The variation of Easter Sunday necessitates almost every year a different arrangement of the Sundays after the Epiphany from that in which they stand in the Missal. Septuagesima often comes in January and the Feast of the Purification is occasionally later than Quinquagesima Sunday; hence the office of these four last Sundays may have to be transferred to another season of the liturgical cycle. We have inserted here the third and fourth Sundays as usually falling in Christmastide, while the office of the fifth and sixth Sundays will be found near Septuagesima and the second after Pentecost, this latter season being the one in which they are most frequently kept.
MASS
The Introit represents the Angels of God adoring him on his entrance into this world, as St. Paul (Hebrews 1:6) explains this passage of the Psalms. The Church celebrates, with David, the gladness of Sion, and the joy of the daughters of Juda.
Adore God, all ye his Angels: Sion heard and was glad, and the Daughters of Juda rejoiced.
Ps. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice, let many islands be glad. ℣. Glory, etc. Adore.
COLLECT
O Almighty and Eternal God, mercifully behold our weakness, and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty to protect us. Through, etc.
Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary
O God, who, by the fruitful Virginity of the Blessed Mary, hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation, grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience Her intercession, by whom we received the Author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son.
The third prayer is one of the following:
Against the persecutors of the Church
Mercifully hear, we beseech thee, O Lord, the prayers of thy Church, that all oppositions and errors being removed, she may serve thee with a secure and undisturbed devotion.
For the Pope
O God, the Pastor and Governor of all the Faithful, look down in thy mercy on thy servant N. whom thou hast appointed Pastor over thy Church; and grant, we beseech thee, that, both by word and example, he may edify all those that are under his charge, and, with the flock entrusted to him, arrive, at length, at eternal happiness. Through, etc.
EPISTLE
Lesson of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle, to the Romans 12:16-21
Brethren, be not wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing good things, not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as is in you, have peace with all men. Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. But if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat; if he thirst, give him to drink. For, doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
This love of our neighbor, recommended to us by the Apostle, is a consequence of that universal brotherhood, which our Savior, by his Birth, brought us from heaven. He came to establish peace between heaven and earth; men, therefore, ought to be at peace one with another. Our Lord bids us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil by good:—and did not he first practice this by coming among us, who were children of wrath, that he might make us children of adoption by his humiliations and his sufferings?
In the Gradual, the holy Church again celebrates the coming of the Emmanuel, and invites all nations, and all the kings of the earth, to come and praise his holy name.
The Gentiles shall fear thy Name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
℣. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
Alleluia, alleluia.
℣. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice; let many islands be glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew 8:1-13:
At that time: when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him: And behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith to him: See thou tell no man: but go, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. And when he had entered into Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grieviously tormented. And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof: but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man subject to authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And Jesus hearing this, marvelled; and said to them that followed him: Amen I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven: But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.
The human race was infected the leprosy of sin: the Son of God touches it by the mystery of the Incarnation, and restores it to health. But he requires that the sick man, now that he is healed, shall go and show himself to the Priest, and comply with the ceremonies prescribed by the law; and this to show that he allows a human priesthood to cooperate in the work of our salvation. The vocation of the Gentiles, of which the Magi were the first fruits, is again brought before us in the faith of the Centurion. A Roman Soldier, and millions like him, shall be reputed as true children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; while they who are the sons of this Patriarch according to the flesh, shall be cast out from the feast chamber into the gloom of blindness; and their punishment shall be given as a spectacle to the whole earth.
Let men, then, saved as he has been by the coming of the Emmanuel, sing a hymn of praise to the power of the God who has wrought our salvation by the strength of his almighty arm. Man had been sentenced to death; but now that he has God for a Brother, he shall not die: he will live: and could he spend his life better than in praising the works of this God that has saved him?
OFFERTORY
The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me. I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.
SECRET
May this offering, O Lord, we beseech thee, cleanse away our sins: and sanctify the bodies and souls of thy servants, to prepare them for worthily celebrating this sacrifice. Through, etc.
Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Receive, O Lord, our offerings and prayers: cleanse us by these heavenly mysteries, and mercifully hear us.
Against the persecutors of the Church
Protect us, O Lord, while we assist at thy sacred mysteries, that being employed in acts of religion, we may serve thee both in body and mind.
For the Pope
Be appeased, O Lord, with the offering we have made, and cease not to protect thy servant N., whom thou hast been pleased to appoint Pastor over thy Church. Through, etc.
PREFACE
℣. For ever and ever.
℟. Amen.
℣. The Lord be with you.
℟. And with thy spirit.
℣. Lift up your hearts.
℟. We have them fixed on God.
℣. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
℟. It is meet and just.
It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God, Who together with thy Only Begotten Son and the Holy Ghost art one God and one Lord: not in a singularity of one Person, but in a Trinity of one substance. For what we believe of thy glory, as thou hast revealed, the same we believe of thy Son and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference or distinction. So that in the confession of the true and eternal Deity, we adore a distinction in the Persons, a unity in the essence, and an equality in the Majesty. Whom the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim praise, and cease not daily to cry out with one voice, saying, Holy, etc.
After having distributed the Bread of Life, the Church reminds us how the people were in admiration at the words of Jesus. The children of the Church, initiated into all his Mysteries are, at this moment, enjoying the effects of that ineffable Word, by means of which the Redeemer has changed the bread into his Body, and the wine into his Blood.
All wondered at the words that came from the mouth of God.
POSTCOMMUNION
We beseech thee, O Lord, that we, to whom thou vouchsafest the use of these great mysteries, may be made truly worthy to receive the benefits thereof. Through, etc.
Commemoration of the Blessed Virgin Mary
May this communion, O Lord, cleanse us from sin, and by the intercession of blessed Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, make us partakers of thy heavenly remedy.
Against the persecutors of the Church
We beseech thee, O Almighty God, not to leave exposed to the dangers of human life, those whom thou hast permitted to partake of these divine mysteries.
For the Pope
May the participation of this divine Sacrament protect us, we beseech thee, O Lord; and always procure safety and defense to thy servant N., whom thou hast appointed Pastor over thy Church, together with the flock committed to his charge. Through, etc.
VESPERS
The Psalms, Antiphons, Capitulum, Hymn, and Versicle are given earlier in the volume.
ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT
ANT. O Lord, if thou wilt, thou cants make me clean. And Jesus saith: I will: be thou cleansed.
LET US PRAY
O Almighty and Eternal God, mercifully behold our weakness, and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty to protect us. Through, etc.
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