CONFIRMATION OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS

THE CONFIRMATION OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS

In three year’s time, the Order shall be celebrating eight hundred years of its confirmation as a religious Order. It is a milestone for an Order which is faithful to the legacy of its past but also open to the motions of the spirit and to the signs of the times.

On 22 December 1216, Pope Honorius III began to publish a series of Bulls in behalf of the nascent community of preachers founded by Dominic de Guzman. The long series of Bulls and Papal rescripts began to delineate the basic lines of Dominican identity, stability and direction for its growth in the coming years especially after the death of the founder. The first of these Bulls known as Religiosam Vitam is considered as the Bull of Confirmation of the Order.  The Latin text is found in Koudelka, MOPH, t. 25, 71-76.

 

Here is the English translation:

Honorius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to the beloved sons Dominic, prior of St. Romain in Toulouse, and his brethren, both present and future, professed in the regular life. In perpetuum.

It behoves that those professing the religious life should be placed under apostolic protection, lest they should be turned aside from their aim by rash attacks, or, which god forbid, their religious life be imperiled. Therefore, dear sons in the Lord, we readily accede to your just demands and take under the protection of the blessed Apostle Peter, and under our own, the church of St. Roman of Toulouse, in which you have dedicated yourself to the divine service.

We decree, first, that the canonical Order established in this church, according to God’s will and the rule of St. Augustine, be perpetually and inviolably observed there; moreover, that the possessions justly acquired by the said church, or eventually accruing to her by pontifical concession, the alms of the faithful, or in any other legitimate way, remain irrevocably in your hands and those of your successors. We also deem it well to name the following possessions, the church of Prouille and its dependencies, the estate of Casseneuil, the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lescure with all its dependencies, the hospital of Toulouse called Arnaud-Bérnard and its dependencies, the church of the Sainte-Trinité of Loubens with its dependencies, and the tithes which our venerable brother Foulques, Bishop of Toulouse, in his pious and thoughtful generosity, has, with the consent of his Chapter, ceded to you.

 
That no one presume to demand tithes on the lands cultivated by you, or at your own expense, or on the produce of your cattle. We permit your receiving and retaining, without fear of hindrance, clerics and lay persons desiring of leaving the world, provided they are bound by no other ties.

We forbid your Religious, after their profession, to leave their Order without their Prior’s permission, unless it be to embrace a severer Rule, and we likewise forbid any one to admit such without your consent. You will provide for the services of the parish churches belonging to you by presenting to the Bishop of the diocese Priests worthy of being appointed to the care of souls, and who will be responsible to him, in things spiritual, and to you, in things temporal.

We forbid that your church be subjected to any new conditions; we forbid that either it or you should be laid under an interdict or excommunicated, unless for a reasonable and manifest cause. In case of a general interdict, you may celebrate the Divine Office in a low voice, without bells, and with closed doors, after such as are excommunicated and under the interdict have left the church.

Chrism, holy oil, consecration of altars or basilicas, ordination of your clerics, shall be obtained from the bishop of the diocese, provided that he be Catholic and in the grace and communion of the Holy See, and that he consent to give you the above without any unjust conditions; in the contrary case, you shall apply to any Catholic bishop you may please to select, provided he be in the grace and communion of the Holy See, and he shall comply with your requests in virtue of our authority.

We grant you the right of sepulture in your church; and forbid any opposition to the pious and last wishes of such as desire to be interred there, unless they are excommunicated or under an interdict, and provided that the right of sepulture attaching to other churches be not interfered with.

At your demise and that of your successors in the office of Prior, let no one take possession of the office by ruse or violence, but he who has been duly elected by all, or by the majority of the brethren, according to God and the Rule of St. Augustine.

We also ratify the privileges, immunities, and reasonable customs introduced of old and still existing in your church, and desire that they may be observed inviolate.

Let none disturb the peace of this church; seize or retain, diminish or meddle, with its possessions; but, saving by apostolate authority or the canonical decision of the diocesan, let such possession remain intact, for the use and support of those to whom they have been conceded.

If any person, ecclesiastical or secular, cognizant of the above, dare to infringe this Order, and on being warned a second and third time refuse to give satisfaction, let him be deprived of all power and honor, and let him know that he has rendered himself guilty in the sight of God; let him be cut off from the communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and at the final judgment may he suffer severe punishment.

