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Martyrology - 3rd of April
Upon the 3rd day of April, were born into the better life:
In England, [in the year 1253,] holy Richard, Bishop of Chichester, famous for his holiness and the glory of his miracles.
At Taormina, in Sicily, holy Pancras, Bishop of that see, who sealed with his blood the testimony of the gospel of Christ which the holy Apostle Peter had sent him thither to preach.
At Isnia, in Scythia, the holy martyrs Evagrius and Benignus.
At Thessalonica, under the Emperor Diocletian, the holy Virgins Agape and Chionia, because they refused to deny Christ, they were first starved in prison, and then cast into the fire, the flame took no hold upon them, but when they had prayed to the Lord, they then gave up their souls to him, [in the year 304.]
At Tyre, the holy martyr Vulpian.
During the persecution under the Emperor Maximian Galerius, he was sewn up inside a sack along with an adder and a dog, and drowned in the sea, [in the year 305.]
At the Monastery of Mecidion, on Mount Olympus, the holy Abbot Nicetas, who suffered many things under the Emperor Leo the Armenian, on account of the honouring of holy images.
In England, the holy Virgin Burgundofora, Abbess [of Farmoutier, about the year 655.]
At Palermo, the holy Confessor Benedict of San Fradello, of the Order of Friars Minors, who was by race a black, whence he was commonly called "the Black." He was famous for his signs and mighty works. He fell asleep in the Lord upon the 4th day of April, [in the year 1585.] The Supreme Pontiff Pius VII. enrolled his name among those of the Saints.
And elsewhere many other Holy Martyrs, Confessors and Holy virgins.
R. Thanks be to God
Morning Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Place Yourself in the Presence of God, and adore His holy Name.
Most holy and adorable Trinity, one God in three Persons, I believe that Thou art here present: I adore Thee with the deepest humility, and render to Thee, with my whole heart, the homage which is due to Thy sovereign majesty.
An Act of Faith
O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; I believe that Thy divine Son became man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.
An Act of Hope
O my God, relying on Thy infinite goodness and promises, I hope to obtain pardon of my sins, the help of Thy grace, and life everlasting, through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer.
An Act of Love
O my God, I love Thee above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because Thou art all-good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbour as myself for the love of Thee. I forgive all who have injured me, and ask pardon of all whom I have injured.
Thank God for All Favours and Offer Yourself to Him.
O my God, I most humbly thank Thee for all the favours Thou hast bestowed upon me up to the present moment. I give Thee thanks from the bottom of my heart that Thou hast created me after Thine own image and likeness, that Thou hast redeemed me by the precious blood of Thy dear Son, and that Thou hast preserved me and brought me safe to the beginning of another day. I offer to Thee, O Lord, my whole being, and in particular all my thoughts, words, actions, and sufferings of this day. I consecrate them all to the glory of Thy name, beseeching Thee that through the infinite merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour they may all find acceptance in Thy sight. May Thy divine love animate them, and may they all tend to Thy greater glory.
Resolve to Avoid Sin and to Practice Virtue.
Adorable Jesus, my Saviour and Master, model of all perfection, I resolve and will endeavour this day to imitate Thy example, to be, like Thee, mild, humble, chaste, zealous, charitable, and resigned. I will redouble my efforts that I may not fall this day into any of those sins which I have heretofore committed (here name any besetting sin), and which I sincerely desire to forsake.
Ask God for the Necessary Graces.
O my God, Thou knowest my poverty and weakness, and that I am unable to do anything good without Thee; deny me not, O God, the help of Thy grace; proportion it to my necessities; give me strength to avoid anything evil which Thou forbiddest, and to practise the good which Thou hast commanded; and enable me to bear patiently all the trials which it may please Thee to send me.
The Lord’s Prayer...
The Hail Mary...
The Apostles’ Creed...
At this point, please go to the relevant text of Fr Hamon’s Meditation. Once I have read and meditated on the text, and its various points . I complete my meditation by saying:
Ask the Prayers of the Blessed Virgin, your Guardian Angel, and your Patron Saint.
Holy Virgin, Mother of God, my Mother and Patroness, I place myself under thy protection, I throw myself with confidence into the arms of thy compassion. Be to me, O Mother of mercy, my refuge in distress, my consolation under suffering, my advocate with thy adorable Son, now and at the hour of my death.
Angel of God, my guardian dear, To whom His love commits me here, Ever this day be at my side, To light and guard, to rule and guide. Amen.
