Collect: All-powerful God, to serve you is to reign: by the prayers of St. Casimir, help us to serve you in holiness and justice. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Optional Memorial of St. Casimir of Poland, confessor
Old Calendar: St. Casimir
St. Casimir was born in 1458 and was the son of the King of Poland. At an early age he saw through the superficiality and corruption of court life. Throughout his short lifehe died of consumption at the age of 26he dedicated himself wholly to the service of God and of his fellow-men. His love for the poor was immense. He was also renowned for his devotion to the Eucharist and to the Blessed Virgin. Excepted from The Saints In Season by Austin Flannery, O.P.
The nobles of Hungary, dissatisfied with their king, Matthias Corvinus, in 1471 begged the King of Poland to allow them to place his son Casimir on the throne. The saint, at that time not fifteen years old, was very unwilling to consent, but in obedience to his father he went to the frontier at the head of an army. There, hearing that Matthias had himself assembled a large body of troops, and finding that his own soldiers were deserting in large numbers because they could not get their pay, he decided upon the advice of his officers to return home. The knowledge that Pope Sixtus IV had sent an embassy to his father to deter him from the expedition made the young prince carry out his resolution with the firmer conviction that he was acting rightly. King Casimir, however, was greatly incensed at the failure of his ambitious projects and would not permit his son to return to Cracow, but relegated him to the castle of Dobzki. The young man obeyed and remained in confinement there for three months. Convinced of the injustice of the war upon which he had so nearly embarked, and determined to have no further part in these internecine conflicts which only facilitated the further progress into Europe of the Turks, St Casimir could never again be persuaded to take up arms though urged to do so by his father and invited once more by the disaffected Hungarian magnates. He returned to his studies and his prayers, though for a time he was viceroy in Poland during an absence of his father. An attempt was made to induce him to marry a daughter of the Emperor Frederick III, but he refused to relax the celibacy he had imposed on himself.
St Casimir's austerities did nothing to help the lung trouble from which he suffered, and he died at the age of twenty-six in 1484 and was buried at Vilna, where his relics still rest in the church of St Stanislaus. Miracles were reported at his tomb, and he was canonized in 1521.
Excerpted from Butler's Lives of the Saints
Patron: Poland, Lithuania, bachelors, kings, princes
Symbols: Lily (for purity)
Things to Do:
Today's Station is at St. Mary Major. The spring Ember Week consecrated the new season to God and by prayer and fasting sought to obtain abundant graces for those who on Saturday were to receive Holy Orders. The Station was fittingly held in the church, which witnessed the first scrutinies for the coming ordinations, and which was dedicated to the mother of the great High Priest.
If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
Psalm 35 (36) |
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The sinner's wickedness; God's goodness |
O God, in your light we shall see true light.
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Evil whispers to the sinner in the depths of his heart:
the fear of God does not stand before his eyes.
Evils flattering light disguises his wickedness,
so that he does not hate it.
His words are false and deceitful,
he no longer considers how to do good.
Even when in bed he plots mischief;
he follows the wrong path; he does not hate malice.
Lord, your mercy fills the heavens,
your faithfulness rises to the sky.
Your justice is like the mountains of God,
your judgements are like the deeps of the sea.
Lord, you protect both men and beasts.
How precious is your kindness, O God!
The sons of men will take shelter under your wings;
they will eat their fill from the riches of your house,
drink all they want from the stream of your joy.
For with you is the spring of life-giving water,
in your light we see true light.
Hold out your mercy to those who know you,
offer your justice to the upright in heart.
Let me not be crushed under the heels of the proud,
nor dispossessed by the hands of sinners.
The doers of evil have fallen where they stood,
they are cast down and cannot rise.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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O God, in your light we shall see true light.
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Canticle | Judith 16 |
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The Lord, creator of the world, protects his people | |
Lord, you are great, you are the almighty one.
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Make music to my God with drums,
sing to my Lord with cymbals.
Begin a new song to him,
extol and call upon his name.
You are the God who crushes battle-lines,
you set up your camp among your people,
you save me from the grip of my persecutors.
I will sing a new song to God:
Lord, you are great and glorious,
wonderful in your unconquerable power.
Let all your creatures serve you,
for you spoke and they were made,
you sent forth your spirit, and they were created:
there is no-one who can resist your command.
For the mountains will be shaken to their roots,
the seas will be stirred up,
at your sight the rocks will melt like wax
but to those who fear you,
you will show your loving kindness.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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Lord, you are great, you are the almighty one.
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Psalm 46 (47) |
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The Lord is King |
Cry out to God in exultation.
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All nations, clap your hands;
cry out to God in exultation,
for the Lord, the Most High, is greatly to be feared,
and King over all the earth.
He has made whole peoples our subjects,
put nations beneath our feet.
He has chosen our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved.
God ascends amid rejoicing,
the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.
Sing to God, sing praise.
Sing to our king, sing praise.
God is king over the whole earth:
sing to him with all your skill.
God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
The nobles of the peoples join together
with the people of the God of Abraham,
for to God belong the armies of the earth;
he is high above all things.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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Cry out to God in exultation.
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Short reading | Deuteronomy 7:6,8-9 © |
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It is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth. It was for love of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know then that the Lord your God is God indeed, the faithful God who is true to his covenant and his graciousness for a thousand generations towards those who love him and keep his commandments.
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Canticle | Benedictus |
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The Messiah and his forerunner | |
This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
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Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption.
He has raised up the sign of salvation
in the house of his servant David,
as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones,
his prophets through the ages:
to rescue us from our enemies
and all who hate us,
to take pity on our fathers,
to remember his holy covenant
and the oath he swore to Abraham our father,
that he would give himself to us,
that we could serve him without fear
freed from the hands of our enemies
in uprightness and holiness before him,
for all of our days.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High:
for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path,
to let his people know their salvation,
so that their sins may be forgiven.
Through the bottomless mercy of our God,
one born on high will visit us
to give light to those who walk in darkness,
who live in the shadow of death;
to lead our feet in the path of peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
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Prayers and Intercessions | ? |
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Blessed be the Architect of our salvation. It is his will that mankind should be made a new creation in him, that the old order should pass away and that all things should be renewed. Sustained by this living hope, let us pray:
Renew us, Lord, in your spirit.
Lord, you promised us a new heaven and a new earth: constantly renew us through your Spirit,
so that we may rejoice forever in your presence in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Renew us, Lord, in your spirit.
Grant that we may work with you and fill this world with your Spirit,
so that the earthly city may reach its fruition in justice, love and peace.
Renew us, Lord, in your spirit.
Make us reject all idleness and apathy
but rejoice in the gifts of heaven.
Renew us, Lord, in your spirit.
Free us from evil,
and defend us from trivial distractions that obscure our sight of what is good.
Renew us, Lord, in your spirit.
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Our Father, who art in Heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
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Look with favour, Lord, on your peoples devotion.
May our abstinence keep our bodies in good order,
and may our good works restore us in mind and spirit.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.
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May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.
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A M E N |