In Case Anyone Thinks...

In case anyone thinks one shouldn't find Mass amusing sometimes, let alone, say, arrange eccentric passages in a satirical manner, consider this actual instance of how the first reading in the Ordinary Form Mass concludes:

... The ark of God was captured too, and the two sons of Eli died, Hophni and Phinehas.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God. 

—Thursday in the 1st Week of Ordinary Time, Year II

Thanks be to God?!

For some reason,  I always misremember this as involving Hosni Mubarak... who may well soon suffer a like fate, and a justly deserved one.

St Lazarus

St Philip Neri, my chosen patron, was a Christian possessed of a holy sense of humour, and loved to hear the tales retold of a Florentine forerunner of himself, the good and mirthful priest Arlotto, who had had inscribed on his tomb the words "Priest Arlotto had this tomb made for himself, and for all those who might wish to enter it."  O sanctorum communio!

Worldly persons of prestige, noble descent and power used often to have family crypts built, wherein their progeny might be buried for generations to come, separate from the common graves of the masses.  The Soporific Fathers instead instituted an unworldly Order, wherein their spiritual children might safely rest in peace.

Not for nothing is the Order of Sleepers – I mean the Dormitionists – known as the Ordo Tranquillitatis.  (Many of those holy Canons, when eventually they learnt of man's first steps upon the Moon, were glad to hear of Armstrong's landing in the Sea of Tranquillity, and evinced a desire to found a house there, or at least a lunar hermitage for greater remove from worldly affairs.  It may be remarked en passant that Riccioli, the Jesuit astronomer largely responsible for naming the features of the lunar near side, evidently had in mind the Order of the Dormition – to which his uncle had repaired – when he named the adjoining Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Serenitatis, their offshoots Lacus Somniorum and Palus Somni, and the crater Endymion.)  Mindful of the adage that "all change is pernicious", and of Fr Faber's like remark that "all change is for the worse, even change for the better", they strive to be as stable, unchanging and quiet as the grave.  Is not God Himself perfect, changeless, absolute Rest?

It is most pleasing to find Christians possessed of such peace of conscience that they sleep the sleep of the just; how different their state from the Catholic churches in so many Western lands that drowse in an uneasy state of inanition and neglect!  It must be remembered to make the appropriate scholastic distinction here: Dormitionists are in a state of acquiring rest just like the wise virgins whom the Lord commended for sleeping in due preparedness for the Bridegroom, whereas those churches best resembling the parable's foolish virgins, unprepared, unequipped, soon to be found wanting, are in a state of acquired rest – just as religious in general (say, Carthusians for instance) are in a state of acquiring perfection by dint of their efforts to follow the evangelical counsels, while bishops (such as that Morris, late of Toowoomba) are in a state of acquired perfection by reason of their ordination, whether or not they deserve or deserved it.  It is hardly necessary to point the moral further.

For this reason, the Dormitionist Order does not take donations from that well-known charity, Aid to the Church Asleep (itself operating under various names) – which vainly serves to prop up waning parishes, religious orders and dioceses across the First World.

(Any donations ought be forwarded, either to yours truly, dear reader, or direct to the local Dorter or Dormitory of the Order.  The lay brothers employed upon such external dealings are poor insomniacs taken under the mantle of Our Lady, men who seek refuge from their trials with these soporific Canons, that their holy example and restful existence might lull these restless ones to their desired repose, and in the meantime the twenty-four hour service perforce provided by such lay brothers permits the Canons themselves to be absolved of all worldly duties, the better to sleep and rest.  Just as illiterate brothers used to serve the learnèd fathers in other Orders such as the Dominican, so it is highly appropriate that insomniacs toil for somniacs.)

No, the Canons Regular of Our Lady's Dormition rather say, in words from the Canticle of Canticles, singing of the love of Christ and Mary, "Our bed is flourishing" (i, 15); and with holy Job, while still in this vale of tears they can at least cling to their pillow and declare, "My bed shall comfort me" (vii, 13).  For as Isaias, the Fifth Evangelist, did declare of the just man, "Let him rest in his bed" (lvii, 2).

The entrance to the tomb of Lazarus at Bethany.

What has all this to do with St Lazarus?  Evidently much.  For, did not Lazarus, whose name means "God hath helped", with God's help repose four days in the grave?  This deathly sleep was declared a blessed thing by Our Lord, and indeed, advantageous to His disciples: for Christ only waked him again that in Lazarus, His friend, He might (on the eve of His Passion) make manifest a plain sign of His own forthcoming Resurrection.

It is for this reason that the Dormitionist Canons (and their slumbering sisters the Dormitionistine Canonesses) do hold St Lazarus in high regard as secondary co-patron of their Order; and in the proper Mass for his feast, on the 17th of December, they commemorate more his peaceful sleep in the tomb than the miracle of his awakening thereform, which the universal Church in any case recalls during Lent.  

How greatly the Dormitionists desire to die with him, to sleep with him (though separately), to have full fellowship in his peculiar saintly grace!  With St Thomas again and again they cry one to another, as seraphic religious should, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (St John xi, 16).  "With Lazarus, who once was poor, may we have eternal rest."

To further detail this, I will now quote in extenso the Mass of St Lazarus from the 1785 Missale Ordinis Dormitionis B. M. V., first providing a provisional English translation I have prepared, then the actual Latin text as transcribed from the Proper of Saints therein:

ON THE FEAST OF ST LAZARUS

OFFICE (i.e. INTROIT)

John 11:14b, 15b, 11b, 12b, 16b, 17

Lazarus is dead: but let us go to him. Lazarus our friend sleepeth.  Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.  Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Ps.  Jesus therefore came, and found that Lazarus had been four days already in the grave.

Glory be…

Lazarus…

COLLECT

O God, the resurrection and the life, Who didst raise blessed Lazarus from the tomb after four days: lift us out of the grave of sins, that we may deserve to attain the fellowship of the elect. Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.  R/.  Amen.

