Audi filia

44:11 Audi filia et vide et inclina aurem tuam et obliviscere populum tuum et domum patris tui
44:12 Et concupiscet rex decorem tuum quoniam ipse est dominus tuus et adorabunt eum
44:13 Et; filiae Tyri in muneribus vultum tuum deprecabuntur divites plebis
44:14 Omnis gloria eius filiae regis ab intus in fimbriis aureis
44:15 Circumamicta varietatibus adducentur regi virgines post eam proximae eius adferentur tibi
44:16 Adferentur in laetitia et exultatione adducentur in templum regis
44:17 Pro patribus tuis nati sunt tibi filii constitues eos principes super omnem terram
44:18 Memor ero nominis tui in omni generatione et generatione propterea populi confitebuntur tibi in aeternum et in saeculum saeculi

44:11 Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: and forget thy people and thy father's house.
44:12 And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.
44:13 And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.
44:14 All the glory of the king's daughter is within in golden borders,
44:15 Clothed round about with varieties. After her shall virgins be brought to the king: her neighbours shall be brought to thee.
44:16 They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: they shall be brought into the temple of the king.
44:17 Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.
44:18 They shall remember thy name throughout all generations. Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, for ever and ever.

-- Psalmus 44(11-18) [2], Feria Quarta ad Matutinum

(Photo: The Cistercian Nuns of Valley of Our Lady Monastery, are of the Original Observance of the ancient Order of Citeaux, founded in France, in 1098.)

Regem Archangelorum Dominum, Venite adoremus, alleluia.

Oremus
Deus, qui miro ordine Angelorum ministeria hominumque dispensas:
concede propitius; ut a quibus tibi ministrantibus in coelo semper assistitur,
ab his in terra vita nostra muniatur.
Per Dominum...

Let us pray
O God, Who hast ordained and constituted the services of angels and men in a wonderful order, mercifully grant that as Thy holy angels alway do Thee service in heaven, so, by Thy appointment, they may succour and defend us on earth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ...

Angele Dei

Ángele Dei,
qui custos es mei,
me, tibi commíssum pietáte supérna,
illúmina, custódi,
rege et gubérna.
Amen.

(Art: Archangels Michael and Gabriel (12th century). Orthodox icon at the Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai)

Dominica XX Post Pentecosten

I. Octobris Semiduplex
Commemoratio: S. Wenceslai Ducis et Martyris

Oremus
Largire, quaesumus Domine, fidelibus tuis indulgentiam placatus, et pacem: ut pariter ab omnibus mundentur offensis, et secura tibi mente deserviant.
Per Dominum...

Let us pray
Grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, to Thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve Thee with a quiet mind.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ...

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for Dominica XX Post Pentecosten

Beatae Mariae Virginis de Mercede

Duplex majus ex [C11] Tempora: Feria Quarta in Hebdomadam XIX post Octavam Pentecostem IV. Septembris

Oremus
Deus, qui per gloriosissimam Filii tui Matrem ad liberandos Christifideles a potestate paganorum nova Ecclesiam tuam prole amplificare dignatus es:
praesta quaesumus; ut, quam pie veneramur tanti operis institutricem,
ejus pariter meritis et intercessione a peccatis omnibus,
et captivitate daemonis liberemur.
Per eumdem Dominum nostrum...

Let us pray
O God, Who didst use the glorious Mother of Thy Son as a mean to ransom Christ's faithful people out of the hands of the unbelievers, by enriching Thy Church with yet another family, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who reverently honour her as the Foundress of that great work, may for her sake and by her prayers, be redeemed from all sin and all bondage unto the evil one.
Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord...

For information about Ember Days to be observed 24, 26 and 27 September, please visit Rorate Caeli.

"Omnes gentes plaudite manibus!"

