[NB the reading is taken from the pre1955 Roman Office.]
Invitatory Antiphon
|
Laudémus Deum nostrum * In confessióne beátae
Francescae. |
Let us praise our God * for the confession
of blessed Frances. |
NR 230*
Hymn
|
Huius obtentu, Deus
alme, nostris Parce iam culpis, vitia
remíttens, Quo tibi puri resonémus
almum Péctoris hymnum. |
Fountain of mercy, hear the prayers she
offers; Purge our offences, pardon our
transgressions, So that hereafter we to thee may render
Praise with thanksgiving. |
|
Gloria Patri, genitǽque
Proli, Et tibi, compar
utriúsque semper, Spíritus alme, Deus
unus, Omni témpore saecli. Amen. |
Glory be to the All-Father, the
One-Begotten, And to you, equal power always possessing Holy Ghost, One God Throughout all the ages. Amen. |
LR 212/LH 288
Nocturn I
|
Lectio i: De libro Ecclesiastici - Confitebor tibi, Domine rex, et collaudabo te
Deum salvatorem meum. Confitebor nomini tuo,quoniam adjutor et protector
factus es mihi,et liberasti corpus meum a perditione: a laqueo linguæ iniquæ,
et a labiis operantium mendacium: et in conspectu astantium factus es mihi
adjutor. Et liberasti me, secundum multitudinem misericordiæ nominis tui, a
rugientibus præparatis ad escam: de manibus quærentium animam meam, et de
portis tribulationum quæ circumdederunt me; a pressura flammæ quæ circumdedit
me, et in medio ignis non sum æstuatus; de altitudine ventris inferi, et a
lingua coinquinata, et a verbo mendacii, a rege iniquo, et a lingua injusta. |
Reading
1: From
the book of Ecclesiasticus - I will give glory to thy name: for thou hast
been a helper and protector to me. And hast preserved my body from
destruction, from the snare of an unjust tongue, and from the lips of them
that forge lies, and in the sight of them that stood by, thou hast been my
helper. And thou hast delivered me, according to the multitude of the mercy
of thy name, from them that did roar, prepared to devour. Out of the hands of
them that sought my life, and from the gates of afflictions, which compassed
me about: from the oppression of the flame which surrounded me, and in the
midst of the fire I was not burnt. From the depth of the belly of hell, and
from an unclean tongue, and from lying words, from an unjust king, and from a
slanderous tongue:
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R. Diffúsa est / grátia in
lábiis tuis, * Proptérea benedíxit te Deus in ætérnum. V. Spécie tua et pulchritúdine
tua inténde, † próspere procéde, et regna. R. Proptérea benedíxit te Deus
in ætérnum. |
R. Grace is poured into thy lips;
* Therefore God hath blessed thee forever. V. Thy garments smell of myrrh,
and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces whereby kings' daughters
among thy honourable women have made thee glad. R. Therefore God hath blessed thee
forever. |
LR 254
|
Lectio ii: Laudabit usque ad mortem anima mea Dominum, et vita mea appropinquans
erat in inferno deorsum. Circumdederunt me undique, et non erat qui
adjuvaret: respiciens eram ad adjutorium hominum, et non erat. Memoratus sum
misericordiæ tuæ Domine, et operationis tuæ, quæ a sæculo sunt: quoniam eruis
sustinentes te, Domine, et liberas eos de manibus gentium. Exaltasti super
terram habitationem meam, et pro morte defluente deprecatus sum. Invocavi
Dominum patrem Domini mei, ut non derelinquat me in die tribulationis meæ, et
in tempore superborum, sine adjutorio. Laudabo nomen tuum assidue, et
collaudabo illud in confessione: et exaudita est oratio mea, et liberasti me
de perditione, et eripuisti me de tempore iniquo. Propterea confitebor, et
laudem dicam tibi, et benedicam nomini Domini. |
Reading
2: My
soul shall praise the Lord even to death. And my life was drawing near to
hell beneath. They compassed me on every side, and there was no one that
would help me. I looked for the succour of men, and there was none. I
remembered thy mercy, O Lord, and thy works, which are from the beginning of
the world. How thou deliverest them that wait for thee, O Lord, and savest them
out of the hands of the nations. Thou hast exalted my dwelling place upon the
earth and I have prayed for death to pass away. I called upon the Lord, the
father of my Lord, that he would not leave me in the day of my trouble, and
in the time of the proud without help. I will praise thy name continually,
and will praise it with thanksgiving, and my prayer was heard. And thou hast
saved me from destruction, and hast delivered me from the evil time. Therefore
I will give thanks, and praise thee, and bless the name of the Lord.
