Traditional Holy Mass Proper Prayers for
Third Sunday of Lent
Missa Oculi mei
19 March A.D.2006
| Colors: Violet Vestments |
Semi-Double Observation
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INTROIT ¤ Psalm 24, 15-16
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O CULI mei semper ad Dominum, quia ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos: respice in me, et miserere mei, quoniam unicus et pauper sum ego. Psalm 24, 1-2. Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam: Deus meus, in te confido, non erubescam. V. Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
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M Y EYES are ever towards the Lord: for He shall pluck my feet out of the snare: look Thou upon me, and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor. Psalm 24, 1-2. To Thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul: in Thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. V. 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.
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COLLECT
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QUAESUMUS, omnipotens Deus, vota humi l ium r e spi c e : a tque ad defensionem nostram, dexteram tuae majestatis extende. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
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HAVE REGARD to the desires of the lowly, O almighty God, we beseech Thee, and stretch forth the right hand of Thy majesty in our defense. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
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EPISTLE ¤ Ephesians 5, 1-9
"All whatsoever you do in word or work, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Jesus Christ our Lord,"
-- Blessed Saint Paul |
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Lectio Epistolae beati Pauli Apostoli ad Ephesios.
FRATRES: Estote imitatores Dei, sicut filii carissimi: et ambulate in dilectione, sicut et Christus dilexit nos, et tradidit semetipsum pro nobis oblationem, et hostiam Deo in odorem suavitatis. Fornicatio autem, et omnis immunditia, ant avaritia, nec nominetur in vobis, sicut decet sanctos: aut turpitudo, aut stultiloquium, aut scurrilitas, quae ad rem non pertinet: sed magis gratiarum actio. Hoc enim scitote intelligentes, quod omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus, quod est idolorum servitus, non habet hereditatem in regno Christi, et Dei. Nemo vos seducit inanibus verbis: propter haec enim venit ira Dei in filios diffidentiae. Nolite ergo effici participes eorum. Eratis enim aliquando tenebrae: nunc autem lux in Domino. Ut filii lucis ambulate: fructus enim lucis est in omni bonitate, et justitia, et veritate. |
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Lesson from the Epistle of Blessed Paul the Apostle to the Ephesians.
BRETHREN, be ye followers of God, as most dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered Himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God, for an odor of sweetness. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints; nor obscenity, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility, which is to no purpose; but rather giving of thanks: for know ye this, and understand, that no fornicator, nor unclean, nor covetous person, which is a serving of idols, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not therefore partakers with them. For you were heretofore darkness; but now light in the Lord. Walk ye as children of the light: for the fruit of the light is in all goodness, and justice, and truth.
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GRADUAL ¤ Psalm 9. 20, 4
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EXSURGE, Domine, non praevaleat homo: judicentur gentes in conspectu tuo. V. In convertendo inimicum meum retrorsum, infirmabuntur, et peribunt a facie tua. |
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ARISE, O Lord, let not man be strengthened; let the gentiles be judged in Thy sight. V.When my enemy shall be turned back, they shall be weakened and perish before Thy face. See my abjection and my labor, and forgive all my sins.
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TRACT ¤ Psalm 122. 1-3
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AD TE LEVAVI oculos meos, qui habitas in caelis. V. Ecce sicut oculi servorum in manibus dominorum suorum. V. Et sicut oculi ancillae in manibus dominae suae: ita oculi nostri ad Dominum Deum nostrum, donec misereatur nostri. V. Miserere nobis, Domine, miserere nobis. |
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TO THEE have I lifted up my eyes, Who dwellest in heaven. V. Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters. V. And as the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress: so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until He have mercy on us. V. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.
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GOSPEL ¤ Blessed Apostle Luke 11. 14-28
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† Sequéntia sancti Evangélii secúndum Lucam.
