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.