|
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R. Pulchra facie,
/ sed pulchrior fide, beata es, Francisca, † respuens mundum
laetaberis cum Angelis: * Intercede pro omnibus nobis. V. Specie tua et
pulchritudine tua intende, † prospere procede, et regna. R. Intercede pro
omnibus nobis. |
R. You are
beautiful, but more beautiful still is your faith, Frances,
through which, despising the world, you shall rejoice with the angels:
Intercede for all of us. V. In thy
comeliness and thy beauty, go forward, fare prosperously, and reign. R. Intercede for
all of us. |
LR 218
|
Lectio iii: Francisca nobilis
matrona Romana, ab ineunte ætate illustria dedit virtutum exempla: etenim
pueriles ludos et illecebras mundi respuens, solitudine et oratione magnopere
delectabatur. Undecim annos nata, virginitatem suam Deo consecrare, et
monasterium ingredi proposuit: parentum tamen voluntati humiliter
obtemperans, Laurentio de Pontianis, juveni æque diviti ac nobili nupsit. In
matrimonio arctioris vitæ propositum, quantum licuit, semper retinuit: a
spectaculis, conviviis, aliisque hujusmodi oblectamentis abhorrens, lanea ac
vulgari veste utens, et quidquid a domesticis curis supererat temporis,
orationi aut proximorum utilitati tribuens: in id vero maxima sollicitudine
incumbens, ut matronas Romanas a pompis sæculi et ornatus vanitate revocaret.
Quapropter domum Oblatarum, sub regula
sancti Benedicti, congregationis Montis Oliveti, adhuc viro alligata, in Urbe
instituit. Viri exsilium, bonorum jacturam, ac universæ domus mœrorem non
modo constantissime toleravit: sed gratias agens cum beato Job, illud
frequenter usurpabat: Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit: sit nomen Domini
benedictum. Viro defuncto, ad prædictam Oblatarum domum convolans, nudis
pedibus, fune ad collum alligato, humi prostrata, multis cum lacrimis earum
numero adscribi suppliciter postulavit. Voti compos facta, licet esset omnium mater,
non alio tamen quam ancillæ, vilissimæque feminæ, et immunditiæ vasculi
titulo gloriabatur. Quam vilem sui existimationem et verbo declaravit et
exemplo: sæpe enim e suburbana vinea revertens, et lignorum fascem proprio
capiti impositum deferens, vel eisdem onustum agens per Urbem asellum,
pauperibus subveniebat, in quos étiam largas eleemosynas erogabat:
ægrotantesque in xenodochiis visitans, non corporali tantum cibo, sed
salutaribus monitis recreabat. Corpus suum vigiliis, jejuniis, cilicio,
ferreo cingulo, crebrisque flagellis in servitutem redigere jugiter
satagebat. Cibum illi semel in die herbæ et legumina, aqua potum præbuit. Hos
tamen corporis cruciatus aliquando confessarii mandato, a cujus ore nutuque
pendebat, modice temperavit. Divina mysteria, præsertim vero Christi Domini
passionem, tanto mentis ardore, tantaque lacrimarum vi contemplabatur, ut præ
doloris magnitudine pene confici videretur. Sæpe étiam cum oraret, maxime
sumpto sanctissimæ Eucharistiæ sacramento, spiritu in Deum elevata, ac
cælestium contemplatione rapta, immobilis permanebat. Quapropter humani
generis hostis variis eam contumeliis ac verberibus a proposito dimovere
conabatur: quem tamen illa imperterrita semper elusit; Angeli præsertim
præsidio, cujus familiari consuetudine gloriosum de eo triumphum reportavit.
Gratia curationum et prophetiæ dono enituit, quo et futura prædixit, et
cordium secreta penetravit. Non semel aquæ, vel per rivum decurrentes, vel e
cælo labentes, intactam prorsus, dum Deo vacaret, reliquerunt. Modica panis
fragmenta, quæ vix tribus sororibus reficiendis fuissent satis, sic ejus
precibus Dominus multiplicavit, ut quindecim inde exsaturatis, tantum
superfuerit, ut canistrum impleverit: et aliquando earumdem sororum, extra
Urbem mense Januario ligna parantium, sitim recentis uvæ racemis ex vitæ in
arbore pendentibus mirabiliter obtentis, abunde expleverit. Denique meritis
et miraculis clara, migravit ad Dominum, anno ætatis suæ quinquagesimo sexto.
