The Assumption of St John

What of the saints who rose from the dead at Christ’s Resurrection? Did they die again? That would seem a poor reward! On the contrary, the common opinion is that they ascended with the Lord. This first evidence of Christ’s power gives all the more firmness to the tradition of the ages, proclaimed a dogma in 1950, that Our Lady, after her death, was assumed into heaven.

And what of the Beloved Disciple? It has remained a pious opinion – grounded on the absence of any primary relics, as also on his spotless purity and special closeness to the Word enfleshed and his Mother – that, at the end of his long life, St John the Evangelist first died and then was translated, bodily as well as spiritually, into endless light. Amongst the fathers, saints and doctors who thought thus are St Peter Damian, St Thomas Aquinas, Hugh of St Victor, Denys the Carthusian, St Albert the Great, and the Venerable Louis of Granada.

This opinion as to the assumption of St John is alluded to in his Office on the 27th of December in the Roman, Dominican and Monastic Breviaries – for one of the responsories of Matins runs thus:

Resp. vii.   Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. 

In that day I will take thee my servant and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For.

Words originally addressed to Zorobabel by the Lord speaking through the prophet Aggeus are here applied to the Beloved Disciple. It is noteworthy that the verb “take” represents suscipiam in the Latin of the Responsory – but in the original Latin of the Vulgate, it is assumam. The versicle attached gives the context: this is not a mere call to discipleship, but, having remained faithful unto death, he who is called servant will be taken up and set in God’s sight.

Unsurprisingly, those friends of a life hidden with Christ in God, seeking even now for the endless repose promised to the saints, the Dormitionists, observe the feast of the Assumption of St John, on the date dedicated by the Greeks to his Repose, the 26^th of September (like their close cousins in holy religion, the Dominicans, they do not that day keep the commemoration of SS Cyprian and Justina).

Their Matins lessons that day are taken from St Peter Damian, who, as mentioned above, succinctly restates the tradition, purifying by his orthodoxy any suspect taint of the apocryphal Acts of John, some manuscripts and versions of which append an account of the disappearance of his body after his passing away into glory. To quote in translation some of what that holy Doctor wrote, still now appearing in the Breviary of the Dormitionists:

“Who is not filled with wonder at the unheard-of miracle of his blessed death? Who is not astonished at the glory of his most blessed departure? As his life was a wonder, so also his death was a wonder; and, as he had not lived a life like other men, so he did not die a death like theirs. For this is what the histories tell of him: he had a square grave made in the Church; he then went into it; and, after long and earnest prayer, his soul passed from his body.

“Soon such a light from heaven fell on the place, that no one could bear to look at it. After the light was gone, the grave was found to have nothing in it but manna, of which it is said to be full to this day. Thus was it fitting that the Beloved Disciple of the Giver of life should pass from the world, and that he should be as far removed from pain in death as he was from the corruption of the flesh.

“It is asserted with probability, and is a pious belief, that, as is believed of the blessed Mother of God, so St John rose from the dead; for, as they were alike in their virginal purity, so they seem justly to be equalled in an anticipated resurrection; nor should there be any difference in their resurrection, in whom there was such a marvellous likeness of life. For, if these most blessed Virgins, namely, Mary and John, have not risen, how is it that their bodies are not in their tombs, when the bodies of blessed Peter and Paul and the other Apostles and martyrs are known to have been in their own graves.”

“Even in death they were not divided” – so opines Fr Hawes, Oblate of St Charles, quoting Sacred Scripture: for the two who alone stood together beneath the Cross, who dwelt together for long years at Ephesus, are surely united in heaven, together with their Lord, who is for ever her Son, and who constituted St John her son in his stead.

Having opened the heavy folio pages of the Missale O. D. B. M V. of 1785, I offer, now first put online, the Mass of this feast. Laziness (that profane counterpart of the peculiar charism of their Order) has caused me to neglect to transcribe the long ess still used by the printers of that age. It may seem strange that the only Order still to refer to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin ought use the term Assumption of her adopted son; but a little reflection will reveal that the distinction is a wise and prudent one, permitting the singular grace vouchsafed to the Immaculate Mother of God to be distinguished from that great but lesser blessing accorded to the Fourth Evangelist.

