FEAST DAY OF OUR LADY OF LOURDES

GREATER DOUBLE / WHITE

O God, You prepared a fitting dwelling place for Your Son by preserving the Blessed Virgin immaculate at the moment of her conception. Grant health of mind and body to all of us who celebrate the feast of Blessed Mary’s apparition today. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord . . .

EPISTLE Apoc. 11:19; 12:1, 10 And the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and an earthquake and great hail. And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying: Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ: because the accuser of our brethren is cast forth, who accused them before our God day and night.

GRADUAL Cant. 2:12, 10, 14 The flowers have appeared in our land, the time of pruning has come, the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
V. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come: my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow places of the wall.

TRACT Judith 15:10; Cant. 4:7 You are the glory of Jerusalem, you are the joy of Israel, you are the honor of our people.
V. You are all fair, O Mary, and there is no stain of original sin in you.
V. Truly happy are you, O holy Virgin Mary, and most worthy of praise, for with your virgin heel you have crushed the head of the serpent.

GOSPEL Luke 1:26-31 At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus.”

OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Luke 1:28
Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.

SECRET

O Lord, You have nourished us with the Food of Heaven. May Your immaculate Mother now strengthen us with her own power and help us to reach our everlasting home; who lives and rules with God the Father . . .

February 10

OUR MOTHER SAINT SCHOLASTICA, VIRGIN (543 A.D.)

SAINT SCHOLASTICA

Virgin

St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict, the Patriarch of Western monasticism. She was born in Umbria, Italy, about 480. Under Benedict’s direction, Scholastica founded a community of nuns near the great Benedictine monastery Monte Cassino. We are told that Scholastica “could be sated or wearied with the words of grace which flowed from St. Benedict’s lips.” Inspired by Benedict’s teaching, his sister devoted her whole life to seeking and serving God. St. Scholastica died in the peace of Christ in the year 547. Tradition holds that at her death her soul ascended to heaven in the form of a dove.

Introit
Ps 44:8
You love justice and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
Ps 44:2
My heart overflows with a goodly theme; as I sing my ode to the King.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
You love justice and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows. 

Mass of a VIRGIN, except

COLLECT

O God, you brought the soul of the blessed virgin Scholastica to heaven in the form of a dove in order to bring to our notice her life of innocence. Through the prayers and merits of Your saint may we live such a life that we too may attain everlasting happiness. Through Our Lord . . .

Lesson
Lesson from the second letter of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians
2 Cor. 10:17-18; 11:1-2
Brethren: He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For he is not approved who commends himself, but he whom the Lord commends. Would to God that you could bear with a little of my foolishness! Nay, do bear with me! For I am jealous for you with a divine jealousy. For I betrothed you to one spouse, that I might present you a chaste virgin to Christ.

Gradual
Ps 44:11-12
Hear, O daughter, and see; turn your ear; for the King shall desire your beauty.
Ps 44:13; 44:10.
V. All the rich among the people seek Your favor; the daughters of kings come to meet You.
Ps 44:15-16.
V. Behind her the virgins of her train are brought to the King; they are borne in to You.
V. They are brought with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the King.

GOSPEL
Continuation ☩ of the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
R. Glory be to Thee, O Lord.
Matt 25:1-3
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to His disciples: Then will the kingdom of heaven be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride. Five of them were foolish and five wise. But the five foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them, while the wise did take oil in their vessels with the lamps. Then as the bridegroom was long in coming, they all became drowsy and slept. And at midnight a cry arose, ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming, go forth to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The wise answered, saying, ‘Lest there may not be enough for us and for you, go rather to those who sell it, and buy some for yourselves.’ Now while they were gone to buy it, the bridegroom came; and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Finally there came also the other virgins, who said, ‘Sir, sir, open the door for us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Amen I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.  