On the other hand, may the blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon all those who respect the ights of this church, and may here below receive the reward of their good deeds and an eternal recompense from the Sovereign Judge. Amen. Amen. Amen. Farewell.

 
Lord, may my ways remain in your paths (Ps 16:5).
Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Honorius Pope III

I, Honorius, bishop of the Catholic Church, subscribe to it.

I, Nicholas, bishop of Tusculum, subscribe to it.
I, Guido, Bishop of Prenestina, subscribe to it.
I, Hugolino, bishop of Ostia and Velletri, subscribe to it.
I, Pelagius, bishop of Albano, subscribes to it.
I, Cyntius, of the title of San Lorenzo en Lucina, Priest- Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Leo, of the title of “Sancta Croce in Hierusalemme”, Priest-Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I,  Robert, of the the title “San Stefano in Monte Celio: , Priest-Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I,  Stephen, of the Basílica of the Twelve Apostles, Priest-Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Gregory, of the title of Saint Anastasia, Priest Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Peter, of the title of Saint Laurence in Damaso , Priest- Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Thomas, of the title of Saint Sabina, Priest Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Guido of Saint Nicholas, in Carcere Tullana, Deacon-Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Octavius of Saint Sergius and Bacchus, deacon and Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, John, of Saints Cosmas and Damian, Deacon and Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Gregory of Saint Theodore, Deacon Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I, Rainier of Santa Maria in Cósmedin, deacon Cardinal , subscribe to it.
I, Roman of Santangelo, deacon Cardinal, subscribe to it.
I,  Stephen of Saint Adrian, deacon Cardinal, subscribe to it.
Given in Rome by the hand of Rainier , Prior of San Fridiano of Lucca, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, on 22 December, in the V indiction, in the year of the incarnation of the Lord, 1216, the first year of the pontificate of the Lord Honorius III, Pope.

the blessing of the advent wreath and the lighting of candles

THE BLESSING OF THE ADVENT WREATH AND THE LIGHTING OF THE CANDLES

THE BLESSING OF THE ADVENT WREATH

When done within the framework of the I Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent.
The presider, in cope accompanied by two acolytes enter the presbytery. The presider begins the Office with the opening prayers of:
PRIEST: O God come to our aid.
All: O Lord make haste to help us. etc.
After the hymn, the presider goes to the place where the advent wreath is placed.
All are asked to take their seats. The presider or the liturgist can address a few words on the meaning of the advent wreath and its meaning for the praying community.
Then he proceeds in the blessing of the wreath/

BLESSING OF THE WREATH

Presider: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.

(pause for a few moments of silence, then continues…)

Let us pray:
O God, by whose word all things are sanctified, pour forth your blessing upon this wreath, and grant that we your people, who use it may prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ and receive from You abundant graces. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The presider than incenses the wreath and blesses it with holy water.

The presider then says the prayer prepared for the year…

The community then sits down and begins the psalmody of vespers.

 

LIGHTING OF THE FIRST CANDLE

Before the singing of the Magnificat, the youngest of the community in profession then comes before the altar and lights the first candle.

Then the brother recites the prayer aloud.

Heavenly Father, as we begin this Advent, give light to our eyes and peace to our hearts. May the Lord find us watching and waiting in joy when He comes. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

MAGNIFICAT

Afterwards, the community stands to sing the Magnificat. The acolytes give the presider the thurifer and he incenses the main altar while the congregation sings the Gospel canticle.

The vespers end as usual.

The solemn blessing after the Office can be done.

For the other I Vespers. The incensing of the altar during the magnificat is optional.

*For the second Sunday: the second youngest among the brothers will light the second candle.

Father in heaven, set our hearts ablaze to follow in the footsteps of John the Baptist. May we bring light and love to all we meet, that the darkness of sin and fear may be overcome. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

**For the third Sunday ( the candle is the pink one) it is the Eldest among the student brothers.

As we draw near to you, Lord God, keep us aware of your presence in all we do. Come with power to enlighten us by your grace, that we may live in praise and peace all our days. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

**And the fourth Sunday the mayor of the students’ community.

Lord God, you willed to become man in the womb of the Virgin, Come and live among us, strengthen our faith and our commitment to give witness to your love among men so that we may be grateful to the gift of redemption and eternal salvation.  Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Solemn Blessing

V:  May God Almighty, who is rich in mercy, through his Son Jesus Christ, whose coming as man you have believed and whose glorious return you await in the celebration of the mysteries of Advent enlighten you and fill you with His blessings.
R. Amen.
V: May God keep you in this life to be firm in the faith, joyful in hope and diligent in love.
R: Amen.