This Mass is rich in Scriptural allusion: throughout, the taking up of Henoch and Elias are referred to most justly as the Old Testament types and foreshadowings of what came to pass in regard to the Fourth Evangelist of the New Testament. The Collect is especially noteworthy; I hope I have copied it out correctly (UPDATE: a kind scholar has pointed out errors both in my transcription of the Latin and in my rubbishy Englishing of it; I have corrected both below).

As for the Secret and Postcommunion, they are taken from the Vigil and Day Masses of Our Lady’s Assumption, as they were in the wider Roman Rite in medieval times. As is common in Dormitionist Masses, the Offertory still retains its verse – and in this case, the Offertory has the same text as the Responsory mentioned above, save for returning to the Vulgate use of assumam, not suscipiam. (After the Latin, I give an English version.)

In Festo Assumptionis Sancti Joannis Apostoli et Evangelistæ

26 Septembris

Introitus    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Beatus quem elegisti et assumpsisti: inhabitabit in atriis tuis.

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

Ambulavit cum Deo, et non apparuit, quia tulit eum Deus: placuit Deo, et translatus est in paradisum, nam et ipse receptus est a terra.

Oratio

Deus, qui beatum Joannem apostolum et evangelistam tuum per electionem tuam ita in gratia confirmasti ut dilectus discipulus Filii tui et Matris Virginis filius virginalis efficeretur, et ad cælos post mortem corpore assumpsisti: tribue quæsumus; ut nos quoque in conspectu tuo sancti et immaculati in caritate inveniri mereamur. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Lectio libri Regum.    IV Regum ii, 1-11

In diebus illis: Factum est cum levare vellet Dominus Eliam per turbinem in cælum, ibant Elias et Eliseus de Galgalis. Dixitque Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque in Bethel. Cui ait Eliseus: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque descendissent Bethel, egressi sunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Bethel, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia hodie Dominus tollet dominum tuum a te? Qui respondit: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem Elias ad Eliseum: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me in Jericho. Et ille ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Cumque venissent Jericho, accesserunt filii prophetarum qui erant in Jericho, ad Eliseum, et dixerunt ei: Numquid nosti quia Dominus hodie tollet dominum tuum a te? Et ait: Et ego novi: silete. Dixit autem ei Elias: Sede hic, quia Dominus misit me usque ad Jordanem. Qui ait: Vivit Dominus, et vivit anima tua, quia non derelinquam te. Ierunt igitur ambo pariter, et quinquaginta viri de filiis prophetarum secuti sunt eos, qui et steterunt e contra, longe: illi autem ambo stabant super Jordanem. Tulitque Elias pallium suum, et involvit illud, et percussit aquas: quæ divisæ sunt in utramque partem, et transierunt ambo per siccum. Cumque transissent, Elias dixit ad Eliseum: Postula quod vis ut faciam tibi, antequam tollar a te. Dixitque Eliseus: Obsecro ut fiat in me duplex spiritus tuus. Qui respondit: Rem difficilem postulasti: attamen si videris me quando tollar a te, erit tibi quod petisti: si autem non videris, non erit. Cumque pergerent, et incedentes sermocinarentur, ecce currus igneus, et equi ignei diviserunt utrumque: et ascendit Elias per turbinem in cælum.

Graduale    Heb. xi, 5.

Translatus est, et non inveniebatur, quia transtulit illum Deus.

V. Ante translationem enim testimonium habuit placuisse Deo.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Mach. ii, 58 Dum zelat zelum legis, receptus est in cælum. Alleluia.

Sequentia sancti evangelii secundum Joannem.    Joann. xxi, 20-24

In illo tempore: Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum, quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, qui et recubuit in cœna super pectus ejus, et dixit: Domine, quis est qui tradet te? Hunc ergo cum vidisset Petrus, dixit Jesu: Domine, hic autem quid? Dicit ei Jesus: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? tu me sequere. Exiit ergo sermo iste inter fratres quia discipulus ille non moritur. Et non dixit ei Jesus: Non moritur, sed: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, quid ad te? Hic est discipulus ille qui testimonium perhibet de his, et scripsit hæc: et scimus quia verum est testimonium ejus.

