Fly Idolatry - Fly to Mars

The subjoined satire is the sort of nonsense only present and former Dominicans (of whom it may be said, as was of certain Anglicans of old, such are “of the world, but not in it”) would dream up after watching too many reruns of Pachamamas being precipitated into the Tiber; I post it to amuse a friend...

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And it was night (John 13, 13)

“When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand: then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains” (Matt. 24, 15f) – mindful of these words, in the context of the impending presence of second-hand cheap tourist trinkets at a Mass in Rome tomorrow, the thoughts of more fanatical than usual Catholics (i.e., those who observe the last Sunday in October as the Feast of Christ the King) quickly turn from “that Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children” (Gal. 4, 25) – that is, this unhappy planet, also referred to as Judea in the apocalyptic Gospel text above – to “that Jerusalem, which is above, is free: which is our mother” (Gal. 4, 26) which, as all men know, is evidently a reference to Mars.

Mars... “which is above, is free”

If the symbolic Judea, groaning under the unhappy yoke of idolatry, subjected to cruel bondage, is the Earth (totally polluted with idol-worship as it is), then the mountains to which the faithful ought flee must by simple logic be the planets, known in Scripture as “wandering stars” (Jude 13), and to which veiled allusion is made by the mention in the Apocalypse of “the mystery of the seven stars” (1, 20), evidently referring to the eight planets now known, omitting the Earth; and again, of all the planets the only one remotely habitable is surely the Red Planet, as all astronomers know – “for star differeth from star in glory” (1 Cor. 15, 41).

There was a wicked Protestant speculation to the effect that, assuming Lowell’s observations of canals on its surface to be correct, then these were dug by the damned at the instigation of devils, and Mars was Hell: but Catholics naturally reject such foolishness, as Hell is within the Earth (in dreadful caverns hot and fiery), as all men know, while the planets are in Heaven. Reason teaches: flee Hell, and seek to fly to Heaven.

Not what happened in the Vatican Gardens

Furthermore, St Paul commands us to “fly from the service of idols” (1 Cor. 10, 14), having already remarked earlier in his same first Epistle to those contentious Corinthians that not to keep company with “the servers of idols” would mean that “you must needs go out of this world” (1 Cor. 5, 10) –  and lo! what was in his day impossible, is now quite possible, so those intent on salvation now must literally fly out of this world, lest they by fellowship with idolatry perish in the general impending doom.

It is well known that Elon Musk is engaged at this very moment upon the great task of preparing rockets sufficient for the colonization of Mars; and the vast sums of monies secreted in Swiss bank accounts by all the corrupt officials of the Curia will, once purified by being spent on this worthy cause (one assumes a certain Cardinal will be very happy to pass on the password details he uncovered prior to his unexpected summons home, as after all he now has nothing to lose and every Roman enemy to repay), suffice to pay for passage to the Fourth Planet by the tiny remnant (self-styled) who seek to flee thence.

The moment all spacefarers become sede-vacantists?

It is a truth well-known to all that the Pope, or at least whatever passes for one, is the Vicar of Christ *on Earth*. Therefore, those who leave the Blue Planet for the Red will have, alas, no longer any Pope, and, as soon as they pass lunar orbit†, become ipso facto sede-vacantists (it is pathetic how many misinterpret such simple science to think that papal utterances on aircraft in Earth’s lower atmosphere supposedly have no validity); and moreover – since Nature abhors a vacuum, particularly in vacuo – those who are in deep space (especially if their minds are already void of thought) spontaneously acquire the right and duty to elect a new Pontiff for whichever planet they eventually alight upon (should they survive re-entry).

St James Cathedral, Orlando, Florida: 

the Mother Church of the Moon

[† It must be remembered that the Moon (whose phases show it to partake of Earthly changeability, and so is more Purgatory than Heaven) is within the dominions of the Earthly Vicar of Jesus Christ, as it is part of the diocese of Orlando, Florida, by reason of its first explorers having launched from that particular part of our globe, which meant that its territory was annexed automatically to that diocese under the then-current rules of Canon Law.]