V. As you are filled with joy for the in the birth of our Redeemer, thus when he comes again in majesty may you receive the prize of eternal life.

R. Amen.
 And may God bless you all, the Father + Son and Holy Spirit.
R.  Amen.

 

office of readings for our lady of the pillar

Here are some selections as variations to the ones presented in the Spanish version of the Liturgy of the Hours. The first one was from the discourse of Bl. John Paul II during his historic pastoral visit in 1982. The following ones are from his magisterial Encyclical Redemptoris  Mater.

THE OFFICE OF READINGS

Second Reading
From the Addresses of Blessed John Paul II, Pope
(At the Marian Basilica of the Pillar at Zaragoza, Spain. 6 November, 1982, nn. 3-4).

Mary has become the column of faith and sure guide towards salvation!

By means of Mary, through different forms of piety the light of faith in Christ —the Son of God and of Mary—has reached many Christians. And how many Christians also live their communion of Ecclesial faith sustained by the devotion to Mary who has become the column of that faith and sure guide towards salvation!

 
Remembering this presence of Mary, I cannot the least not mention the important work of Saint Ildephonse of Toledo “On the perpetual virginity of Mary most holy”, which expresses the faith of the Church on this mystery. With a precise formula it indicates that: “ The Virgin befoe the coming the Son, a virgin she remains after engendering the Son, virgin with the birth of the Son and Virgin after giving birth to the Son.”

The fact is that the first great Spanish Marian affirmation consisted in a defense of the Virginity of Mary, had been decisive for the image the Spaniards have of her, to whom they call the Virgin, that is the virgin by name.

 
In a virginal way, “the work of the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of a man”, Mary had given human nature to the Eternal Son of the Father. It is of a virginal way did Mary gave birth to a holy body animated by a rational soul, in which the Word had been hypostatically united.

It is the faith of the amplified Creed of Saint Epiphanius expressed in the term: “ever Virgin” and which Pope Paul IV articulates in the tender phrase of “ before birth, at birth and perpetually after birth”. The same was taught by Paul VI: “We believe that Mary, ever Virgin, by the Incarnate Word”.  This is what you have to maintain in all its amplitude.

 
Pope Paul VI wrote that “in the Virgin Mary everything refers to Christ and all depends on Him”. This has a special application in the Marian cult.  All the motives which we find in Mary to render her worship are the gifts from God, privileges deposited in her by God so that she would be the Mother of the Word.  And all the worship we offer her, rebounds in the glory of Christ, in the same time that the devotion itself to Mary leads us to Christ.

Saint Ildephonse of Toledo, the most ancient witness of this form of devotion known as the Marian slavery, justifies our attitude as slaves of Mary through the singular relationship she has with respect to Christ: “That is why I am your slave, because my Lord is your Son.  That is why you are our Lady, because you are the slave of my Lord. That is why I am the slave of of my Lord, because you have been made the Mother of my Lord. Because you had been made the mother of my creator”.

As it is obvious, these real relationships existent between Christ and Mary had made the Marian cult may have Christ as its objective end.  With all clarity, this was seen by Saint Ildephonse: “Thus with regards to what refers to the Lord as to what is served to the slave, it rebounds to the Son all that is given to the Mother, all forms of service for the kingdom goes to the king”.  This double destiny of desire can be understood therefore when the same Saint formulates, when speaking with the most holy Virgin: “May I be granted to surrender myself to God and to you, to be the slave of your Son and yours, to serve your Lord and you”.

There are a good many investigators who believe and sustain that the most popular of Marian prayers, —that is, after the Ave Maria—was composed in Spain. And that its author would have been the Bishop of Compostela: Saint Peter of Mezonzo, by the end of the X century; I am referring to the “Salve”.

This prayer ends in the petition: “Show us Jesus”. This is what Mary does constantly, as it is perpetuated in so many images of the Virgin spread in the cities and villages of Spain.  She, like her Son in her arms, as it is here in the Pillar, ceaselessly manifest to us as the way the truth and the life.  At time with the her dead Son on her knees, reminds us of the infinite value of the blood of the Lamb which had flowed for our salvation.  In other occasions, her image, inclining herself to men, close to her Son and to us make us feel the closeness of the radical revolution of mercy, and manifesting it as it is, she herself is the Mother of mercy. 