Offertorium    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Cf. Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In illum diem assumam te servum meum, et ponam te sicut signaculum in conspectu meo: * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus. V. Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo tibi coronam vitæ. * Quoniam ego elegi te, dicit Dominus.

Secreta

Munera nostra, Domine, apud clementiam tuam beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ commendet oratio: quam idcirco de præsenti sæculo transtulisti, ut pro peccatis nostris apud te fiducialiter intercedat. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

Præfatio de Apostolis.

Communio    Sap. iv, 10.

Placens Deo factus est dilectus, et translatus est.

Postcommunio

Mensæ cælestis participes effecti, imploramus clementiam tuam, Domine Deus noster: ut qui assumptionem beati Joannis apostoli et evangelistæ colimus, a cunctis malis imminentibus, ejus intercessione liberemur. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.

******

The Assumption of St John the Apostle and Evangelist

26^th September 

Introit    Cf. Gen. v, 24; Ecclus xliv, 16 & xlix, 16

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Ps. lxiv, 5. Blessed is he whom thou hast chosen and taken to thee: he shall dwell in thy courts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

He walked with God, and was seen no more, because God took him: he pleased God, and was translated into paradise, for he also was taken up from the earth.

Collect

O God, who by thine election didst so confirm in grace blessed John thine apostle and evangelist as to be made the beloved disciple of thy Son and the virginal son of the Virgin Mother, and didst assume him bodily into heaven after death, grant, we beseech thee, that we also may be found holy and unspotted in charity in thy sight. Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

A lesson from the book of Kings.    IV Kings ii, 1-11

In those days: it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elias into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elias and Eliseus were going from Galgal. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay thou here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as Bethel. And Eliseus said to him: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come down to Bethel, the sons of the prophets, that were at Bethel, came forth to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he answered: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to Eliseus: Stay here because the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And when they were come to Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, came to Eliseus, and said to him: Dost thou know that this day the Lord will take away thy master from thee? And he said: I also know it: hold your peace. And Elias said to him: Stay here, because the Lord hath sent me as far as the Jordan. And he said: As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee; and they two went on together, and fifty men of the sons of the prophets followed them, and stood in sight at a distance: but they two stood by the Jordan. And Elias took his mantle and folded it together, and struck the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, and they both passed over on dry ground. And when they were gone over, Elias said to Eliseus: Ask what thou wilt have me to do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Eliseus said: I beseech thee that in me may be thy double spirit. And he answered: Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless if thou see me when I am taken from thee, thou shalt have what thou hast asked: but if thou see me not, thou shalt not have it. And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

Gradual    Heb. xi, 5.

He was translated; and he was not found, because God had translated him.

V. For before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God.

Alleluia, alleluia. V. I Macc. ii, 58 While he was full of zeal for the law, he was taken up into heaven. Alleluia.

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to John.    John xxi, 20-24

At that time: Peter turning about, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned on his breast at supper, and said: Lord, who is he that shall betray thee? Him therefore when Peter had seen, he saith to Jesus: Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith to him: So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? follow thou me. This saying therefore went abroad among the brethren, that that disciple should not die. And Jesus did not say to him: He should not die; but, So I will have him to remain till I come, what is it to thee? This is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things, and hath written these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

Offertory    Cf. Agg. ii, 24; Apoc. ii, 10b. (Resp. vii. ad Mat., 27 Dec.)

In that day I will take thee up, my servant, and will make thee as a signet in my sight, * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord. V. Be thou faithful until death: and I will give thee the crown of life. * For I have chosen thee, saith the Lord.

Secret

May our gifts, O Lord, be commended to thy clemency by the prayer of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, whom thou didst take up out of this present life, that he might faithfully intercede before thee for our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

Preface of the Apostles 

Communion   Wis. iv, 10.

He pleased God and was beloved, and he was translated.

Postcommunion

Made partakers of the heavenly banquet, we implore thy clemency, O Lord our God, that we, who honour the assumption of blessed John the apostle and evangelist, may be freed through his intercession from all threatening evils. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who with thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.

