Novena in Preparation for the Solemnity of the Immaculate
Conception
November 29 - December 7
SECOND DAY
Rules for
the Proper Observance of Novenas
By St. Alphonsus Liguori
The soul must be in the state of grace; for the
devotion of a sinful heart pleases neither God nor the saints.
1.We must persevere, that is,
the prayers for each day of the novena must never be omitted.
2.If possible, we should
visit a church every day, and there implore the favor we desire.
3.Every day we ought to
perform certain specified acts of exterior self-denial and interior
mortification, in order to prepare us thereby for the reception of grace.
4.It is most important that
we receive Holy Communion when making a novena. Therefore prepare yourself well
for it.
5.After obtaining the desired
grace for which the novena was made, do not omit to return thanks to God and to
the saint through whose intercession your prayers were heard.
PREPARATORY
PRAYER
In thy
conception, O Virgin Mary, thou wast immaculate; pray for us to the Father,
whose Son Jesus, conceived in thy womb by the Holy Ghost, thou didst bring
forth.
MEDITATION
According
to the definition of Pope Pius IX, the immaculate conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is that privilege by which she was preserved, in view of the merits
of our Saviour Jesus Christ, from original sin in the first moment of her
conception. By solemnly proclaiming the dogma of Mary’s Immaculate Conception,
the Church confirmed anew the fundamental principles of Christianity which in
our times are so frequently attacked, derided, or forgotten. God reserved the
solemn proclamation of this dogma, which seemingly has no practical bearing on
the Christian life, for our age, to recall to our mind the doctrines resulting
from it.
PRACTICE
The most important of
these doctrines is that of original sin, which to-day is rejected by many as a
debasement of human nature, and is forgotten by others as having no practical
influence on our moral state. By the promulgation of the doctrine of the
immaculate conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Church solemnly declares
and defines as an article of faith, that the Blessed Virgin Mary is conceived
without the stain of original sin by a special privilege and grace of God. If,
then, Mary’s sinlessness is an exception, the general rule remains in force,
and all other human beings enter this world in the state of original sin.
The doctrine of
the Immaculate Conception was formally proclaimed on December 8, 1854, by Pope
Pius IX. This holy card is a remembrance of the proclamation at the 25th
anniversary in 1879.
Thus, by the proclamation
of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, the Church combats human pride and
sensuality, the foremost vices of the age.
PRAYER OF THE
CHURCH
O God, who through the
immaculate conception of the Virgin didst prepare a worthy dwelling-place for
Thy divine Son; grant that, as in view of Thy Son Thou didst preserve her from
all taint, so Thou wouldst vouchsafe unto us that cleansed from all sin by her
intercession we too may arrive at Thine eternal glory. Through the same Christ
our Lord. Amen.
LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Lord, have
mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us,
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Mother of Christ, pray for us.
Mother of divine grace, pray for us.
Mother most pure, pray for us.
Mother most chaste, pray for us.
Mother inviolate, pray for us.
Mother undefiled, pray for us.
Mother most amiable, pray for us.
Mother most admirable, pray for us.
Mother of good counsel, pray for us.
Mother of our Creator, pray for us.
Mother of our Redeemer, pray for us.
Virgin most prudent, pray for us.
Virgin most venerable, pray for us.
Virgin most renowned, pray for us.
Virgin most powerful, pray for us.
Virgin most merciful, pray for us.
Virgin most faithful, pray for us.
Mirror of justice, pray for us.
Seat of wisdom, pray for us.
Cause of our joy, pray for us.
Spiritual vessel, pray for us.
Vessel of honor, pray for us.
Singular vessel of devotion, pray for us.
Mystical rose, pray for us.
Tower of David, pray for us.
Tower of ivory, pray for us.
House of gold, pray for us.
Ark of the covenant, pray for us.
Gate of heaven, pray for us.
Morning star, pray for us.
Health of the sick, pray for us.
Refuge of sinners, pray for us.
Comforter of the afflicted, pray for us.
Help of Christians, pray for us.
Queen of angels, pray for us.
Queen of patriarchs, pray for us.
Queen of prophets, pray for us.
Queen of apostles, pray for us.
Queen of martyrs, pray for us.
Queen of confessors, pray for us.
Queen of virgins, pray for us.
Queen of all saints, pray for us.
Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.
Queen of the most holy rosary, pray for us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world: Have mercy on us, O Lord.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God:
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
Pour forth,
we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the
incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by
His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the
same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray for us,
O holy Mother of God.
R. That we
may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray
Vouchsafe, O
Lord, that we may be helped by the merits of Thy most holy Mother’s spouse;
that what of ourselves we can not obtain may be given us through his
intercession. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
PRAYER
Behold,
Virgin immaculate, at thy sacred feet I bow, while my heart overflows with joy
in union with thine own, because from eternity thou wast the Mother-elect of
the eternal Word, and was preserved stainless from the taint of Adam’s sin.
Forever praised, forever blessed be the Most Holy Trinity, who in thy
conception poured out upon thy soul the riches of that matchless privilege. I
humbly pray thee, most gracious Mother, obtain for me the grace to overcome the
bitter results of original sin. Make me victorious over them, that I may never
cease to love my God.
Venerable Dom Prosper Guéranger – The Liturgical Year
We open our Proper of Saints for Advent with St.
