February 25, 2009 - Ash Wednesday

1.) OLD ROMAN LECTIONARY

Introit

(Wisdom 11:24, 25, 27; Psalm 56:2 [57:1])

You have mercy upon all, O Lord, and loathe nothing that you have made, overlooking the sins of men for the sake of repentance and sparing them, for you are the Lord our God.
Have mercy on me, O God; have mercy on me! for my soul trusts in you.
V: Glory be to the Father...
You have mercy upon all, O Lord...

Epistle

(Joel 2:12-19)

Thus says the LORD:
Turn to me with all your heart - with fasting, weeping, and mourning; and rend your hearts and not your clothing.
Return to the LORD, your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and great in loyal love, and He relents from calamity.
Who knows if He will return and relent, and leave a blessing behind Him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, call a solemn assembly!
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation!
Assemble the elders, gather the children and those who suck the breasts;
Let the bridegroom go out from his room, and the bride from her chamber.
Let the priests, who minister to the LORD, weep between the vestibule and the altar.
Let them say, 'Spare your people, O LORD, and do not give your heritage to reproach, that the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, "Where is their God?"'

The LORD has been zealous for His land, and had pity on His people.
The LORD answered and said to His people, "Behold! I am sending grain to you and new wine and oil, and you will be fully satisfied; and I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations," says the LORD almighty.

Gradual

(Psalm 56:2, 4 [57:1, 3])

Have mercy on me, O God; have mercy on me! For my soul trusts in You.
V: He sends from heaven and delivers me, He has put to shame those who trample on me.

Tract

(Psalm 102 [103]:10; Psalm 78 [79]:8, 9)

LORD, do not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
V: LORD, remember not our former iniquities; let your mercies quickly confront us, for we have become very poor.
(Here kneel)
V: Help us, O God, our Savior; and for the glory of your Name, O LORD, deliver us; and forgive us our sins for your Name's sake.

Gospel

(Matthew 6:16-21)

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, "When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites who put on gloomy faces, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Amen I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on the earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not consume and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."

Offertory

(Psalm 29:2-3 [30:1-2])

I will extol You, O LORD, for you lifted me up, and did not let my enemies rejoice over me;
O LORD, my God, I cried out to you, and you healed me.

Communion

(Psalm 1:2, 3)

He who meditates on the Law of the LORD day and night, shall bring forth his fruit in due season.

2.) NEW ROMAN LECTIONARY

First Reading

(Joel 2:12-18)

Psalm

(Psalm 51 [50]:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 [1-2, 3-4a, 10-11, 12 and 15])

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
According to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Thoroughly wash me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever in front of me.
Against you – only you – have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your Presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O LORD, open my lips, and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Second Reading

(2 Corinthians 5:20 - 6:2)

Brothers and sisters:
We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We plead with you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. For He made Him who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we would become the righteousness of God in Him. Working together, then, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says, "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the 'acceptable time'; behold, now is 'the day of salvation'!

Gospel

(Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

Jesus said to His disciples, "Be careful not to display your righteousness before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

"Thus, whenever you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Amen I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your alms may be in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Amen, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.

"And when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites who put on gloomy faces, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Amen I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you."

3.) MOZARABIC LECTIONARY
(Feria Quarta in Capite Jejunii)

Prophecy

(Proverbs 1:23-32)

Son:
Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known.
Because I have called and you refused; I have stretched out my hand and no one heeded.
You disdained all my counsel, and neglected my reproof.
I will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when your dread comes;
When your dread comes like a whirlwind, and your disaster comes like a storm; when distress and trouble come upon you;
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will rise in the morning, but they will not find me.
Because they have hated instruction, and did not choose the fear of the LORD, nor consented to my counsel, but despised all my reproof.
Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own fancies.
The turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacemency of fools will destroy them.

Psallendo

(cf. Isaiah 1:17a)

Behold, the day of the Lord shall come, with great alms and fasting: be prepared to do good to the oppressed, the widows and the orphans.
P: That you may receive a reward in the last days, says the Lord.
V: Learn to do well, seek judgment, relieve the oppressed.
P: That you may receive a reward...

