Remembering Saint Sabina and Saint Serapia, Martyrs of Rome

Although not incorporated into the present Roman calendar nor the proper calendar of the Order, today we commemorate the “dies natalis” of S. Sabina. She is the titular of the Roman Basilica adjacent to the General Curia of the Order and whose very name evokes our unity to the Roman Pontiff and our obedience to the Papacy.

Who is Santa Sabina?

S. Sabina was a Roman martyr who lived in the II century. She was the daughter of Herod Metallarius, a wealthy Roman nobleman; and the wife of a Roman senator named Valentinus. After her husband died, Sabina accepted Jesus and was baptized into the faith through the guidance of her servant S. Serapia.

At that time Christians experienced the brutal persecution and persecution of the Roman empire. Christians were captured and imprisoned and many were killed and martyred. In the year 125, S. Serapia was caught and executed. S. Sabina boldly tried to claim her body to be properly buried in her family mausoleum, but her actions was deemed to be criminal and was accused of being a Christian by the Prefect named Elpidius. Thus, the Roman matron followed Serapia to the path of martyrdom.

Ancient devotion ever new

Both women were honored as martyrs by the Christians of Rome. In 430, the tomb of Santa Sabina was transferred above the Aventine Hill inside the famed Basilica built in her honor by Pietro d’ Iliria. This basilica was constructed on the property where her home once stood, and is considered as one of the most beautiful Ecclesiastical structures in the city for the sense of equilibrium and nobility of the decors, a true hallmark of paleo-Christian architecture. So important was this Basilica for Rome that it was chosen to be one of the Stational Churches for Lent, and aptly assigned it as the Stational Church for Ash Wednesday, a day so intimately linked to the Order of Preachers. Thus when the tradition was restored by S. John XXIII, it has been the venue of the papal mass and the solemn imposition of the ashes for the members of the Papal curia and the city.

Santa Sabina and the Dominicans

By the early part of the XI century, this basilica complex became part of the fortress known as the Roca Savelli which overlooks the Tiber and became part of the patrimony of the Patrician Savelli clan.  Honorius III, who was a Savelli then ceded the Basilica and adjoining properties to S. Dominic and his brethren when the friars surrendered the Church of San Sisto in order to house the Roman nuns who accepted the reforms of S. Dominic. It was not only a reward for the great service S. Dominic had done for the Pope in reorganizing the nuns of the city, but also a gesture of esteem and love of the Papacy to the newly formed Order of Preachers.

Since then Santa Sabina served as the home for the friars and its venerable walls and floors bear silent witness to the countless men and women who had passed through its hollowed space. Aside from S. Dominic himself, other prominent friars also lived and left their mark in this Church and convent: S. Raymond of Penyafort, S. Hyacinth and B. Ceslaus, S. Thomas Aquinas, S. Pius V and B. Hyacinth Marie Cormier. Yet throughout a greater part of our history it has been greatly eclipsed by the more popular Santa Maria sopra Minerva in central Rome as more representative of our presence in the Eternal city.

In the second quarter of the XX century, when Santa Sabina was recovered from the state confiscation of Church properties and the need of a functioning Motherhouse like those of modern religious congregations and orders, the General Curia of the Order was transferred to this priory and since then till this day, it has been the headquarters of the Order of Preachers and the official residence of the Masters of the Order. In this way, it perpetuated the legacy of Santa Sabina in our modern psyche.

Today as the Church honors S. Sabina and her servant S. Serapia, may these two valiant women of God who had welcomed the Order into their home intercede for us and give us the courage and fidelity to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ so that we may worthy to preach it to the world!

Text of the Mission Sending of the brothers going to Timor Leste

16 January, 2013, St Dominic's Priory witnessed the historic mission sending of the founders to the new mission of the Province of the Rosary: Timor Leste. During the mass, Fr. Provincial presented them to the friars and asked for the support and prayers of the community. Though it was a very private affair, the communities of the GCA were well represented with the presence of their superiors: Fr. Hyacinth for St. Joaquim Royo, Fr. Secundino for St Albert, Fr. Fernando of Saint Dominic's Yangoon aside from the friars assigned to the Priory,.  Here is the text of the blessings used yesterday.

ORDER OF BLESSING AND SENDING OF MISSIONARIES WITHIN THE MASS
Greeting
P. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
All: Amen.

P: May the Lord, who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light, be with you all.

All: And with your spirit.

My dear brothers, today we are gathered here in prayer as we ask for God’s blessing for the brothers whom we are sending to make a new foundation in Timor Leste.