IN ILLO tempore: Erat Jesus ejiciens daemonium, et illud erat mutum. Et cum ejecisset daemonium, locutus est mutus, et admiratae sunt turbae. Quidam autem ex eis dixerunt: In Beelzebub principe daemoniorum ejicit daemonia. Et alii tentantes, signum de caelo quaerebant ab eo. Ipse autem, ut vidit cogitationes eorum, dixit eis: Omne regnum in seipsum divisum desolabitur, et domus supra domum cadet. Si autem et satanas in seipsum divisus est, quomodo stabit regnum ejus? quia dicitis, in Beelzebub me ejicere demonia. Si autem ego in Beelzebub ejicio daemonia: filii vestri in quo ejiciunt? Ideo ipsi judices vestri erunt. Porro si in digito Dei ejicio daemonia profecto pervenit in vos regnum Dei. Cum fortis armatus custodit atrium suum, in pace sunt ea, quae possidet. Si autem fortior eo superveniens vicerit eum, universa arma ejus auferet, in quibus confidebat, et spolia ejus distribuet. Qui non est mecum, contra me est: et qui non colligit mecum, dispergit. Cum immundus spiritus exierit de homine, ambulat per loca inaquosa, quaerens requiem: et non inveniens, dicit: Revertar in domum meam, unde exivi. Et cum venerit, invenit eam scopis mundatam, et ornatam. Tunc vadit, et assumit septem alios spiritus secum nequiores se, et ingressi habitant ibi. Et fiunt novissima hominis illius pejora prioribus. Factum est autem, cum haec diceret: extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba, dixit illi: Beatus venter, qui te portavit, et ubera quae suxisti. At ille dixit: Quinimmo beati, qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud. |
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† Continuation of the Holy Gospel according to Blessed Apostle Saint Luke.
AT THAT time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and the same was dumb; and when He had cast out the devil the dumb spoke, and the multitude were in admiration at it, but some of them said, He casteth out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils. And others tempting, asked of Him a sign from heaven. But He seeing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation, and house upon house shall fall; and if Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say, that through Beelzebub I cast out devils. Now if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I by the finger of God cast out devils, doubtless the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his court, those things which he possesseth are in peace: but if a stronger than he come upon him, and overcome him, he will take away all his armor wherein he trusted, and will distribute his spoils. He that is not with Me, is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me, scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water, seeking rest: and not finding, he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out: and when he is come, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then he goeth, and taketh with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and entering in they dwell there; and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. And it came to pass, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts that gave Thee suck. But He said, Yea, rather blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.
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Homily for Third Sunday of Lent
19 March A.D.2006
byFather Sisterman
“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man,
he walketh through dry places seeking rest and finding none he sayeth,
I will return onto my house whence I came out.
And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself.
And they enter in and dwell there.
And the last state of that man is worse than the first."
+ In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
I submit to you this morning that you probably do not know that the two readings that we use in today’s liturgy are readings that are of very ancient usage in our liturgy, dating back at least to the third century; possibly even earlier.
I also submit to you that you probably do not know that the two readings are chosen for a very specific purpose and that they are tied to the sacrament of Baptism. In the early Church the third Sunday in Lent occurred during a time called the Scrutinies of the catechumens. The Scrutinies were a time when the catechumens were now answerable for the three years that they had been under instruction in preparation for the sacrament of Baptism that they would receive after sundown on Holy Saturday, Easter Even.
They chose that very special day for Baptism because the sacrament of Baptism is all about our dying and rising with Christ again. The Lenten season, as it was modified along the way, was a time to prepare catechumens for the sacrament of Baptism and also to remind those who had already been baptized what their Christian lives should consist in.
It is interesting to read about the ancient catechumenate. Not all were accepted as catechumens. Candidates in certain professions were not accepted, or at least they were watched very carefully. One of the professions was that of a priest of the pagan temple or one who served at the temple. Of course, he would have to give that up if he were to be readied for the sacrament of Baptism.
But there were other professions at which the Church looked askance. One group was actors. (They were way ahead of their time.) The acting profession was so tied to temple worship and the worship of false gods that you couldn’t be an actor and become a catechumen. Others who were refused as catechumens, or at least were watched carefully, were those who were involved in the games in the various coliseums because so many games involved death. Certainly no gladiator could be received into the catechumenate unless he refused henceforth to be a gladiator.