Responsory

R.   The pious Virgin granted us certain confidence in her protection. * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.
V.   May our people jump for joy, grateful for this visit of the Virgin Mary.
R.   * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.

Or

From the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater of Blessed John Paul II, Pope.
Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, 25 March, 1987, nn. 17-19.

She bears within herself the radical "newness" of faith: the beginning of the New Covenant.

From the moment of the Annunciation, the mind of the Virgin-Mother has been initiated into the radical "newness" of God's self-revelation and has been made aware of the mystery. She is the first of those "little ones" of whom Jesus will say one day: "Father, ...you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes" (Mt. 11:25). For “no one knows the Son except the Father” (Mt. 11:27). If this is the case, how can Mary "know the Son"? Of course she does not know him as the Father does; and yet she is the first of those to whom the Father "has chosen to reveal him" (cf. Mt. 11:26-27; 1 Cor. 2:11). If though, from the moment of the Annunciation, the Son-whom only the Father knows completely, as the one who begets him in the eternal "today" (cf. Ps. 2:7) was revealed to Mary, she, his Mother, is in contact with the truth about her Son only in faith and through faith! She is therefore blessed, because “she has believed,” and continues to believe day after day amidst all the trials and the adversities of Jesus' infancy and then during the years of the hidden life at Nazareth, where he “was obedient to them” (Lk. 2:51).

The Mother of that Son, therefore, mindful of what has been told her at the Annunciation and in subsequent events, bears within herself the radical “newness” of faith: the beginning of the New Covenant. This is the beginning of the Gospel, the joyful Good News. However, it is not difficult to see in that beginning a particular heaviness of heart, linked with a sort of “night of faith"-to use the words of St. John of the Cross-a kind of “veil” through which one has to draw near to the Invisible One and to live in intimacy with the mystery. And this is the way that Mary, for many years, lived in intimacy with the mystery of her Son, and went forward in her “pilgrimage of faith”, while Jesus “increased in wisdom...and in favor with God and man” (Lk. 2:52). God's predilection for him was manifested ever more clearly to people's eyes. The first human creature thus permitted to discover Christ was Mary, who lived with Joseph in the same house at Nazareth.

Jesus was aware that “no one knows the Son except the Father” (cf. Mt. 11:27); thus even his Mother, to whom had been revealed most completely the mystery of his divine sonship, lived in intimacy with this mystery only through faith! Living side by side with her Son under the same roof, and faithfully persevering “in her union with her Son”, she “advanced in her pilgrimage of faith”, as the Council emphasizes. And so it was during Christ's public life too (cf. Mk. 3:21-35) that day by day there was fulfilled in her the blessing uttered by Elizabeth at the Visitation: "Blessed is she who believed."

This blessing reaches its full meaning when Mary stands beneath the Cross of her Son (cf. Jn. 19:25). The Council says that this happened "not without a divine plan": by "suffering deeply with her only-begotten Son and joining herself with her maternal spirit to his sacrifice, lovingly consenting to the immolation of the victim to whom she had given birth," in this way Mary "faithfully preserved her union with her Son even to the Cross." It is a union through faith- the same faith with which she had received the angel's revelation at the Annunciation.

And now, standing at the foot of the Cross, Mary is the witness, humanly speaking, of the complete negation of these words. On that wood of the Cross her Son hangs in agony as one condemned. "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows...he was despised, and we esteemed him not": as one destroyed (cf. Is. 53:3- 5). How great, how heroic then is the obedience of faith shown by Mary in the face of God's "unsearchable judgments"! How completely she "abandons herself to God" without reserve, offering the full assent of the intellect and the will" to him whose "ways are inscrutable" (cf. Rom. 11:33)! And how powerful too is the action of grace in her soul, how all-pervading is the influence of the Holy Spirit and of his light and power!

Through this faith Mary is perfectly united with Christ in his self- emptying. For "Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men": precisely on Golgotha "humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (cf. Phil. 2:5-8). At the foot of the Cross Mary shares through faith in the shocking mystery of this self- emptying. This is perhaps the deepest "kenosis" of faith in human history. Through faith the Mother shares in the death of her Son, in his redeeming death; but in contrast with the faith of the disciples who fled, hers was far more enlightened. On Golgotha, Jesus through the Cross definitively confirmed that he was the "sign of contradiction" foretold by Simeon. At the same time, there were also fulfilled on Golgotha the words which Simeon had addressed to Mary: "and a sword will pierce through your own soul also."

