S. Januarii Episcopi et Sociorum Martyrum ~ Duplex

Scriptura: Feria Quinta infra Hebdomadam XVII post Octavam Pentecostes III. Septembris

Today is the feast of Ss. Januarius, B, and companions, Mm, under the 1954 (double) and 1962 (III class) rubrics.

Mass: Salus autem of several martyrs outside Paschaltide with proper Gospel. Red. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Ite. No commemorations.

Office: Ordinary office. Red. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1954; 1st nocturn = of Monday of the 3rd week of September with responsories of the occurring feria)/1 nocturn of 3 lessons (1962; lessons I & II of occurring Scripture for Thursday of the 3rd week of September [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. No commemorations at Lauds. Omit suffrage (1954). (LB236 on Twitter)

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

O God, Who gladden us by the annual festival of Your Martyrs Januarius and Companions, grant that we may be inspired by the example of those in whose merits we rejoice.

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. Josephi de Cupertino Confessoris ~ Duplex

Commemoratio: Feria Quarta Quattuor Temporum Septembris 

Today is the feast of St. Joseph of Cupertino, C, under the 1954 (double) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. White. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Ite. Commemoration and Last Gospel of the Ember Wednesday of September.

In parish churches, if a 2nd (low) Mass is offered, it is of the Ember Wednesday of September. Station church at St. Mary Major. Proper Mass. Violet. After the Kyrie, Oremus/Flectamus genua/Levate, followed by the collect. Omit Gloria. Prophecy and second collect before the Epistle. Gradual with neither Alleluia nor Tract. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Benedicamus. Commemoration of St. Joseph of Cupertino (after the 2nd collect).

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
O God, Who willed that all things be drawn unto Your Son when He was raised above the earth, mercifully grant, by the merits and example of Your seraphic Confessor Joseph, that, having been raised above all earthly desires, we may be found worthy to come unto Him.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
R. Amen

Let us pray.
Commemoratio Feria Quarta Quattuor Temporum Septembris
May our frailty, we beseech You, O Lord, find support in the help of Your mercy; so that what is marred by its own nature may be restored by Your grace.
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.

Impressionis Stigmatum S. Francisci ~ Duplex

Today is the feast of the Impression of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis, C, under the 1954 (double) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. White. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Ite. No commemorations.

Office: Ordinary office. White. Proper strophe in hymn at Matins. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1st nocturn = proper with proper responsories, proper VIII responsory). Psalms and antiphons of the feria. All else form the common of a confessor not a bishop. At Lauds, proper strophe in hymn. Proper collect. No commemorations at Lauds. Omit suffrage. 

℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, when the love of many was waxing cold, didst manifest once more the holy marks of thine own Suffering in the flesh of thy most blessed servant Francis, to the end that our hearts might kindle again with the fire of the love of thyself, be Thou entreated for thy servant's sake, and grant to his and our prayers that we may effectually carry thy Cross and bring forth fruits meet for repentance.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

Ss. Cornelii Papæ et Cypriani Episcopi, Martyrum

                                                                                                                                                                    Art: Paolo Veronese, Meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee

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.

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
May the feast of the blessed Martyrs and Bishops, Cornelius and Cyprian, protect us, O Lord, we beseech You, and may their holy prayer recommend us to 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.
R. Amen.

Let us pray.
For Sts. Euphemia, Lucy and Geminianus
O Lord, grant that our prayers may bear fruit in joy, that we who each year devoutly honor the death of the Martyrs, Euphemia, Lucy and Geminianus, may also follow them by steadfastness in faith.
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.

The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

The Seven Dolors or Sorrows of Mary:

1. The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
2. The flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15)
3. Loss of the Child Jesus for three days (Luke 2:41-50) 
4. Mary meets Jesus on his way to Calvary (Luke 23:27-31; John 19:17)
5. Crucifixion and Death of Jesus (John 19:25-30)
6. The body of Jesus being taken from the Cross (Psalm 130; Luke 23:50-54; John 19:31-37)
7. The burial of Jesus (Isaiah 53:8; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42; Mark 15:40-47)

From the Holy Gospel according to John
John 19:25-27
At that time: There stood by the Cross of Jesus His Mother, and His Mother's sister, Mary (the wife) of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. And so on.