A Pope

Lest any be scandalized, it must be remembered that the Orthodox (and Eastern Catholics when they’re feeling feisty or remembering their lost independence) always refer to “the Pope of Rome”, insinuating that other Popes at least potentially exist; and both the Coptic and Greek Orthodox Patriarchs of Alexandria also style themselves Pope. Indeed, there are many higher-ranking priests styled “protopopes” in the Christian East, and in Greek any priest can be called papa. It is therefore hardly surprising that a future bishop of Mars should bear that fatherly title.

Christ Himself told St Peter, “Feed My sheep” (John 21, 17), yet also mysteriously remarked both that “Other sheep I have, that are not of this fold” (John 10, 16), and “In My Father’s house [that is, in Heaven], there are many mansions” (John 14, 2). Sheep of another fold, inhabitants of another mansion, will most surely be in need of a Vicar of the One Shepherd.

A pre-Copernican obscurantist

Given the large percentage of flat earthers, young-Earth creationists, raving loonies, geocentrists, and pre-Copernican obscurantists likely to be amongst those who will flee Earth in favour of life on Mars, they will be in need of curtains over the windows, lest their simple faith be shaken. (They will simply have to remember what silly old Luther said, Believe more strongly!)

At least one priest known to this writer has humbly offered his service to exiled earthlings as their chaplain and Pope-of-Mars-elect (he plans to reign as “Abel the Just”, presumably in contradistinction to some imagined Cain, I cannot imagine who). If he who desireth a bishopric “desireth a good work” (1 Tim. 3, 1), how brimming over with all goodness, according to the golden words contemplata aliis tradere, is he who purposeth to reign as Pope-King over a planet, and all out of disinterested love? As he has already deigned to indicate, his motto shall be “My kingdom is not of this world” (John 18, 36).

The Martian Papal style and title shall be, mutatis mutandis, more or less that currently used on Earth:

His Holiness Pope N., Bishop of New Rome, Martian Vicar of Jesus Christ, Apostolic Lord, Supreme Pontiff of the Martian Church, Patriarch of the Red Planet, Primate of All Mars, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Fourth Planet, Sovereign of the Martian Papal States, Exarch of the exiles of God.

The sort of priest and layman likely to want to move planet are, fortuitously, precisely the sort of painful pious people the usual prelates, priests and layfolk would heartily desire to be well rid of (as they would opine, “they’re too good for this world”), so all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

Receive the quadruple crown...

At last it becomes clear why St Paul VI’s papal tiara not only resembled the tip of a nuclear missile, but had four rings, not the expected three: his laying it aside (and sale to Americans) was a prophetic gesture intended to signify that it was to be worn by a future Pope on the Fourth Planet, to be delivered there (along with his followers and subjects) by US rocketry, paid for by Vatican cash.

Ezechiel’s vision of space travel (as von Däniken pointed out)

Lack of space (so to speak) forbids descriptions of the unimpeachable orthodoxy and unmatchable liturgy of the soon-to-be resettled Catholics of Mars (by contrast to those of this island Earth); suffice to say that Scripture (in, ahem, the Authorized Version) prophesies of them – bizarrely, in the past tense, but what can you expect of Anglican translators? – that “they were so high that they were dreadful” (Ezech. 1, 18).

Happy Martian New Year

As readers will be aware, today, Saturday the 23rd of March 2019, the Northern Vernal Equinox occurs on Mars, which by definition marks the beginning of Mars Year 35 (such years being counted from the Martian year of the great dust storm that occurred during the year 1956 AD on Earth).

The moment at which this equinox will occur is about 11:18 UTC, or 10:18 pm Australian Eastern Daylight (Saving) Time: so ring in MY 35 then.