Epistle

(James 1:13-21)

Beloved:
Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God", for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Having willed, He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
Understand this, my dear brethren! Let every man be swift to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Gospel

(Matthew 4:1-11)

At that time, our Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And having fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written: 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Then the devil took him to the holy city, and he stood Him on the highest point of the temple and said to Him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, 'He will command His angels concerning you,' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.'"
Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
And he said to Him, "All these things I will give you if, falling down, you will worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and serve only Him'."
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

Lauda

(Psalm 105 [106]:4)

Alleluia.
V: Remember us, O LORD, in the favor of your people: visit us, o our God, with your salvation.
P: Alleluia.

Sacrificium

This day, prayer shall make you holy; and shall humble your souls; direct your burnt offering to the Lord your God.

Ad accedentes

(Psalm 33:9, 2, 23 [34:8, 1, 22])

Taste and see that the LORD is good; Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
V: I will bless the LORD at all times; continually will His praise be in my mouth.
P: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
V: The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.
P: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
V: Glory and honor to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
P: Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.

February 6 - St. Paulo Miki & Companions

BIOGRAPHY

St. Paulo Miki (パウロ三木) was born in Settsu Province into a rich family, son of the military leader Miki Handayu (三木半太夫). His father, along with 72 other bushi, were baptized in the castle of Iimori in 1563. He was also baptized and took the name of Paulo.

He was educated by Jesuits in the "seminariyo" of Azuchi - the construction of which was finished in 1580 - and in Takatsuki, eventually joining the order as a lay brother (being dubbed イルマン iruman in Japanese, from the Portuguese irmão, "brother") and becoming a preacher; this would continue for eleven more years.

In the fall of 1596, a Spanish ship, the San Felipe, en route to Mexico from Manila was wrecked off the coast of Shikoku. While Japanese officials confiscated the vessel’s cargo, a remark by the ship’s captain was interpreted to mean that missionaries intended to help in the conquest of Japan by Spain. Toyotomi Hideyoshi quickly ordered the arrest of several priests and laymen.

Paulo, along with two of his novice brothers, John Soan De Gotó and James Kisai was among those arrested by order of Toyotomi in late 1596 to early 1597. They were in the residence of the Jesuits in Osaka when they were arrested. The three were brought to a prison in Kyoto, where they were joined by six Franciscans and fifteen members of the Franciscan third order (such as Gonsalo Garcia, Pedro Bautista Blasquez, and Felipe de Jesus). Ishida Mitsunari, a vassal of the Toyotomi clan, originally planned to have Paulo and the other Jesuits to be released, but this eventually did not come to fruition.

They were bound with rope and had their left ear cut off - a departure for the original order given, which stipulated that their noses and both their ears should all be chopped off. Then, to warn other hiding Christians of the punishment that would await them if they were caught, they were paraded through the streets of Kyoto. It was then decided that these 24 people were to be executed in Nagasaki by crucifixion (磔, haritsuke).

Eventually, for one month Paulo and the 23 other priests and converts were crowded in carriages for the six-hundred mile ride from Kyoto to Nagasaki. Along the way, two more prisoners had joined the group, arrested for trying to comfort the victims. The total number of victims had now become twenty-six.

Paulo and the others were led up Nishizaka Hill (西坂), the final mass of land greeting Nagasaki Bay. The road to Omura divided the hill. One side of the road was scattered with human remains, where common criminals were executed; the other side was covered with new, green wheat. The government official in charge of the executions, Terazawa Hazaburo, had been persuaded by influential Portuguese to give the martyrs a more decent place of execution than those of criminals.

The victims were then fastened to crosses - each one tailor-made for the martyrs - with metal bands and ropes, with the hands, feet and neck being kept in position by the rings and the rope keeping the victim bound to the cross through the waist. Fixing Paulo to the cross proved to be difficult, as he was too short and his feet would not reach the lower rings. Under the pressure of time, the executioner had to do without the rings, and strapped Paulo's chest to the cross with a piece of linen, stepping on his chest in the process. A missionary standing by protested, but Paulo assured him: "Let him do his job, Father. It does not really hurt."