Andrew, because, although his feast frequently occurs before this holy season
has begun, it sometimes happens that we have entered Advent when the memory of
this great Apostle has to be celebrated by the Church. This Feast is therefore
destined to terminate, with solemnity, the Cycle which is at its close, or to
add lustre to the new one which has just begun. It seems, indeed, fitting that
the Christian Year should begin and end with the Cross, which has merited for
us each of those years which it has pleased the divine goodness to grant us,
and which is to appear, on the last day, in the clouds of heaven, as the seal
put on Time. We should remember that Saint Andrew is the Apostle of the Cross.
To Peter, Jesus has given firmness of Faith; to John, warmth of Love; the
mission of Andrew is to represent the Cross of his divine Master. Now it is by
these three, Faith, Love, and the Cross, that the Church renders herself worthy
of her Spouse. Everything she has or is, bears this threefold character. Hence
it is that after the two Apostles just named, there is none who holds such a
prominent place in the universal Liturgy as Saint Andrew. But let us read the
life of this glorious fisherman of the lake of Genesareth, who was afterwards
to be the successor of Christ himself, and the companion of Peter, on the tree
of the Cross. The Church has compiled it from the ancient Acts of the Martyrdom
of the holy Apostle, drawn up by the Priests of the Church of Patrae, which was
founded by the Saint. The authenticity of this venerable piece has been
contested by Protestants, inasmuch as it makes mention of several things which
would militate against them. Their sentiment has been adopted by several
critics of the 17th and 18th centuries. On the other hand, these Acts have been
received by a far greater number of Catholic writers of eminence; amongst whom
may be mentioned the great Baronius, Labbe, Natalis Alexander, Gallandus,
Lumper, Morcelli, &c, The Churches, too, both East and West, which have
inserted these Acts in their respective Offices of St. Andrew, are of some
authority, as is also St. Bernard, who has made them the ground work of his
three admirable Sermons on Saint Andrew.
Andrew, the Apostle, born at Bethsaida, a town of
Galilee, was brother of Peter, and disciple of John the Baptist. Having heard
his master say, speaking of Christ: Behold the Lamb of God! He followed Jesus,
and brought to him his brother also. When, afterwards, he was fishing with his
brother in the sea of Galilee, they were both called, before any of the other
Apostles, by our Lord, who, passing by, said to them: Come after me; I will
make you to be fishers of men. Without delay, they left their nets and followed
him. After the passion and resurrection, Andrew went to spread the faith of
Christ in Scythia in Europe, which was the province assigned to him; then he
travelled through Epirus and Thrace, and by his teaching and miracles converted
innumerable souls to Christ. Afterwards, having reached Patrse in Achaia, he
persuaded many in that city to embrace the truth of the Gospel.
Finding that the Proconsul Ægeas resisted the
preaching of the Gospel, he most freely up braided him for that he, who desired
to be considered as a judge of men, should be so far deceived by devils as not
to acknowledge Christ to be God, the Judge of all. Then Ægeas being angry, said:
Cease to boast of this Christ, whom such like words as these kept not from
being crucified by the Jews. But finding that Andrew continued boldly preaching
that Christ had offered himself to be crucified for the salvation of mankind,
he interrupts him by an impious speech, and at length exhorts him to look to
his own interest and sacrifice to the gods. Andrew answered him : I offer up
every day to almighty God, who is one and true, not the flesh of oxen, nor the
blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb upon the altar; of whose flesh the whole
multitude of the faithful eat, and the Lamb that is sacrificed, remains whole
and living. Whereupon Ægeas being exceeding angry, orders him to be thrust into
prison, whence the people would easily have freed Andrew, had he not himself
appeased the multitude, begging of them, with most earnest entreaty, that they
would not keep him from the long-sought-for crown of martyrdom, to which he was
hastening. Not long after this, he was brought before the tribunal, where he
began to extol the mystery of the Cross, and rebuke the judge for his impiety.Ægeas, no longer able to contain himself on hearing these
words, ordered him to be hoisted on a cross, and so to die like Christ. Andrew,
having been brought to the place of execution, seeing the Cross at some
distance, began to cry out: O good Cross, made beautiful by the body of my Lord!
So long desired, so anxiously loved, so unceasingly sought after, and now at last
ready for my soul to enjoy! Take me from amidst men, and restore me to my men,
and restore me to my Master, that by thee He may receive me, who by thee
redeemed me. He was therefore fastened to the cross, on which he hung alive two
days, preaching without cessation the faith of Christ: after which he passed to
Him, whose death he had so coveted. The Priests and Deacons of Achaia, who
wrote his Passion, attest that all the things which they have recorded were
heard and seen by them. His relics were first translated to Constantinople,
under the emperor Constantius, and afterwards to Amalfi. During the Pontificate
of Pius II., the head was taken to Rome, and placed in the Basilica of St.
Peter.
Note: In September 1964, Pope
Paul VI (freemason), as a gesture of goodwill toward the Greek Orthodox Church,
(heresy of false ecumenism, ushered in by illicit Vatican II council) ordered
that all of the relics of St. Andrew that were in Vatican City be sent back to
Patras. Cardinal Augustin Bea along with many other cardinals presented the
skull to Bishop Constantine of Patras on 24 September 1964. The cross of St.
Andrew was taken from Greece during the Crusades by the Duke of Burgundy. It
was kept in the church of St. Victor in Marseilles until it returned to Patras
on 19 January 1980. The cross of the apostle was presented to the Bishop of
Patras Nicodemus by a Catholic delegation led by Cardinal Roger Etchegaray. All
the relics, which consist of the small finger, the skull (part of the top of
the cranium of Saint Andrew), and the cross on which he was martyred, have been
kept in the Church of St. Andrew at Patras in a special shrine and are revered
in a special ceremony every 30 November, his feast day.
