Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

Introduction

O God, come to my aid.

O Lord, make haste to help me.

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. Alleluia.

Hymn

The dusky veil of night hath laid

The varied hues of earth in shade;

Before thee, righteous Judge of all,

We contrite in confession fall.

Take far away our load of sin,

Our soiled minds make clean within:

Thy sovereign grace, O Christ, impart,

From all offence to guard our heart.

For lo! our mind is dull and cold,

envenomed by sin’s baneful hold:

Fain would it now the darkness flee

And seek, Redeemer, unto thee.

Far from it drive the shades of night,

Its inmost darkness put to flight;

Till in the daylight of the Blest

It joys to find itself at rest.

Almighty Father, hear our cry

Through Jesus Christ, our Lord most high,

Who with the Holy Ghost and thee

Doth live and reign eternally.

Psalm 43 (44) In time of defeat

It is not their own strength that will give them victory, but your right hand and the light of your face.

Our own ears have heard, O God,

and our fathers have proclaimed it to us,

what you did in their days, the days of old:

how with your own hand you swept aside the nations

and put us in their place,

struck them down to make room for us.

It was not by their own swords that our fathers took over the land,

it was not their own strength that gave them victory;

but your hand and your strength,

the light of your face,

for you were pleased in them.

You are my God and my king,

who take care for the safety of Jacob.

Through you we cast down your enemies;

in your name we crushed those who rose against us.

I will not put my hopes in my bow,

my sword will not bring me to safety;

for it was you who saved us from our afflictions,

you who set confusion among those who hated us.

We will glory in the Lord all the day,

and proclaim your name for all ages.

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.

It is not their own strength that will give them victory, but your right hand and the light of your face.

Psalm 43 (44)

The Lord will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

But now, God, you have spurned us and confounded us,

so that we must go into battle without you.

You have put us to flight in the sight of our enemies,

and those who hate us plunder us at will.

You have handed us over like sheep sold for food,

you have scattered us among the nations.

You have sold your people for no money,

not even profiting by the exchange.

You have made us the laughing-stock of our neighbours,

mocked and derided by those who surround us.

The nations have made us a by-word,

the peoples toss their heads in scorn.

All the day I am ashamed,

I blush with shame

as they reproach me and revile me,

my enemies and my persecutors.

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.

The Lord will not turn his face from you if you return to him.

Psalm 43 (44)

Rise up, Lord, do not reject us for ever.

All this happened to us,

but not because we had forgotten you.

We were not disloyal to your covenant;

our hearts did not turn away;

our steps did not wander from your path;

and yet you brought us low,

with horrors all about us:

you overwhelmed us in the shadows of death.

If we had forgotten the name of our God,

if we had spread out our hands before an alien god —

would God not have known?

He knows what is hidden in our hearts.

It is for your sake that we face death all the day,

that we are reckoned as sheep to be slaughtered.

Awake, Lord, why do you sleep?

Rise up, do not always reject us.

Why do you turn away your face?

How can you forget our poverty and our tribulation?

Our souls are crushed into the dust,

our bodies dragged down to the earth.

Rise up, Lord, and help us.

In your mercy, redeem us.

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.

Rise up, Lord, do not reject us for ever.

Lord, let your face shine on your servant;

– teach me your decrees.

Reading	2 Corinthians 4:5-18 ©

It is not ourselves that we are preaching, but Christ Jesus as the Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. It is the same God that said, ‘Let there be light shining out of darkness’, who has shone in our minds to radiate the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, the glory on the face of Christ.

We are only the earthenware jars that hold this treasure, to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God and not from us. We are in difficulties on all sides, but never cornered; we see no answer to our problems, but never despair; we have been persecuted, but never deserted; knocked down, but never killed; always, wherever we may be, we carry with us in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus, too, may always be seen in our body. Indeed, while we are still alive, we are consigned to our death every day, for the sake of Jesus, so that in our mortal flesh the life of Jesus, too, may be openly shown. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

But as we have the same spirit of faith that is mentioned in scripture – I believed, and therefore I spoke – we too believe and therefore we too speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will raise us with Jesus in our turn, and put us by his side and you with us. You see, all this is for your benefit, so that the more grace is multiplied among people, the more thanksgiving there will be, to the glory of God.

That is why there is no weakening on our part, and instead, though this outer man of ours may be falling into decay, the inner man is renewed day by day. Yes, the troubles which are soon over, though they weigh little, train us for the carrying of a weight of eternal glory which is out of all proportion to them. And so we have no eyes for things that are visible, but only for things that are invisible; for visible things last only for a time, and the invisible things are eternal.

Responsory

God said: ‘Out of darkness the light shall shine.’ It is this same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, shining in the face of Christ.

See how the Lord our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice. It is this same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory, shining in the face of Christ.

Reading	From a homily on the Gospels by Gregory the Great, pope

She longed for Christ, though she thought he had been taken away

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.

Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognised when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognise me as I recognise you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognises who is speaking. She immediately calls him rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.

Responsory

On her return from the Lord’s tomb, Mary Magdalen told the disciples that she had seen the Lord. Blessed is she who deserved to be first with the news that Life had risen from death.

While she was there, weeping, she saw her beloved, and then told the good news to the others. Blessed is she who deserved to be first with the news that Life had risen from death.

