OneInTheirHearts: TUESDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT

TUESDAY

OF THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT

The Liturgical Year – Dom Prosper Guéranger, O.S.B.

At Rome, the Station is in the church of St. Anastasia, where, formerly, the Mass of the Aurora on Christmas Day was celebrated. It is under the protection of this holy martyr, who suffered death for Christ on the day of His birth, that we offer our prayers today to the Father of mercy.

INTROIT - Psalm 89: 1, 2

Domine, refúgium factus es nobis a generatióne et progénie: a sæculo et in sæculum tu es. Ps 89:2. Priúsquam montes fíerent, aut formarétur terra et orbis: a sæculo et usque in sæculum tu es Deus. Glória Patri.

Lord, You have been our refuge through all generations; from everlasting to everlasting You are. Ps. Before the mountains were begotten and the earth and the world were brought forth, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECT

Look upon Your household, O Lord, and grant that our minds, chastened by mortification of the flesh, may, because of their desire for You, shine in Your sight. Through our Lord.

COLLECT FOR THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS

Defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, from all dangers of mind and body: and through the intercession of the blessed and glorious Mary, ever Virgin, mother of God, of Saint Joseph, of Thy holy apostles, Saints Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, in Thy loving kindness grant us safety and peace; that, all adversities and errors being overcome, Thy Church may serve Thee in security and freedom.

COLLECT PRAYER FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

O Almighty and Eternal God, Who hast dominion over both the living and the dead, and hast mercy on all Whom Thou knowest shall be Thine by faith and good works: we humbly beseech Thee that all for whom we have resolved to make supplication whether the present world still holds them in the flesh, or the world to come has already received them out of the body, may, through the intercession of all Thy saints, obtain of Thy goodness and clemency pardon for all their sins, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost; One God; forever and ever, Amen.

EPISTLE - Isaias 55: 6-11

In those days, the prophet Isaiah spoke, saying: Seek the Lord while He may be found, call Him while He is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, Who is generous in forgiving. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. And high as the heavens are above your ways and My thoughts above your thoughts. For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but shall do My will, achieving the end for which I sent it, says the Lord almighty.

The prophet, speaking to us in God’s name, assures us that, if we sincerely desire our conversion, we shall ﬁnd mercy. The inﬁnite distance which lies between the sovereign ‘holiness of God and the soul that is deﬁled by sin is no obstacle to the reconciliation between the creature and the Creator. The goodness of God is omnipotent; it can create a clean heart ‘in him that repents, and where sin abounded it can make grace abound more than ever sin abounded. The word of pardon will come down from heaven, like plentiful rain upon parched land, and that land will yield a rich harvest. But let the sinner give ear to the rest of the prophecy. Is man at liberty to accept or refuse this word that comes from heaven? May he, for the present, neglect it, in the hope that he will give it a welcome later on, when 'his life is at its close? No; God says to us by the prophet: Seek ye the Lord, while He may be found; call ye upon Him, while He is near. We cannot, therefore, ﬁnd the Lord just when it suits our ﬁckle ‘humour; His nearness to us is not always the same. Let us take heed; 'God has His times; the time for mercy may be followed by the time for justice. Jonas went through the streets of the proud city, and cried out: ‘Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed.’ Ninive did not allow the forty days to pass without returning to the Lord: she put on sackcloth and ashes, she fasted, and she was spared. Let us imitate the earnest repentance of this guilty city; let us not set divine justice at deﬁance ‘by refusing to do penance, or by doing it negligently. This Lent is, perhaps, the last God’s mercy will grant us. If we put off our conversion, God may refuse us another such opportunity. Let us meditate upon these words of the apostle, which repeat the truth told us in today’s Epistle: ‘The earth that drinketh in the rain which cometh often upon it, and bringeth forth herbs, meet for them by whom it is tilled, receiveth blessing from God; but that which bringeth forth thorns and briars is reprobate, and very near unto a curse, whose end is to be burnt.’

GRADUAL - Psalm 140: 2

Let my prayer come like incense before You, O Lord. V. The lifting up of my hands, like the evening sacrifice.

GOSPEL - Matthew 21:10-17

At that time, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the city was thrown into commotion, saying: Who is this? But the crowds kept on saying: This is Jesus the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus entered the temple of God, and cast out all those who were selling and buying in the temple, and He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold the doves. And He said to them: It is written: My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have make it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and the Scribes, seeing the wonderful deeds that He did, and the children crying out in the temple, and saying: Hosanna to the Son of David, were indignant, and said to Him: Do You hear what these are saying? And Jesus said to them: Yes; have you never read: Out of the mouth of infants and sucklings You have perfected praise? And leaving them, He went out of the city to Bethany and He stayed there.