In 2006, the Catholic Church, again through Cardinal
Etchegaray, gave the Greek Orthodox Church another relic of St. Andrew.
Let us now listen to the
several Churches on earth, celebrating the grand triumph of our Apostle. Let us
begin with Rome, the Mother and Mistress of all Churches. Nothing could be more
expressive than the language she uses in praise of the Apostle of the Cross.
First, she employs the words of the Gospel, which record the circumstances of
his vocation; then, she selects the most touching passages from the Acts of his
martyrdom, drawn up by the Priests of Patrae; and both are intermingled with
appropriate sentiments of her own. Our first selection shall be from the
Responsories of Matins.
When the Lord was walking by the sea of Galilee, he
saw Peter and Andrew casting nets into the sea, and he called them, saying: *
Come after me, I will make you to be fishers of men. For they were fishers, and
he saith to them: * Come after me, I will make you to be fishers of men.
As soon as blessed Andrew heard the voice of the Lord
calling him, leaving his nets, by the use and working of which he lived, * He
followed him who gives the reward of eternal life.
This is he who, for the love of Christ, hung upon a
cross, and for his law endured a passion. * He followed Him who gives the
reward of eternal life.
Andrew, the good Teacher, and the friend of God, is
led to the cross; which, seeing afar off, he says: Hail, O Cross! * Receive the
disciple of Him who hung upon thee, Christ, my master.
Hail, O Cross, which art consecrated by the body of
Christ, and art adorned by his members as with pearls. * Receive the disciple
of Him who hung upon thee, Christ, my master.
Andrew seeing the Cross, cried out, saying: O
admirable Cross; O desirable Cross! O Cross which shinest throughout the whole
world! * Receive the disciple of Christ, and by thee may He receive me, who
dying by thee redeemed me, to good Cross, which art made fair and beautiful by
the body of the Lord. * Receive the disciple of Christ, and by thee may He
receive me, who dying by thee redeemed me.
Saint Andrew prayed, as he looked up to heaven, and
with a loud voice, cried out and said: Thou art my God, whom I have seen:
suffer me not to be detached by the impious judge: * For I have learnt the
power of the holy Cross.
Thou art the Christ my master, whom I have loved,
whom I have known, whom I have con fessed: graciously hear me in this one
prayer. * For I have learnt the power of thy holy Cross.
The Antiphons of Vespers
are full of a lyric gracefulness and unction.
ANTIPHONS
Hail, O precious Cross! receive the disciple of Him,
who hung upon thee, Christ my master. The blessed Andrew prayed, saying: O
Lord, King of eternal glory, receive me hanging on this gibbet. Andrew, the
servant of Christ, the worthy Apostle of God, the brother of Peter, and his
companion in the cross. Maximilla, a woman dear to Christ, took the body of the
Apostle, and embalming it, buried it in a most honoured place. Thou, O Lord,
didst plunge into hell them that persecuted thy just one, and wast his guide
and helper, on the wood of the cross.
The following Hymn was
composed, in honour of the holy Apostle, by Pope St. Damasus, the friend of St.
Jerome. There is an allusion in it to the name Andrew, which, amongst its many
meanings, has that of Beauty.
HYMN
The Beauty of thy sacred name, expressive of thy
life, declares how Beautiful thou art in the glory of thy blessed cross.
Andrew, Apostle of Christ, thy very name points to the mystic Beauty of thy
soul.
The Cross exalts thee, the blessed Cross loves thee,
the bitter Cross prepares for thee the joys of the light to come. The mystery
of the Cross shines in thee with a twofold beauty: for by the Cross thou dost
vanquish insults, and thou preachest to men the Divine Blood shed on the Cross.
Then warm up our languid hearts, and take us under thy care; that so, by the
victory of the Cross, we may reach our heavenly country. Amen.
The two following
sequences, in honour of the Apostle of the Cross, were written in the Middle
Ages. The first belongs to the eleventh century. Like all the Sequences of that
period, it has no regular rhythm.
SEQUENCE
The most holy praises of this day's solemnity, Let
the universal Church sing in worthy strains. The most holy merit of the meekest
of saints is to be extolled, Of the Apostle Andrew, so bright in his admirable
graces. Having learned from John the Baptist, that He had come, who would take
sin away, He straightways entered his dwelling, and listened to his words; And
finding his own brother, Barjona, he said to him with great joy: We have found
the Messias. And he led him to the loved presence of the Saviour. As Andrew was
fishing in the sea, the mercy of Christ called him, Giving him, in exchange for
his art of fishing, the dignity of an Apostle. His soul, after the grand joys
of the Paschal feast, Was visited by the glorious power of the Holy Ghost, That
he might go and preach penance to the world, and tell it of the mercy of the
Father by the Son. Rejoice, then, O Achaia! that thou hast such an Apostle, Who
enlightened thee with his saving doctrine, And honoured thee with his many and
manifold miracles. But thou fierce torturer, Ægeas, cry and weep: The pains of
hell and eternal death are thine: Whilst Andrew has won happiness and joy by
his Cross. O Andrew! now thou seest thy King: now thou art in his presence; Now
thou art breathing the odour of sweetness, which comes from the aroma of divine
love. Be, then, unto us a delicious sweetness, giving out the hidden balsam of
the celestial life. Amen.