I do hope all will celebrate, at least by praying (if not actually working) for the success of all missions to Mars, and perhaps enjoying a Mars bar, watching a cartoon starring Marvin the Martian, reading Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, or partaking of a suitable Mars-themed cocktail.

One hopes that, if SpaceX's promises come to pass, not too many years will elapse before Martian New Year can be celebrated on the Red Planet by humans from Earth.

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A curiosity: while Martian days ("sols") and years are defined, it is as yet impossible to say what day of the week it is on Mars.

A Hymn for St Patrick's Day

From mediæval sources comes this hymn in honour of St Patrick:

1. Jesu, corona præsulum,
Conserva tuum populum,
Qui hodie Patricium
Vocas ad cæli solium. 

2. Vir sacer magni meriti
Affert lucrum dominici
Talenti sibi traditi
Auctum fructu multiplici. 

3. Sumpta Christi parabola
Propalat evangelica,
Per hunc facta christicola
Tota gaudet Hibernia. 

4. Hic est doctor benevolus,
Hibernorum apostolus,
Cui loca purgatoria
Ostendit Dei gratia. 

4A. Patricius episcopus
Oret pro nobis omnibus,
Ut deleantur protinus
Peccata quæ commisimus. 

4B. O Patrici, Præsul pie,
Nostræ custos familiæ,
Funde preces quotidie,
Pro nobis, Regi gloriæ. 

5. Præsta, beata Trinitas,
Concede, simplex Unitas,
Ut precibus Patricii
Hæredes simus gaudii. Amen.

And here is my bumbling attempt at a translation:

O Jesu thou the bishops’ crown,
Preserve thy people, (Lord, we pray,)
Who this day dost (holy) Patrick
Summon to the throne of heaven. 

(That) sacred man of great merit
Imparts the profit of the Lord's
Talents handed over to him
Enlarged by numerous fruit. 

He reveals evangelical
Selected parables of Christ,
By this made worshippers of Christ
All Ireland rejoices indeed. 

This doctor is benevolent,
The Apostle of the Irish,
To whom places of purgatory
By the grace of God he displays. 

May the (holy) bishop Patrick
Pray (and entreat) for all of us,
That destroyed immediately
Be the sins we have committed. 

O Patrick, thou pious Bishop,
Guardian of our family,
Pour forth thy prayers every day
For us, to the King of glory. 

Confer, O blessed Trinity,
Concede, O simple Unity,
That by the prayers of (Saint) Patrick
We may be the heirs of delight. Amen.

Azaria - "Sacrifice in the Wilderness" [sic]

Those old enough to remember the gross miscarriage of justice concerning the tragic death of baby Azaria Chamberlain, taken by a dingo – whose death was wrongly imputed to her poor mother, Lindy, who was vilified by all Australia, convicted on flimsy and ultimately erroneous evidence, and imprisoned for years, ere she was released and finally proven innocent – will recognise that another kangaroo court verdict has been delivered.

I predict that Cardinal Pell will be exonerated eventually, but, as in the case of the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, many will continue to be duped by cruel myths – her name was said to mean, quite wrongly, "sacrifice in the wilderness", and ignorance meant that Seventh Day Adventists, such as her parents, were imagined to be addicted to evil rites; his name has been blackened for years in the press, and one suspects that the jurors imagined all Catholic priests to be perverts, so despite the evidence before them, they decided to convict.

I suppose we must now await sick Pell jokes, just as during my younger years dingo jokes did the rounds.

An End and a Beginning

Last night was our last Missa cantata in Launceston at St Francis, Riverside – Fr Suresh, chaplain to the Tasmanian Latin Mass Community, will no longer drive north each month to offer the Holy Sacrifice for us, as he has done for four years now. Instead, from February onwards, the new priest for Meander Valley Parish will offer an EF Mass each Sunday at 11 am at Holy Trinity, Westbury, only 40 km away. While on Saturday I drove 150 km south to Colebrook to attend the first profession of three young monks of Notre Dame Priory – who took their vows during a beautiful Solemn High Mass coram Archiepiscopo of the Immaculate Conception – and used to drive more than 200 km each way to attend the Latin Mass in Hobart, now it will be available much closer to home, for which I give thanks to God, who has graciously answered our prayers.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the EF Mass at Westbury was discontinued after only two months. From time to time, Fr Suresh will still come to Launceston to say Mass, however.