The Church was very careful about all of this. If they passed muster at the beginning, then they were brought to the Church to begin a three-year period of preparation. This period of preparation was not just a period of instruction. It was a period in which they would have to demonstrate publicly that they were capable of assuming a life of Christian virtue. Perhaps we don’t realize what a difficult thing that might be in a sea of paganism. But it truly was. These people really put their lives on the line for the sake of the Lord!
When they came together on the Sunday for the liturgy they would receive some of their instruction in the reading of Scripture and in what we now call the sermon. After the sermon was concluded, they were escorted outside the door. They were not to be present for the time of the Eucharistic sacrifice and certainly not for the time of Holy Communion because they had not been baptized. This went on for three years!
If they could take that kind of discipline, then on this Sunday in Lent came the Scrutinies. They were examined as to how they had done. The baptized community would all be there. They would have to respond to a lot of questions. Having responded to the questions, the bishop or the priest would lay hands on them in a prayer of exorcism to drive Satan’s influence out of their lives.
Now you see why that Gospel was chosen for this day: Jesus driving a devil out of a man who was dumb. Now, you’d say to yourself, “This is interesting historically. What does this have to do with us?” We have modified things quite a bit, haven’t we? We don’t have a three-year catechumenate. (Perhaps we should go back to something like that!) These people were ready to assume a Christian life when they finished their course.
We have modified it. All of us have been involved in the Scrutinies. Perhaps we didn’t know that was what they were called but that is exactly what they were. They happened at the time of our Baptism. All of us involved in the Scrutinies heard words that are very similar to what we use in our Prayer Book at the time of Baptism.
These are the words. Consider, at this point as you hear this, that you are a catechumen; that you have finished your three-year instruction and now you are being questioned by the Bishop. How would you respond? Or, if you were already baptized, how would you respond now to these questions?
WELL-BELOVED, you have come hither desiring to receive holy Baptism. We have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe to receive you, to release you from sin, to sanctify you with the Holy Ghost, to give you the kingdom of heaven, and everlasting life.
DOST thou renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the sinful desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, nor be led by them?
In our Prayer Book the response is simple. I renounce them all; and,
by God's help,
will endeavor not to follow, nor be led by them.
That’s the negative side; then the positive side: Dost thou believe in Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
I do.
Dost thou accept him, and desire to follow him as thy Savior and Lord?
I do.
Dost thou believe all the
Articles of the Christian Faith,
as contained in the Apostles' Creed?
I do.
Interestingly, as you research the sacrament of Baptism and how it was done, say in the year 250 A.D., the Baptism was usually done (at least in warmer climates) by immersion. As a little concession to us in the northern countries rather than chipping the ice out of the container, we just pour the water on the forehead of the individual. But immersion is a much better sign of the sacrament than just the pouring of the water because in the sacrament of Baptism we die with Christ and are buried with Him. We go down into a watery grave and then rise with Him to a new life. In the early Church the formula for Baptism varied. One of them is a very simple formula that was used in some places. Do you believe that
Jesus is Lord?
Yes!
All right, be baptize!
That was it! In a more elaborate fashion this is what you would hear at any Baptism in our Anglican Church. Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God?
I do.
In the early church around the year 250 or so, they would take the person down into the water and then they would say,
Dost thou believe in God the Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth? I do.
And he would go under the water. Coming up again:
Do you believe in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord? I do.
And he would be immersed in the water again. And then the third time:
Do you believe in the Holy Ghost?
I do.
That was the Baptism. Now we just make our profession of faith as a part of our Baptism. But that was actually the formula in the very early Church around the year 250 in Rome.
As we come to appreciate the history of this Sunday, we believe that we come together to hear the Word of God. In the 21st century and we hear Jesus driving out the devil and then the warning of Jesus:
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man
he walketh in dry places seeking rest and finding none
he sayeth, 'I will return onto my house whence I came out.'
And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
Then goeth he and taketh to him seven other spirits
more wicked than himself.
And they enter in and dwell there.