The second Sequence,
written in rhythm and correct metre, is the composition of the pious Adam of
Saint Victor, the greatest lyric poet of the Middle Ages.
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew
SEQUENCE
Let us exult and rejoice, and be delighted in the
praises sung to Andrew the Apostle. His faith, and teachings, and actions, and
all his labours for Christ, deserve a worthy celebration. 'Twas he led Peter to
the faith. 'Twas he on whom the Light first shone; the Baptist showed it him.
Near the sea of Galilee, our Lord called Peter and Andrew by the one same election.
They who were once fishermen, are become heralds of the Word, and models of
every virtue. They let down their nets for a draught of men; and carefully
watch over the infant Church. Andrew is separated from his brother, and sent
into the country about Achaia. A great portion of that province enters, by the
grace of God, into Andrew's net. God, into Andrew's net. The holy and learned
Doc tor forms the heart of his people by his faith, life, preaching, and
miracles. When Ægeas discovered what Andrew had done, he was excited to great
anger. But Andrew's mind, ever calm and manly, set little value on this life,
and armed itself with patience. The senseless judge offers him his favour, or
threatens him with tortures, but cannot shake his constant soul. Seeing the
Cross was being prepared, Andrew, as a true disciple, is proud to be thus made
like his Master. He repays the death of Jesus by his own, ambitious to have the
trophy of triumph, the Cross. He lived two days hanging on that Cross, which
was to make him live for ever; the people resolve to loose him from it: but he
would not have it so; and clings to his Cross. An exceeding bright light
surrounds him for nearly half an hour; and then, in this light, and in this
joy, he mounts to the realms of light. O glorious Andrew, whose prayers are so
precious, and whose bright death is so sweet to think on, Take us, by thy
loving prayers, from this vale of tears, and transfer us to that fair land of
light, O thou good Shepherd of souls.
The pieces so far given
belong to the Roman Liturgy, being taken from the books of this Mother of
Churches, or from those of the different Churches of the West, which follow the
form of her Offices. We will now give, in honour of our holy Apostle, some of the
formulas, which the other ancient
Liturgies used for his
feast; we will begin with the Ambrosian Rite, from which we take the following
beautiful Preface.
PREFACE
It is truly meet and just, right and available to
salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O
holy Lord, Al mighty Father, Eternal God; for we are keeping the feast of a
sacred mystery, a day on which the blessed Andrew showed himself to be indeed
the brother of Peter the Apostle, both by his preaching and his confession of
thy Christ; and filled up the ' measure of the apostolic dignity by his passion
and his glory; for what he had loudly and boldly preached, he would not cease
to pro claim even on his cross: and he deserved to follow, during life, the author
of eternal life, and to imitate him in the manner of his death; that thus
having, in. obedience to his precept, crucified in himself all earthly desires,
he might, in accordance with his example, be fastened to a cross. The two
brothers, the two fishermen, are both, therefore, raised up to heaven by a
cross; that so, having been, by thy that so, having been, by thy grace, bound
together by so many ties during this life, they might also be like each other
by the crown they wear in heaven; and as their combat was the same, their
reward might be the same.
The Gallican Liturgy
also celebrated the glories of St. Andrew. Amongst the few fragments which have
been handed down to us of this Liturgy, there is not a single piece in poetry.
The following Preface, or, as it was then called, Contestation, will show that
the Church of Gaul, from the fourth to the eighth centuries, shared the
enthusiasm of the Roman and Ambrosian Churches for the glorious Apostle of the
Cross.
It is meet and just; it is right and just, that we
should give ineffable thanks to thy mercy, O almighty and eternal God! and celebrate
with incomparable joy the sufferings of thy Saints, through Christ our Lord:
Who gave to the blessed Andrew, at his first calling him, the gift of faith;
and in his martyrdom, victory. Both had the blessed Andrew received therefore
had he constancy in his preaching, and patience in his passion. After being
unjustly scourged, and thrust into prison, he was tied to a gibbet, and on it
offered himself a pure sacrifice to thee his God. Most gentle Saint, he lifts
up his hands to heaven; he embraces the standard of the cross; he kisses it; he
understands the secrets of the Lamb. When, at last, he was led to the cross,
and fastened to it, his flesh suffered, but his spirit spoke. He forgot the
torture of the Cross, whilst he preached Christ from the Cross; for the more
his body was being stretched on the wood, the more did his tongue extol Christ,
seeing that by thus hanging on the cross, he was honoured with being made a
companion of Christ. He suffers not himself to be loosened from the cross, lest
the combat should lose intensity by the delay. The crowd looks upon him, and is
in lamentation; it knows him to be the physician of the soul, and demands that
he be freed from his chains. It demands that the just man be liberated, lest
this crime should destroy the people. Meanwhile, the Martyr breathes forth his
soul, and goes to take possession of the kingdom of the eternal Judge. Grant
us, O almighty God, by his merits, that we, being safe and protected from all
evils, may for ever give praise and thanks to thee, our Lord, the God of the
Martyrs, and the Prince of the Apostles.
The Mozarabic Liturgy is
extremely rich in its praises of St. Andrew, both in the Missal and the
Breviary: we must limit ourselves to the following beautiful prayer.
CAPITULUM
O Christ, our Lord, who didst beautify the most blessed
Andrew with the grace of Apostleship, and the crown of Martyrdom, by granting
to him this special gift, that by preaching mystery of the Cross, he should
merit the death of the Cross: grant us to become most true lovers of thy holy
Cross, and, denying ourselves, to take up our cross and follow thee; that by
thus sharing thy sufferings in this life, we may deserve the happiness of obtaining
life everlasting.
