TUESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT

St Praxedes and Pudenziana collecting the Blood of the Martyrs by Giovanni Paolo Rossetti

TUESDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT

The Station is in the church of St. Pudentiana, daughter of Pudens the senator. This holy virgin

of Rome lived in the second century. She was remarkable for her charity, and for the zeal wherewith she sought for and buried the bodies of the martyrs. Her church is built on the very spot where stood the house in which she lived with her father and her sister St. Praxedes. St. Peter the Apostle had honoured this house with his presence, during the lifetime of Pudentiana’s grandfather.

INTROIT

Psalm 16: 6, 8, 1

Ego clamávi, quóniam exaudísti me, Deus: inclína aurem tuam, et exáudi verba mea: custódi me, Dómine, ut pupíllam óculi: sub umbra alárum tuárum prótege me. Ps 16: 1. Exáudi, Dómine, iustítiam meam: inténde deprecatiónem meam. Glória Patri.

I Call upon You, for You will answer me, O God; incline Your ear to me; hear my word. Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings. Ps. Hear, O Lord, a just suit; attend to my outcry. Glory be to the Father.

COLLECTS

Hear us, almighty and merciful God, and in Your kindness grant us the graces of self-denial that lead to salvation. Through our Lord.

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. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost.

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

Lesson from the Book of Kings

IV Kings 4: 1-7

In those days, a certain woman cried to the Prophet Eliseus, saying, Your servant, my husband, is dead, and you know that your servant was one who feared God: and behold the creditor is come to take away my two sons to serve him. And Eliseus said to her, What will you have me to do for you? Tell me, what have you in your house? And she answered, I your handmaid have nothing in my house but a little oil, to anoint me. And he said to her, Go, borrow of all your neighbours empty vessels not a few. And go in, and shut your door, when you are within, and your sons; and pour out thereof into all those vessels: and when they are full take them away. So the woman went, and shut the door upon her, and upon her sons: they brought her the vessels, and she poured in. And when the vessels were full, and she said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he answered, I have no more. And the oil stood. And she came, and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay your creditor; and you and your sons live off the rest.

It is not difficult to unravel the mystery of this day’s lesson. Man’s creditor is satan; our sins have made him such. ‘Go,’ says the prophet, ‘and pay the creditor.’ But how is this to be done ? We shall obtain the pardon of our sins by works of mercy, of which all is the symbol. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Let us, then, during these days of salvation, secure our reconciliation and forgiveness by doing all we can to assist our brethren who are in want; let us join almsdeeds to our fasting, and practise works of mercy. Thus shall we touch the Heart of our heavenly Father. Putting our debts into His hands, we shall take away from satan all the claims he had upon us. Let us learn a lesson from this woman. She lets no one see her as she fills the vessels with oil: let us, also, shut the door, when we do good, so that our left hand shall not know what our right hand doth. Take notice, too, that the woman goes on pouring out the oil as long as she has vessels to hold it. So our mercy towards our neighbour must be proportionate to our means.

       The extent of these means is known to God, and He will not have us fall short of the power

He has given us for doing good. Let us, then, be liberal in our alms during this holy season; let us make the resolution to be so at all times. When our material resources are exhausted, let us be merciful in desire, by interceding with those who are able to give, and by praying to God to help the suffering and the poor.

GRADUAL

Psalm 18: 13, 14

Cleanse me from my unknown faults, O Lord! From wanton sin especially, restrain Your servant. V. Let it not rule over me. Then shall I be blameless and innocent of serious sin.

GOSPEL

Matthew 18: 15-22

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: If your brother sin against you, go and show him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listen to you, you have won your brother. But if he do not listen to you, take with you one or two more so that on the word of two or three witnesses every word may be confirmed. And if he refuse to hear them, appeal to the Church, but if he refuse to hear even the Church, let him be to you as the heathen and the publican. Amen I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven. I say to you further, that if two of you shall agree on earth about anything at all for which they ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together for My sake, there am I in the midst of them. Then Peter came up to Him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

The mercy which God commands us to show to our fellow-creatures, does not consist only in corporal and spiritual almsdeeds to the poor and the suffering; it includes, moreover, the pardon and forgetfulness of injuries. This is the test whereby God proves the sincerity of our conversion.

With the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. If we, from our hearts pardon our enemies, our heavenly Father will unreservedly pardon us. These are the days when we are hoping to be reconciled with our God; let us do all we can to gain our brother; and for this end, pardon him, if needs be, seventy times seven times. Surely, we are not going to allow the miserable quarrels of our earthly pilgrimage to make us lose heaven! Therefore, let us forgive insults and injuries, and thus imitate our God Himself, who is ever forgiving us.