Almighty, ever-living God, your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ made Mary Magdalen the first herald of Easter joy.

Grant that, following her example and her prayers, we may, in this life, proclaim the living Christ, and come to see him reigning in your glory.

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.

Saint Mary Magdalen

Saint Mary Magdalen
Memorial
July 22nd

The Repentant Magdalen
Georges de la Tour
c. 1640
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C

Collect:
Father,
your Son first entrusted to Mary Magdalene
the joyful news of His resurrection.
By her prayers and example
may we proclaim Christ as our living Lord
and one day see Him in glory,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading: Song of Songs 3:1-4
The bride says this: On my bed, at night, I sought him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. so I will rise and go through the City; in the streets and the squares I will seek him whom my heart loves. I sought but did not find him. The watchmen came upon me on their rounds in the City: "Have you seen him whom my heart loves?" Scarcely had I passed them than I found him whom my heart loves.
optional first reading: 2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Gospel Reading: John 20: 1-2.11-18
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone haed been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb", she said, "and we don't know where they have put Him".
Meanwhile, Mary stayed outside near the tomb, weeping. Then, still weeping, she stooped to look inside, and saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head, the other at the feet. They said, "Woman, why are you weeping?" "They have taken my Lord away", she replied, "and I don't know where they have put Him". As she said this she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not recognize Him. Jesus said, "Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and remove Him". Jesus said, "Mary!" She knew Him then and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabbuni!" -- which means Master. Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and find the brothers, and tell them: I am ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and your God". So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her.

Prayer
Praise be to Thee, O Christ, Creator, Redeemer, and Savior,
Of heaven and earth and seas, of angels and of men
Whom we confess to be both God and Man,
Who didst come in order to save sinners,
Thyself without sin, taking the appearance of sin.
Among this poor flock, Thou didst visit the Canaanite woman and
Mary Magdalen.
From the same table Thou didst nourish the one with the crumbs of
the Divine Word, the other with Thy inebriating cup.
While Thou art seated at the typical feast in the house of Simon
the Leper.
The Pharisee murmurs, while the woman weeps, conscious of her
guilt.
The sinner despises his fellow-sinner, Thou, sinless one hearest
the prayer of the penitent, cleanses her from stains, lovest her
so as to make her beautiful.
She embraces the feet of her Lord, washes them with her tears,
dries them with her hair: washing and wiping them, she anoints
them with sweet ointment, and covers them with kisses.
Such, O Wisdom of the Father, is the banquet that delights Thee!
Though born of a Virgin, Thou cost not disdain to be touched by a
sinful woman.
The Pharisee invited Thee but it is Mary that gives Thee a feast.
Thou forgivest much to her that loves much, and that falls not
again into sin.
From seven devils cost Thou free her by Thy sevenfold Spirit.
To her, when Thou risest from the dead, Thou showest Thyself first
of all.
By her, O Christ. Thou cost designate the Gentile Church, the
stranger whom Thou callest to the children's table;
Who, at the feast of the Law and at the feast of grace, is
despised by the pride of Pharisees, and harassed by leprous
heresy.
Thou knowest what manner of woman she is, it is because she is a
sinner that she touches Thee, and because she longs for pardon.
What could she have, poor sick one, without receiving it, and
without the physician assisting her?
O King of kings, rich unto all, save us, wash away all the stains
of our sins, O Thou the hope and glory of the saints.

RESPONSORY
Congratulate me, all ye that love the Lord; for He whom I sought
appeared to me: *and while I wept at the tomb I saw my Lord,
alleluia.
v. When the disciples withdrew, I did not withdraw, and being
kindled with the fire of His love, I burned with desire.
* And while.
PRAYER
We beseech Thee, O Lord, that we may be helped by the intercession
of blessed Mary Magdalen, entreated by whose prayers Thou didst
raise up again to life her brother Lazarus, who had been dead four
days. Thou Who livest and reignest forever. Amen
(Taken from Volume XIII of "The Liturgical Year" by Abbot Gueranger O.S.B. published by Marian House, Powers Lake, ND 58773.)
Copyright (c) 1997 EWTN Online Services.

About Saint Mary Magdalene
Of the earlier life of Saint Mary Magdalene we know only that she was "a woman who was a sinner". From the depth of her degradation she raised her eyes to Jesus with sorrow, hope, and love. Covered with shame, she came to where Jesus was at table, and knelt behind Him. She said not a word, but bathed His feet with her tears, wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed them with humility. Then she poured on them costly ointment. The divine lips of her Savior removed her reproach, spoke her absolution, and bade her go in peace. From that time on, she ministered to Jesus, sat at His feet, and listened to His words. She was one of the family of Bethany "whom Jesus so loved" that He raised her brother Lazarus from the dead.
It happened that once again, on the eve of His Passion, she brought precious ointment, and this time, as His purified and beloved follower, poured it on His head; and we may say that the entire House of God is still filled with the fragrance of her anointing. Mary Magdalene stood with Our Lady and Saint John at the foot of the cross, representative of the many who have loved much because much has been forgiven them.
To her, the first after His blessed Mother, and through her to His Apostles, Our Lord gave the certainty of His resurrection.
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints, and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894). The Order of the Magnificat of the Mother of God