This Miserable and Naughty World

To-day we celebrate him who named himself Peter the Sinner, Petrus Peccator.  Having gone to confession (myself certainly a sinner, all too allured by the deceits of sin), I appreciate more than before his Collect, and a curious parallel in the BCP, which see further below:

Concede nos, quæsumus, omnipotens Deus: beati Petri Confessoris tui atque Pontificis monita et exempla sectari; ut per terrestrium rerum contemptum æterna gaudia consequamur. Per...

(Grant us, we beg, almighty God, to follow the admonitions and example of blessed Peter Thy Confessor and Pontiff, that by contempt of earthly things we may obtain eternal joys.  Through...)

Do recall, the Imitation notes that some persons are so wretched that they would, if they could, live ever on earth - even as vile beggars - and never long for heaven; and that the punishment of hell is everlasting precisely because unrepentant sinners would rather sin forever than give up sin and turn to the Lord or desire to come nigh unto Him, even though willy nilly they will at death face Him: and, God avert, if unrepentant themselves turn away into eternal perdition.  Anyone who has struggled with sin - that is, the entire human race - knows the enslaving effect and attraction of evil, of choosing an apparent or disordered good over or in contradiction to the Supreme Good, God.  Hence, we must mortify ourselves, subdue our unruly passions which would else drag us to destruction, and indeed have contempt for transient and terrene things, all which shall pass, and which in the last analysis are unworthy of and unable fully or eternally to satisfy us, who have immortal souls, whose very bodies shall one day rise to life forever - or ever to abide in eternal death.  No, we must not hate our bodies (as the world claims Christian fools do), but rather so treasure them that we preserve them from being one day consumed forever in hell, that they will instead be perfected and deified in Christ with Him in the heaven where the Trinity reigns world without end.

Hence my reference above to the second-last prayer in the 1662 B.C.P.'s Visitation of the Sick, which, interestingly enough - and I believe it's by Jeremy Taylor - would make an excellent prayer for the dead, even alluding to purgatorial purifications, if offered after the final falling asleep of a Christian:

A commendatory Prayer for a sick person at the point of departure.

ALMIGHTY God, with whom do live the spirits of just men made perfect, after they are delivered from their earthly prisons*: We humbly commend the soul of this thy servant, our dear brother, into thy hands, as into the hands of a faithful Creator, and most merciful Saviour; most humbly beseeching thee, that it may be precious in thy sight. Wash it, we pray thee, in the blood of that immaculate Lamb, that was slain to take away the sins of the world; that whatsoever defilements it may have contracted in the midst of this miserable and naughty world, through the lusts of the flesh, or the wiles of Satan, being purged and done away, it may be presented pure and without spot before thee. And teach us who survive, in this and other like daily spectacles of mortality, to see how frail and uncertain our own condition is; and so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, whilst we live here, which may in the end bring us to life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ thine only Son our Lord. Amen.

[* Cf. the same phrase, carnis ergastulo, in one of the O.P. hymns for the feast of St Dominic their Patriarch - it's not a denial nor devaluation of the flesh, but shews how in this fallen world it must be accorded only a relative and not an absolute worth, in line with Our Lord's own words that it is better to save the soul even if the body perish.]

Yes, Lord, "teach us... how frail and uncertain our own condition is; and so to number our days, that we may seriously apply our hearts to that holy and heavenly wisdom, whilst we live... which may in the end bring us to life everlasting".  For this, we need a right and well-ordered contempt of worldly things - lest they fascinate, entrap us, and draw us away from the high road to heaven, through, with and in Him Who is our only Way, Truth and Life.

St Cassian

In the Trad. calendar, today is the commemoration of SS Hippolytus and Cassian, Martyrs; while in the new it is the Optional Memorial of St Pontian, Pope, and St Hippolytus, Martyrs. Poor old St Cassian gets dumped!

So I decided, as is licit, to celebrate St Cassian of Imola today, using the Common of One Martyr. (GILH, no. 244.) However, as I think is also allowed, I will also take a passage concerning him - in fact, a sermon on St Cassian, from St Peter Damian (found in Migne's Patrologia Latina, and the source of the lessons for his ancient proper Office at Imola) - for the second reading (cf. GILH, no. 250). (I have been reading the psalms of the day in English, and the rest in Latin from my Latin edition of the modern Divine Office.)