We are in a sense reliving a practice of the early Church, the eager sending of its members to other peoples, to assist either those who were already of the household of the faith or those who did not yet believe in Christ.

The sending of our brothers to this new mission, to serve the needs of the Church will strengthen our bond of communion with the people of Timor Leste is a very historical event for the Church and also for us. We hope that this mission may flourish and bring about a renewal of missionary fervor among us, and this can only be realized with the support of our prayers as a
family.
 

LITURGY OF THE WORD

Biblical Reading
A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah  (1:4-9)
The word of Yahweh came to me, saying:
'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you came to birth I consecrated you; I appointed you as prophet to the nations.'
I then said, 'Ah, ah, ah, Lord Yahweh; you see, I do not know how to speak: I am only a child!
But Yahweh replied, 'Do not say, "I am only a child," for you must go to all to whom I send you and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of confronting them, for I am with you to rescue you, Yahweh declares.'  Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me: 'There! I have put my words into your mouth.  Look, today I have set you over the nations and kingdoms, to uproot and to knock down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.'
Word of the Lord.
A.   Thanks be to God.

Song: Here I am Lord!
Presentation of those who are to be sent to the Missions

The introduction of the departing missionaries:

Celebrant: Dear brothers: inspired by charity and strengthened by obedience, these brothers are sent to begin the Dominican foundation in Timor Leste to serve the Church and to proclaim the Gospel:
Fr. Ruben Martinez Ortega
Fr. Gerson Javier Nieto Flores

When their names are called they stand.

Celebrant: May by your words and your lives proclaim to all peoples the Gospel that is proclaimed in this house of God, so that the mystery of Christ and the Church may be revealed to all.
The Community then stands for the Gospel Acclamation:

Alleluia:

Gospel Antiphon:
Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

Gospel

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew (28: 16-20)
Meanwhile the eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them.  When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.'
The Gospel of the Lord.
All.   Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

After the homily the celebrant sits down.
Let us now ask Fr Ruben to say a few words as a response.
C. Let us now stand for the Blessing and the Intercessions.

Prayer of Blessing

The celebrant then hold his hands outstretched over the departing missionaries, as he says the prayer of blessing.
P. We bless you, O God, and we praise your name. In your merciful providence you sent your Son into the world to free us from the bondage of sin by his own blood and to enrich us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Before he returned, triumphant over death, to you, Father, he sent his apostles, the bearers of his love and power, to proclaim the Gospel of life to all peoples and in the waters of baptism to cleanse those who believe.

Lord, look kindly on your servants our brothers Ruben and Gerson Javier: we send them forth as messengers of salvation and peace, marked with the sign of the cross.

Guide their steps with your mighty arm and with the power of your grace strengthen them in spirit, so that they will not falter through weariness.

Make their words the echo of Christ's voice, so that those who hear them may be drawn to obey the Gospel.

Fill the hearts of your missionaries with the Holy Spirit, so that, becoming all things to all people, they may lead many to you, the Father of all, to sing your praises in your holy Church.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.
C. Please be seated.

Presentation of Crosses to the Missionaries

C. We shall now have the blessing and the presentation of the mission cross.
The celebrant blesses the crosses:
P. Father of holiness, you willed the cross of your Son to be the source of all blessings, the fount of all grace. Bless these crosses and grant that those who will preach the crucified Christ to others may themselves strive to be transformed into his image. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
R. Amen.

Then one by one the missionaries go to the celebrant, who gives each one a cross, as he says: Receive this sign of Christ's love and of our faith. Preach Christ crucified, who is the power and wisdom of God.

The missionary replies: Amen.

Then the missionary takes the crucifix, kisses it, and returns to his place.

Intercessions

P. Let us pray together to God, our merciful Father. He anointed his own Son with the Holy Spirit to preach the Good News to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, and to comfort the sorrowful. With great confidence we therefore say: R. Lord, may all your people praise you.

God of everlasting mercy, your will is that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth; we give you thanks for sending your only Son into the world as our Teacher and Redeemer, we pray to the Lord. R.

You sent Jesus Christ to preach the Good News to the poor, to proclaim the release of captives, and to announce the age of grace; 'grant that the embrace of your Church may extend to people of every tongue and every nation, we pray to the Lord. R.

You call all peoples out of darkness into your marvelous light, so that at the name of Jesus every knee must bend in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; enable us to bear true witness to the Gospel of salvation, we pray to the Lord. R.

Give us hearts that are upright and simple, so that we will be open to your word; make our lives and all the world rich in works of holiness, we pray to the Lord. R.

You continue to preserve the missionary spirit of our Province with new foundations and generous vocations, we also ask you to bless the brothers who are sick and elderly, our different communities in the mission, the different vicariates around the world, we pray to the Lord. R.