Homily by St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.
On Virgins, 7.
There stood by the Cross His Mother. Men had forsaken Him, but she stood there fearless. Behold how the Mother of Jesus could break through her shrinking modesty, but could not belie her heart. With the eyes of a mother's love she gazed upon the Wounds of her Son, those Wounds through Which she knew that redemption for all mankind was flowing. The Mother, who feared not the executioners, was able to endure the sight of their work. Her Son was hanging upon the Cross, and she braved His tormentors.

From the same 25th Epistle to the Church of Vercelli.
Mary, the Mother of the Lord, stood by the Cross of her Son. My only informant of this fact is the holy Evangelist John. Others have written that when the Lord suffered, the earth quaked, the heavens were veiled in darkness, the sun was hidden, and the thief received, after a good confession, the promise of Paradise. John hath taught us what the others have not taught us. Upon the Cross He called her Mother. It is reckoned (by John) a greater thing that in the moment of triumph over agony, He should have discharged the watchful duty of a Son to His Mother, than that He should have made gift of the kingdom of heaven. For if it be a sacred thing to have forgiven the thief, this so great kindness of the Son to the Mother is to be worshipped as the outcome of a tenderer and more touching love.

Behold, saith the Lord, thy son: Behold thy Mother! Christ bore witness from the Cross, and divided the offices of his tender love between his Mother and his disciple. Thus doth the Lord give us a testament, not only of his love for souls, but also of his natural affection. Moreover, the testimony which John doth give us concerning this same testament, is a worthy testimony to the original Testator himself. It is a good testament, not of earthly riches, but of eternal life, written not in ink, but in the Spirit of the living God, who speaketh of such testimony in the Psalms, saying: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.
℟. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O God, at Whose suffering the prophecy of Simeon was fulfilled, and a sword of sorrow pierced through the gentle soul of the glorious Virgin and Mother Mary, mercifully grant that we who speak worshipfully of her woes, may obtain the saving purchase of thy suffering.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.
℟. Amen.

In Exaltatione Sanctæ Crucis ~ Duplex majus

Tempora: Sabbato infra Hebdomadam XVI post Octavam Pentecostes II. Septembris

Adam Elsheimer, ‘Glorification of the Cross’, ca. 1600 (photo: Register Files)

Today is the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross under the 1954 (double major) and 1962 (II class; raised to the II class in 1960 following the 1960 suppression of the May 3 feast of the Finding of the True Cross) rubrics.

Mass: Proper Mass. Red. Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Credo. Preface of the Holy Cross. Ite. No commemorations.

Office: Under 1954, festal office. Red. Invitatory Christum Regem. Matins of 3 nocturns of 9 lessons (1st nocturn = proper). Te Deum. Proper psalms and antiphons at Matins. At Lauds and the hours, psalms of Sunday (Prime = 53, 118.1, 118.2) with proper antiphons. All else from the proper. Proper Magnificat antiphon. Proper collect. No commemorations at Lauds. Omit suffrage.

Under 1962, semi-festal office. Red. Matins and Lauds as above. At Prime and the hours, psalms and antiphons of the feria. All else from the proper.

Feria Sexta infra Hebdomadam XVI post Octavam Pentecostes

II. Septembris ~ Ferial

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

Mass: Of the preceding Sunday. Green. Omit Gloria. Gradual/Alleluia. Omit Credo. Common Preface. Benedicamus (1954)/Ite (1962). Under 1954, 2nd prayer A cunctis for the intercession of the saints. 3rd prayer at the choice of the celebrant. No additional prayers under 1962.

Private (low) votive Masses/daily Requiems are prohibited today under the 1954 rubrics; the Mass of the feria (resumed 16th Sunday after Pentecost) is obligatory today, as the Sunday Mass and Office this week were supplanted by the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. Under 1962, votive Masses/daily Requiems are permitted today without restriction. 

V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
May Your grace, we beseech You, O Lord, ever go before us and follow us, and may it make us ever intent upon good works.
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.