St Cassian, to give the gist of his martyrdom, was a schoolmaster at the Forum of Sylla (modernday Imola) who, upon bravely confessing Christ, was condemned by the Roman persecutor to be stabbed to death by the styli (metal pens) of his pagan pupils: Prudentius is the main source for all this. All the Martyrologies, and his portion of the former 3rd Lesson, agree that, as his murderers were so weak, therefore his martyrdom was all the more dire and excruciating, being so long drawn out. His relics, according to very early tradition, repose under the high altar of the Cathedral of Imola, of which he is the titular; in 2003, his relics were solemnly exposed in honour of the 1700th anniversary of his martyrdom, and Italian scientists determined him to have been about 30 years old, with wounds to his skull consistent with the traditional account of his death. There is much more I could say, but time and tiredness prevent me.

Here is St Peter Damian's Sermon XXXIX “De sancto Cassiano martyre”, P.L. CXLIV, coll. 710-717 (relevant extracts only, with omitted passages noted):

[The introduction praises the feasts of martyrs, and lauds today’s feast of SS Hippolytus and Cassian, before focussing upon the latter:]
…
Enimvero Cassianus, cui potissimum famulaturus est sermo, diu quidem latuit, sed cum ad certamen perventum est, quid acrimoniæ, quid saporis, quid fortitudinis granum sinapis occultaret, aperuit. Imo, juxta nominis sui præsagium, cum in passionis pila persecutorum manibus tundi cœpit et atteri, mox fragrantiam odoriferæ suavitatis, quæ in se latebat, aspersit. Casia siquidem species est aromatica, quæ integra quidem nullius esse videtur odoris; trita autem naturalis vim suavitatis emittit.

Beatus itaque Cassianus, ut gestorum illius testatur historia, dum scholarum doctor existeret, brevibusque notis verba comprehendere pueros erudiret, pro fide Christi ad quæstionem deductus est. Cumque zelo succensus fidei judicum decreta contemneret, et sacrificia profana calcaret, discipulorum manibus ad cruciandum traditus est; ut illis versa vice pœnas exsolveret, quos ipse dudum sub disciplinæ ferula terruisset. Mox itaque indumentis exutus, manibus post terga ligatur, armato stylis et tabulis puerorum furentium agmine circumfunditur; qui undique compunctus atque discerptus, toto corpore laceratur. Novum plane et inusitatum genus martyrii insignem Deo martyrem consecravit. Videtur autem hæc martyrii species ad similitudinem comparandam, nulli melius posse congruere quam ipsi regi martyrum Domino Salvatori. Nam et ille a suis fidelibus occisus est, Judæis videlicet, quibus precepta Decalogi proprio digito descripta tradiderat, quos cæremoniis suis sacrificiorumque ritibus instruxerat; quos certe ad omnem vivendi rectitudinem, tanquam teneros sub disciplina pueros, informaverat. Sicut ipse per Isaiam dicit: « Filios enutrivi et exaltavi, ipsi autem spreverunt me (Is 1,2b). » Nam et illi carnales Israelitæ puerorum nomine digni fuerant, qui mandata legis prophetarumque mysteria non senili gravitate pensabant, sed omnia superficietenus ac pueriliter intelligebant…

[Here follows a long mystical exegesis of Elijah’s taunting by children, and his calling forth two she-bears to rend them limb from limb (4 (2) Kings 2:23-24) – this being interpreted as presaging the crucifixion of Christ at the behest of the Jews, and the subsequent destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and Vespasian.]