     But how grand are these other words of our Gospel: Whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven! Oh, the hope and joy they bring to our hearts! How countless is the number of sinners, who are soon to feel the truth of this consoling promise! They will confess their sins, and offer to God the homage of a contrite and humble heart; and, at the very moment that the hand of the priest shall loose them upon earth, the hand of God will loose them from the bonds which held them as victims to eternal punishment.

     And lastly, let us not pass by unnoticed this other sentence, which has a close relation with the one we have just alluded to: If a man hear not the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and publican. What is this Church? Men, to whom Jesus Christ said: ‘He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me.’ Men, from whose lips comes to the world the truth, without which there is no salvation: men, who alone on earth have power to reconcile the sinner with his God, save him from the hell he has deserved, and open to him the gates of heaven. Can we be surprised, after this, that our Saviour—who would have these men to be His instruments, and as it were, the communication between Himself and mankind—should treat as a heathen, as one that has never received Baptism, him that refuses to acknowledge their authority? There is no revealed truth, except through their teaching; there is no salvation, except through the Sacraments which they administer; there is no hoping in Christ Jesus, except where there is submission to the spiritual laws which they promulgate.

OFFERTORY

Psalm 117: 16, 17

The right hand of the Lord has struck with power: the right hand of the Lord has exalted me; I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.

SECRET - FERIA IN LENT

O Lord, may this sacrament result in our redemption; keep us always from the sins of our human nature, and bring us the gift of salvation. Through our Lord.

INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS

Graciously hear us, O God our Saviour, and, by virtue of this Sacrament, defend us from all enemies of soul and body, bestowing upon us Thy grace here and Thy glory hereafter. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, Forever and ever.

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 14: 1, 2

Lord, who shall sojourn in Your tent? Who shall dwell on Your holy mountain? He who walks blamelessly and does justice.

POSTCOMMUNION

We beseech You, O Lord, that, purified by this holy sacrament, we may obtain both forgiveness and grace. Through our Lord.

INTERCESSION OF THE SAINTS

May the oblation of this divine sacrament which we have offered, cleanse us and defend us, we beseech Thee, O Lord; and through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of God, of St. Joseph, of Thy holy apostles Peter and Paul, and of all the saints, free us from all iniquity and deliver us from all adversity. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever.

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 down your heads to God.

Defend us, O Lord, by thy protection, and ever preserve us from all iniquity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us address ourselves to God in these words of a hymn composed by St. Andrew of Crete. We take it from the Greek liturgy.

          HYMN

(In V. Feria V. Hebdomadæ)

The prophet trembled when he heard that thou, O Lord, wast to come: that thou west to be born of a Virgin, and be made visible to the world. He said: I heard thy hearing. And was afraid. Glory be to thy power, O Lord!

Despise not, O just Judge, thy works: turn not away from the creature thou hast formed. My sins are indeed all my own work; but thou, O merciful Jesus, as Man above all men, hast power to forgive sin, for thou art the Lord of the universe.

Thy end is near, O my soul! How comes it thou art heedless? How is it, that thou art making no preparation? Time presses; arise! The Judge is near, even at the very gate. Life is passing away, as a dream, and as a flower. Why trouble we ourselves with vain things?

Recover thyself, O my soul! Recall to mind the acts of thy life; bring them before thee, and let thine eyes shed tears over them. Openly confess thy deeds and thoughts to Christ, and be justified.

There is no sin, or evil action, or wickedness which I, O Jesus! have not committed in mind and thought and intention. None ever sinned more grievously than I, in desire, in judgment, and in deed.

Therefore, have I incurred damnation; therefore is sentence given against me, a wretched sinner, whose own conscience is my judge, and whose crimes surpass all that this world has seen. Do thou, my Judge, my Redeemer, and my Witness, spare and deliver and save thy servant.

My life is short, and filled with labour and trouble: but do thou receive me, for I repent; call me back unto thee, for I acknowledge thee to be my Lord. Let me not become the property and prey of any but thee. Thou art my Saviour; have mercy on me.

My words are haughty, and my heart presumptuous. Condemn me not with the pharisee, but give me, O thou the one only merciful God, the humility of the publican, and number me with him, O my just Judge!

I have made myself my idol, and my sins have corrupted my soul : but do thou receive me, for I repent; call me back unto thee, for I acknowledge thee to be my Lord. Let me not become the property and prey of any but thee. Thou art my Saviour: have mercy on me.