The Greek Church is as fervent as any of the Churches
of the West in celebrating the prerogatives and merits of St. Andrew. He is the
more dear to it, because Constantinople considers him as her patron Apostle. It
would, perhaps, be difficult for the Greeks to give any solid proofs of St.
Andrew's having founded, as they pretend, the Church of Byzantium ; but this is
certain, that Constantinople enjoyed, for many centuries, the possession of the
precious treasure of the Saint's Relics. They were translated to that city in
the year 357, through the interest of the Emperor Constantius, who placed them
in the Basilica of the Apostles built by Constantine. Later on, that is, about
the middle of the 6th century, Justinian caused them to be translated a second
time, but only from one part of that same Basilica to another.
We borrow the two
following beautiful Hymns from the Menaea of the Greeks; the first is sung in
the Evening Office, the second in the Morning Office.
IN THE SOLEMN EVENING
OFFICE
When He, who is likened to the Star of early morn, whom
we call the hypostatic splendour of the Father's glory, willed in his great mercy
to save the human race; thou, O glorious Andrew, wast the first to meet him,
being enlightened interiorly with the most perfect brightness of his Divinity;
hence thou art called the herald and Apostle of Christ our Lord. Pray to him
for us. that he save and enlighten our souls. When He, whom the Pre cursor's
voice had pro claimed, the all-holy Word, was made Flesh, and gave us life, and
gave the good tidings of salvation to the earth; then didst thou, most holy
Andrew, follow him, and make thyself his first-fruits, and sacrifice, and as it
were the first oblation of men: thou didst make him known to thy brother,
telling him that this was our God. Pray to Jesus for us, that he save our
souls. When He appeared who clothed himself with our flesh in a virginal yet
fruitful womb, and was thus the Son of a Virgin, the teacher of piety, giving
us this model of purity; then wast thou happy, O Andrew, most ardent lover of
virtue; disposing in thy heart to ascend step by step, and wast raised up from
glory to the unspeakable glory of the Lord our God. Beseech him, that he save
and enlighten our souls. Leaving thy fishing of fish, thou catchest men by the
rod of thy preaching, throwing to them the bait of virtue, and dragging all
nations from the depths of error, O Andrew, the Apostle, brother of the Leader,
most honoured Prince of the earth, excelling and un failing! may the venerable
remembrance of thee enlighten them that are in darkness. Andrew, the Apostle,
the first-called of thy disciples, O Lord, and the imitator of thy Passion, and
made like to thee, drew out with the hook of thy Cross them that lived and
wandered in the sea of ignorance, and then brought them unto thee: therefore do
we thy faithful, who have been saved, cry to thee by his prayers, O in finitely
good Lord: grant us peaceful lives, and save our souls. The Apostle, disciple
of Christ, is a fire which inflames men's minds and burns out their sins,
penetrating into the very depth of their hearts: and by the mystic rays of his
instructions he shines in the dark hearts of the Gentiles. Then, too, he burns
the wild brambles of pagan fables, for the fire of the Spirit has such energy! And
is it not a wonder to be trembled at, that a tongue of slime, a nature of clay,
a body of dust, should make known the intellectual and the immaterial Knowledge
1 Do thou, the initiated into unspeakable things, the contemplator of heavenly
truths, pray that our minds be illumined. Be glad, O thou heaven of eloquence,
everywhere telling the glory of God! The first to obey our Lord with ardour,
immediately uniting thyself to him, thou wast set on fire by him, and didst
appear as a second light, enlightening with thy rays them that sat in darkness,
thus imitating the mercy of Jesus for man. Therefore do we celebrate thy most
holy memory, and kiss with great joy the shrine of thy Relics, from which flows
health and every sort of boon to thy clients. By the nets of thy oracles thou
didst draw from the abyss of ignorance the nations that knew not God, and
gavest them life. Like the splendid courser of the Ruler of the Sea, thou, O
worthy of all praise, didst stir up the bitter waves by thy wisdom. Thou, the
venerable salt of earth, didst season with thy penetrating wisdom what ungodliness
was corrupting. This thy wisdom, O glorious Apostle, struck dumb with
admiration those who had become imbued and puffed up with an unsound wisdom, and
ignored the Lord that showed his great mercy to the world.
IN THE MORNING OFFICE
Not by thirst but by love wast thou urged, O Andrew,
when thou didst run, as a stag, to the fountain of life. Leaning on faith, thou
didst give to drink of the fountains of incorruption to the distant nations
that were parched with thirst.
Thou didst
feel the law of nature, O admirable Andrew, and thou didst take thy brother
into partnership, crying out to him: We have found the Desired 0ne! and thus he
who was walking in the ways of the flesh, was brought by thee to the knowledge
of the Spirit. When the Word said: Now, follow me, Cephas also joyfully
followed Christ with Andrew, bidding farewell to father, boat, and nets, and
became the citadels of the faith. The deifying and exhaust- less virtue of the
mighty Creator of all things, and of the burning Spirit, dwelt in thee in the
form of a fiery tongue; showing that thou, O divine Andrew, wast a herald of
unspeakable things. Most honoured Andrew! he bore not weapons of the flesh for
his defence, or for the destruction of the formidable ramparts of the enemy;
but with a breast plate on him, he led subject to Christ the nations which had
been redeemed by Christ from captivity. Thy ineffable beauty, O Jesus, was
first seen by Andrew, who then called out with a loud voice to his brother:
Peter, he said, thou man of ardent desires! we have found the Messias, whom the
Law and the Prophets have foretold. O come, let us cling to this true life. As
thy reward, O Apostle, Andrew, thou hast regained him whom thou desirest: him,
with whom thou didst bind up and worthily garner the sheaves of thy labours.
