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Ribbon Placement:
Office of Readings for Thursday in Easter, the Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
God, come to my assistance.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
HYMN
Lo! round the throne, a glorious band,
Through tribulation great they came;
They see their Savior face to face;
“Worthy the Lamb, for sinners slain,
O may we tread the sacred road
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever, alleluia.
Psalm 44
I
We heard with our own ears, O God,
To plant them you uprooted the nations:
It is you, my king, my God,
For it was not in my bow that I trusted
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt, alleluia.
II
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us:
You make us like sheep for the slaughter
You make us the taunt of our neighbors,
All day long my disgrace is before me:
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt, alleluia.
Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful, alleluia.
III
This befell us though we had not forgotten you;
Had we forgotten the name of our God
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep?
For we are brought down low to the dust;
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm-prayer
Lord, rise up and come to our aid; with your strong arm lead us to freedom, as you mightily delivered our forefathers. Since you are the king who knows the secrets of our hearts, fill them with the light of truth.
Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful, alleluia.
Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.
I have known tribulation and distress.
READINGS
First reading
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: “To the presiding spirit of the church in Sardis, write this:
“ ‘The One who holds the seven spirits of God, the seven stars, has this to say: I know your conduct; I know the reputation you have of being alive, when in fact you are dead! Wake up, and strengthen what remains before it dies. I find that the sum of your deeds is less than complete in the sight of my God. Call to mind how you accepted what you heard; keep to it, and repent. If you do not rouse yourselves I will come upon you like a thief, at a time you cannot know. I realize that you have in Sardis a few persons who have not soiled their garments; these shall walk with me in white because they are worthy.
“ ‘The victor shall go clothed in white. I will never erase his name from the book of the living, but will acknowledge him in the presence of my Father and his angels.
“To the presiding spirit of the church in Philadelphia, write this:
“ ‘The holy One, the true,
“ ‘I know your deeds; that is why I have left an open door before you which no one can close. I know that your strength is limited; yet you have held fast to my word and have not denied my name. I mean to make some of Satan’s assembly, those self-styled Jews who are not really Jews but frauds, come and fall down at your feet; they will learn of my love for you in that way. Because you have kept my plea to stand fast, I will keep you safe in the time of trial which is coming on the whole world, to test all men on earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have lest someone rob you of your crown.
“ ‘I will make the victor a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall never leave it. I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which he will send down from heaven, and my own name which is new.
“To the presiding spirit of the church in Laodicea, write this:
“ ‘The Amen, the faithful Witness and true, the Source of God’s creation, has this to say: I know your deeds; I know you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were one or the other—hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth! You keep saying, “I am so rich and secure that I want for nothing.” Little do you realize how wretched you are, how pitiable and poor, how blind and naked! Take my advice. Buy from me gold refined by fire if you would be truly rich. Buy white garments in which to be clothed, if the shame of your nakedness is to be covered. Buy ointment to smear on your eyes, if you would see once more.
“ ‘Whoever is dear to me I reprove and chastise. Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent!
RESPONSORY Revelation 3:20; 2:7
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
Those who gain the victory, I will feed from the tree of life which grows in the garden of God.
Second reading
As we do battle and fight in the contest of faith, God, his angels and Christ himself watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown with Christ as judge.
Dear brethren, let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle by innocence of heart, integrity of faith, dedication to virtue.
The blessed Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves: Put round you the belt of truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one; take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Let us take this armor and defend ourselves with these spiritual defenses from heaven, so that we may be able to resist the threats of the devil, and fight back on the evil day.
Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our hearts may be safeguarded, proof against the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be protected by the shoes of the teaching of the Gospel so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and crush it, we may not be bitten and tripped up by it.
Let us with fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.
Let us wear on our head the helmet of the spirit to defend our ears against the proclamations of death, our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, our forehead so that God’s sign may be kept intact, our lips so that our tongue may proclaim victoriously its faith in Christ its Lord.
Let us arm our right hand with the sword of the spirit so that it may courageously refuse the daily sacrifices, and like the hand – mindful of the eucharist – that receives the body of the Lord, stretch out to embrace him, and so gain from the Lord the future prize of a heavenly crown.
Dear brethren, have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, does not begin to panic at the thought of battle, but is ready for the crown of victory.
RESPONSORY
For the law of God his holy man engaged in combat even unto death. He fears no wicked threats;
He renounced earthly joys, and gained the kingdom of heaven.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)
Let us praise the Lord.
By Divine Office (DivineOffice.org)Ribbon Placement:
Office of Readings for Thursday in Easter, the Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr
God, come to my assistance.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
HYMN
Lo! round the throne, a glorious band,
Through tribulation great they came;
They see their Savior face to face;
“Worthy the Lamb, for sinners slain,
O may we tread the sacred road
PSALMODY
Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever, alleluia.
Psalm 44
I
We heard with our own ears, O God,
To plant them you uprooted the nations:
It is you, my king, my God,
For it was not in my bow that I trusted
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever, alleluia.
Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt, alleluia.
II
Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us:
You make us like sheep for the slaughter
You make us the taunt of our neighbors,
All day long my disgrace is before me:
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt, alleluia.
Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful, alleluia.
III
This befell us though we had not forgotten you;
Had we forgotten the name of our God
Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep?
For we are brought down low to the dust;
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
Psalm-prayer
Lord, rise up and come to our aid; with your strong arm lead us to freedom, as you mightily delivered our forefathers. Since you are the king who knows the secrets of our hearts, fill them with the light of truth.
Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful, alleluia.
Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.
I have known tribulation and distress.
READINGS
First reading
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: “To the presiding spirit of the church in Sardis, write this:
“ ‘The One who holds the seven spirits of God, the seven stars, has this to say: I know your conduct; I know the reputation you have of being alive, when in fact you are dead! Wake up, and strengthen what remains before it dies. I find that the sum of your deeds is less than complete in the sight of my God. Call to mind how you accepted what you heard; keep to it, and repent. If you do not rouse yourselves I will come upon you like a thief, at a time you cannot know. I realize that you have in Sardis a few persons who have not soiled their garments; these shall walk with me in white because they are worthy.
“ ‘The victor shall go clothed in white. I will never erase his name from the book of the living, but will acknowledge him in the presence of my Father and his angels.
“To the presiding spirit of the church in Philadelphia, write this:
“ ‘The holy One, the true,
“ ‘I know your deeds; that is why I have left an open door before you which no one can close. I know that your strength is limited; yet you have held fast to my word and have not denied my name. I mean to make some of Satan’s assembly, those self-styled Jews who are not really Jews but frauds, come and fall down at your feet; they will learn of my love for you in that way. Because you have kept my plea to stand fast, I will keep you safe in the time of trial which is coming on the whole world, to test all men on earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have lest someone rob you of your crown.
“ ‘I will make the victor a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall never leave it. I will inscribe on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which he will send down from heaven, and my own name which is new.
“To the presiding spirit of the church in Laodicea, write this:
“ ‘The Amen, the faithful Witness and true, the Source of God’s creation, has this to say: I know your deeds; I know you are neither hot nor cold. How I wish you were one or the other—hot or cold! But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spew you out of my mouth! You keep saying, “I am so rich and secure that I want for nothing.” Little do you realize how wretched you are, how pitiable and poor, how blind and naked! Take my advice. Buy from me gold refined by fire if you would be truly rich. Buy white garments in which to be clothed, if the shame of your nakedness is to be covered. Buy ointment to smear on your eyes, if you would see once more.
“ ‘Whoever is dear to me I reprove and chastise. Be earnest about it, therefore. Repent!
RESPONSORY Revelation 3:20; 2:7
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
Those who gain the victory, I will feed from the tree of life which grows in the garden of God.
Second reading
As we do battle and fight in the contest of faith, God, his angels and Christ himself watch us. How exalted is the glory, how great the joy of engaging in a contest with God presiding, of receiving a crown with Christ as judge.
Dear brethren, let us arm ourselves with all our might, let us prepare ourselves for the struggle by innocence of heart, integrity of faith, dedication to virtue.
The blessed Apostle teaches us how to arm and prepare ourselves: Put round you the belt of truth; put on the breastplate of righteousness; for shoes wear zeal for the Gospel of peace; take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the burning arrows of the evil one; take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Let us take this armor and defend ourselves with these spiritual defenses from heaven, so that we may be able to resist the threats of the devil, and fight back on the evil day.
Let us put on the breastplate of righteousness so that our hearts may be safeguarded, proof against the arrows of the enemy. Let our feet be protected by the shoes of the teaching of the Gospel so that when we begin to trample on the serpent and crush it, we may not be bitten and tripped up by it.
Let us with fortitude bear the shield of faith to protect us by extinguishing all the burning arrows that the enemy may launch against us.
Let us wear on our head the helmet of the spirit to defend our ears against the proclamations of death, our eyes against the sight of accursed idols, our forehead so that God’s sign may be kept intact, our lips so that our tongue may proclaim victoriously its faith in Christ its Lord.
Let us arm our right hand with the sword of the spirit so that it may courageously refuse the daily sacrifices, and like the hand – mindful of the eucharist – that receives the body of the Lord, stretch out to embrace him, and so gain from the Lord the future prize of a heavenly crown.
Dear brethren, have all this firmly fixed in your hearts. If the day of persecution finds us thinking on these things and meditating upon them, the soldier of Christ, trained by Christ’s commands and instructions, does not begin to panic at the thought of battle, but is ready for the crown of victory.
RESPONSORY
For the law of God his holy man engaged in combat even unto death. He fears no wicked threats;
He renounced earthly joys, and gained the kingdom of heaven.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
O God,
ACCLAMATION (at least in the communal celebration)
Let us praise the Lord.