The crosses were lifted and slid into holes in the ground, twenty-six stretching in a row from the bay to the road. The martyrs raised their eyes to heaven and sang different hymns and psalm, including the Sanctus, the Song of Zechariah and the Te Deum. Finally, one of the prisoners chanted, "Jesus, Mary. Jesus, Mary."

In front of Paulo's cross was the death sentence Toyotomi had declared:

"As these men came from the Philippines under the guise of ambassadors, and chose to stay in Kyoto preaching the Christian law which I have severely forbidden all these years, I come to decree that they be put to death, together with the Japanese that have accepted that law."

Fastened to his cross, Paul Miki gave his final defense and said in a loud voice:

"All of you who are here, please, listen to me. I did not come from the Philippines, I am a Japanese by birth, and a brother of the Society of Jesus. I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such a cause, and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time, when, you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way.

The Christian religion commands that we forgive our enemies and those who have wronged us. I must therefore say here that I forgive Taikō-sama* and those resposible for my death. I have no hatred for Taikō-sama; indeed I wish that he and all the Japanese would become Christians."

*Taikō-sama (太閤様): Taikō (a retired kampaku) combined with the honorific -sama; usually used in contemporary sources, usually foreign, to denote Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

And then lifting up his heart to heaven, he said: "Lord, into thy hands I commend my spirit. Come to meet me, you Saints of God." Eventually, soon the victims and even the bystanders chanted in unison, "Jesus, Mary...Jesus, Mary!"

But not all chanted. Fray Felipe de Jesus could not sing, as the sitting prop in his cross was too low, and the whole weight of his body hung from the ring around his neck, choking him to death. With the little strength he had left, Philip invoked three times the name of Jesus. Two executioners then put an end to the sufferings of the Mexican martyr by piercing him with spears.

The death of Felipe signalled the start for the executions, There are four men to carry them out, two for each end of the rows. Their lances have long, sword-like blades protected with sheaths. After taking positions, they remove the scabbards and stand at attention.

A guttural yell, a sudden thrust, and the two spears cross each other in the chest of the martyr. Sometimes the blades come through the body at the shoulders. The death is almost immediate. If the victim does not die, another thrust to the neck will give the coup de grace. And so it was that Paulo Miki and the twenty-five others who were crucified in Nishizaki on February 5th of the year 1597 gave up their lives for Christ.

(Homepage of the Twenty-Six Martyrs Museum here)

FIRST READING

(Hebrews 13:1-8)

Brotherly love must continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Remember the prisoners as if imprisoned with them; those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves are in the body also.
Marriage must be honored among all and the bed undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for He has said, "I will never leave you nor abandon you"; so we may confidently say: "The LORD is my helper, (and) I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you, reflect on the outcome of their conduct and imitate their faith.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

(Ps 27:1, 3, 5, 8b-9abc)

R. The LORD is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the defense of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
R. The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Even when an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear.
Even if war rises up against me, in this I will be confident.
R. The LORD is my light and my salvation.
For He will hide me in His booth in the day of trouble;
He will hide me in His tent, on a rock will He lift me up.
R. The LORD is my light and my salvation.
Your face, O LORD, I seek; hide not your face from me!
Do not push your servant away in anger;
You are my Help; do not cast me off.
R. The LORD is my light and my salvation.

GOSPEL

(Mark 6:14-29)

King Herod heard about Jesus, for Jesus’ name had become known. And some were saying, "John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead, and that is why mighty powers are at work in him." But others were saying, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, or like one of the prophets." But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised up."

For Herod himself had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not (because Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he enjoyed listening to him).

And a day of opportunity had come, when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his chief men, and the chiliarchs, and the leaders of Galilee; and when his daughter, Herodias, came in and danced, she pleased Herod and those who reclined at table with him; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." And he swore (many things) to her, "Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom." And she went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptizer."

And at once she came in with haste to the king and made her request, saying, "I want you to give me, on a platter, the head of John the Baptizer immediately."

And being very dejected, the king did not want to reject her because of his oaths and because of those reclining at the table. And the king sent an executioner at once to bring his head; and he went and beheaded him in the prison and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard this, they came and took his corpse and laid it in a tomb.