Per pueros ergo significati sunt qui Dominus crucifixerunt; pueri quoque sunt qui Beatum Cassianum martyrem occiderunt. Utraque scilicet non innocens pueritia, sed artifex et venenosa malitia. Occisus est Christus pro Cassiano, occisus est Cassianus pro Christo; Dominus pro servo, servus pro Domino; dicebat enim: « Qui retribuam Domino pro omnibus, quæ retribuit mihi? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo (Ps 115,12-13). » Sed ille mori dignatus est, ut hunc de sub jugo ferreæ servitutis educeret; isti mori donatum est, ut ad hæreditatem filiorum, cui ascriptus erat, cum gloria perveniret. Ille suscepit mortem, ut mortem in sua carne destrueret; isti mori non timuit, ut ad auctorem vitæ triumphi sui victor insignia reportaret. Ille persecutores habuit, quos creaverat, iste eos carnifices pertulit quos docebat. Sed Christus in martyre suo pugnabat, qui pugnandi vires administrabat; in eo solus ipse vincebat qui illum inter certamina roborabat. Nam et tota universalis Ecclesia, virtutum armis accincta, contra diabolum per totum mortalis vitæ hujus excursum in Christo dimicat, in Christo semper non sua, sed ejus virtute triumphat. Hanc plane ex antiquo hoste victoriam, quia noluit Synagoga, suscepit Ecclesia.

[Here follows another long mystical exegesis, this time of Deborah, who judged Israel, sending forth Barak to slay Sisera, who, she prophesies, shall nonetheless be slain by a woman, Jahel (Judges 4:4-9,17-21) – all this foreshadowing that not Israel but the Church shall have the victory over Satan.]
…
Hinc est quod et hic invictissimus Christi miles Beatus Cassianus inter gravissima pœnarum suarum tormenta superari non potuit, quia non eum ferrea lorica circumdedit, non galea cristata protexit, sed lignum tantummodo crucis armavit. Nam qui ligni hujus vexillo munitur, spiritualis nequitiæ conflictum securus aggreditur.
…
[Here follow a third long set of mystical exegeses, concerning the cross of Christ as sealed upon the Christian, that he be invincible in combat against evil.]

Quam inviolabile firmumque signaculum Beatus martyr Cassianus in pectore suo posuerat Christum, qui in tantæ fidei constantia immobilis permanebat! illiduntur plagæ verberum, infliguntur vulnera punctionum, intorquentur irrisionum jacula, vincula manibus innectuntur. Accedit et nuditas corporis, sed et spectaculum circumlatrantium undique derisorum. Inter hos procellarum sævientium turbines, inter istas denique crebrescentium grandinum tempestates, stat firma columna Dei prorsus immobilis. Non concutitur, non quassatur; sed lapidi, super quem fundata est, recta semper et firma constanter innititur. Dicebat enim: « Quis me separabit a charitate Christi? tribulatio? an angustia? an persecutio? an fames? an nuditas? an periculum? an gladius? » (Rom 8,35.) Illi frendebant dentibus; iste mitis Agni mundi peccata tollentis patientiam cogitabat. Carnifices inferendo supplicia satiabant cruentam sui pectoris rabiem; iste jam securus in mente versabat cœlestis gloriæ dignitatem. Atque, ut ita dixerim, cautus ac prudens iste negotiator, fratres mei, quam felices cum remuneratore certantium Christi nundinas contrahebat! Deponebat siquidem sarcinam carnis, atque ad stolam festinabat angelicæ claritatis. Deferebat ferulam crudelium puerorum, ut sanctorum fieret socius angelorum. Postponebat magisterium litteras edocendi, atque ad illud unum alacriter properabat Verbum, cui militant cuncta per orbem volumina litterarum. Christum Dominum nostrum nostrum, qui cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti vivit et regnat in sæcula sæculorum. Amen.

A lesser poet than Prudentius also wrote in St Cassian's honour: Flodoard, Canon of Rheims (894-966), in his De Christi Triumphis apud Italiam, Lib. XIV, Caput VIII, ‘De sancto Cassiano martyre’ (Migne, P.L. CXXXV, coll. 857-858 D):

De sancto Cassiano martyre.

Syllæ forum qua Cassianus gloria
Illustrat, edit, concrepante carmine
Clemens palæstram disserens Aurelius,
Pictoris arte se docente et hospite.
Altor sc[h]olari hic præstitutus agmini,
Spernensque sacris supplicare formulis,
Impube vulgus erudire ut panditur,
Ludum jubetur morte ephebis præbeat
Quos supprimendo seriis offenderat,

Datusque sævis dissipandus parvulis,
Sumit severa mille vinctus vulnera.
Crescente pœna dum fatiscit carnifex,
Pueris magistri per cutem ludentibus,
Quas ipse durus doctor ediderat notis,
Tandem moras luctantis olim spiritus
Miserans latebris mandat absolvi Deus
A tam cruento lancinatorum grege
Ad angelorum blanda tollens culmina.