O great Saint whose name I bear, protect me, pray for me, that like thee I may serve God faithfully on earth, and glorify Him eternally with thee in heaven. Amen.
Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, hear us.
Jesus, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, ... Jesus, Son of the living God, ... Jesus, splendour of the Father, ... Jesus, brightness of eternal light, ... Jesus, king of glory, ... Jesus, sun of justice, ... Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary, ... Jesus, most amiable, ... Jesus, most admirable, ... Jesus, mighty God, ... Jesus, father of the world to come, ... Jesus, angel of great council, ... Jesus, most powerful, ... Jesus, most patient, ... Jesus, most obedient, ... Jesus, meek and humble of heart, ... Jesus, lover of chastity ... Jesus, lover of us, ... Jesus, God of peace, ... Jesus, author of life, ... Jesus, model of virtues, ... Jesus, zealous for souls, ... Jesus, our God, ... Jesus, our refuge, ... Jesus, father of the poor, ... Jesus, treasure of the faithful, ... Jesus, good shepherd, ... Jesus, true light, ... Jesus, eternal wisdom, ... Jesus, infinite goodness, ... Jesus, our way and our life, ... Jesus, joy of angels, ... Jesus, king of patriarchs, ... Jesus, master of apostles, ... Jesus, teacher of evangelists, ... Jesus, strength of martyrs, ... Jesus, light of confessors, ... Jesus, purity of virgins, ... Jesus, crown of all saints, ...
Be merciful, Spare us, O Jesus. Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Jesus.
From all evil, Jesus, deliver us. From all sin, Jesus, deliver us. From Thy wrath, ... From the snares of the devil, ... From the spirit of fornication, ... From everlasting death, ... From the neglect of Thy inspirations, ... Through the mystery of Thy holy incarnation, ... Through Thy nativity, ... Through Thine infancy, ... Through Thy most divine life, ... Through Thy labours, ... Through Thine agony and passion, ... Through Thy cross and dereliction, ...Through Thy faintness and weariness, ... Through Thy death and burial, ... Through Thy resurrection, ... Through Thine ascension, ... Through Thy joys, ... Through Thy glory, ...
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Jesus.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us, O Jesus.
Jesus, hear us. Jesus, graciously hear us.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast said: Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; grant, we beseech Thee, unto us who ask, the gift of Thy most divine love, that we may ever love Thee with all our hearts, and in all our words and actions, and never cease from showing forth Thy praise. Make us, O Lord, to have a perpetual fear and love of Thy holy Name; for Thou never failest to govern those whom Thou dost solidly establish in Thy love. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
The Angelus
℣ The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
℟ And she conceived of the Holy Ghost.
Hail, Mary...
℣ Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
℟ Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail, Mary...
℣ And the Word was made flesh.
℟ And dwelt among us.
Hail, Mary...
℣ Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God.
℟ That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord! Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Evening Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Place Yourself in the Presence of God and Humbly Adore Him.
O my God, I present myself before Thee at the end of an other day, to offer Thee anew the homage of my heart. I humbly adore Thee, my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Judge! I believe in Thee, because Thou art Truth itself; I hope in Thee, because Thou art faithful to Thy promises; I love Thee with my whole heart, because Thou art infinitely worthy of being loved; and for Thy sake I love my neighbour as myself.
Return Thanks to God for All His Mercies.
Enable me, O my God, to return Thee thanks as I ought for all Thine inestimable blessings and favours. Thou hast thought of me and loved me from all eternity; Thou hast formed me out of nothing; Thou hast delivered up Thy beloved Son to the ignominious death of the cross for my redemption; Thou hast made me a member of Thy holy Church; Thou hast preserved me from falling into the abyss of eternal misery, when my sins had provoked Thee to punish me; Thou hast graciously continued to spare me, even though I have not ceased to offend Thee. What return, O my God, can I make for Thy innumerable blessings, and particularly for the favours of this day? O all ye saints and angels, unite with me in praising the God of mercies, who is so bountiful to so unworthy a creature.
The Lord’s Prayer...The Hail Mary...The Apostles’ Creed...
Ask of God Light to Discover the Sins Committed this Day.
O my God, sovereign judge of men, who desirest not the death of a sinner, but that he should be converted and saved, enlighten my mind, that I may know the sins which I have this day committed in thought, word, or deed, and give me the grace of true contrition.
Here Examine your Conscience; then Say:
O my God, I heartily repent and am grieved that I have offended Thee, because Thou art infinitely good and sin is infinitely displeasing to Thee. I humbly ask of Thee mercy and pardon, through the infinite merits of Jesus Christ. I resolve, by the assistance of Thy grace, to do penance for my sins, and I will endeavour never more to offend Thee.
