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Monday in Passion Week
- dshog9
- Mar 26, 2023
- 4 min read
Martyrology - 27th of March
On the morrow we keep the feast of the holy Confessor and Doctor of the Church, John of Damascus, famous for holiness and teaching. He strove manfully for the honouring of the holy images, both by word and writing, against the Emperor Leo the Isaurian wherefore the Emperor commanded that his right hand should be smitten off; whereupon he commended himself to the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which he had defended, and forthwith he received back his hand whole and sound. Of whom mention is made upon the 6th day of May.
Upon the same 27th day of March were born into the better life::
At Druzipara, in Pannonia, under the Emperor Maximian, the holy soldier Alexander, who after triumphing for Christ in many contendings, and working many miracles, was beheaded, and so finished his testimony.
On the same day, the holy martyrs the Senator Philetus, his wife Lydia, and his children Macedon and Theoprepis, as also the General Amphilochius, and the notary Chronides, who were all slain for confessing Christ.
In Persia, the holy martyrs Zanitas, Lazarus, Marotes, Narses, and five others, who were most cruelly slain under Sapor, King of the Persians, and so won the palm of martyrdom, [in the year 326.]
At Salzburg, [in the year 718,] the holy Confessor Rupert, Bishop of that see, who wondrously spread the gospel among the Bavarians and Styrians.
In Egypt, the holy Hermit John, a man of great holiness, who, among other graces, was gifted with the spirit of prophecy, whereby he foretold unto the Emperor Theodosius his victory over the tyrants Maximus and Eugenius.
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:
Evening Prayer
Monday in Passion Week: How we ought to Love Jesus Crucified
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
After having meditated how greatly the crucified Jesus has loved us, we will now meditate upon how we ought to love Him ourselves, and we shall see that we ought to love Him, first, with a penitent love in memory of the past; second, with a generous and fervent love for the present and the future. We will then make the resolution: first, to address frequently, during the day, loving aspirations of love to Jesus suffering and dying for us; second, to perform all our actions from a motive of love for Him, and to give, with this object in view, all the perfection of which we are capable to these actions. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of St Paul: “Christ died for all, that they who live may not now live to themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again” (II Cor. v:15).
Meditation for the Morning
Let us prostrate ourselves in spirit at the feet of Jesus Christ suffering and dying for us, and let us offer Him our most fervent homage of adoration, of gratitude, and of love.
We ought to love Jesus crucified with a penitent love in memory of the past
How full of shame for us, what a subject for regret and repentance, is our whole past, studied at the foot of the cross! Alas! is it not true that the cross of the Saviour has most often found in us nothing but lukewarmness and insensibility, perhaps even coldness and baseness? Is it not true that the cross is like a great book, in which our sins are written in characters of blood? The flesh of the divine Saviour, which is torn to pieces, and His blood, which flows under the lashes of the scourges, are an accusation against the unruly love we have for our body. His head, crowned with thorns, reproaches the pride of our minds and the vanity of our thoughts. The gall and vinegar which He is given to drink protest against the effeminacy and sensuality of our tastes. His face, wounded with blows and covered with spittle, condemns our desire to make a parade and attract notice, our horror of humiliation and contempt. The nails which fasten Him to the cross ought to make us blush for our love of liberty and of our inborn independence. Lastly, His death speaks to us of the enormity of our sins, which are the cause of it. O Jesus, whom I ought so much to love, how I regret to have so greatly offended Thee! Penitence ought to be my portion forever; and, instructed by the voice which issues from all Thy wounds, I will begin a new life.
We ought to love Jesus crucified with a generous and fervent love
If a man were to show us kindness, we should not be insensible to it. If he were to sacrifice for us his fortune, we should think that we could never thank and love him sufficiently. What would it be, then, if to the sacrifice of his fortune he were to sacrifice his honour and sacrifice his liberty to the extent of allowing himself to be bound and scourged like a slave? What would it be, above all, if he were to sacrifice his life in order to save ours? Can we conceive a heart sufficiently bad to offend such a benefactor, or to refuse him a sacrifice, no matter what it might be? O crucified Jesus, who hast done all this and infinitely more still—who hast heaped ineffable benefits upon us, which were the cause of Thy holy death, how then can we have the heart to offend Thee? to refuse Thee aught, when Thou givest all, when Thou givest Thy own self without reserve? How can we be attached to earthly possessions when Thou art all naked upon the cross? How can we indulge in self-love and vanity when Thou art covered with confusion? How can we give way to self-will when Thou dost obey even unto death? to pleasure and enjoyment, when for us Thou didst taste suffering? No, my God, it is not possible.
To Thee is due a generous love which spares nothing, which sacrifices everything without reserve. But even that is not enough. To this generous love ought to be united fervour; that is to say, that noble and delicate sentiment, which, after having given all, humbly confesses that it is a million times too little; that it is nothing in comparison with what Thou dost deserve, O crucified Jesus! Such was the love of the saints, They always aspired to love more and more, and, whatever they did, to do a thousand times more, and a thousand times more still. They consumed themselves with holy desires to love always more. They would have desired to love infinitely if they had been able, because they comprehended that our great God is millions of times worthy of an infinite love. Hence it was that on one side they never relaxed their efforts, and always made progress; and on the other were always very humble, ashamed and confused not to love more. Oh, who will give us this fervent love which burns ceaselessly like a living flame and is fed in consuming itself? O love, come to me, consume me; may I no longer live except by love, and may I die of love! O crucified Jesus, give me, like St Paul, a heart able to say: The love of Jesus Christ constrains my heart, nand nothing can stay its holy ardour (II Cor. v:14; Rom. viii:37)
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.
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