Yes, truly "blessed is she who believed"! These words, spoken by Elizabeth after the Annunciation, here at the foot of the Cross seem to re-echo with supreme eloquence, and the power contained within them becomes something penetrating. From the Cross, that is to say from the very heart of the mystery of Redemption, there radiates and spreads out the prospect of that blessing of faith.  

In the expression "Blessed is she who believed," we can therefore rightly find a kind of "key" which unlocks for us the innermost reality of Mary, whom the angel hailed as "full of grace." If as "full of grace" she has been eternally present in the mystery of Christ, through faith she became a sharer in that mystery in every extension of her earthly journey. She "advanced in her pilgrimage of faith" and at the same time, in a discreet yet direct and effective way, she made present to humanity the mystery of Christ. And she still continues to do so. Through the mystery of Christ, she too is present within mankind. Thus through the mystery of the Son the mystery of the Mother is also made clear.

Responsory

R.   The pious Virgin granted us certain confidence in her protection. * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.
V.   May our people jump for joy, grateful for this visit of the Virgin Mary.
R.   * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.

Or
From the Encyclical Redemptoris Mater of Blessed John Paul II, Pope.
Encyclical Redemptoris Mater, 25 March, 1987, nn. 25-27.

Mary "goes before them," "leads the way" for them.

 
The Council further says that "Mary figured profoundly in the history of salvation and in a certain way unites and mirrors within herself the central truths of the faith." Among all believers she is like a "mirror" in which are reflected in the most profound and limpid way "the mighty works of God" (Acts 2:11).

Built by Christ upon the Apostles, the Church became fully aware of these mighty works of God on the day of Pentecost, when those gathered together in the Upper Room "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:4). From that moment there also begins that journey of faith, the Church's pilgrimage through the history of individuals and peoples. We know that at the beginning of this journey Mary is present. We see her in the midst of the Apostles in the Upper Room, "prayerfully imploring the gift of the Spirit."

In a sense her journey of faith is longer. The Holy Spirit had already come down upon her, and she became his faithful spouse at the Annunciation, welcoming the Word of the true God, offering "the full submission of intellect and will...and freely assenting to the truth revealed by him," indeed abandoning herself totally to God through "the obedience of faith," whereby she replied to the angel: "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." The journey of faith made by Mary, whom we see praying in the Upper Room, is thus longer than that of the others gathered there: Mary "goes before them," "leads the way" for them. The moment of Pentecost in Jerusalem had been prepared for by the moment of the Annunciation in Nazareth, as well as by the Cross. In the Upper Room Mary's journey meets the Church's journey of faith. In what way?

Among those who devoted themselves to prayer in the Upper Room, preparing to go "into the whole world" after receiving the Spirit, some had been called by Jesus gradually from the beginning of his mission in Israel. Eleven of them had been made Apostles, and to them Jesus had passed on the mission which he himself had received from the Father. "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you" (Jn. 20:21), he had said to the Apostles after the Resurrection. And forty days later, before returning to the Father, he had added: "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you...you shall be my witnesses...to the end of the earth" (cf. Acts 1:8). This mission of the Apostles began the moment they left the Upper Room in Jerusalem. The Church is born and then grows through the testimony that Peter and the Apostles bear to the Crucified and Risen Christ (cf. Acts 2:31-34; 3:15-18; 4:10-12; 5:30-32).

Mary did not directly receive this apostolic mission. She was not among those whom Jesus sent "to the whole world to teach all nations" (cf. Mt. 28:19) when he conferred this mission on them. But she was in the Upper Room, where the Apostles were preparing to take up this mission with the coming of the Spirit of Truth: she was present with them. In their midst Mary was "devoted to prayer" as the "mother of Jesus" (cf. Acts 1:13-14), of the Crucified and Risen Christ. And that first group of those who in faith looked "upon Jesus as the author of salvation," knew that Jesus was the Son of Mary, and that she was his Mother, and that as such she was from the moment of his conception and birth a unique witness to the mystery of Jesus, that mystery which before their eyes had been disclosed and confirmed in the Cross and Resurrection. Thus, from the very first moment, the Church "looked at" Mary through Jesus, just as she "looked at" Jesus through Mary. For the Church of that time and of every time Mary is a singular witness to the years of Jesus' infancy and hidden life at Nazareth, when she "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk. 2:19; cf. Lk. 2:51).