A New Use for the Office of the Dead

“Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them.” (Numbers 23, 10.)

Those who recite the Office of the Dead (Officium Defunctorum) will have been struck by the fact that most of its antiphons and responsories are in the first person singular, as if one is preparing for one’s own death, fearing the ineluctable judgement of God and the uncertain fate of one’s soul.

For this reason, it may be appropriate as a private devotion to recite this Office, suitably modified in a few particulars, precisely as a meditation on and prayer for a merciful judgement, as follows:

1. Replace the Invitatory Antiphon Regem cui omnia vivunt with the following (once used in the churches of the Netherlands):

Invit. Aña. Circumdedérunt me gémitus mortis, * Dolóres inférni circumdedérunt me. 

(Ps. 17, 5a. 6a; cf. Ps. 114, 3; cf. 2 Reg. 22, 5a. 6a)

2. In every place, omit Requiem æternam… Et lux perpetua… (This better parallels the Office of the Paschal Triduum, upon whose model the Office of the Dead was drawn up in Carolingian times.)

3. Replace the versicle before the lessons of each Nocturn with those from the Carthusian Office of the Dead, which better match the other Matins antiphons and responsories, which are all in the first person singular, rather than the third person plural used in the corresponding versicles in the Roman Office of the Dead:

V. Convértere, Dómine, et éripe ánimam meam.

R. Salvum me fac propter misericórdiam tuam. (Ps 6, 5)

V. Custódi ánimam meam, et érue me.

R. Non erubéscam, quóniam sperávi in te. (Ps. 24, 20)

V. Ne perdas cum ímpiis, Deus, ánimam meam.

R. Et cum viris sánguinum vitam meam. (Ps. 25, 9)

4. Replace the 2nd Responsory Qui Lazarum resuscitasti (the only one explicitly praying for the dead) with the shorter 9th Responsory Libera me Domine de viis (which is appointed to be used when only one Nocturn is said).

5. In the 3rd and 6th Responsories, having omitted Requiem, repeat the whole of the response instead. (This is already the case for the longer 9th Responsory Libera me Domine de morte, appointed to be used when all three Nocturns are said, and better parallels the Office of the Paschal Triduum.)

6. Pro pia devotione, after the last Responsory at Matins, insert the Dies iræ as a further meditation on the last judgement, but omitting its last three verses from Lacrimosa onwards (which have a different metre and tune, and whose last verse, Pie Jesu, is a prayer for the dead), and replacing them with a doxology sometimes found in older sources that fits the metre of the piece, and appointed in the modern Divine Office (reading Nos not Me) for use with the Dies iræ, which is therein chopped into three parts for use at the Hours in the last week before Advent:

O tu, Deus majestátis,
Alme candor Trinitátis,
Me conjúnge cum beátis. Amen.

(The length of this is approximately the same as that of the Te Deum used at this same position in festal Matins.)

7. In the preces, replace the versicle A porta inferi (which is in the third person plural) with the following, using the exact text of the antiphon for the Canticle of Isaias (which is in the first person singular):

V. A porta ínferi.

R. Erue, Dómine, ánimam meam. (Cf. Is. 38, 10 & 17)

8. Replace the versicle Audivi vocem at Lauds and Vespers (which is in the third person plural) with the following (which is in the first person singular):

V. Non intres in judícium cum servo tuo, Dómine.

R. Quia non justificábitur in conspéctu tuo omnis vivens. (Ps. 142, 2)

9. At Vespers, instead of reciting Psalm 145, Lauda, anima mea, Dominum, as part of the preces, it seems more appropriate to use Psalm 141, Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi, which St Francis prayed with his dying breath, and which is used together with Psalm 129 at Lauds in the Carmelite Office of the Dead.