Here too is the ancient proper Mass for St Cassian, as used at Imola presumably, which was found in an online 1862 copy of the Roman Missal - note the references, now discredited, to him being a bishop, which arose when he was confused with another saint of the same name:

Festa Augusti (13.) pro aliqu. locis.

Die xiii.
S. Cassiani, Episcopi et Martyris.

Introitus.
Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, diem festum celebrantes sub honore sancti Cassiani Martyris, de cujus passione gaudent Angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei. Ps. 32. Exultate justi Domino: rectos decet collaudatio. V/. Gloria Patri.
{“Festal” Introit – cf. Feast of St Agatha, etc., changing the name only}

Oratio.
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui hodierna die beatum Cassianum Pontificem tuum martyrii corona decorasti: concede propitius; ut cujus solemnia colimus, ejus patrocinia sentiamus. Per Dominum.
{Proper; cf. Or. S. Anastasia: ut… solemnia colimus, ejus… patrocinia sentiamus}

{Almighty everlasting God, who this day didst adorn blessed Cassian with the crown of martyrdom: grant graciously, that we may feel his patronage, whose solemnity we celebrate. Through…}

Pro Octava S. Laurentii Mart.
Oratio.
Pro S. Hippolyto Martyre.
Oratio. [=Oratio de Hipp. & Cass., excl. Cassiano]
Da quæsumus omnípotens Deus: ut beati Hippolyti Martyris tui veneranda solemnitas, et devotiónem nobis augeat, et salútem. Per Dóminum.

Lectio Actuum Apostolorum.
cap. 17. {13-18}
In diebus illis: Cum cognovissent in Thessalonica Judæi, quia et Berœæ prædicatum est a Paulo verbum Dei, venerunt et illuc commoventes, et turbantes multitudinem. Statimque tunc Paulum dimiserunt fratres, ut iret usque ad mare. Silas autem et Timotheus remanserunt ibi. Qui autem deducebant Paulum, perduxerunt eum usque Athenas, et accepto mandato ab eo ad Silam et Timotheum, ut quam celeriter venirent ad illum, profecti sunt. Paulus autem cum Athenis eos exspectaret, incitabatur spiritus ejus in ipso, videns idololatriæ deditam civitatem. Disputabat igitur in synagoga cum Judæis, et colentibus, et in foro, per omnes dies ad eos, qui aderant. Quidam autem Epicurei, et Stoici philosophi disserebant cum eo, et quidam dicebant: Quid vult seminiverbius hic dicere? Alii vero: Novorum dæmoniorum videtur annuntiator esse: quia Jesum, et resurrectionem annuntiabat eis.
{Proper, but why? maybe as it alludes to coming to a new city and being accused of teaching some new religion}

Graduale. Ps. 36. {24.} Justus, cum ceciderit, non collidetur: quia Dominus supponit manum suam. V/. {36. 26} Tota die miseretur et commodat, et semen ejus in benedictione erit. {Common of a Martyr not a Bishop, 2nd Mass Lætabitur}
Alleluja, alleluja.
V/. Sanctus Pontifex Cassianus animarum salutem sitiens, ad fontem vivum, qui Christus est, omnes evocare non desinebat. Alleluja. {Proper}

{Saint Cassian, thirsting for the salvation of souls, did not cease to call forth everyone to the living fountain, who is Christ.}

Evangelium. Cum persequentur [vos in civitate ista, fugite in aliam]. ut in Festo S. Athanasii. fol. 437. {Matth., c. 10, vv. 23-28}
{Probably chosen because of the apocryphal idea that Cassian was a bishop driven from his see}

Offertorium. Ps. 88. {25.} Veritas mea, et misericordia mea cum ipso: et in nomine meo exaltabitur cornu ejus. {Common of a Martyr Bishop, 1st Mass Statuit}

Secreta.
Sacrificia, Domine, quæ in honorem sancti Cassiani Martyris tui atque Pontificis, tuæ offerimus majestati, nobis sint ad salutem efficacia, et tuæ placita pietati. Per Dominum.
{Proper. Apparently reused in Novus Ordo: Sacrificia, Domine, quae in hac festivitate beati N. tuae offerimus maiestati, nobis sint ad salutem efficacia, et tuae placita pietati.}

{May the sacrifices, Lord, which in honour of Saint Cassian thy martyr we offer to thy majesty, be to us efficacious unto salvation, and acceptable unto thy loving kindness.}

Pro S. Laurentio Martyre. Secreta.
[Pro S.] Hippolyto Martyre. Secreta.
Secreta. [=Secreta de Hipp. & Cass.]