You inspire us to respond to the needs of your Church, as we send these brothers of ours Ruben and Gerson Javier to the Church of Timor Leste, we ask you to bless them with good health, apostolic zeal and love for your people, may they continue the long and glorious tradition of the many Dominican missionaries who had given their lives to that church and may the Saints and Blesseds of our Province help them through their prayers, we pray to the Lord. R.

P: God our Father, we thank you for calling us to share in the mission of preaching; as we now begin a new mission in Timor Leste with our brothers Ruben and Gerson Javier, we humbly ask you to confirm them in your grace and grant them the courage to face all difficulties and faithfully serve your people in the ministry entrusted to them. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All:  Amen.

After communion:

Presentation of gifts to the new missionaries:

The mayor of the student community will present a gift to the new foundation in behalf of the student community.

The prior of the community also presents the gift of the priory to the departing friars.

Concluding Rite

P. "Bow your heads and pray for God's blessing,"
V. May God, who in Christ has shown us his truth and love, make you messengers of the Gospel and witnesses to the divine love before all the world. R. Amen.

V. May the Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that he would be with his Church until the end of time, guide your steps and fill your words with power. R. Amen.

V. May the Spirit of the Lord be upon you, enabling you as you go through the world to bring the Good News to the lowly and to heal the brokenhearted. R. Amen.

V.  May almighty God bless you all, the Father, and the Son, + and the Holy Spirit. R. Amen.

C: As it was the tradition of our Province that the friars greet the Virgin when they leave for the missions, let us now chant the Solemn “Salve” and the “O Spem miram”.

 

10 January Blessed Ann of the Angels Monteagudo

10 January
BLESSED ANN OF THE ANGELS MONTEAGUDO
Nun and Virgin
Optional Memoria
Ann de Monteagudo was born in Arequipa, Peru in 1602 and in 1619 professed her vows in the monastery of Saint Catherine of Siena.  She was completely taken up in prayer with God, devoted her life to the imitation of Jesus Crucified, whose humility, patience, gentleness and prayerfulness she exemplified to perfection. Yet she did not neglect the needs of her neighbours, she faithfully fulfilled the offices of sacristan, mistress of novices and prioress to serve her community. Physical and mystical sufferings befell upon her together with heavenly illuminations. Confined to her bed in pain, she suffered neglect, distress, fever, loneliness and total blindness. She bore these afflictions during the last decade of her life with courage, serenity and resignation for love of her beloved souls in purgatory. She died in Arequipa on 10 January, 1686.
 
From the Common of Virgins or of Holy Women: for Religious, except the following.

THE OFFICE OF READINGS

Second Reading
From the Homily of Blessed John Paul II on the Beatification of Blessed Ana of the Angels Monteagudo.
(Arequipa, 2 February, 1985 nn. 5-7a; ASOP 93(1985)pp. 60-62.)
She realized the Dominican program of light, truth of love and life

We recognize this chosen daughter of your land whom today we can proclaim as Blessed of the Church: Sister Ann of the Angeles Monteagudo.  In her we especially admire the Christian example, the contemplative, the Dominican nun in the famous monastery of Santa Catalina, a monument of art and piety in which the Arequipans reasonably feels proud of.  In her life, she realized the Dominican program of light, truth of love and life, which is centered on the known phrase: to contemplate and to share what had been contemplated.

Sister Ana of the Angels realized this program with an intense, austere, radical surrender to the monastic life, according to the style of the Order of Saint Dominic, that is in the contemplation of the mystery of Christ, the Truth and the Wisdom of God. But at the same time her life had a particular apostolic extension. She was the spiritual teacher and faithful executor of the norms of the Church that urged the reform of the monasteries.  She knew how to receive all those who depended on it, leading them towards the paths of forgiveness and the life of grace. Her hidden presence was made known beyond the confines of her convent, with the fame of her holiness.  To the bishops and priests she helps them with her prayers and counsels, to the travelers and pilgrims who came to her, she accompanied them with her intercessions.

Her long life was almost consumed in its entirety within the walls of the monastery of Santa Catalina where at a tender age as a student, and later as a religious and superior.  During her last years she led a painful identification with the mystery of the Christ crucified.

With her life, Sister Ana of the Angels confirms the fruitfulness of the contemplative life in the Mystical Body of the Christ which is the Church. Contemplative life that has been rooted immediately here since the early moments of evangelization, and continues to be the mysterious wealth of the Church in Peru and of the whole Church of Christ. 