LESSON

Lesson from the book of Wisdom.

Ecclesiasticus 38:16-24; 22:11

My son, shed tears over the dead, and begin to lament as if thou hadst suffered some great harm, and according to judgment cover his body, and neglect not his burial.  And for fear of being ill spoken of weep bitterly for a day, and then comfort thyself in thy sadness.  And make mourning for him according to his merit for a day, or two, for fear of detraction.  For of sadness cometh death, and it overwhelmeth the strength, and the sorrow of the heart boweth down the neck.  In withdrawing aside sorrow remaineth: and the substance of the poor is according to his heart.  Give not up thy heart to sadness, but drive it from thee: and remember the latter end.  Forget it not: for there is no returning, and thou shalt do him no good, and shalt hurt thyself.  Remember my judgment: for also shall be so: yesterday for me, and today for thee.  When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest, and comfort him in the departing of his spirit.

Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.

GRADUAL RESPONSORY

John 11:11b, 12b

Lazarus our friend sleepeth.

V/.  Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

ALLELUIA

John 11:16b

Alleluia, alleluia.  V/.  Let us also go, that we may die with him.  Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to John.

John 11:1-16

At that time:

Now there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and Martha her sister.  (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.)  His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.  And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it.  Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister Mary, and Lazarus.  When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days.  Then after that, he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again.  The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone thee: and goest thou thither again?  Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day?  If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world: but if he walk in the night, he stumbleth, because the light is not in him.  These things he said; and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep.  His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.  But Jesus spoke of his death; and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep.  Then therefore Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead.  And I am glad, for your sakes, that I was not there, that you may believe: but let us go to him.  Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.

OFFERTORY

Psalm 87:5b-6a; John 11:39b

I am become as a man without help, free among the dead, like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres.

V/.  Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he is now of four days. * Like the slain sleeping in the sepulchres.

SECRET

Receive, we beseech, O Lord, the host, which we offer unto thee in honour of blessed Lazarus, and grant that, by it, in the future we may obtain everlasting rest.  Through…

COMMUNION

John 12:2b

Lazarus was one of them that were at table with Jesus.

POSTCOMMUNION

We beseech thy clemency, almighty God, that by the virtue of this sacrament thou mayest deign to confirm we thy servants in thy grace: that with Lazarus (who once was poor) we may have eternal rest.  Through…

******

IN FESTO S. LAZARI

OFFICIUM

Jo. 11:14b, 15b, 11b, 12b, 16b, 17

Lazarus mortuus eſt: ſed eamus ad eum.  Lazarus amicus noſter dormit: Domine, ſi dormit, ſalvus erit.  Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.

Ps.  Venit itaque Jesus: et invenit eum quatuor dies jam in monumento habentem.

Gloria Patri…

Lazarus…

COLLECTA

Deus, reſurrectio et vita, qui beatum Lazarum quatriduanum a monumento ſuſcitaſti: erige nos de tumulo peccatorum, ut mereamur adipiſci conſortia electorum. Qui vivis…

LECTIO

Lectio libri Sapientiæ.

Ecclus 38, 16-24 & 22, 11

Fili, in mortuum produc lacrimas, et quaſi dira paſſus incipe plorare: et ſecundum judicium contege corpus illius, et non deſpicias ſepulturam illius.  Propter delaturam autem amare fer luctum illius uno die, et conſolare propter triſtitiam: et fac luctum ſecundum meritum ejus uno die, vel duobus, propter detractionem: a triſtitia enim feſtinat mors, et cooperit virtutem, et triſtitia cordis flectit cervicem.  In abductione permanet triſtitia, et ſubſtantia inopis ſecundum cor ejus.  Ne dederis in triſtitia cor tuum, ſed repelle eam a te, et memento noviſſimorum.  Noli obliviſci, neque enim eſt converſio: et huic nihil proderis, et teipſum peſſimabis.  Memor eſto judicii mei : ſic enim erit et tuum: mihi heri, et tibi hodie.  In requie mortui requieſcere fac memoriam ejus, et conſolare illum in exitu ſpiritus ſui. 

Modicum plora ſuper mortuum, quoniam requievit.

RESPONSORIUM GRADUALE

Jo. 11, 11b & 12b

Lazarus amicus noſter dormit.

V/.  Domine, ſi dormit, ſalvus erit.

ALLELUIA

Jo. 11, 16b

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.  Alleluja.

EVANGELIUM

Sequentia ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Joannem.

Jo. 11, 1-16

In illo tempore:

Erat autem quidam languens Lazarus a Bethania, de caſtello Mariæ et Marthæ ſororis ejus.  (Maria autem erat quæ unxit Dominum unguento, et exterſit pedes ejus capillis ſuis: cujus frater Lazarus infirmabatur.)  Miſerunt ergo ſorores ejus ad eum dicentes: Domine, ecce quem amas infirmatur.  Audiens autem Jeſus dixit eis: Infirmitas hæc non eſt ad mortem, ſed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam.  Diligebat autem Jeſus Martham, et ſororem ejus Mariam, et Lazarum.  Ut ergo audivit quia infirmabatur, tunc quidem manſit in eodem loco duobus diebus; deinde poſt hæc dixit diſcipulis ſuis: Eamus in Judæam iterum.  Dicunt ei diſcipuli: Rabbi, nunc quærebant te Judæi lapidare, et iterum vadis illuc?  Reſpondit Jeſus: Nonne duodecim ſunt horæ diei?  Si quis ambulaverit in die, non offendit, quia lucem hujus mundi videt: ſi autem ambulaverit in nocte, offendit, quia lux non eſt in eo.  Hæc ait, et poſt hæc dixit eis: Lazarus amicus noſter dormit: ſed vado ut a ſomno excitem eum.  Dixerunt ergo diſcipuli ejus: Domine, ſi dormit, ſalvus erit.  Dixerat autem Jeſus de morte ejus: illi autem putaverunt quia de dormitione ſomni diceret.  Tunc ergo Jesus dixit eis manifeſte: Lazarus mortuus eſt: et gaudeo propter vos, ut credatis, quoniam non eram ibi, ſed eamus ad eum.  Dixit ergo Thomas, qui dicitur Didymus, ad condiſcipulos: Eamus et nos, ut moriamur cum eo.