SECRET

May this sacrifice of Thy dedicated people be accepted by Thee, O Lord, in honor of Thy Saints: to whose merits we attribute the help afforded us in tribulation. Through our Lord . . .

POSTCOMMUNION

Thou hast filled Thy household, O Lord, with holy gifts: do Thou cherish us always, through the intercession of her whose festival we are keeping. Through our Lord . . .

First Saturday Meditation: Blasphemies against Our Lady’s Virginity

On the 4th February 2017, we will celebrate the second of the Five First Saturdays in reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.  This month we will meditate on the second blasphemy that Our Lord listed which is the attacks, or disbelief, on Our Lady’s Virginity.  

From its very beginnings, the Church has always believed in Our Lady’s perpetual virginity before, during and after Child birth.  Indeed, the Church refers to Our Lady under the ancient title of the Aeiparthenos or the Ever – Virgin Mary (cfr. CCC 499).

Before and During Childbirth
How is it possible that the Church declares that Mary was a Virgin both before and during Childbirth?  In first place, we can review the words of the Scriptures.  The prophecy of Isaiah announcing the birth of the Messiah said, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (Is 7:14).  The prophet says that “the Virgin shall conceive” and then adds “and bear a Son”.  The sign of the Messiah is the pregnant and child bearing Virgin.  Our Lady’s Virginal integrity was not compromised when she conceived and gave birth to her Son.

However, perhaps even more compelling is the testimony of Mary herself who asks the Angel how the conception of her Son will take place as, “I have no knowledge of man” (Lk 1:34) or, in other words, because she is a Virgin.

A sermon from the Council of Ephesus explains how it is possible for Our Lady to be a Virgin even when giving birth:

“Whosoever brings forth mere flesh, ceases to be a virgin. But since she gave birth to the Word made flesh, God safeguarded her virginity so as to manifest His Word, by which Word He thus manifested Himself: for neither does our word, when brought forth, corrupt the mind; nor does God, the substantial Word, deigning to be born, destroy virginity.” (Council of Ephesus (P. III, Cap. ix))

Mary remained a Virgin after the birth of the Lord

The Church teaches Our Lady remained a Virgin even after the birth of the Lord.  Those who doubt this truth frequently cite the “brothers” of Jesus mentioned in St Mathew’s Gospel (Mt 12:46; 13:55-56) or the fact that Mary gave birth to her “first born Son” (Mt 1:24-25).  These objections are simply explained because in ancient Hebrew there was no word for cousin and so “brother” was used to relate to cousins, fellow countrymen or even close friends.  It did not necessarily mean that they were blood brothers.  In Israel, the “first born” was offered to the Lord but it did not imply that there was necessarily a second child.  Perhaps this is clearly highlighted at the foot of the cross when Our Lord asks St John to take care of His Mother ( Jn 19:26-27) because if there were other children they would have taken care of Our Lady.

The importance of this doctrine
The importance of Mary’s perpetual virginity comes to the fact that it is intrinsic to the Lord’s Incarnation.  God could have become man in any way he chose.  However, God chose be born of a virgin.  It is a sign that emphasises the absolute initiative of God in bringing about man’s Salvation.

What are the blasphemies against Our Lady’s Virginity for which we are to offer reparation?

1.    Refusal to accept that Our Lord was born of a Virgin
2.    Refusal to accept that Our Lady remained a Virgin during and  after child-birth.
3.    Erroneous belief that Our Lady had other children
4.    Refusal to belief that Our Lady and St Joseph lived a virginal marriage
5.    Refutation that Our Lady preserved the inner sanctorum of the Most High

Ways to Make Reparation to Our Lady’s Immaculate heart

Offer this first Saturday in reparation for the blasphemies against Our Lady’s perpetual virginity.

Meditate on St Augustine’s celebrated teaching: “Mary remained a virgin in conceiving her Son, a virgin in giving birth to Him, a virgin in carrying Him, a virgin in nursing Him at her breast, always a virgin” (Serm 186, 1)