January 21, 2014

Memorial of Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

The LORD said to Samuel:
“How long will you grieve for Saul,
whom I have rejected as king of Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
But Samuel replied:
“How can I go?
Saul will hear of it and kill me.”
To this the LORD answered:
“Take a heifer along and say,
‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I myself will tell you what to do;
you are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”

Samuel did as the LORD had commanded him.
When he entered Bethlehem,
the elders of the city came trembling to meet him and inquired,
“Is your visit peaceful, O seer?”
He replied:
“Yes! I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.
So cleanse yourselves and join me today for the banquet.”
He also had Jesse and his sons cleanse themselves
and invited them to the sacrifice.
As they came, he looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because he sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him before Samuel,
who said, “The LORD has not chosen him.”
Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said,
“The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There–anoint him, for this is he!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and from that day on, the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
When Samuel took his leave, he went to Ramah.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:20, 21-22, 27-28

R. (21a) I have found David, my servant.
Once you spoke in a vision,
and to your faithful ones you said:
“On a champion I have placed a crown;
over the people I have set a youth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong.”
R. I have found David, my servant.
“He shall say of me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.’
And I will make him the first-born,
highest of the kings of the earth.”
R. I have found David, my servant.

Gospel Mk 2:23-28

As Jesus was passing through a field of grain on the sabbath,
his disciples began to make a path while picking the heads of grain.
At this the Pharisees said to him,
“Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
He said to them,
“Have you never read what David did
when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry?
How he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest
and ate the bread of offering that only the priests could lawfully eat,
and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them,
“The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
That is why the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”

From: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

David is Anointed

[1b] The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, seeing I have
rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send
you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his
sons.” [2] And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And
the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the
LORD.’ [3] And invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do
and you shall anoint for me him whom I name to you” [4] Samuel did what the
LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet
him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?” [5] And he said, ‘Peaceably,
I have come to sacrifice to the LORD, consecrate yourselves, and come with me
to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to
the sacrifice.

[6] When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed
is before him.” [7] But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance
or on the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not
as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart.” [8] Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And
he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” [9] Then Jesse made Sham-
mah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” [10] And
Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse,
“The Lord has not chosen these.” [11] And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your
sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is
keeping the sheep.”And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him; for we will
not sit down till he comes here.” [12] And he sent, and brought him in. Now he
was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. And the Lord said, “A-
rise, anoint him; for this is he.” [13] Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anoin-
ted him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily
upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

16:1-31:13. This, the last section of 1 Samuel, begins with an account of the
gradual decline of Saul until his eventual death in the battle of Gilboa against the
Philistines (chap. 31); it also deals with the tortuous and sometimes slow rise to
power of the new king, David. Strictly speaking, this section should also take in
the final chapter of 2 Samuel. From a literary point of view we can see that the
text is very much in the style of a court chronicle focusing only on episodes in
which the kings play the leading role. Many of the events covered here are re-
peated twice—for example, David’s entry into Saul’s service (16:14-23; 18:1-2),
Saul’s attempt on David’s life (18:10-11; 19:9-10), Saul’s promise to give David
his daughter’s hand in marriage (18:17-19; 18:20-27), Jonathan’s pleading on Da-
vid’s behalf (19:1-7; 20:25-34), David’s flight (19:10-18; 20:1-21) and the opportu-
nity he gets to take Saul’s life (24:7-8; 26:11-12). All this goes to show that the
editor has used material from a variety of sources and not made any great effort
to merge them properly.

In the episodes recounted here there are few religious references, whereas the
tensions between Saul and David are exposed in all their starkness; in fact, even
though these chapters deal with the most famous of kings, David, and stress
God’s special love for him, no effort is made to gloss over his failings and trans-
gressions (contrary to what happens in 1 and 2 Chronicles). David comes across
as a shrewd politician, capable of allying himself with the eternal enemies of his
people, the Philistines, in order to save himself (chap. 27); as a usurper of Saul’s
throne (chaps. 19 and 21); as a man of strong passions capable of slaughter on
a grand scale (21:12; 22:17) and other human weaknesses (18:17-27; 25:32-44),
yet capable, too, of great loyalty to the Lord’s anointed king (chaps. 24-26) and
to his own friends (chap. 20).