Quam Paulus quintus Pontifex Maximus in
Sanctorum numerum retulit. |
Reading 3: The noble Roman matron Frances was born in
the year 1384, and was a pattern of godliness from her earliest years. As a
child she shrank from games, and set no store by the amusements of the world,
but delighted to be continually alone and engaged in prayer. At the age of
eleven years she desired to consecrate her virginity to God, and to enter a
convent, but humbly yielded obedience to the wishes of her parents, and was
married to Lawrence de' Pontiani, a young man whose rank was equal to his
wealth. As a wife she persevered, as far as she lawfully could, in her
determination to lead an austere life; she abstained as much as possible from
going to shows, feasts, and such like amusements, dressed plainly in woollen
stuffs, and spent in prayer or the service of her neighbour whatever time she
did not occupy with her duties as mistress of her husband's house. She strove
earnestly to wean the married women of Rome from the vanities of the world
and the frivolities of dress. To this end she founded during her husband's
lifetime the Sisterhood of the Oblates, under the rule of the Benedictine
congregation called of the Mount of Olives. When it pleased God, (in the year
1413,) that her husband should be banished, all her goods taken away, and her
home ruined, she meekly bowed down before His holy will, often repeating the
words of the blessed Job The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed
be the name of the Lord. On her husband's death she (in 1437) betook herself
immediately to the house of the Oblates, and, with her feet bare and a rope
round her neck, threw herself down on the threshold, entreating the sisters
with tears to receive her into their number. When she obtained her wish,
although she was the mother of them all, she would be among them only as one
that served, glorying rather to be called the most degraded of women and a
vessel of uncleanness. Her lowly esteem of herself was shown both by her word
and example. She passed often through the city from a vineyard in the country
carrying a bundle of sticks on her head, or driving an ass laden with
faggots; she succoured the needy, for whom she collected large alms, and
visited the sick in the hospitals, ministering to them both food for the body
and exhortations healthful for their souls. She strove continually to bring
her body into subjection by watchings, fastings, haircloth, the wearing of an
iron girdle, and the often use of a scourge. She never ate but once a day,
and then only vegetables, and she took no drink but water. These severities
she however sometimes relaxed, in obedience to her confessor, on whose word
and wishes she framed her customs. So great was her mental realisation of the
things of God, and chiefly of the sufferings of the Lord Christ, and so
abundant her tears in contemplating them, that she seemed sometimes about to
sink under her grief. Often when she was engaged in prayer, and principally
after she had received the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, her spirit
became altogether lifted up to God, and she remained motionless, carried away
by the thought of heavenly things. The enemy of man assailed her with diverse
reproaches and buffetings to break her off her intent, but she feared him
not, and with the help of an Angel whom God gave her to be her familiar
friend, she won a noble victory over the tempter. God glorified her with the
gifts of healing and of prophecy, whereby she foretold things to come, and
saw the secrets of the hearts of men. More than once while her thoughts were
busy in God she remained unwet by streams or rain. When there was left only
bread enough for three sisters, the Lord at her prayers was pleased so to
multiply it, that fifteen had enough, and the basket was filled again with
the fragments. In the month of January also, when the sisters were gathering
sticks in the country, and were thirsty, she satisfied them abundantly with
bunches of fresh grapes from a tree. She departed to be with the Lord, famous
for good works and miracles, in the fifty-sixth year of her age, (upon the
9th day of March, in the year of our Lord 1440.) The Supreme Pontiff Paul V.
caused her to be numbered among the saints. |
|
℟. Veni, / elécta mea, et ponam
in te thronum meum * Quia concupívit Rex spéciem tuam. ℣. Spécie tua et pulchritúdine
tua inténde, † próspere procéde, et regna. ℟. Quia concupívit Rex spéciem tuam. ℣. Glória Patri, et Fílio, et
Spirítui Sancto. ℟. Quia concupívit Rex spéciem
tuam. |
℟. Come, O my chosen one, and I will establish my throne in you; * For
the King has greatly desired your beauty. ℣. In your
comeliness and your beauty, go forward, fare prosperously, and reign. ℟. For the King has greatly desired your beauty. ℣. Glory
be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. ℟. For the
King has greatly desired your beauty. |
LR
216
Nocturn II
Chapter
(Proverbs 31:20-21) and versicle
|
Manum
suam apéruit ínopi, † et palmas suas exténdit ad páuperem. * Non timébit
dómui suæ a frigóribus nivis. ℟. Deo grátias. |
She has
opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor. She
shall not fear for her house in the cold of snow. |
|
℣. Dilexisti iustitiam, et odisti iniquitatem. ℟. Propterea unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, oleo lætitiæ. |
℣. You have
loved justice, and hated iniquity. ℟. Therefore
God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness. |
Collect
|
Orémus:
Deus, qui beátam Francíscam fámulam tuam, inter cétera grátiæ tuæ dona,
familiári Angeli consuetúdine decorásti: concéde, quǽsumus; ut, intercessiónis
eius auxílio, Angelórum consórtium cónsequi mereámur. Per
Dóminum nostrum Jesum Christum, Fílium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in
unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. R. Amen. |
O
God, Who along with other gifts of thy grace honored blessed Frances, thy
handmaid, with the close companionship of an angel, grant, we beseech thee,
that by the help of her intercession we may be made worthy to attain the
companionship of angels. Through
Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the
unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen. |
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