The Confiteor
I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the saints, and to you, Father, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy apostles Peter and Paul, all the saints, and you, Father, to pray to the Lord our God for me. May Almighty God have mercy upon us, and forgive us our sins, and bring us unto life everlasting. Amen.
May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant us pardon, absolution, and remission of our sins. Amen.
Pray for the Church of Christ.
O God, hear my prayers on behalf of our Holy. Father Pope N., our Bishops, our clergy, and for all that are in authority over us. Bless, I beseech Thee, the whole Catholic Church, and convert all heretics and unbelievers.
Pray for the Living and for the Faithful Departed.
Pour down Thy blessings, O Lord, upon all my friends, relations, and acquaintances, and upon my enemies, if I have any. Help the poor and sick, and those who are in their last agony. O God of mercy and goodness, have compassion on the souls of the faithful in purgatory; put an end to their sufferings, and grant to them eternal light, rest, and happiness. Amen.
Commend Yourself to God, to the Blessed Virgin, and the Saints.
Bless, O Lord, the repose I am about to take, that, my bodily strength being renewed, I may be the better enabled to serve Thee. O blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of mercy, pray for me that I may be preserved this night from all evil, whether of body or soul. Blessed St. Joseph, and all ye saints and angels of Paradise, especially my guardian angel and my chosen patron, watch over me. I commend myself to your protection now and always. Amen.
Preparation for Meditation
At this point I will read the paragraph in the daily meditation from Hamon’s meditation of the next day entitled “Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation” and, if applicable, “Summary of the Meditation for the Feast...”
This will allow me to be passively thinking about, during the coming night, the meditation, and the points of the meditation, I will be doing in the morning, during my morning prayer.
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us. Holy Mother of God, pray for us. Holy virgin of virgins, ...
Mother of Christ, ...
Mother of divine grace, ...
Mother most pure, ...
Mother most chaste, ...
Mother inviolate, ...
Mother undefiled, ...
Mother most amiable, ...
Mother most admirable, ...
Mother of our Creator, ...
Mother of our Saviour, ...
Virgin most prudent. ...
Virgin most venerable, ...
Virgin most renowned, ...
Virgin most powerful, ...
Virgin most merciful, ...
Virgin most faithful, ...
Mirror of justice, ... Seat of wisdom, ...
Cause of our joy, ...
Spiritual vessel, ...
Vessel of honour, ... Singular vessel of devotion, ...
Mystical rose, ... Tower of David, ... Tower of ivory, ... House of gold, ... Ark of the covenant, ... Gate of heaven, ... Morning star, ... Health of the sick, ... Refuge of sinners, ... Comforter of the afflicted, ... Help of Christians, ... Queen of angels, ... Queen of patriarchs, ... Queen of prophets, ... Queen of apostles, ... Queen of martyrs, ... Queen of confessors, ... Queen of virgins, ... Queen of all saints, ... Queen conceived without original sin. ... Queen of the most holy rosary, ... Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray.
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by His passion and cross, be brought to the glory of His resurrection. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Monday in Holy Week: What Christ Suffered from His Apostles
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will meditate tomorrow on what Christ suffered from His apostles during His Passion; that is to say, first, from Judas who betrayed Him; second, from St Peter who denied Him; third, from the other apostles who forsook Him. We will then make the resolution: first, to mistrust ourselves and to confide in God only; second, patiently to bear all the trials which may be inflicted on us by creatures, even by our best friends. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the complaint of Job applied to Our Saviour: “My kinsmen have forsaken me” (Job xix:14).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ whose heart was so full of love for His apostles, so patient to their faults, so generous in the favours He heaped upon them, and yet, notwithstanding so much kindness, betrayed, denied, and forsaken by them. Let us adore His mercy, let us praise and bless His indulgence towards human weakness.