So, these accounts expose the most human side of the personalities involved,
but they also allow us to see that the Lord God of Israel is the main protagonist
even though he is in the background — mainly because it is he who chooses Da-
vid and stays with him, from the first moment that he enters the picture (16:1)
and through all the crises of his career: witness the constant refrain “the Lord is
with him” (16:18; 18:14, 28). Saul, David and the rest of the players in this histo-
ry are not guided by a blind destiny: they are all playing their part in God’s plan
of salvation. The great lesson contained in these accounts is that the Lord does
not normally intervene by way of miracles or amazing actions; he guides the
course of history through lights and shadows until he attains his key objective
— to make himself known to all mankind and lead it to salvation. The other great
lesson is that this salvific history steadily advances, amidst ups and downs —
acts of heroism, human weaknesses—until it reaches its fully developed stage
in Jesus Christ.

16:1-13. Samuel’s anointing of David, in a private, familial setting, is reminiscent
of Saul’s anointing, which was also done in secret (cf. 10:1-16). The narrative em-
phasizes that David does not in any way merit his election: he is a nobody, from
a family of no importance: no genealogy is provided, apart from the name of Jes-
se, his father (v. 5); he is the youngest of his brothers (vv. 11-12) and, like the
rest of his family, he works as a shepherd: he doesn’t come from a noble or mi-
litary or priestly family. He could have no claim to be anointed king.

God’s gratuitous choice of this shepherd boy gives deep, religious meaning to
his reception by Saul (16:14-23) and by the people, when he later kills Goliath
(17:55-18:5). David’s qualities and feats would not have been enough to advance
him, had not God first singled him out. David is a type of those who in the Chris-
tian dispensation are called to offices in the Church: what matters is not back-
ground, personal qualities or material resources but the realization that one is
called by God. Also, one needs to bear in mind that “man looks on the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (v. 7); from this derives the require-
ment to live and act in keeping with the call one is given. “For by his power to
know himself in the depths of his being he rises above the whole universe of
mere objects. When he is drawn to think about his real self, he turns to those
deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart awaits him, and
where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God” (Vatican II,
“Gaudium Et Spes”, 14).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 2:23-28

The Law of the Sabbath

[23] One Sabbath He (Jesus) was going through the grainfields; and as they
made their way His disciples began to pluck ears of grain. [24] And the Phari-
sees said to Him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
[25] And He said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in
need and hungry, he and those who were with him: [26] how he entered the
house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence,
which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who
were with him?” [27] And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man,
not man for the Sabbath; [28] so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

24. Cf. note on Matthew 12:2. [Note on Matthew 12:2 states: “The Sabbath”: this
was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God Himself, the originator
of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to avoid certain kinds of
work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:14) to leave them free
to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis complicated this Divine pre-
cept: by Jesus’ time they had extended to 39 the list of kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry
of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harves-
ting, and crushing them was the same as milling—types of agricultural work for-
bidden on the Sabbath.]

26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed
each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the
twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room
for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests.

Abiathar’s action anticipates what Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Tes-
tament God had established a hierarchy in the precepts of the Law so that the
lesser ones yielded to the main ones.

This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing)
should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment to
keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence. Va-
tican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human per-
son over and above economic and social development: “The social order and its
development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order of
things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way around,
as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man and
not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement: it
must be founded on truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love” (”Gaudium Et
Spes”, 26).

Finally in this passage Christ teaches God’s purpose in instituting the Sabbath:
God established it for man’s good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine
worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law,
had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various
prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.

By proclaiming Himself ‘Lord of the Sabbath’, Jesus affirms His divinity and His
universal authority. Because He is Lord He has the power to establish other laws,
as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.