10. Simply omit the versicle Requiésca(n)t in pace (which is in the third person) in its position before the Collect, but replace it after the Collect with the following (which is in the first person singular, and has exactly twice as many syllables):

V. In te, Dómine, sperávi, non confúndar in ætérnum. (Ps. 30, 2)

R. Amen.

11. Replace the Collect(s) for the dead with the following Collect for a Good Death:

Omnípotens et miséricors Deus, qui humáno géneri et salútis remédia et vitæ ætérnæ múnera contulísti: réspice propítius nos fámulos tuos, et ánimas réfove, quas creásti; ut, in hora éxitus eárum, absque peccáti mácula tibi Creatóri suo per manus sanctórum Angelórum repræsentári mereántur. Per Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sǽcula sæculórum. R. Amen.

Dominican Rite Litany for the Dying

Kyrie, eleison.           

Christe, eleison.

Kyrie, eleison.           

Christe, audi nos.

Christe, exaudi nos.

Pater de cælis, Deus, miserere ei.

Fili, Redemptor mundi, Deus, miserere ei.

Spiritus Sancte, Deus, miserere ei.

Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus, miserere ei.

Sancta Maria, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Dei Genetrix, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Virgo virginum, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Michaël, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Gabriel, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Raphaël, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Angeli et Archangeli, orate pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti beatorum Spirituum ordines, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancte Joannes Baptista, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Joseph, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Patriarchæ et Prophetæ, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancte Petre, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Paule, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Andrea, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Jacobe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Joannes, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Thoma, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Jacobe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Philippe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Bartholomæe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Matthæe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Simon, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Thaddæe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Matthia, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Barnaba, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Marce, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Luca, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Discipuli Domini, orate pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Innocentes, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancte Stephane, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Clemens, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Corneli, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Cypriane, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Laurenti, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Vincenti, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Dionysi cum sociis tuis, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Mauriti cum sociis tuis, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Januari cum sociis tuis, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancti Fabiane et Sebastiane, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancti Cosma et Damiane, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancte Thoma, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Petre, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Joannes cum sociis tuis, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Martyres, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancte Silvester, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Gregori, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Pie, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Ambrosi, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Augustine, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Hieronyme, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Hilari, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Martine, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Nicolaë, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Antonine, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Alberte, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Pater Dominice, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Pater Dominice, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Thoma, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Vincenti, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Hyacinthe, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Raymunde, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Ludovice, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Antoni, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Benedicte, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Bernarde, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancte Francisce, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sancti Confessores, orate pro eo (ea).

Sancta Anna, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Maria Magdalena, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Martha, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Felicitas, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Perpetua, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Agatha, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Lucia, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Agnes, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Cæcilia, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Catharina, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Margarita, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Ursula cum sodalibus tuis, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Catharina, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Rosa, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Agnes, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Catharina, ora pro eo (ea).

Sancta Margarita, ora pro eo (ea).

Omnes sanctæ Virgines et Viduæ, orate pro eo (ea).

Omnes Sancti, orate pro eo (ea).

Propitius esto, libera eum (eam), Domine.

A damnatione perpetua, libera eum (eam), Domine.

A subitanea et improvisa morte, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Ab imminentibus peccatorum suorum periculis, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Ab infestationibus dæmonum, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Per mysterium sanctæ Incarnationis tuæ, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Per passionem et crucem tuam, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Per gloriosam resurrectionem tuam, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Per admirabilem ascensionem tuam, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Per gratiam Spiritus Sancti Paracliti, libera eum (eam), Domine.

In die judicii, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Peccatores, te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut iracundiæ tuæ flagella ab eo (ea) amoveas, te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut ejus spiritum a loco angustiæ liberes, te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut eum (eam) in regione vivorum æternis gaudiis confoveri jubeas, te rogamus, audi nos.