Therefore do we sing to thee our hymns of praise. Thou desiredst the Master,
and thou hast followed him, walking unto life in his footsteps, and imitating,
even unto death, his passion, O verily venerable Andrew! Calmly sailing the sea
of the spiritual life, O Apostle, thou didst cross it with the sails of the
Spirit and the faith of Christ. Therefore didst thou enter with joy in to the
port of life for ever. . The spiritual Sun having, by his own will, sunk on the
cross, Andrew, that Sun's re flection, the great and bright light of the
Church, wishing also to be dissolved and to set with Him, was hung upon a
cross. As the best of all the disciples of Him, who, of his own will, was
fastened to the cross, thou, O blessed Apostle, following thy Master even unto
death, thou didst ascend with joy to the summit of the Cross, showing us the
way that leads to heaven. Rejoice now, O Bethsaida! for in thee and thy
maternal fount bloomed the two most fragrant lilies, Peter and Andrew, bearing,
by the grace of Christ whom they resembled in his passion, the odour of the
preaching of the faith to the whole world. The city of the Fathers possesses
thee as its pastor, and its divine chief, and its liberator in all dangers, and
its keeper, O Andrew full of wisdom! Gratefully has it kept thy feast; but do
thou unceasingly pray for it, that it may be preserved from all danger.
The Church of Constantinople, so devoted, as we have
seen, to the glory of St. Andrew, was at length deprived of the precious
treasure of his Relics. This happened in the year 1210, when the City was taken
by the Crusaders. Cardinal Peter of Capua, the Legate of the Holy See,
translated the body of St. Andrew into the Cathedral of Amalfi, a town in the
Kingdom of Naples, where- it remains to this day, the glorious instrument of
numberless miracles, and the object of the devout veneration of the people. It
is well known how, at the same period, the most precious Relics of the Greek
Church came, by a visible judgment of God, into the possession of the Latins.
Byzantium refused to accept those terrible warnings, and continued obstinate in
her schism. She was still in possession of the Head of the holy Apostle, owing,
no doubt, to this circumstance, that in the several Translations which had been
made, it had been kept in a separate reliquary by itself. When the Byzantine
Empire was destroyed by the Turks, Divine Providence so arranged events, as
that the Church of Rome should be enriched with this magnificent Relic. In
1462, the Head of St. Andrew was, therefore, brought thither by the celebrated
« Cardinal Bessarion; and on the twelfth of April of that same year, Palm Sunday,
the heroic Pope Pius II, went in great pomp to meet it as far as the Bridge
Milvius (Ponte Molle), and then placed it in the Basilica of St. Peter, on the
Vatican, where it is at present,(no longer the case... see note).
At length, thou hast arrived, O most holy and venerable
Head of the saintly Apostle! The fury of the Turks has driven thee from thy
resting-place, and thou art come as an exile to thy Brother, the Prince of the
Apostles. No, thy Brother will not fail thee; and by the will of God, the day
shall come when men shall say in thy praise: O happy banishment, which caused
thee to receive such a welcome! Meanwhile, here shalt thou dwell with thy Brother,
and share in his honours. This is Rome, the venerable City, which was dedicated
by thy Brother's precious blood. The people thou seest, are they whom the
blessed Apostle, thy most loving Brother, and St. Paul, the Vessel of Election,
regenerated unto Christ our Lord. Thus the Romans are thy kinsmen. They venerate,
and honour, and love thee as their Father's Brother; nay, as their second
Father; and are confident of thy patronage in the presence of the great God. O
most blessed Apostle Andrew! thou preacher of the truth, and defender of the dogma
of the most Holy Trinity! with what joy dost thou not fill us on this day,
whereon it is given us to behold thy sacred and venerable Head, which deserved
that, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Paraclete should rest upon it in the
form of fire! O ye Christians that visit Jerusalem out of reverence for your
Saviour, that there ye may see the places where his feet have stood; lo! here
is the throne of the Holy Ghost. Here sat the Spirit of the Lord. Here was seen
the Third Person of the Trinity. Here were the eyes that so often saw Jesus in
the flesh. This was the mouth that so often spake to Jesus; and on these cheeks
did that same Lord doubtless impress his sacred kisses. O wondrous Sanctuary,
wherein dwelt charity, and kindness, and gentleness, and spiritual consolation.
Who could look upon such venerable " and precious Relics of the Apostle of
Christ, and not be moved? and not be
filled with tender devotion' and not shed tears for very joy? Yea, O most
admirable Apostle Andrew! we rejoice, and are glad, and exult, at this thy
coming, for we doubt not but what thou thyself art present here, and bearest us
company as we enter with thy Head into the Holy City. The Turks are indeed our
enemies, as being the enemies of the Christian Religion; but in that they have
been the occasion of thy coming amongst us, we are grateful to them. For, what
greater blessing could have befallen us, than that we should be permitted to
see thy most sacred Head, and that our Rome should be filled with its
fragrance? Oh! that we could welcome thee with the honours which are due to thee,
and receive thee in a way becoming thy exceeding holiness! But, accept our good
will, and our sincere desire to honour thee, and suffer us now to touch thy
Relics with our unworthy hands, and, though sinners, to accompany thee into the
walls of the City. Enter, then, the Holy
City, and show thy love to her people. May thy coming be a boon to Christendom.