28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man’s rest but also to give glo-
ry to God: that is the correct meaning of the expression “the Sabbath was made
for man.” Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is
God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not
just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-
being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of ren-
dering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles
onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday
— the Lord’s Day — in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

“Son of Man”: the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be
found particularly in the prophecy of Daniel 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vi-
sion, contemplates ‘one like the Son of Man’ coming down on the clouds of Hea-
ven, who even goes right up to God’s throne and is given dominion and glory and
royal power over all peoples and nations. This expression appears 69 times in
the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah
— such as Son of David, Messiah, etc. — thereby avoiding the nationalistic over-
tones those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. “Introduction to the
Gospel according to St. Mark”, p. 62 above).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Samuel 16:1-13 ©

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you go on mourning over Saul when I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel replied, ‘How can I go? When Saul hears of it he will kill me.’ Then the Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and then I myself will tell you what you must do; you must anoint to me the one I point out to you.’

Samuel did what the Lord ordered and went to Bethlehem. The elders of the town came trembling to meet him and asked, ‘Seer, have you come with good intentions towards us?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ He purified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they arrived, he caught sight of Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed one stands there before him’, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Take no notice of his appearance or his height for I have rejected him; God does not see as man sees; man looks at appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.’ Jesse then called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel, who said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse then presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ Jesse presented his seven sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ He then asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’ He answered, ‘There is still one left, the youngest; he is out looking after the sheep.’ Then Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down to eat until he comes.’ Jesse had him sent for, a boy of fresh complexion, with fine eyes and pleasant bearing. The Lord said, ‘Come, anoint him, for this is the one.’ At this, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him where he stood with his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord seized on David and stayed with him from that day on. As for Samuel, he rose and went to Ramah.

Psalm

Psalm 88:20-22,27-28 ©

I have found David, my servant.

Of old you spoke in a vision.

To your friends the prophets you said:

‘I have set the crown on a warrior,

I have exalted one chosen from the people.

I have found David, my servant.

‘I have found David my servant

and with my holy oil anointed him.

My hand shall always be with him

and my arm shall make him strong.

I have found David, my servant.

‘He will say to me: “You are my father,

my God, the rock who saves me.”

And I will make him my first-born,

the highest of the kings of the earth.’

I have found David, my servant.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps118:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider

the wonders of your law.

Alleluia!

Or	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Mark 2:23-28 ©

One sabbath day Jesus happened to be taking a walk through the cornfields, and his disciples began to pick ears of corn as they went along. And the Pharisees said to him, ‘Look, why are they doing something on the sabbath day that is forbidden?’ And he replied, ‘Did you never read what David did in his time of need when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the loaves of offering which only the priests are allowed to eat, and how he also gave some to the men with him?’

And he said to them, ‘The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; the Son of Man is master even of the sabbath.’

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: II BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: 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. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: 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.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Sorrowful Mysteries
(Tuesdays and Fridays)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

Feast of
the Holy Name of Jesus

Luke 2:21 "...Et vocatum est Nomen eius IESUS"
("And His Name was called JESUS")

Psalm 90:14 "Because he hoped in me I will deliver him:
I will protect him because he hath known My Name."

Zacharias 10:12 "I will strengthen them in the Lord,
and they shall walk in His Name, saith the Lord."

Apocalypse 3:8 "I know thy works. Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied My Name."

Apocalypse 15:4 "Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and magnify Thy Name?..."

Blessed be the most holy Name of Jesus without end!

January Devotion: The Holy Name of Jesus

The month of January is traditionally dedicated to the Holy Name of Jesus. This feast is also celebrated on January 3. Here is an explanation of the devotion.

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has associated entire months to special devotions. The devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus has been traditionally associated with the month of January, due to its celebration on January 3. The name Jesus was given to the Holy Child at God's command (Luke 1:31). The Holy Name is all-powerful because of the Person who bears it; we honor it because of the command of Christ, that we should pray in His Name and because it reminds us of all the blessings we receive through our Holy Redeemer. Hence St. Paul was able to write to the Philippians: ". . . at the name of Jesus every knee should bend of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth" (Phil. 2:10). By means of this devotion we also make amends for improper use of the Holy Name.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Prayer/Hymn in Honor of the Most Holy Name of Jesus - Iesu, Dulcis Memoria

Iesu, Dulcis Memoria is a celebrated 12th century hymn attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), Doctor Mellifluus. The entire hymn has some 42 to 53 stanzas depending upon the manuscript. Parts of this hymn were used for the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus, which was formerly celebrated on the Sunday between the Circumcision and Epiphany, or failing such a Sunday, on January 2. The part below was used at Vespers. In the liturgical revisions of Vatican II, the feast was deleted, though a votive Mass to the Holy Name of Jesus had been retained for devotional use. With the release of the revised Roman Missal in March 2002, the feast was restored as an optional memorial on January 3.