OFFERTORIUM

Ps. 87, 5b-6a; Jo. 11:39b

Factus ſum ſicut homo ſine adjutorio, inter mortuos liber: ſicut vulnerati dormientes in ſepulchris.

V/. Domine, jam fœtet, quatriduanus eſt enim. * Sicut vulnerati dormientes in ſepulchris.

SECRETA

Suſcipe, quæſumus, Domine, hostiam, quam tibi offerimus in honorem beati Lazari, et concede: ut, per eam, in futura requiem conſequamur æternam.  Per.

COMMUNIO

Jo. 12, 2b

Lazarus unus erat ex diſcumbentibus cum Jeſu.

POSTCOMMUNIO

Quæſumus clementiam tuam, omnipotens Deus, ut per hujus virtutem ſacramenti nos famulos tuos gratia tua confirmare digneris: ut cum Lazaro quondam paupere æternam habeamus requiem.  Per…

It will be evident how apt a Mass formulary this is for the Order.

Pontifical Mass in Perth, W.A.

My former Parish Priest, Fr Rowe, alerted me that photographs of a recent Pontifical Mass at his church, St Anne's, may be perused via this link.

It brings back happy memories, seeing so many Roman vestments, birettas, and assorted paraphernalia.  Unlike Eastern Australian Traddies, those way out West prefer a 1950's style.

I'm particularly pleased to see that the sacred ceremonies included the tonsure of one of the Perth seminarians...

Ad multos annos!

Masses of Our Lady and of the Saints

We give glory to God for the triumphs of His grace in His Saints, and above all in the Immaculate Virgin Mother of Our Lord; and their victory over sin and death, being their participation in the Victory over sin and death won by Christ at His Resurrection, we celebrate, praying that, by their intercession, the Lord may impart a like grace, that we too may share in their victory – that, as they have attained unto the safe haven of heaven, there to enjoy for ever and ever "a place of refreshment, light, and peace", so we too may be numbered among the Saints, there to rest and repose in glory everlasting.  Full rightly we sing Te Deum on such feasts!

It will be unsurprising that those devout sons of Mary, the Dormitionists, focus particularly on the eschatological state of rest already entered into by the Blessed Virgin and the Saints, looking forward in hope, minding and recalling that so vast a host of witnesses spurs us on to victory, to share the prize of everlasting life hidden with Christ in God, in endless rest.

For this reason, the Missale O. Dorm., besides the Mass for the Dormition of Our Lady (her falling asleep in Christ, the older name for her Assumption which this venerable Order retains) and other principal proper Masses (such as that for the Seven Sleepers, secondary patrons of the Order), contains but one common Mass (In pascuis, named after its Introit as is normal) for all categories of Saints, in place of the usual collection of Masses for Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins, and so forth.  Only the collect, secret and postcommunion vary.  This Mass focusses on the one thing common to all Saints: that, as they have "run the great race and finished the course" they now enjoy unending rest.

In this way, the Dormitionists exemplify the deep truth that the spiritual life is at base very simple: it is the stedfast quest for union with God.  These Canons thus keep ever before their mind their entire object and charism: to, even now, have a real foretaste of that blessed, supernatural rest in the Lord's arms which will, please God, for them prove eternal.

In the days before Christ, the Mosaic Law enjoined a day of rest only every seventh day, a first presage of eschatological rest; the New Testament, perfecting the Old, bringing in the last days before the End of Time, may thus be rightly held to herald rest every day.

As well as providing a real foretaste of this, the continual repetition of the Mass In pascuis serves a more immediate purpose, in that its repeated use effectually lulls the attendant religious to sleep.  Why trouble priest and congregation with unaccustomed variety?  (For utterly the same reason, the Breviary contains but one Common for all classes of Saints.)

From the Missale O. Dorm., I below transcribe, first the Mass for Saints, and then the Mass of the Dormition.  In the first case, the Latin is followed by an English version thereof, now first made by yours truly:

DORMITIONIST MASS FOR FEASTS OF SAINTS

Officium

In paſcuis uberrimis paſcam eas, et in montibus excelſis Iſraël erunt paſcua earum: ibi requieſcent in herbis virentibus, et in paſcuis pinguibus paſcentur ſuper montes Iſraël.  (T.P.  Alleluja, alleluja.)

Ps.  Dominus regit me, et nihil mihi deerit: in loco paſcuæ, ibi me collocavit.

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

In paſcuis…

Collecta propria.

Pro Martyribus:

Lectio libri Apocalypſis beati Joannis apoſtoli.

In diebus illis:

Vidi ſubtus altare animas interfectorum propter verbum Dei, et propter teſtimonium, quod habebant: et clamabant voce magna, dicentes: Uſquequo Domine (ſanctus et verus), non judicas, et non vindicas ſanguinem noſtrum de iis qui habitant in terra?  Et datæ ſunt illis ſingulæ ſtolæ albæ: et dictum eſt illis ut requieſcerent adhuc tempus modicum donec compleantur conſervi eorum, et fratres eorum, qui interficiendi ſunt ſicut et illi.

Pro non Martyribus:

Lectio libri Apocalypſis beati Joannis apoſtoli.

In diebus illis:

Audivi vocem de cælo, dicentem mihi: Scribe: Beati mortui qui in Domino moriuntur. Amodo jam dicit Spiritus, ut requieſcant a laboribus ſuis: opera enim illorum ſequuntur illos.