Imitating the charity and the ecclesial sense of her patroness, Catherine of Siena; with a meek and humble heart, open to the needs of all especially the poor; everyone found in her a true love. The poor and the humble found efficacious acceptance; the rich, understanding which does not misconstrue the demand of conversion; the pastors found prayer and counsel, the sick, relief; the sad, consolation; the wayfarers, hospitality, the persecuted , forgiveness ; the dying an ardent prayer.

The prayerful and effective charity of Sister Ana was present in a special way among the deceased, the souls in purgatory which she called “her friends”. In this way, enlightened by the ancestral piety for the deceased with the doctrine of the Church, and following the example of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino whom she was devoted, she extended her charity to the deceased with prayers and suffrages.

Today the Church in Arequipa and all of Peru desire to adore God in a special way for the benefits He had granted to the People of God through the service of this humble religious. Sister Ana of the Angels. In this way that mystery of God’s grace, within the womb of the Church in your land has been made manifest and reveals itself: it is Sister Ana of the Angels, the Blessed of the Church!

The holiness of man is the work of God. It is never enough to show gratitude for this work. When we venerate his works, the works of God, we venerate and adore He himself-God above all, the most holy.  And among all the works of the Lord, the greatest is the holiness of a creature: the holiness of man.

Responsory
V.   How great is your beauty, virgin of Christ! * You have been proved worthy of the reward given by the Lord, the crown of perpetual virginity.
R.   Nothing could bring you to surrender virginity; nothing could separate you from the love of the Son of God.
R.   *You have been proved worthy of the reward given by the Lord, the crown of perpetual virginity.

Alternative Second Reading

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the Nuns of Monte Mario (24 June, 2010, Rome)
The way of contemplative life places you in the heart of the Lord’s Mystical Body, the Church.
The community you make up is a place where you can dwell in the Lord; it is for you the New Jerusalem, to which the tribes of the Lord go up to praise the name of the Lord (cf. Ps. 121:4). Be grateful to Divine Providence for the sublime and gratuitous gift of the monastic vocation, to which the Lord has called you without any merit of yours. With Isaiah, you can affirm “the Lord formed me from the womb” (Is. 49:5). Even before you were born, the Lord had kept your heart for himself to be able to fill it with his love. Through the sacrament of baptism you received Divine grace in yourselves, immersed in his Death and Resurrection, you were consecrated to Jesus, to belong to him exclusively. The way of contemplative life, which you received from St. Dominic in the form of cloister, places you, as living and vital members, in the heart of the Lord’s Mystical Body, which is the Church; and as the heart makes the blood circulate and maintains the whole body alive, so your hidden existence with Christ, interlaced with work and prayer, contributes to sustain the Church, instrument of salvation for every man whom the Lord redeemed with his blood.

It is this inexhaustible source that you approach with prayer, presenting in the presence of the Most High the spiritual and material needs of so many brothers in difficulty, the strayed life of all those who separate themselves from the Lord. How can one not be moved by compassion for those who seem to wander aimlessly? How can one not wish that in their life they will encounter Jesus, the only one who gives meaning to existence? The holy desire that the Kingdom of God be established in the heart of every man, is identified with prayer itself, as St. Augustine teaches us: Ipsum desiderium tuum, oratio tua est; et si continuum desiderium, continue oratio (cf. Ep. 130, 18-20); because of this, as fire that burns and is never extinguished, the heart remains alert, it never ceases to desire and it always raises a hymn of praise to God.

Because of this, recognize that in everything you do, beyond the personal moments of prayer, your heart continues to be led by the desire to love God. With the Bishop of Hippo, acknowledge that the Lord has put his love in your hearts, desire that dilates the heart, until it makes it capable of receiving God himself (cf. In. O. Ev. tr. 40, 10). This is the horizon of the earthly pilgrimage! This is your goal! This is why you have chosen to live in obscurity and in the renunciation of earthly goods: to desire above all that good which has no equal, that precious pearl that merits the renunciation of any other good to enter into its possession.

Responsory

V.   How great is your beauty, virgin of Christ! * You have been proved worthy of the reward given by the Lord, the crown of perpetual virginity.
R.   Nothing could bring you to surrender virginity; nothing could separate you from the love of the Son of God.
R.   *You have been proved worthy of the reward given by the Lord, the crown of perpetual virginity.

Concluding Prayer

Bountiful God, you gave Blessed Ann the gifts of contemplation, of penitence and of charity towards her neighbors. With the help of her prayers and example may we worship you with this sacrifice of praise and learn what is pleasing to you through the signs of times. (We make our prayer) through our Lord. (Through Christ our Lord.)

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.