May thy entrance be peaceful, and thy abode amongst us bring happiness and prosperity.
Be thou our advocate in heaven, and, together with blessed Apostles Peter and
Paul, defend this City, and protect, with thy love, all Christian people; that,
by thy intercession, the mercy of God may be upon us, and if his indignation be
enkindled against us by reason of our manifold sins, let it fall upon the
impious Turks and the pagan nations that blaspheme our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thus has the glory of St. Andrew been blended, in
Rome, with that of St. Peter. But the Apostle of the Cross, whose feast was heretofore
kept, in many Churches, with an Octave, has also been chosen as Patron of one
of the Kingdoms of the West. Scot land, when she was a Catholic country, had
put herself under his protection. May he still exercise his protection over
her, and, by his prayers, hasten her return to the true faith! Let us now, in
union with the Church, pray to this holy Apostle, for this is the glorious day
of his feast: let us pay him that honour which is due to him, and ask him for
the help of which we stand in need. We have scarce begun our mystic journey of
Advent, seeking our divine Saviour Jesus, when lo! God grants us to meet thee,
O blessed Andrew, at our very first step. When Jesus, our Messias, began his
public life, thou hadst already become the obedient disciple of his Precursor,
who preached his Coming: thou wast among the first of them who received the Son
of Mary as the Messias foretold in the Law and the Prophets. But thou couldst
not keep the heavenly secret from him who was so dear to thee; to Peter, then,
thou didst bear the Good Tidings, and didst lead him to Jesus. O blessed Apostle!
we also are longing for the Messias, the Saviour of our souls; since thou hast
found him, lead us also unto him. We place under thy protection this holy
period of expectation and preparation, which is to bring us to the day of our
Saviour's Nativity, that divine Mystery in which he will manifest himself to
the world. Assist us to render ourselves worthy of seeing him on that great
night. The baptism of Penance prepared thee for receiving the grace of knowing
the Word of life; pray for us that we may become truly penitent and may purify
our hearts, during this holy time, and thus be able to behold Him, who has said:
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Thou hast a special
power of leading souls to Jesus, O glorious Saint! for even he, who was to be
made the Pastor of the whole flock, was presented to the Messias by thee. By
calling thee to himself on this day, our Lord has given thee as the Patron of
Christians who, each year, at this season, are seeking that God in whom thou
art now living: they must begin it with praying to thee to show them the way
which leads to Jesus. Thou teachest us this way; it is that of fidelity, of
fidelity even to the Cross. In that way thou didst courageously walk: and
because the Cross leads to Jesus Christ, thou didst passionately love the
Cross. Pray for us, O holy Apostle! that we may begin to understand this love
of the Cross; and that having understood it, we may put it in practice. Thy
brother says to us in his Epistle: Christ having suffered in the flesh, be you
also armed with the same thought. Thy feast, O blessed Andrew! shows us thee as
the living commentary of this doctrine. Because thy Master was crucified, thou
wouldst also be crucified. From the high throne to which thou hast been raised
by the Cross, pray for us, that the Cross may be unto us the expiation of the
sins which are upon us, the quenching of the passions which burn within us, and
the means of uniting us by love to Him, who, through love alone for us, was
nailed to the Cross. Important, indeed, and precious are these lessons of the Cross;
but the Cross, O blessed Apostle, is the perfection and the consummation, and
not the first commencement. It is the Infant God, it is the God of the Crib
that we must first know and love; it was the Lamb of God that St. John pointed
out to thee; and it is that Lamb whom we so ardently desire to contemplate. The
austere and awful time of Jesus' Passion is not come; we are now in Advent.
Fortify us for the day of combat; but the grace we now most need, is
compunction and tender love.
We put
under thy patronage this great work of our preparation for the Coming of Jesus
into our hearts. Remember also, O blessed Andrew, the holy Church, of which
thou wast a pillar, and which thou hast beautified by the shedding of thy blood:
lift up thy hands for her to Him, whose battle she is for ever fighting. Pray
that the Cross she has to bear in this her pilgrimage, may be lightened; that
she may love this Cross, and that it may be the source of her power and her
glory. Remember with especial love the holy Roman Church, the Mother and
Mistress of all Churches; and by reason of that fervent love she has for thee,
obtain for her victory and peace by the Cross. Visit anew, in thy Apostolic
zeal, the Church of Constantinople, which has forfeited true light and unity,
because she would not render homage to Peter, thy brother, whom thou honouredst
as thy Chief, out of love to Him who is the common Master of both him and thee.
And lastly, pray for Scotland, that has dishonoured thy protection for these
three past ages; obtain for her that the days of her rebellion from the faith
may be shortened, and, with the rest of our Isle of Saints, soon return to the
fold of the One Shepherd. We will close this day with a prayer to the Saviour,
whom we are expecting; and celebrate, by this ancient and venerable Hymn, the
mystery of his Coming.
HYMN FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT
(The Mozarabic Breviary:
in the Hymnarium.)
Rejoice, ye Flowers of the Martyrs! Hail, all ye
people and nations! lift up your eyes to heaven, and await the sign of glory.