Responsorium Graduale

Cantate Domino canticum novum; laus ejus in eccleſia ſanctorum.

V/.  Exſultabunt ſancti in gloria; lætabuntur in cubilibus ſuis.

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Juſtus ſi morte præoccupatus fuerit, in refrigerio erit.  Alleluja.

Pro sancta:

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Elegit eam Deus, et præelegit eam: in tabernaculo ſuo habitare facit eam.  Alleluja.

Tractus

Juſtus ſi morte præoccupatus fuerit, in refrigerio erit.

V/.  Placens Deo factus eſt dilectus, et vivens inter peccatores tranſlatus eſt.

V/.  Raptus eſt, ne malitia mutaret intellectum ejus, aut ne fictio deciperet animam illius.

Pro sancta:

Trahe me, poſt te curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum.

V/.  Ideo dilexit me Rex, et introduxit me in cubiculum ſuum.

V/.  Elegit eam Deus, et præelegit eam: in tabernaculo ſuo habitare facit eam.

Tempore Paschale:

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo: aut quis requieſcet in monte ſancto tuo?  Alleluja.

V/.  Juſtus ſi morte præoccupatus fuerit, in refrigerio erit.  Alleluja.

T.P., pro sancta:

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Domine, quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo: aut quis requieſcet in monte ſancto tuo?  Alleluja.

V/.  Elegit eam Deus, et præelegit eam: in tabernaculo ſuo habitare facit eam.  Alleluja.

Evangelium

Sequentia ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Joannem.

In illo tempore reſpondens Jeſus dixit: Confiteor tibi, Pater, Domine cæli et terræ, quia abſcondiſti hæc a ſapientibus, et prudentibus, et revelaſti ea parvulis.  Ita Pater: quoniam ſic fuit placitum ante te.  Omnia mihi tradita ſunt a Patre meo.  Et nemo novit Filium, niſi Pater: neque Patrem quis novit, niſi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare.  Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et onerati eſtis, et ego reficiam vos.  Tollite jugum meum ſuper vos, et diſcite a me, quia mitis ſum, et humilis corde: et invenietis requiem animabus veſtris.  Jugum enim meum ſuave eſt, et onus meum leve.

Offertorium

Juſtorum animæ in manu Dei ſunt, et non tanget illos tormentum mortis.  Viſi ſunt oculis inſipientium mori, et æſtimata eſt afflictio exitus illorum, et quod a nobis eſt iter exterminium; illi autem ſunt in pace.  (T.P. Alleluja.)

Secreta propria.

Communio

Dixit Dominus: Facies mea præcedet te, et requiem dabo tibi.  (T.P. Alleluja.)

Postcommunio propria.

******

Office (i.e. Introit)

Ezechiel 34, 14; Psalm 22, 1b-2a

I will feed them in the most fruitful pastures, and their pastures shall be in the high mountains of Israel: there shall they rest on the green grass, and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains of Israel.  (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia.)

Ps.  The Lord ruleth me, and I shall want nothing: He hath set me in a place of pasture.

Glory be… I will feed…

Proper Collect.

Epistle (for Martyrs)

Lesson from the book of the Apocalypse of blessed John the Apostle.

Apocalypse 6, 9b-11

In those days:

I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.  And they cried with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not judge and revenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?  And white robes were given to every one of them one; and it was said to them, that they should rest for a little time, till their fellow servants, and their brethren, who are to be slain, even as they, should be filled up.

Epistle (for Non-Martyrs)

Lesson from the book of the Apocalypse of blessed John the Apostle.

Apocalypse 14, 13

In those days:

I heard a voice from heaven, saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow them.

Gradual

Psalm 149, 1 & 5

R/.  Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: let his praise be in the church of the saints.

V/.  The saints shall rejoice in glory: they shall be joyful in their beds.

Alleluia

Wisdom 4, 7

Alleluia, alleluia.  V/.  The just man, if he be prevented with death, shall be in rest.  Alleluia.

For a Virgin or Matron:

Alleluia, alleluia.  V/.  God hath chosen her, and forechosen her: in his tabernacle he hath made her to dwell.  Alleluia.

Tract (from Septuagesima until Easter)

Wisdom 4, 7. 10. 11

The just man, if he be prevented with death, shall be in rest. 

V/.  He pleased God and was beloved, and living among sinners he was translated.

V/.  He was taken away lest wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul.

For a woman:

Canticle 1, 3a

Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments.

V/.  For the king hath loved me, and brought me into his chamber.

V/.  God hath chosen her, and forechosen her: in his tabernacle he hath made her to dwell.

1^st & 2^nd Alleluia (Paschaltide)

Psalm 14, 1

Alleluia, alleluia.  V/.  Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in thy holy hill?  Alleluia.

Wisdom 4, 7

V/.  The just man, if he be prevented with death, shall be in rest.  Alleluia.

For a Virgin or Matron:

Psalm 14, 1

Alleluia, alleluia.  V/.  Lord, who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? or who shall rest in thy holy hill?  Alleluia.

V/.  God hath chosen her, and forechosen her: in his tabernacle he hath made her to dwell.  Alleluia.

Gospel

Continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.

Matthew 11, 25-30

At that time Jesus answered and said: I confess to thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little ones.  Yea, Father; for so hath it seemed good in thy sight.  All things are delivered to me by my Father. And no one knoweth the Son, but the Father: neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him.  Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.  Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.  For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.

Offertory

Wisdom 3, 1-3

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and the torment of death shall not touch them.  In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure was taken for misery: and their going away from us, for utter destruction: but they are in peace.  (P.T. Alleluia.)

Proper Secret.


Communion

Exodus 33, 14

The Lord said: My face shall go before thee, and I will give thee rest.  (P.T. Alleluia.)

Proper Postcommunion.