Ut nos exaudire digneris, te rogamus, audi nos.

Fili Dei, te rogamus, audi nos.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, parce ei, Domine.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, libera eum (eam), Domine.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere ei, Domine.

Kyrie, eleison.

Christe, eleison.

Kyrie, eleison.

Pater noster (secreto usque ad)

V. Et nos nos inducas in tentationem.

R. Sed libera nos a malo.

V. Salvum (Salvam) fac servum tuum (ancillam tuam).

R. Deus meus sperantem in te.

V. Mitte ei, Domine, auxilium de sancto.

R. Et de Sion tuere eum (eam).

V. Nihil proficiat inimicus in eo (ea).

R. Et filius iniquitatis non apponat nocere ei.

V. Esto ei, Domine, turris fortitudinis.

R. A facie inimici.

V. Domine, exaudi orationem meam.

R. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.

(V. Dominus vobiscum.

(R. Et cum spiritu tuo.)

Oremus.

Oratio.

Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, conservator animarum, qui quos diligis corripis, et quos recipis pie ad emendationem coërces: te invocamus, Domine, ut famulo tuo, qui (famulæ tuæ, quæ) in corpore patitur membrorum debilitatem, gratiam tuam conferre digneris; ut in hora exitus sui de corpore, absque mortalis peccati macula, tibi datori proprio per manus sanctorum Angelorum tuorum ejus anima repræsentari mereatur. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen.

St Alexius

Today is the feast of St Alexius of Rome, son of a Senator, yet who, moved by a special inspiration of God, forsook his wife on their wedding night and, abandoning all, even his name, travelled as a poor beggar pilgrim to all the most illustrious churches of Christendom for seventeen years, until by a miracle his identity was divulged at Edessa, whereupon to flee fame and regain anonymity, he took ship for Rome where his own parents, family servants and wife did not recognise him after so long and such a penitential life, but granted to him, out of charity to a poor homeless beggar, to live under the stairs of his own house, where he dwelt another seventeen years until he died, whereupon all was revealed and he was acclaimed a saint.

It seems only yesterday I attended solemn Mass in his honour at WYD in Sydney...

Formerly, by grant of Pope Clement XII at the petition of the Roman Senate, there was a proper Mass of his feast used at Rome, as follows; it is an example of eighteenth-century liturgical piety, since the whole Mass tells the tale of his life (in the 1962 Roman Missal, only the Epistle and Gospel are the same):

Proper Mass of St Alexius, for the City and all the District of Rome

Introitus. Gen. 12, 1.

Egredere de terra tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terram, quam monstrabo tibi.

Ps. 44, 11-12. Obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui: et concupiscet rex decorem tuum.

V. Gloria Patri.

Oratio.

Deus, qui beatum Alexium Confessorem tuum in mundi contemptu mirabilem effecisti: præsta, quæsumus; ut intercessionis ejus auxilio, fideles tui terrena despiciant, et ad cælestia semper aspirent. Per Dñm.

Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Timotheum. 1 Tim. 6, 6-12.

Carissime: Est quæstus magnus pietas cum sufficentia. Nihil enim intulimus in hunc mundum: haud dubium quod nec auferre quid possumus. Habentes autem alimenta, et quibus tegamur, his contenti simus. Nam qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in tentationem et in laqueum diaboli, et desideria multa inutilia, et nociva, quæ mergunt homines in interitum et perditionem. Radix enim omnium malorum est cupiditas: quam quidam appetentes, erraverunt a fide, et inseruerunt se doloribus malis. Tu autem, o homo Dei, hæc fuge: sectare vero justitiam, pietatem, fidem, caritatem, patientiam, mansuetudinem. Certa bonum certamen fidei, apprehende vitam æternam.

Graduale. Jer. 12, 7. Reliqui domum meam, dimisi hæreditatem meam.

