech You, O Lord, that the gifts we have eaten may be as heavenly weapons to guard us; and may we be protected by the patronage of blessed John, reinforced by the united prayers of the Saints, the veneration of whose images by the Church, he gloriously vindicated.
For FERIA
May the abiding protection of the sacrament we have received, O Lord, never forsake us, and always keep us from all things harmful.
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.

Feria Quinta infra Hebdomadam Passionis ~ III. classis

The church of Sant' Apollinare alle Terme was rebuilt between 1742 and 1748 by the Florentine architect Ferdinando Fuga (1699-1782), at the behest of Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58). The church is dedicated to St Apollinaris of Ravenna. 

Thurs, 3/26/26:

Today is a Passiontide feria under the 1954 (simple) and 1962 (III class) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Station church at St. Apollinaris. Violet. Omit Gloria. Gradual. Omit Tract. Omit Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Prayer over the people. Benedicamus (1954)/Ite (1962). Under 1954, 2nd prayer either Ecclesiae tuae for the Church or Deus omnium for the pope. No additional prayer under 1962.

Office: Ferial office. Violet. Matins of 1 nocturn of 3 lessons (homily on today's Gospel). Omit Te Deum. Psalms (Lauds = schema II) and antiphons of the feria. All else from the ferial office for Passiontide. Proper Benedictus antiphon and collect. No commemorations at Lauds. Omit suffrage (1954). Preces at Lauds and the hours (1954 only). At Prime, add displaced psalm 97 (1954 only).

(Source: LB236 on Twitter/X.)

Introitus
Dan 3:31
Omnia, quæ fecísti nobis, Dómine, in vero judício fecísti: quia peccávimus tibi, et mandátis tuis non obedívimus: sed da glóriam nómini tuo, et fac nobíscum secúndum multitúdinem misericórdiæ tuæ.
Ps 118:1
Beáti immaculáti in via: qui ámbulant in lege Dómini.

Collect

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that through the intercession of Your blessed Martyr N., we may be delivered from all afflictions of the body and cleansed from all evil thoughts of the mind.
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.

Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Luke
Luke 7:36-50
In that time, one of the Pharisees desired him to eat with him. And he went into the house of the Pharisee, And so on.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great.
33rd on the Gospels
When I think of the repentance of Mary Magdalene I feel nigher to weep than to say ought. Is there indeed any man, however stony his heart, who is not somewhat moved to follow the example of her repentance by the tears of that poor sinful woman? She weighed what she did, and would not that what she did should be niggardly. She came unbidden among the guests, and obtruded her tears upon the banquet. Ye may hence gather her sorrow, that she was content to weep at a feast.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
May we receive with pure mind, O Lord, what we have taken by mouth, and as a gift in time, may it become for us a remedy for eternity.
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.

Prayer over the people
Let us pray.
Bow your heads to God.
Be merciful to Your people, we beseech You, O Lord, that as they reject whatever displeases You, they may the more delight in Your commandments.
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.

More on the church if St Apollinaris: https://www.walksinrome.com/the-church-of-sant-apollinare-in-rome.html

In Annuntiatione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis ~ Duplex I. classis

Commemoratio: Feria Quarta infra Hebdomadam Passionis

The Annunciation, fresco by Fra Angelico, 1438–45;  Museum of San Marco, Florence

Tues, 3/25/26:

Today is the feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady under the 1954 (double of the I class) and 1962 (I class) rubrics.

Mass: Pro populo. Proper Mass. White. Gloria. Gradual/Tract. Credo (NB: at solemn Mass, all in choir along with the celebrant and sacred ministers genuflect at Et incarnatus est). Preface of Our Lady (et te in Annuntiatione). Ite. Commemoration and Last Gospel (1954 only) of the Lenten feria.

Office: Festal office. White. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (9th antiphon = Angelus Domini, IX = of the feria). Te Deum. At Matins, psalms and antiphons from the common of Our Lady (with Paschaltide alleluia). At Lauds (schema I) and the hours, psalms of Sunday (Prime = 53, 118.1, 118.2) with proper antiphons. All else from the proper. Proper Benedictus antiphon. Collect of the feast. Commemoration of the Lenten feria at Lauds (proper Benedictus antiphon and collect). Omit suffrage (1954). At Prime, V = Qui natus es.

Introitus
Ps 44:13; 44:15-16
Vultum tuum deprecabúntur omnes dívites plebis: adducéntur Regi Vírgines post eam: próximæ ejus adducéntur tibi in lætítia et exsultatióne.
Ps 44:2
Eructávit cor meum verbum bonum: dico ego ópera mea Regi.
V. Glória Patri, ...

Collect

℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, Who, by the message of an angel, willed Your Word to take flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grant that we, Your suppliants, who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be helped by her 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.

Let us pray.
Commemoration Feria Quarta infra Hebdomadam Passionis
In Your mercy, O Lord, may this hallowing fast enlighten the hearts of Your faithful people, and since You have given them the desire to serve You, lend a gracious ear to their prayers.
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 1:26-38
At that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And so on.

Homily by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
Bk. ii on Luke
The mysteries of God are unsearchable, and it is especially declared by a Prophet, that a man can hardly know His counsels. Wisd. ix. 13. Nevertheless, some things have been revealed to us, and we may gather from some of the words and works of the Lord our Saviour, that there was a special purpose of God, in the fact that she who was chosen to be the mother of the Lord was espoused to a man. Why did not the power of the Highest overshadow her before she was so espoused? Perhaps it was lest any might blasphemously say that she had conceived in fornication the Holy One.

Post Communion
P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
Pour forth, we beseech You, O Lord, Your grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of the resurrection.
Through the same 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 Feria Quarta infra Hebdomadam Passionis
We who have shared in the blessing of the heavenly gift humbly pray You, almighty God, that it may be for us the source of sacramental grace and 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.