It will be noted that the Mass of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (which the Dormitionists use in place of the usual Saturday Mass of Our Lady), while focussing on the eternal repose attained by Holy Mary, of course acknowledges with the universal Church the bodily assumption of the Mother of God into heaven; since it was compiled long centuries before the dogmatic definition made in 1950, it is naturally not quite so explicit on that point, but is no less orthodox for that.  

The texts of the Mass are very similar to those of the pre-1950 Roman and Dominican propers; the Dormitionist Canons made some small changes only, in order to highlight their particular devotion, as for instance in the Introit, Preface and Postcommunion, while replacing the Gradual, Alleluia and Offertory with more pertinent words.

(Outside of its use on the actual feast, the Collect is reworded, hujus diei festivitas being replaced with illius diei memoria.)

In festo Dormitionis B. M. V.

Officium

Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, diem feſtum celebrantes ſub honore beatæ Mariæ Virginis: de cujus Dormitione gaudent Angeli, et collaudant Filium Dei.

Ps 3, 6 a, c.  Ego dormivi, et ſoporatus ſum: quia Dominus ſuſcepit me.

Collecta

Veneranda nobis, Domine, hujus diei feſtivitas opem conferat ſalutarem, in qua ſancta Dei Genitrix mortem ſubiit temporalem, nec tamen mortis nexibus deprimi potuit, quæ Filium tuum Dominum noſtrum de ſe genuit incarnatum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia ſæcula ſæculorum.  R/.  Amen.

Lectio libri Sapientiæ.

Ecclus 24, 11-13 & 15-20

In omnibus requiem quæſivi, et in hæreditate Domini morabor.  Tunc præcepit, et dixit mihi Creator omnium: et qui creavit me, requievit in tabernaculo meo, et dixit mihi: In Jacob inhabita, et in Israël hæreditare, et in electis meis mitte radices.  Et ſic in Sion firmata ſum, et in civitate ſanctificata ſimiliter requievi, et in Jeruſalem poteſtas mea.  Et radicavi in populo honorificato, et in parte Dei mei hæreditas illius, et in plenitudine ſanctorum detentio mea. Quaſi cedrus exaltata ſum in Libano, et quaſi cypreſſus in monte Sion: quaſi palma exaltata ſum in Cades, et quaſi plantatio roſæ in Jericho: quaſi oliva ſpecioſa in campis, et quaſi platanus exaltata ſum juxta aquam in plateis.  Sicut cinnamomum et balſamum aromatizans odorem dedi; quaſi myrrha electa dedi ſuavitatem odoris.

Responsorium Graduale

Ps 4, 9-10

In pace in idipſum dormiam, et requieſcam.

V/.  Quoniam tu, Domine, ſingulariter in ſpe conſtituiſti me.

Alleluja, alleluja.  V/.  Elegit eam Deus, et præelegit eam: in tabernaculo ſuo habitare facit eam.  Alleluja.

Sequentia ſancti Evangelii ſecundum Lucam.

c. 10, 38-42

In illo tempore: Intravit Jeſus in quoddam caſtellum: et mulier quædam, Martha nomine, excepit illum in domum ſuam, et huic erat ſoror nomine Maria, quæ etiam ſedens ſecus pedes Domini, audiebat verbum illius.  Martha autem ſatagebat circa frequens miniſterium: quæ ſtetit, et ait: Domine, non eſt tibi curæ quod ſoror mea reliquit me ſolam miniſtrare? dic ergo illi ut me adjuvet.  Et reſpondens dixit illi Dominus: Martha, Martha, ſollicita es, et turbaris erga plurima, porro unum eſt neceſſarium. Maria optimam partem elegit, quæ non auferetur ab ea.

Offertorium

Ps 131, 8 & 9b

Surge, Domine, in requiem tuam, tu et Arca ſanctificationis tuæ; et ſancti tui exſultent.

Secreta

Subveniat, Domine, plebi tuæ Dei Genitricis oratio: quam etſi pro conditione carnis migraſſe cognoſcimus, in cæleſti gloria apud te pro nobis intercedere ſentiamus.  Per eumdem Dominum noſtrum Jeſum Chriſtum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia ſæcula ſæculorum.  R/.  Amen.

Præfatio

Vere dignum et juſtum eſt, æquum et ſalutáre, nos tibi ſemper et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine, ſancte Pater, omnípotens ætérne Deus: 

Et te in Dormitione beátæ Maríæ ſemper Vírginis exſultantibus animis laudáre, benedícere, et prædicáre.  Quæ et Unigénitum tuum Sancti Spíritus obumbratióne concépit: et virginitátis glória permanénte, lumen ætérnum mundo effúdit, Jeſum Chriſtum Dóminum nostrum. 

Per quem majeſtátem tuam laudant angeli, adórant dominatiónes, tremunt poteſtátes; cæli, cælorúmque virtútes, ac beáta ſéraphim, ſócia exſultatióne concélebrant.  Cum quibus et noſtras voces, ut admítti júbeas deprecámur, ſúpplici confessióne dicéntes:

Communio

Luc 10, 42

Optimam partem elegit ſibi Maria, quæ non auferetur ab ea in æternum.

Postcommunio

Mensæ cæleſtis participes effecti, imploramus clementiam tuam, Domine Deus noſter: ut, qui Dormitionem Dei Genitricis colimus, a cunctis malis imminentibus ejus interceſſione liberemur.  Per eumdem Dominum noſtrum Jeſum Chriſtum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia ſæcula ſæculorum.  R/.  Amen.

Bl James of Mevania, O.P.

My 1956 Dominican Diurnal – but not my 1962 Dominican Breviary – adorns to-day, the 23rd of August, with a Collect in honour of one Bl James of Mevania, with the following picturesquely unusual text:

Deus, qui prodigiosa tui sanguinis aspersione dignatus es beatum Jacobum Confessorem secura æternæ salutis fiducia roborare: dilata super nos eadem viscera misericordiæ tuæ; ut, redemptionis nostræ imbuti signaculo, inter oves dexteræ tuæ perpetuo computemur: Qui vivis...