[Commu]nio. Ps. 20. {4.} Posuisti, … [Domine] in capite ejus coro-[na] [de] lapide pretioso. {Common of a Martyr Bishop, 2nd Mass Sacerdotes Dei}

[P]ostcommunio.
… [Deus?] omnium impertitor … [bon-?] –orum, qui hunc diem … [beati?] [C]assiani Martyris tui [et?] [Po]ntificis, veneranda so-[lemn-?] –e lætificas: ejus, quæ-[sumus,] … gloriosis precibus, fac … [nos?] [a?] terrenis transferri ad …[???] beatorum. Per Dominum. {Proper}

{O God, the bestower of all good things, who givest joy to this day by the worshipful solemnity of blessed Cassian thy Martyr: we beseech thee, by his glorious prayers, to make us pass from earthly things to the [joy?] of the blessed. Through…}

[Pro S.] Laurentio Martyre.
[P]ostcommunio.
[Pro S.] Hippolyto Martyre.
[P]ostcommunio. [=Postcommunio de Hipp. & Cass.]

Here are my own ideas for suitable chants for a proper Mass for St Cassian, if I may be so bold:

Introit [Praise of St Cassian: his fateful career] (Is 33:17-18; Ps 33:12)

Regem in decore suo videbunt oculi ejus, cernent terram de longe. Cor tuum meditabitur timorem. Ubi est litteratus? ubi legis verba ponderans? ubi doctor parvulorum?
Ps. Venite, filii, audite me: timorem Domini docebo vos.
Gloria Patri… Sicut erat…
Regem in decore suo…

(His eyes shall see the king in his beauty, they shall see the land far off. Thy heart shall meditate fear: where is the learned? where is he that pondereth the words of the law? where is the teacher of little ones?
Ps. Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.)

Gradual [A judgement against the unjust judge and the murderous pupils. Rebuke of the unjust judge, who corrupted children into murderers] (cf. Mal 2:11a,12a; Osee 5:2)

Abominatio facta est: disperdet Dominus virum qui fecerit hoc, magistrum et discipul[os].
V/. Victimas declinastis in profundum: et ego eruditor omnium eorum.

(Abomination hath been committed: the Lord will cut off the man that hath done this, both the master, and the scholar[s]. V/. You have turned aside victims into the depth: and I am the teacher of them all.)

Alleluia verse [Cassian despised by those he had taught] (Is 1:2b)

V/. Filios enutrivi et exaltavi, ipsi autem spreverunt me.

(I have brought up children and exalted them: but they have despised me.)

Offertory [Rebuke of the unjust judge, corrupter of children into murderers] (Luke 17: 1b-2)

Impossibile est ut non veniant scandala: vae autem illi per quem veniunt. Utilius est illi si lapis molaris imponatur circa collum ejus, et projiciatur in mare: quam ut scandalizet unum de pusillis istis.

(It is impossible that scandals should not come: but woe to him through whom they come. It were better for him, that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should scandalize one of these little ones.)

Communion [St Cassian’s presumable dying prayer] (2nd ½ of the Communion verse for St Stephen (cf. Acts 7:58,59))

Domine Jesu, accipe spiritum meum, et ne statuas illis hoc peccatum, quia nesciunt quid faciunt.

(Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and lay not this sin to their charge, for they know not what they do.)

In the reported words of St Peter Chrysologus, Archbishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church, and native of Imola, which he spoke as he lay dying in the Cathedral of St Cassian whither he had returned to breathe his last:

Deprecor te, beate Cassiane, intercede pro me! - I beg thee, blessed Cassian, intercede for me!