But above all, in the Church of that time and of every time Mary was and is the one who is "blessed because she believed"; she was the first to believe. From the moment of the Annunciation and conception, from the moment of his birth in the stable at Bethlehem, Mary followed Jesus step by step in her maternal pilgrimage of faith. She followed him during the years of his hidden life at Nazareth; she followed him also during the time after he left home, when he began "to do and to teach" (cf. Acts 1:1) in the midst of Israel. Above all she followed him in the tragic experience of Golgotha. Now, while Mary was with the Apostles in the Upper Room in Jerusalem at the dawn of the Church, her faith, born from the words of the Annunciation, found confirmation. The angel had said to her then: "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great...and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there will be no end." The recent events on Calvary had shrouded that promise in darkness, yet not even beneath the Cross did Mary's faith fail. She had still remained the one who, like Abraham, "in hope believed against hope" (Rom. 4:18). But it is only after the Resurrection that hope had shown its true face and the promise had begun to be transformed into reality. For Jesus, before returning to the Father, had said to the Apostles: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (cf. Mt. 28:19-20). Thus had spoken the one who by his Resurrection had revealed himself as the conqueror of death, as the one who possessed the kingdom of which, as the angel said, "there will be no end."

Responsory

R.   The pious Virgin granted us certain confidence in her protection. * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.
V.   May our people jump for joy, grateful for this visit of the Virgin Mary.
R.   * She herself chose this place, in which the faithful from all over the world come to pray.

Prayer

All powerful and ever-living God, through the glorious Mother of Your Son, you have given heavenly protection to all who invoke her under the title of the Pillar. Through her intercession, grant us strength in faith, security in hope, and constancy in love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Your Son, who lives and reigns, with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Or

Almighty and eternal God, who gave the Blessed Virgin Mary, the glorious Mother of your Son, as a pillar of strength to all who call upon her, grant that, by her intercession, we may be strong in faith, steadfast in hope, and constant in charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.

The Mass of Our Lady of the Pillar

Today is the feast of our lady of the pillar. It is also the famed Dia de Hispandad when the Hispanic countries celebrate their common culture and Christian roots. Though not celebrated in East Asia , with a very deep bond the province maintain with the Spanish Church and due to our Spanish and South American brethren, we celebrate it as a memorial in our community. The proper prayers and the readings are from the proper Mass of the Feast and were translated by yours truly.
 May the Virgin, the pillar of perseverance and faith, inspire us to be steadfast in our faith and in our vocation.

12 October
OUR LADY OF THE PILLAR

Optional memoria

According to the most ancient of traditions, the Virgin visited Saint James the Apostle by the banks of the Ebro River in the Roman city of Cesaraugusta (Zaragoza) when she was still alive.  As a sign of her presence she brought with her a column or a pillar. Honoured as the “Pillar of Faith” for having sustained the Apostle Saint James in a moment of weariness and discouragement, the Blessed Virgin Mary is also the Destroyer of All Heresies and the Succour of Christians in distress. The Blessed Virgin offers a pillar of stability in our inconstancy and, when necessary, she comes to our rescue, against the powers of darkness.
This Marian title later evolved into a symbol of national unity and Catholic identity among Spaniards. In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the American continent on this day, thus is also known as the Day of Hispanity.

Entrance Antiphon:     (Wis 18:3; Ex 13: 21ss)

You gave your people a pillar of blazing fire to guide them,
to give them light, so that they could march by day and by night.
Or    (cf. Wis 18:3; Ex 13:21–22)
You, O Virgin Mary, are like the pillar of light that by day and by night went before the people in the desert to show them the way of life.
Or:
Glorious Mother of Christ, you conceived your Son in faith and believed that after suffering for us He would rise again. You, O loving one, are the guardian of our faith.

Collect

All powerful and ever-living God, through the glorious Mother of Your Son, you have given heavenly protection to all who invoke her under the title of the Pillar. Through her intercession, grant us strength in faith, security in hope, and constancy in love. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Your Son, who lives and reigns, with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Or

Almighty and eternal God, who gave the Blessed Virgin Mary, the glorious Mother of your Son, as a pillar of strength to all who call upon her, grant that, by her intercession, we may be strong in faith, steadfast in hope, and constant in charity. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

Reading 1    (1 Chr 1: 3-4, 15-16; 16: 1-2).