(O God, Who didst deign, by an amazing sprinkling of Thy Blood, to strengthen blessed James the Confessor with secure trust in eternal salvation: open out above us the same bowels of Thy mercy; that, imbued with a little sign of our redemption, we may be counted for ever amongst the sheep of Thy right: Who livest...)

Wondering at this, I found the following statement in an old book available online:

"His virgin purity, the fame of his learning, his innocency of life, and the admiration and esteem of the people, instead of alleviating his fear of hell only increased his anxiety almost to despair, till one day (he supposed) the crucifix before which he was praying rained blood upon him from the wound in the Side, and a voice from Heaven assured him, 'This is the sign of thy salvation.'"

Well!  That explains his Collect then.

God grant us all such an assurance of salvation in the sacred laver of Christ's Blood.  As we sing in Viva, viva Gesù, "Grace and life eternal in that Blood I find; / Blest be His compassion, infinitely kind... Louder still and louder, praise the Precious Blood."

O.Dorm. Ferial Office

"Search the Scriptures," adjured the Soporific Fathers, Founders under God of the Canons Regular of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, "for in them you will find eternal life – and rest."  This advice (itself so very Scriptural, referring to the words and promises of Our Blessed Lord) is implemented by their sons the Dormitionists (and by their daughters in Christ, the Dormitionistines) daily: for it is an important precept within that Order to undertake lectio divina whenever not deeply asleep nor otherwise engaged, meditating on the law of the Lord day and night, just as the Lord once commanded Josue (Josue i, 8).

These retiring Canons particularly love the more rhythmic, soporific passages of Scripture, pregnant with allegorical significance in proportion to what scoffing worldlings would call their lack of immediate accessibility to the questing mind (for the Scriptures are as a deep well and a fathomless mine to be patiently worked for the getting of wisdom, as Job xxviii doth portray), such as the mysterious and therefore doubtless mystical nine chapters at the outset of I Paralipomenon (Chronicles to Protestants and moderns).  The very Genealogies of Christ are present in the Gospels to insinuate their mystic potency, not as dry lists to be endured, but as inspirations to the restless mind, to calm and peaceful rest.

Take for example an earlier genealogy – that of the antediluvian Patriarchs in Genesis v, Hic est liber generationis Adam.  Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Malaleel, Jared, Henoch (who walked with God), Mathusala, Lamech... of eight of these 'tis said "and he died", that is, "fell asleep" as the New Testament prefers to put it.  Now eight is the number of the Resurrection, and thus this pericope intimates that through Christ's Victory they, and all who live as they did, shall have eternal rest in Him.  As for Henoch, who "was seen no more: because God took him", being the ninth Patriarch, he stands for the angels (of whom it is not written that they ever sleep), particularly as he abideth still in the Earthly Paradise, whence he and Elias his companion shall come again to preach as messengers or angels of the Lord just before the world's End, as the Apocalypse teaches us: they shall both be martyred for the Faith, and thus at last enter into eternal rest, once their angelic mission is complete.

By the time a Dormitionist (or any man for that matter) has mulled over all this, sucking the marrow and fatness from the bone as it were, ruminating upon Holy Writ, repeating the words till they sink into memory, then he shall be ready for a rest; as is the peculiar charism of the Order.

Since such purposeful lectio divina, involving a measured reading, marking, learning, and inward digestion of God's word, is thus a serious part of the Dormitionist calling, the O.Dorm.'s seek to read over the whole of the Bible as bees seeking nectar for the making honey in the honeycomb (that is, for storing up merit in heaven).  It will then be unsurprising that the Breviary proper to the Order has a much-abbreviated lectionary, even compared to post-Tridentine Breviaries whether Monastic, Roman or other, since the Hours are not for instruction but for prayer (as was long ago stated by a Dominican theologian at Trent, when inveighing against the dreadful innovation that was the Breviary of the Holy Cross compiled by Cardinal  Quiñones), and so are no substitute for serious Scripture study.

In place of the expected Scriptural lessons on ferias, the Dormitionist Breviary instead very properly proposes three extracts from among the writings of the Fathers and approved authors, with apposite responsories; in the earlier days of the Soporific Canons, the passage from St Augustine was read as one Lesson, and for the first two Lessons Scriptural passages were still retained, but then a most blessed fruit of the devotio moderna provided a glorious prayer with which to accompany it (itself divided in twain), which by the authority of three successive General Chapters (those of 1492, 1555 and 1636) was inserted into the Office, and the Scriptures reserved for study in the cell at other times.

For the interest of liturgical persons, herewith from the Breviarium O. Dorm. I present the ferial Lessons and Responsories for Matins:

Lectio beati Augustini Episcopi.

Conf. 13,35,50a; 13,36,51

Domine Deus, pacem da nobis (omnia enim praestitisti nobis), pacem quietis, pacem sabbati, pacem sine vespera.  Dies autem septimus sine vespera est nec habet occasum, quia sanctificasti eum ad permansionem sempiternam, ut id, quod tu post opera tua bona valde, quamvis ea quietus feceris, requievisti septimo die, hoc praeloquatur nobis vox libri tui, quod et nos post opera nostra ideo bona valde, quia tu nobis ea donasti, sabbato vitae aeternae requiescamus in te.

(O Lord God, grant us thy peace – for thou hast given us all things.  Grant us the peace of quietness, the peace of the Sabbath, the peace without an evening.  But the seventh day is without an evening, and it has no setting, for thou hast sanctified it with an everlasting duration.  After all thy works of creation, which were very good, thou didst rest on the seventh day, although thou hadst created them all in unbroken rest – and this so that the voice of thy Book might speak to us, with the prior assurance that after our works – and they also are very good because thou hast given them to us – we may find our rest in thee in the Sabbath of life eternal.)