Our forty days have scarcely begun, and we ﬁnd the implacable enemies of Jesus showing their hatred against Him: that hatred will soon work His death. But how is this? Have they not been witnesses of His wonderful works? True; but pride and jealousy have made them lose their senses. These faithless guardians of God’s temple saw Jesus exercise His authority in the holy place, and they opened not their lips; they were astonished at what He did, and they feared Him. They did not even protest when He called the temple His house, for they were awed by His great virtue and superhuman power. But these ﬁrst impressions having subsided, their bold impiety returns. They hear the little children greeting our Saviour with Hosanna, and they are indignant. They affect to be shocked at this honour which is paid to the Son of David, who went about everywhere doing good. These doctors of the Law are blinded by passion, and can neither understand the prophecies, nor their fulﬁlment. It is the veriﬁcation of the words of Isaias, which we have just been reading in the Epistle: they would not seek the Lord, while He was near them; and now that they are even speaking with Him, they do not recognize Him for their Messias. Little children know Him and bless Him; the sages of Israel see in Him but an enemy of God, and a blasphemer! Let us, at least, proﬁt by the visit He is now granting us ; lest He should treat us, as He did the chief priests and scribes, and leave us. He withdrew His presence from them, He went out of the city, and returned to Bethania, which was near Jerusalem. It is there that Lazarus was living with his two sisters, Martha and Mary Magdalene. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, had also retired thither, awaiting the terrible event. St. Jerome observes here, that the word Bethania signiﬁes the ‘house of obedience’: this, says the holy Doctor, should remind us, that our Saviour withdraws from those who are rebels to His grace, and that He loves to be with them that are obedient. Let us learn the lesson well; and during these days of salvation let us show by our obedience to the Church and our submission to the guide of our conscience, that we are thoroughly convinced of this truth: that there is no salvation for us, except in humility and simplicity of heart.

OFFERTORY - Psalm 30:15-16

I have put my trust in Thee, O Lord. I said: Thou art my God, my times are in Thy hands.

SECRET

Be appeased, we beseech You, O Lord, by the gifts we offer, and safeguard us from all dangers. Through our Lord.

SECRET – FOR THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS

Graciously hear us, O God our Savior, and by the virtue of this sacrament protect us from all enemies of soul and body, bestowing on us both grace in this life and glory hereafter. Through our Lord.

SECRET PRAYER FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

O Almighty and Eternal God, O God, Who alone knowest the number of the elect to be admitted to the happiness of Heaven, grant, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of all Thy saints, the names of all who have been recommended to our prayers and of all the faithful, may be inscribed in the book of blessed predestination. Protect us, O Lord, who assist at Thy mysteries; that, fixed upon things divine we may serve Thee in both body and mind, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost; One God; forever and ever, Amen.

PREFACE FOR LENT

It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and everlasting God. Who by the fasting of the body dost curb our vices, elevate our minds and bestow virtue and reward; through Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, with the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:

COMMUNION Psalm 4: 2

When I call, answer me, O my just God, You Who relieve me when I am in distress; have pity on me, O Lord, and hear my prayer!

POSTCOMMUNION

We beseech You, almighty God, that we may obtain that salvation whose pledge we have received in this divine sacrament. Through our Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION – FOR THE INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS

Graciously hear us, O God our Savior, and by the virtue of this sacrament protect us from all enemies of soul and body, bestowing on us both grace in this life and glory hereafter. Through our Lord.

POSTCOMMUNION PRAYER FOR THE LIVING AND THE DEAD

May the sacraments which we have received purify us, we beseech Thee, O almighty and merciful Lord; and through the intercession of all Thy saints, grant that this Thy sacrament may not be unto us a condemnation, but a salutary intercession for pardon; may it be the washing away of sin, the strength of the weak, a protection against all dangers of the world, and a remission of all the sins of the faithful, whether living or dead, through our Lord.

PRAYER OVER THE PEOPLE

Bow your heads to God.

Loose the bonds of our sins, we beseech You, O Lord, and mercifully turn aside whatever punishment we deserve for them. Through our Lord.

The Gothic Church of Spain, in her Mozarabic missal, offers us this formula, which our readers will justly appreciate.