HOLY INNOCENTS
Martyrs
WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF CHRISTMAS
DOUBLE, SECOND CLASS / PURPLE
There is mixed joy and sorrow in the feast of the innocent victims of the first persecution. The Church rejoices at the spiritual victory of the young witnesses to Christ. The purple vestments of the Mass denote the Church's common grief with the mothers of Bethlehem, who saw their babies massacred by the jealousy of Herod.
INTROIT Ps. 8:3 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings, O God, You have fashioned praise because of Your enemies. Ps. 8:2. O Lord, our Lord, how glorious is Your name over all the earth! V. Glory be . . .
COLLECT
O God, the martyred innocents bore witness to You this day not by words but by laying down their lives. Destroy in us the evil of sin, so that our lives may bear witness to our faith in You, which we profess in words. Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of the SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
O Almighty and Eternal God, direct our actions according to Your holy will, so that, in the name of Your beloved Son, we may lead lives that are marked by good deeds; who lives and rules with You . . .
EPISTLE Apoc. 14:1-5
In those days, I beheld: and lo a Lamb stood upon mount
Sion, and with him an hundred forty-four thousand, having his name and the name
of his Father written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as
the noise of many waters and as the voice of great thunder. And the voice which
I heard was as the voice of harpers, harping on their harps. And they sung as
it were a new canticle, before the throne and before the four living creatures
and the ancients: and no man could say the canticle, but those hundred
forty-four thousand who were purchased from the earth. These are they who were
not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to
God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth there was found no lie: for they are
without spot before the throne of God.
GRADUAL Ps. 123:7-8 Our soul has been rescued as a bird from the snare of the hunters.
V. The snare has been broken and we are free. Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
TRACT Ps. 78:3, 10
They have poured out the blood of the saints like water
around Jerusalem. V. And there was no one to bury them.
V. Avenge, O Lord, the blood of Your saints which has been shed upon the earth.
GOSPEL Matt. 2:13-18
At that time, an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to
Joseph, saying: "Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into
Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that
Herod will seek the child to destroy him." Who arose, and took the child
and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the
death of Herod: That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet,
saying: "Out of Egypt have I called my son."
Then Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men,
was exceeding angry: and sending killed all the men children that were in
Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: "A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not."
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 123:7
Our soul has been rescued as a bird from the snare of the hunters. The snare has been broken and we are free.
SECRET
O Lord, may Your saints' unfailing prayer of honor render our offerings acceptable to You and obtain Your pardon for us. Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of the SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
Grant that the gifts we offer to Your majesty, O Almighty God, may obtain for us the grace of sincere devotion and the reward of a blessed eternity. Through Our Lord . . .
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Matt. 2:18
A voice was heard weeping in Rama, and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be comforted, because they are no more.
POSTCOMMUNION
O Lord, may these Gifts, which we have both offered to You and received from You, win for us Your assistance in this life and in the life to come through the prayers of the saints. Through Our Lord . . .
Commemoration of the SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS
O Lord, may this sacred rite wash away our sins and fulfill
our reasonable desires. Through Our Lord . . .
1 comment:
It's the cardinal's job to provide Mass and sacraments for the faithful. He could certainly try to provide underground Masses; maybe he has -- no, Vox, you would know about it.
But if I didn't do what I was hired to do, I would expect to be fired. As it is, I can't imagine why any Catholic in Toronto would ever pay attention to your cardinal again.
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