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.

No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' name,
The Savior of mankind.

O hope of every contrite heart!
0 joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!

But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.

Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity. Amen.

---Roman Breviary

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

O Divine Jesus, Thou hast promised that anything we ask of the Eternal Father in Thy name shall be granted.

O Eternal Father. In the name of Jesus, for the love of Jesus, in fulfillment of this promise, and because Jesus has said it, grant us our petitions for the sake of Jesus, Thy Divine Son. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phil:2:10-11

The Most Holy Name
The Power of Jesus’ Name
What does IHS stand for? The meaning of the Holy Name of Jesus [Catholic Caucus]
Litany Of The Holy Name of Jesus
Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus
Jesus, The Name above all Names
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Saint Agnes, Virgin and Martyr

Saint Agnes, Virgin & Martyr
Memorial
January 21st

Saint Agnes
Ambrogio Borgognone - 1495 - Detached Fresco
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

History

Agnes, the daughter of a noble Roman family who had become a Christian, was martyred at the age of twelve or thirteen during a persecution of Christians when she openly declared her belief. Her name is in the Roman Canon, and in the earliest Church calendar (354 AD), her feast was assigned to January 21, on which all accounts of her death agree. Agnes was martyred in 304, in the persecution of Diocletian, or possibly earlier, in a third century persecution. According to very early accounts, her enraged persecuters attempted to burn Agnes, and when this failed, they decapitated her.

Testimony to her courageous witness was given in early accounts. An account of her martyrdom was written by Saint Ambrose (340-387) in "De Virginibus", and Pope Damasus (ca. 304-384) extolled the heroism and virtue of the young girl, reportedly telling in a poem how she bravely faced fire, concerned only that her stripped body be covered by her long hair. The Pope also wrote an inscription to her on a marble slab, which can still be seen at the foot of the stairs leading to the sepulchre in the church built over her grave during the reign of Constantine (ca 275-337). According to the description of her martyrdom by Prudentius (348-413), as part of the persecution "the judge threatened to give over her virginity to a house of prostitution, and even executed this threat; but when a young man turned a lascivious look upon the virgin, he fell to the ground stricken with blindness...".

The church built over her tomb in the 4th Century, Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura ("Saint Agnes outside the walls), stands today -- on the Via Nomentana -- much the same as it was after it was remodeled by Pope Honorius (625-638). A mosaic in the apse of the church shows the young saint as a Byzantine empress, amid flames with a sword at her feet.

Another perhaps more famous church, Sant'Agnese in Agone, faces the Piazza Navona in Rome. Originally a 9th century oratory built over the the site of her martyrdom, a brothel in the arcades of the Circus of Domitian, also known as the Circus Agonalis, it was consecrated as a church by Pope Calixtus II on January 28, 1123. The present church was extensively remodeled in the 17th century by Rainaldi, according to plans by Borromini, and was influential in Baroque architecture. The Roman ruins of the brothel where Agnes was martyred are accessible from inside the church.

Since the early middle-ages, Saint Agnes is usually depicted holding a lamb (agnus - a pun on her name) as a symbol of her purity. At least since the 9th Century, each year on the Feast of Saint Agnes, two lambs are solemnly blessed at the church of Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura. From the wool of these lambs are made the pallium (a strip of white wool with black crosses woven into the fabric) given by the Pope to an archbishop as a sign of office.

Propers for the Feast of Saint Agnes

Collect:
Almighty ever-living God,
who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong,
mercifully grant,
that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes,
may follow her constancy in the faith.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

For consider your call, brethren; not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth; but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord."

Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:44-46
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

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