Conf. 1,1,1; 1,5,5

R/.  Fecisti nos ad te, Domine, et * Inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te.  V/.  Quis mihi dabit adquiescere in te? * Inquietum est cor nostrum donec requiescat in te.

(R/.  For thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and * Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.  V/.  Who will grant to me to rest in thee? * Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee.)

Conf. 13,37,52.53

Etiam tunc enim sic requiesces in nobis, quemadmodum nunc operaris in nobis, et ita erit illa requies tua per nos, quemadmodum sunt ista opera tua per nos.  Tu autem, Domine, semper operaris et semper requiescis.  Et sunt quaedam bona opera nostra ex munere quidem tuo, sed non sempiterna: post illa nos requieturos in tua grandi sanctificatione speramus.  Tu autem bonum nullo indigens bono semper quietus es, quoniam tua quies tu ipse es.

(For then also thou shalt so rest in us as now thou workest in us; and, thus, that will be thy rest through us, as these are thy works through us.  But thou, O Lord, workest evermore and art always at rest.  And of thy gift we have some good works, but not everlasting: after them we hope to rest in thy great sanctification.  But thou art the Good, and needest no rest, and art always at rest, because thou thyself art thy own rest.)

Conf. 13, 9, 10

R/. Domine, in dono tuo requiescimus: * Ibi te fruimur.  V/.  Requies nostra locus noster. * Ibi te fruimur.

(R/.  O Lord, it is in thy gift that we rest: * It is there that we enjoy thee.  V/.  Our rest is our place. * It is there that we enjoy thee.)

Lectio Imitationis Christi.

Im. Xpi III,21,2a.3b.5; III, 15, 20-22.

Da mihi in te super omnem creaturam requiescere, et super omne, Deus meus, quod tu non es: quoniam quidem non potest cor meum veraciter requiescere nec totaliter contentari, nisi in te requiescat et omnia dona omnemque creaturam transcendat.  Da mihi super omnia desiderata in te quiescere et cor meum in te pacificare.  Tu vera pax cordis, tu sola requies.  Extra te omnia sunt dura et inquieta.  In hac pace, in idipsum, hoc est in te, uno et summo et æterno bono, dormiam et requiescam.  Amen.

(Grant to me to rest in thee above every creature; and above everything that is not thee, my God: for my heart is not able truly to rest nor to be fully contented unless it rest in thee, and transcend all gifts and every created thing.  Give me above all desires the desire to rest in thee, and in thee let my heart have peace.  Thou art true peace of heart.  Thou alone art its rest.  Without thee all things are difficult and troubled.  In this peace, the selfsame that is in thee, the Most High, the everlasting Good, I will sleep and take my rest.  Amen.)

Im. Xpi. II,1,2; III,23,7

R/.  Converte te ex toto corde tuo ad Dominum et relinque hunc miserum mundum, * Et inveniet anima tua requiem.  V/.  Ecce talis homo ingreditur fines pacis et quietis. * Et inveniet anima tua requiem.  Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto. * Et inveniet anima tua requiem.

(R/. Convert thyself with thy whole heart to the Lord and forsake this wretched world * And thy soul shall find rest.  V/.  Behold, such a man will enter into the realm of peace and rest. * And thy soul shall find rest.  Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. * And thy soul shall find rest.)

It will be seen how excellent these are, and I recommend them to all who wish more deeply to drink of the Dormitionist charism – which, as all will recognize, is far more widespread through Holy Church than would naïvely be expected for so retiring and hidden an Order.

In omnibus requiem quæsivi

Previous to the revision of the Mass and Office of the Assumption consequent upon the definition of that event as a dogma by Pope Pius XII in 1950, the Epistle of the Feast was as follows, to which I subjoin the commentary of Dom Prosper Guéranger:

Lesson from the Book of Wisdom.

Ecclesiasticus xxiv, 11b-13 & 15-20

In all things I sought rest, and I shall abide in the inheritance of the Lord. Then the creator of all things commanded, and said to me: and he that made me, rested in my tabernacle. And he said to me: Let thy dwelling be in Jacob, and thy inheritance in Israel, and take root in my elect. And so was I established in Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in Jerusalem: and I took root in an honourable people, and in the portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full assembly of saints. I was exalted like a cedar in Libanus, and as a cypress tree on mount Sion: I was exalted like a palm tree in Cades, and as a rose plant in Jericho: as a fair olive tree in the plains, and as a plane tree by the water in the streets, was I exalted. I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm: I yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh.

The rest that Mary sought is the better part [cf. St Luke x, 42], the repose of the soul in the presence of the King of Peace; and when a soul is thus full of peace, she forms the choicest part of her Lord’s inheritance. No creature has attained so nearly as our Lady to the eternal, unchangeable, peace of the ever-tranquil Trinity; hence no other has merited to become, in the same degree, the resting-place of God.

A soul occupied by active works cannot attain the perfection or the fruitfulness of one in whom our Lord takes His rest, because she is at rest in Him; for this is the nuptial rest. As the Psalm says: ‘When the Lord shall give sleep to His beloved, then shall their fruit be seen.’

Let us, then, who became Mary’s children on the day the Lord first rested in her tabernacle, understand these magnificent expressions of divine Wisdom; for they reveal to us the glory of her triumph. The branch that sprang from the stock of Jesse bears the divine Flower on which rests the fulness of the Holy Ghost; but it has taken root also in the elect, into whose branches it passes the heavenly sap which transforms them and divinizes their fruit. These fruits of Jacob and of Israel – i.e., the works of the ordinary Christian life or of the life of perfection – belong therefore to our Blessed Mother. Rightly, then, does Mary enter to-day upon her unending rest in the eternal Sion – the true holy city and glorified people – the Lord’s inheritance. Her power will be established in Jerusalem, and the saints will for ever acknowledge that they owe to her the fulness of their perfection. ...