A reading from the First Book of Chronicles.
They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent.

David then summoned all Israel to Jerusalem, to move the ark of Yahweh to the place which he had prepared for it. David also called the sons of Aaron and the Levites together: the Levites carried the ark of God with the shafts on their shoulders, as Moses had ordered in accordance with the word of Yahweh. David also told the heads of the Levites to appoint their kinsmen as singers with the accompaniment of musical instruments, lyres, harps, and cymbals to play joyfully. They brought the ark of God in and put it inside the tent which David had erected for it, and brought burnt offerings and made communion sacrifices in God's presence. And when David had finished making burnt offerings and communion sacrifices, he blessed the people in the name of Yahweh. ——The Word of the Lord.

Or    (Acts 1: 12-14).
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 
With one heart they were constantly in prayer,
 including Mary the mother of Jesus.

From the Mount of Olives, as it is called, they went back to Jerusalem, a short distance away, no more than a Sabbath walk; and when they reached the city they went to the upper room where they were staying; there were Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Jude son of James. With one heart all these joined constantly in prayer, together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

——The Word of the Lord.
 

Responsorial Psalm:    (Ps 26: 1, 3, 4, 5)

R.   THE LORD HAS CROWNED ME,
      HE SETS ME HIGH ON A ROCK.

The Lord is my light and my salvation,

whom should I fear?
The Lord is the fortress of my life,
whom should I dread?

Though an army pitch camp against me,

my heart will not fear,
though war break out against me,
my trust will never be shaken.

For he hides me away under his roof on the day of evil,

he folds me in the recesses of his tent,
sets me high on a rock.

Gospel Acclamation    (Ps 26: 5d; 39:4a)

R. Alleluia, Alleluia.
V.  He sets me high upon a rock,
     and put a fresh song in my mouth.
R. Alleluia.
Gospel:  (Lk 11: 27-28)
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke  
More blessed still are those
who hear the word of God and keep it!
At that time, it happened that as Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, 'Blessed the womb that bore you and the breasts that fed you!' But he replied, 'More blessed still are those who hear the word of God and keep it!'

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

Prayer over the Offerings
All powerful and ever-living God, You made the light of faith shine upon us.  Grant that by the gifts we now present to you and the prayers we offer, and through the intercession of Mary, most holy, the Virgin of the Pillar, would enable us to remain firm in the faith and generous in love. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Or

Lord, Holy Father, who have brightened our minds with the light of faith, grant that, through the intercession of the loving Mother of the Redeemer, the Virgin of the Pillar the gifts that we offer you and the prayers we pour out may render us constant in faith and quick in charity. Through Christ our Lord.

Preface Proper Preface of the Virgin of the Pillar

Mary is the hope of the faithful and the joy of our race.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We lift them up to the Lord.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, for the countless wonders of love and of grace that you have mercifully worked in the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You preserved her unstained from the contagion of original sin and untouched by the corruption of the tomb. Remaining inviolate in her virginity, she became the beauteous bridal chamber from which Christ came forth as the light of the nations and the Bridegroom of the Church.

She is the glorious shoot whose shining gives hope to the faithful; she is their pillar of faith.

And so, with the Virtues of the heavens, we celebrate you ceaselessly on earth, forever proclaiming your majesty: Holy, holy, holy…

Communion Antiphon   (Cfr Bar 3:38)
God appeared on earth and lived among human beings.

Or    (Lk 1:48–49)

Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,
because He that is mighty has done great things for me.

Prayer after Communion:

O God who in many ways are present to your Church, we give you thanks for the sacraments we have received and humbly implore that, sustained by the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Lady of the Pillar, we may follow the precepts of the faith on earth, and at length be found worthy of contemplating your glory in heaven. Through Christ our Lord.

Solemn Blessing

God the Father chose Mary to be the Ark of the new covenant; to fulfill His promise of renewal and salvation. May He enjoin us into his plan of redemption. 

R.   Amen.

Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word took upon Himself our human nature, in the pure womb of Mary the Virgin; May He lead us towards the true path of peace and happiness.

R.   Amen.

The Holy Spirit inflamed the hearts of the disciples who united with Mary, were filled with sheer joy and happiness to preach the Word of life. May He confirm us in the one faith we share and renew us in His love.

R.   Amen.

And may Almighty God, bless you, the Father, + and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

R.   Amen.