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Martyrology - 5th of April
Upon the 5th day of April, were born into the better life:
At Vannes, in Brittany, the holy Confessor Vincent, surnamed Ferrer, of the Order of Friars Preachers, who was mighty in work and in word, and brought to Christ many thousands of unbelievers, [in the year 1419.]
At Thessalonica, the holy Virgin Irene. She hid the holy books contrary to the edict of the Emperor Diocletian, and therefore suffered imprisonment, was smitten with an arrow, and burnt with fire by order of the President Dulcetius, the same judge under whom her sisters Agape and Chionia had suffered already.
In the island of Lesbos, suffered five holy martyrs.
On the same day the holy martyr Zeno, who was flayed, daubed over with pitch, and cast into the fire.
In Africa, [in the year 559 or 570,] suffered the holy martyrs who were massacred in church upon Easter day, in the persecution under the Arian king Genseric. Among them was the Reader, who was shot with an arrow through the neck, as he was in the pulpit singing the Alleluja.
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.
Wednesday in Holy Week: Jesus on Calvary
Summary of the Morrow’s Meditation
We will tomorrow accompany Jesus Christ: first, when He ascends the Mount of Calvary; second, when He is crucified there. Our meditation on these two mysteries will make us take the resolution: first, cheerfully to bear all the crosses of life, second, to renew within us the love of Jesus crucified. Our spiritual nosegay shall be the words of a saint: “My Love is crucified.”
Meditation for the Morning
Let us adore Jesus Christ condemned to death at the tribunal of Pilate; let us, in this mystery, admire a mystery of love. Men thought that they were only carrying out their own hatred; they were carrying out the designs of God; they were seconding the love of the Father, giving up to death for us His well-beloved Son; they were seconding the love of the Son, who was glad to die, first, in order to save us; second, to teach us, by His example, to maintain meekness and equanimity amidst the unjust judgments of the world of the trials sent us by Providence. Thanks, O Jesus, for this great lesson! The Jews cried out that Thou didst merit death; that Thou shouldst live no longer (Matt. xxvi:66; John xix:15). It is to me, O my Saviour, it is to my vanity, to my sensuality, that these words are applicable. Yes, these passions deserve death; they must live no longer. O Jesus, make them die in me, so that I may love Thee and henceforth live only for Thee!
Jesus ascending Calvary
Hardly had the sentence of death been pronounced before the cross was presented to the Saviour, and He was ordered to take it upon His shoulders and carry it to Calvary. Who can express the love with which He seized it: that cross for which He had sighed for so long a time; that cross which was about to save the world and to reconcile earth with heaven; that cross which was about to teach the whole human race patience under trials and the road to Paradise! O cross forever lovely! I see my Saviour bow down His shoulders under thy weight, and set off for the place of execution; I rise and follow after Him, and I say to myself: Could I, after that, drag along my cross impatiently and ill-humouredly? Could I do otherwise than bear it cheerfully, with out murmuring and complaining? O cross! whatever you may be, sufferings of the body or sufferings of the soul, come, come to me; I accept you cheerfully; I will bear you henceforth with courage and resolution; I will even add voluntary mortifications, in order more perfectly to resemble my Jesus bearing His cross. It was in meditating upon this mystery that the saints fell in love with the cross; a St Paul to the extent of calling it a precious grace (Philipp. i:29); a St Peter to the extent of saying, Rejoice when you bear the cross with Jesus Christ (I Pet. iv:13); a St Andrew exclaiming, when he beheld the cross on which he was to die, “O good cross, so greatly desired” (Vita S. And.); a St Teresa, who cried out, “Either suffer or die”; a St Catherine of Siena, entreating, “Not to die yet, but to suffer longer.” Jesus, during His progress to Calvary, meets: first, Mary, to teach us to have recourse to her in all our troubles; second, Simon the Cyrenian, to teach us to remember that every Christian may alleviate the weight of the cross of Jesus, whether by diminishing the faults which weigh so painfully upon His heart, whether by bearing in a Christian manner all the crosses which make but one with His; third, the daughters of Jerusalem, who weep at seeing the sad state to which He is reduced. “Weep not for Me,” He says to them, ”but weep for yourselves” (Luke xxiii:28). It is thus, O Saviour, that Thou dost forget Thyself to think only of us; whilst we, alas! so little know how to pity either Thy sufferings or the sufferings of our neighbour. We think only of ourselves, and forget all the rest. May we profit by the lesson Thou didst give us here.
Jesus crucified
Arrived at the summit of Calvary, our adorable Saviour is divested of His tunic. This tunic adhered closely to His bleeding body, and in tearing it violently away from Him all His wounds are opened afresh. O mystery of suffering! Behold Him naked like a worm in the face of the whole of the people, who scoff at Him. O mystery of ignominy! He is told to lie down upon the cross, and He places Himself upon that hard bed, whilst blessing His Father that the hour of the sacrifice has come. He is told to stretch out His hands, and then His feet, and He allows them to be transpierced with nails, to expiate the abuse we have made of our hands and our feet, of our affections and our deeds. O mystery of obedience! Then He is raised upon the cross, which is fixed in the ground; the shock renews all His sufferings, the weight of His body enlarges the wounds in the feet and hands; during three hours He remains suspended between heaven and earth. It is the Eternal Father who offers this sacrifice for our salvation; it is the Supreme Master who, from the height of this new chair, teaches the world detachment, poverty, humility, obedience, patience, and resignation or conformity to the will of God. O mystery of love! It is love which immolates itself, which demands in return all the love of our hearts (Prov. xxiii:26). O Jesus, be hold the poor heart which Thou dost ask for; I give it to Thee; fasten it to Thy cross, so that I may say with the Apostle: “With Jesus Christ I am nailed to the cross” (Gal. ii:19). Thou hast said, “If I be lifted from the earth, I will draw all things to Myself” (John xii:32); accomplish Thy word, O Lord, draw me to Thee; draw there all my heart (Cant. i:3); may it henceforth live only for Thee, may it be Thine alone, in life and at death.
Resolutions and spiritual nosegay as above.