Jesus betrayed by Judas
Our Lord had overwhelmed Judas with His kindnesses; He had made him His apostle and His friend, He had honoured him with the power of working miracles at the Last Supper, He had washed his feet, He had given Himself entirely to him in the Holy Communion, and behold, instead of being grateful to Him for so many benefits, the miserable wretch sells Him to the Jews for thirty pieces of silver, walks at the head of His enemies who come to take Him, and gives Him the perfidious kiss which was the signal agreed upon to point Him out to the soldiers who were to arrest Him. Oh, how sad was this treachery to the heart of Jesus! If it be painful, when we love, not to be able to make ourselves loved, what is it, then, to receive in return for our love nothing but perfidy and malice? Our Lord willed to suffer this trial in order to console those who are tried by ingratitude or treachery, and to teach them how to behave in the like circumstances. He meets treachery with nothing but kindness and meekness. My friend, He said to Judas. It was as much as to say to him, if you do not love me any longer, I still love you, and I am as ready to give you pardon as to receive the injury you are doing Me without a cause; and it is as much as to say to us, never to be angry, even with those of whom we have most cause to complain; to have compassion, rather than indignation, for every man who sins, and never to lose confidence in the divine mercy, since Jesus Christ calls Judas His friend even after his crime. “Wherefore art thou come?” (Matt. xxvi:50) the Saviour adds. How much is contained in this! Wherefore! wherefore, O Judas? For thirty pieces of silver and the malediction of God, for a little temporal gain and eternal damnation! What folly! Wherefore, O Christian soul, such anxieties, such earnest solicitude to satisfy pride, ambition, cupidity? What will you gain from it all? Wherefore such pusillanimity in the service of God, tepidity in prayer, time lost in useless conversations, in reading frivolous books? What will you gain from it all? Wherefore your whole life? Wherefore each one of your actions? What is the object of them? What is the fruit of them? Oh, what unreasonableness there is in the man who sins, in the man who proposes to himself any other end except God, whether it be as regards what he does or what he proposes to himself.
Jesus denied by St Peter
Let us leave to the silence of meditation to show us what, on this occasion, was the sorrow of the heart of Jesus; and let us meditate on that most useful lesson taught us by the fall and the conversion of the apostle.
First, his fall instructs us. It teaches us, first, to mistrust ourselves. St Peter fell because he presumed on his strength; and thus all who are presumptuous fall when they count upon their own virtue. It teaches us, second, not to separate ourselves from Jesus Christ by mingling too much with the world or by dissipation of thought. St Peter followed the Lord only from afar, says the Gospel. It teaches us, third, to avoid all occasions of sin; St Peter stopped to talk with the servants. It teaches us, fourth, to fortify ourselves by watchfulness and prayer: Jesus Christ had recommended these two means; St Peter had slept in the Garden of Olives. It teaches us, fifth, to rise promptly after the first fall; because unless we do so we fall from abyss to abyss. St Peter said at the first assault, “I know not this man;” at the second, he confirmed this wretched falsehood by an oath; at the third he confirmed his oath by imprecations (Mark xiv:71). Thus we fall from one depth into another when we do not hasten to rise.
Second, the conversion of St Peter instructs us no less than does his fall. It teaches us, first, how good Our Lord is; with a single look He pierces the heart of His apostle and converts him. O loving glance! Peter does not seek Jesus; it is Jesus who makes the first advances towards him. Powerful glance! It raises the courage of Peter and makes him shed a torrent of tears. Glance full of sweetness! It spares Peter the shame of his crime, and cures the ulcer without touching it. Generous glance! Jesus forgets His own sufferings in order to occupy Himself with the conversion of His apostle; He comes back to His slave after having been outraged by him. Happy those who, understanding the power of this divine glance, know how to show Him their wounds and open to Him their heart! The conversion of St Peter teaches us, second, to weep over our sins, not from fear, but from love, to weep over them bitterly (Matt. xxvi:75), to weep over them always. Peter wept until his death over the misfortune of having denied his Master; and his cheeks bore, as long as he lived, traces of the river of tears which flowed from his eyes. Let us collect together in the bottom of our hearts all the lessons offered us by the sin and the conversion of the apostle and let us profit by them.
Jesus abandoned by the whole of his apostles
The apostles, who had so ardently protested that they would die for Jesus Christ, lost courage in presence of the danger, and they all abandoned Him. Let us learn from hence: first, how weak and miserable man is of himself, and how little is required to make us fail in our best resolutions; how much, consequently, we ought to mistrust our own strength, nor count upon ourselves, nor expose ourselves to occasions of sin, but watch and pray without ceasing, in order to call to our aid His grace, which alone can enable us to live well. Let us learn, second, not to count upon the friendships of the world, or to allow ourselves to be disconcerted when they fail us. The apostles had all of them promised Jesus Christ that they would never abandon Him, and at the first signal of danger they all took flight. If Jesus Christ bore this abandonment, let us, following His example, bear to be forsaken by even those on whom we imagined we had the most right to depend; let us be content with having God, who will never abandon us, He will remain with us, and He suffices us.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.