The Angelic Doctor says: ‘The trees to which the Blessed Virgin is compared in this Epistle may be taken to represent the different orders of the blessed. This passage therefore means that Mary has been exalted above the angels, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the saints, because she possesses all their merits united in her single person.’

— Abbot Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Volume XIII, p.372f.

Oops! Forgot the Chalice

Poor Father felt rather shocked, when I went to him after Mass this morning, and told him what another person present and I had both noticed – he'd forgotten to consecrate the chalice: evidently concentrating on having to read "The mystery of faith" from the sheet giving various bits of the new translation, he'd gone straight from elevating the Host to saying that, missing out the chalice completely.  I had noticed this at once, but disbelieved myself, till I confirmed it afterward by asking another of the people at Mass whether she'd seen anything amiss!

I was at pains to impute no blame to Father, since I could see how easy it was for this to happen, and told him of how I'd once seen another priest, who was also praying the Roman Canon at Mass, as Father did this morning, make the identical error (it was Fr Rizzo, in fact, offering a Latin Mass): he blenched at learning of his mistake (as had Fr R. as I recall), but was thankful and grateful for me letting him know, and told me of how he'd almost done the same some years ago, by picking up the chalice first, not the host, and starting to consecrate the former without first consecrating the latter, but realized when he saw the concerned faces of the congregation – so there is at least one good reason for standing versus populum after all...

Quæritur: Does "the Church supply" in such a case of an honest mistake made by the priest – who assured me that he had certainly had the full and correct intention to consecrate the contents of the chalice – or was this a case of a Communion service, not a Mass, since while the Host was certainly consecrated, the chalice was not?  (I received only the former, for reasons of doubt.)  The old treatise De defectibus would say so, and I believe that, minus the double consecration, it would be said that the Sacrifice was not offered, but I wonder what might be argued further.

IN TIME OF TUMULT

LET us walk honestly, as in the day: not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy. (Romans 13:13)

Psalm 59. Eripe me de inimicis

DELIVER me from mine enemies, O God : defend me from them that rise up against me.

2. O deliver me from the wicked doers : and save me from the blood-thirsty men.

3. For lo, they lie waiting for my soul : the mighty men are gathered against me, without any offence or fault of me, O Lord.

4. They run and prepare themselves without my fault : arise thou therefore to help me, and behold.

5. Stand up, O Lord God of hosts, thou God of Israel, to visit all the heathen : and be not merciful unto them that offend of malicious wickedness.

6. They go to and fro in the evening : they grin like a dog, and run about through the city.

7. Behold, they speak with their mouth, and swords are in their lips : for who doth hear?

8. But thou, O Lord, shalt have them in derision : and thou shalt laugh all the heathen to scorn.

9. My strength will I ascribe unto thee : for thou art the God of my refuge.

10. God sheweth me his goodness plenteously : and God shall let me see my desire upon mine enemies.

11. Slay them not, lest my people forget it : but scatter them abroad among the people, and put them down, O Lord, our defence.

12. For the sin of their mouth, and for the words of their lips, they shall be taken in their pride : and why? their preaching is of cursing and lies.

13. Consume them in thy wrath, consume them, that they may perish : and know that it is God that ruleth in Jacob, and unto the ends of the world.

14. And in the evening they will return : grin like a dog, and will go about the city.

15. They will run here and there for meat : and grudge if they be not satisfied.

16. As for me, I will sing of thy power, and will praise thy mercy betimes in the morning : for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of my trouble.

17. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing : for thou, O God, art my refuge, and my merciful God.

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.

O God, make speed to save us.

O Lord, make haste to help us.

In the time of War and Tumults.

O ALMIGHTY God, King of all kings, and Governor of all things, whose power no creature is able to resist, to whom it belongeth justly to punish sinners, and to be merciful to those who truly repent; Save and deliver us, we humbly beseech thee, from the hands of our enemies; abate their pride, assuage their malice, and confound their devices; that we, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore from all perils, to glorify thee, who art the only giver of all victory; through the merits of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, the thirteenth Chapter, doth give this commandment to all men:

Romans 13:1-7

LET every soul be subject to higher powers: for there is no power but from God: and those that are, are ordained of God. Therefore he that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God. And they that resist, purchase to themselves damnation. For princes are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good: and thou shalt have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to thee, for good. But if thou do that which is evil, fear: for he beareth not the sword in vain. For he is God’s minister: an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doth evil. Wherefore be subject of necessity, not only for wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For therefore also you pay tribute. For they are the ministers of God, serving unto this purpose. Render therefore to all men their dues. Tribute, to whom tribute is due: custom, to whom custom: fear, to whom fear: honour, to whom honour.


Hear also what Saint Peter saith:

I Peter 2:13-15a

Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God’s sake: whether it be to the king as excelling; or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of the good: for so is the will of God.

GOD spake these words, and said: Thou shalt not steal.

Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep this law.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, nor any thing that is his.

Lord, have mercy upon us, and write all these thy laws in our hearts, we beseech thee.

From all sedition, privy conspiracy, and rebellion,

Good Lord, deliver us.

That all in authority may truly and impartially administer justice, to the punishment of wickedness and vice, 

We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Christ, have mercy upon us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

V/. Every violent taking of spoils, with tumult, and garment mingled with blood,

R/. Shall be burnt, and be fuel for the fire.  (Isaias 9:5)

Let us pray.

For restoring Publick Peace at Home.

O ETERNAL God, our heavenly Father, Who alone makest men to be of one mind in a house, and stillest the outrage of a violent and unruly people; We bless thy holy Name, that it hath pleased thee to appease the seditious tumults which have been lately raised up amongst us; most humbly beseeching thee to grant to all of us grace, that we may henceforth obediently walk in thy holy commandments; and, leading a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty, may continually offer unto thee our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving for these thy mercies towards us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, have mercy upon us, save us now and evermore. Amen.