It wasn’t enough for the baptized Christian to have renounced sin. That was only the negative part of it. It was also necessary that they develop virtue. That’s what that ancient catechumenate was about: the development of Christian virtue under the instruction of another, usually a lay person. They would learn how to practice the virtues: faith, hope, and charity; prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. They would know what these virtues are. They would learn how to practice them and they would discover that sin is not what happens or what one finds disagreeable, inconvenient or disgusting. Sin is what the Word of God forbids! Virtue is not what we happen to find pleasant or pretty, but rather virtue is what the Word of God demands.
They took the sacrament of Baptism very seriously. So should we. You and I have been baptized. We have all made the renunciation of sin and Satan and all his works and pomps. We have professed our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and now we have to ask ourselves, “What is the condition of those promises that we made at our Baptism?” This is the Lenten season: the time of preparation not only for Baptism, but especially for the renewal of our Baptismal vows which we will make as a Church on Easter Day.
The Church’s Lenten message: humility and obedience. They are the examples that Jesus gave us. The tree of pride in the Garden of Eden gives way now to the tree of humility. The tree of disobedience of Adam is now supplanted by the cross, the tree of obedience, of Jesus Christ. That is what we believe. That is the essence of our faith. When we know that this is such an ancient choice of readings for this Sunday and if you can consider that this was an instruction for catechumens, then perhaps that first reading becomes much more relevant. We listen to it as people who have committed ourselves to Christ in Baptism. We hear the words of St. Paul:
Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for us as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Let no man deceive you with vain words for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them for ye were sometimes darkness, but now ye are light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
That is an encapsulated instruction as to what it means to follow our Baptismal commitment. This is how the catechumens heard it. This is how the early Christians who had been baptized (even in the face of severe persecution) understood it. Can we today understand it in any other way? We reject sin. We reject Satan. We reject his works, all his allurements, everything that is involved in that. We embrace Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
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OFFERTORY ¤ Psalm 18, 9, 10, 11, 12
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JUSTITIAE Domini rectae laetificantes corda, et judicia ejus dulciora super mel et favum: nam et servus tuus custodit ea. |
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THE justices of the Lord are right, rejoicing hearts, and His judgments are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb; for Thy servant keepeth them.
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SECRET
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HAEC HOSTIA, Domine, quaesumus, emundet nostra delicta: et ad sacrificium celebrandum, subditorum tibi corpora, mentesque sanctificet. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
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MAY THIS offering, O Lord, we beseech Thee, wipe out our sins, and sanctify the bodies and minds of Thy servants for the celebration of the sacrifice. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
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PREFACE OF LENT
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VERE dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus: Qui corporali jejunio vita comprimis mentem elevas, virtutem largiris et praemia: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem majestatem tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates, Caeli caelorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti jubeas, deprecamur, supplici confessione dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. |
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IT IS truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, eternal God. Who on those who chastise their bodies by fasting dost bestow the restraining of evil passions, uplifting of heart, and the enjoying of virtue with its reward. Through Christ our Lord. By whom the Angels praise Thy majesty, the Dominations adore it, the Powers tremble before it, the Heavens, the heavenly Virtues, and blessed Seraphim, with common jubilee glorify it. Together with whom we beseech Thee that we may be admitted to join our humble voices, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy...
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COMMUNION ¤ Psalm 83. 4-5
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PASSER invenit sibi domum, et turtur nidum, ubi reponat pullos suos: altaria tua, Domine virtutum, Rex meus, et Deus meus: beati qui habitant in domo tua in saeculum saeculi laudabunt te. |
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THE SPARROW hath found herself a house, and the turtle a nest, where she may lay her young ones: Thy altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God: blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, they shall praise Thee forever and ever.
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POSTCOMMUNION
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ACUNCTIS nos, quaesumus, Domine, reatibus et periculis propitiatus absolve: quos tanti mysterii tribuis esse participes. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
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BE MERCIFUL O Lord, we beseech Thee, and free us from all sins and dangers, as Thou dost grant us to be sharers in this great mystery. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
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† - Holy Queen of Heaven and Earth, pray for us. - † |
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