V. Ps. 72, 28. Quia bonum mihi est adhaerere Deo, ponere in Domino Deo spem meam.

Alleluja, alleluja.

V. Ps. 5, 8 et 131, 14. introibo in domum tuam: hæc requies mea in sæculum sæculi; hic habitabo, quoniam elegi eam.

Alleluja.

Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthæum. Matt. 19, 27-29.

In illo tempore: Dixit Petrus ad Jesum: Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te: quid ergo erit nobis? Jesus autem dixit illis: Amen dico vobis, quod vos, qui secuti estis me, in regeneratione, cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis suæ, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes duodecim tribus Israël. Et omnis qui reliquerit domum, vel fratres, aut sorores, aut patrem, aut matrem, aut uxorem, aut filios, aut agros, propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet, et vitam aeternam possidebit.

Offertorium. Gen. 32, 9.

Revertere in terram tuam, et in locum nativitatis tuæ, et benefaciam tibi.

Secreta.

Propitius esto, Domine, supplicationibus nostris, et intercessione beati Alexii Confessoris tui, omnium nostrum ad te corda converte: ut a mundanis cupiditatibus expediti, te solum pura mente sectemur. Per Dñm.

Communio. Job. 19, 15 et Ps. 26, 10.

Inquilini domus meæ, et ancillæ meæ sicut alienum habuerunt me, et quasi peregrinus fui in oculis eorum: Dominus autem assumpsit me.

Postcommunio.

Sumpsimus, Domine, sacri dona mysterii, humiliter deprecantes: ut beatum Alexium Confessorem tuum, quem admirabilem in mundi contemptu prædicamus in terris, intercessorem habere mereamur in cælis. Per Dñm.

TRANSLATION:

Introit. Gen. 12, 1.

Go forth out of thy country, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

Ps. 44, 11-12. Forget thy people and thy father’s house: and the king shall greatly desire thy beauty.

V. Glory be.

Collect.

O God, who didst make blessed Alexius thy Confessor wonderful in contempt of the world: grant, we beg, that by the help of his intercession, thy faithful may despise earthly things, and ever aspire to things heavenly. Through our Lord…

A Lesson from an Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to Timothy. 1 Tim. 6, 6-12.

Dearly beloved: Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world: and certainly we can carry nothing out. But having food, and wherewith to be covered, with these we are content. For they that will become rich, fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and perdition. For the desire of money is the root of all evils; which some coveting have erred from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, fly these things: and pursue justice, godliness, faith, charity, patience, mildness. Fight the good fight of faith: lay hold on eternal life.

Graduale. Jer. 12, 7. I have forsaken my house, I have left my inheritance.

V. Ps. 72, 28. For it is good for me to adhere to God, to put my hope in the Lord God.

Alleluia, alleluia.

V. Ps. 5, 8 et 131, 14. I will come into thy house; this is my rest for ever and ever: here will I dwell, for I have chosen it.

Alleluia.

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew. Matt. 19, 27-29.

At that time: Peter said to Jesus: Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? And Jesus said to them: Amen, I say to you, that you, who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall possess life everlasting.

Offertory. Gen. 32, 9.

Return to thy land and to the place of thy birth, and I will do well for thee.

Secret.

Be propitious, O Lord, to our supplications, and by the intercession of blessed Alexius thy Confessor, convert all our hearts to thee: that set free from worldly desires, we may seek thee alone with a pure mind. Through our Lord…

Communion. Job. 19, 15 et Ps. 26, 10.

They that dwelt in my house, and my maidservants have counted me a stranger, and I have been like an alien in their eyes: but the Lord hath taken me up.

Postcommunion.

We have received, O Lord, the gifts of [thy] sacred mysteries, humbly praying, that blessed Alexius thy Confessor, whom we proclaim on earth [to be] admirable in contempt of the world, we may deserve to have as an intercessor in heaven. Through our Lord…