The voice of the Prophets is heard, announcing the coming of Jesus; it is the
harbinger of our Redemption, of the grace which saved us. How bright is our
morn, and how do our hearts swell with joy, when the faithful voice comes
heralding in our glory! May the joy of so great a salvation, whereby the world
is redeemed, inspire us with a solemn canticle in praise of Jesus' coming. It
was his first: and he came not to punish, but to heal the sores and sins of the
world, saving his creature that was lost.
But when
the Second Advent comes, it will tell the world that Christ is at its very
doors, to give the Saints their, crowns, and throw open the kingdom of heaven.
We have a promise of eternal light; the star of our salvation is rising; and
even now its splendid rays are calling us to our right to heaven. Thee alone, O
Jesus, do we seek, and wish to see thee as thou art, God. Happy vision, which
will But us out of all reach of ell. That thus, when thou comest, O Redeemer,
surrounded by the white-robed army of Martyrs, thou mayest admit us also into
their pure company. To God the Father, and to his Only Son, and to the Holy
Paraclete, be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
Mass Propers
ST. ANDREW,
APOSTLE, MARTYR
Double of the
Second Class/Red Vestments
Missa ‘Mihi
autem’
INTROIT
- Psalm 138: 17, 1, 2
Mihi autem nimis honoráti sunt amíci tui, Deus: nimis confortátus est
principátus eórum. Ps. Dómine, probásti me, et cognovísti me: tu cognovísti
sessiónem meam, et resurrectiónem meam. Gloria Patri.
Thy friends, O God, are made exceedingly honourable: their principality is
exceedingly strengthened. Ps. Lord, Thou hast proved me, and known me: Thou
hast known my sitting down, and my rising up. Glory be to the Father.
COLLECT
We humbly entreat Thy majesty, O Lord: that as the blessed Apostle Andrew
was once a teacher and ruler of Thy Church: so he may be a constant advocate
for us before Thee. Through our Lord.
COLLECT – Commemoration for Advent
Stir up thy power, O Lord, we beseech thee, and come: that by Thy
protection we may deserve to be rescued from the threatening dangers of our
sins and saved by Thy deliverance. Who livest and reignest with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
EPISTLE
- Romans 10: 10-18
Brethren: With the heart, we believe unto justice, but, with the mouth,
confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture saith: Whosoever believeth
in him, shall not be confounded. For there is no distinction of the Jew and the
Greek, for the same is Lord over all, rich unto all that call upon Him. For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How then shall
they call on Him in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe Him
of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? And
how shall they preach unless they be sent? as it is written: How beautiful are
the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, of them that bring glad
tidings of good things! But all have not obeyed the Gospel. For Isaias saith:
Lord, who hath believed our report? Faith, then, cometh by hearing: and hearing
by the word of Christ. But I say: Have they not heard? Yea, verily, their sound
hath gone into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the whole world.
GRADUAL
- Psalm 44: 17-18
Thou shalt make them princes over all the earth: they shall be mindful of
Thy name, O Lord. Instead of Thy fathers sons are born to Thee: therefore shall
people praise Thee.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia, alleluia. The Lord loved Andrew as an odour of sweetness.
Alleluia.
JESUS CALLS HIS
FIRST DISCIPLES SIMON WHO IS CALLED PETER AND BROTHER ANDREW
GOSPEL
- Matthew 4: 18-22
At that time: Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,
Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting their nets into the
sea (for they were fishers). And He saith to them: Come ye after Me, and I will
make you to be fishers of men. And they immediately leaving their nets,
followed him. And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the
son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father,
mending their nets: and He called them. And they forthwith left their nets and
father, and followed Him.
OFFERTORY
- Psalm 138: 17
Thy friends, O Lord, are exceedingly honourable; their power is become
very great.
Archangel St Michael, St Andrew and St Francis of Assisi,
ISENBRANT, Adriaen
SECRET
May the holy prayer of the blessed Apostle, Andrew, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, render our sacrifice well-pleasing to Thee: that by his merits it may be
made acceptable, in whose honour it is solemnly offered. Through our Lord.
SECRET –
Commemoration for Advent
May these holy Mysteries, O Lord,
cleanse us by their powerful efficacy, and enable us to come with greater
purity to Him who is their foundation. Through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one
God, world without end. Amen.
PREFACE OF THE APOSTLES
It is truly meet and just, right
and for our salvation, to entreat Thee humbly, O Lord, that Thou wouldst not
desert Thy flock. O everlasting Shepherd; but through Thy blessed Apostles,
wouldst keep it under Thy constant protection; that it may be governed by those
same rulers, whom as vicars of Thy work, Thou didst set over it to be its
pastors. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and
Dominations, and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of
The glory, evermore saying:
SANCTUS
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dóminus Deus Sábaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra glória tua. Hosánna in excélsis. Benedíctus qui venit
in nómine Dómini. Hosánna in excélsis.
COMMUNION - Matthew 4: 19, 20
Come ye after Me: and I will make
you to be fishers of men; and they immediately leaving their nets, followed the
Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION
We have received, O Lord, the
Divine Mysteries, rejoicing in the feast of blessed Andrew: and we beseech
Thee, as Thou makest them a source of glory to Thy Saints, so Thou wouldst make
them unto us a source of pardon. Through our Lord.
POSTCOMMUNION – Commemoration for Advent
May we receive of thy mercy, O Lord, in the midst of
Thy temple; that we may with becoming honour prepare for the approaching
solemnities of our redemption. Through
Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord…