Psalmus 46 [1]
46:1 (in finem pro filiis Core psalmus)
46:2 Omnes gentes, plaudite manibus: iubilate Deo in voce exultationis.
46:3 Quoniam Dominus excelsus, terribilis: Rex magnus super omnem terram.
46:4 Subiecit populos nobis: et gentes sub pedibus nostris.
46:5 Elegit nobis hereditatem suam: speciem Iacob quam dilexit.(diapsalma)
46:6 Ascendit Deus in iubilo: et Dominus in voce tubae
46:7 Psallite Deo nostro, psallite: psallite Regi nostro, psallite
46:8 Quoniam rex omnis terrae Deus: psallite sapienter
46:9 Regnavit Deus super gentes: Deus sedit super sedem sanctam suam
46:10 Principes populorum congregati sunt cum Deo Abraham: quoniam dii fortes terrae vehementer elevati sunt.

--Feria secunda, Ad Laudes I

(Photo NLM: Compliments and best wishes to Fr Meares at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church at Rocky Mount, NC. The sacred liturgy can never be too beautiful for God!)

S. Matthei Apostoli et Evangelistae

Duplex II classis ex [C1a] Commemoratio: Dominica XIX Post Pentecosten IV. Septembris

Oremus
Beati Apostoli et Evangelistae Matthaei, Domine, precibus adjuvemur:
ut, quod possibilitas nostra non obtinet, ejus nobis intercessione donetur.
Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum...

Let us pray
Help us, O Lord, by the prayers of Thine holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, that what for ourselves we are not able to obtain, may be freely given us at his petition.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ...

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for Dominica XIX Post Pentecosten.

(Art: The Calling of St. Matthew by Caravaggio.)

God's Word "acts" and "transforms" through the Breviary

"The Son of God took flesh in the womb of a woman, a virgin. Your cathedral is a living hymn of stone and light in praise of that act, unique in the annals of human history: the eternal Word of God entering our history in the fulness of time to redeem us by his self-offering in the sacrifice of the Cross. Our earthly liturgies, entirely ordered to the celebration of this unique act within history, will never fully express its infinite meaning. Certainly, the beauty of our celebrations can never be sufficiently cultivated, fostered and refined, for nothing can be too beautiful for God, who is himself infinite Beauty. Yet our earthly liturgies will never be more than a pale reflection of the liturgy celebrated in the Jerusalem on high, the goal of our pilgrimage on earth. May our own celebrations nonetheless resemble that liturgy as closely as possible and grant us a foretaste of it!

"Even now the word of God is given to us as the soul of our apostolate, the soul of our priestly life. Each morning the word awakens us. Each morning the Lord himself 'opens our ear' (cf. Is 50:5) through the psalms in the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer. Throughout the day, the word of God becomes the substance of the prayer of the whole Church, as she bears witness in this way to her fidelity to Christ. In the celebrated phrase of Saint Jerome, to be taken up in the XII Assembly of the Synod of Bishops next month: 'Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ' (Prol. in Is.). Dear brother priests, do not be afraid to spend much time reading and meditating on the Scriptures and praying the Divine Office! Almost without your knowing it, God’s word, read and pondered in the Church, acts upon you and transforms you. As the manifestation of divine Wisdom, if that word becomes your life 'companion', it will be your 'good counsellor' and an 'encouragement in cares and grief' (Wis 8:9)".

From the Holy Father's homily for vespers at the cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, September 12, 2008

Immaculate Conception an icon of prayer

"...Mary comes to us as a mother, always open to the needs of her children. Through the light which streams from her face, God’s mercy is made manifest. Let us allow ourselves to be touched by her gaze, which tells us that we are all loved by God and never abandoned by him! Mary comes to remind us that prayer which is humble and intense, trusting and persevering, must have a central place in our Christian lives. Prayer is indispensable if we are to receive Christ’s power. 'People who pray are not wasting their time, even though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone' (Deus Caritas Est, 36). To allow oneself to become absorbed by activity runs the risk of depriving prayer of its specifically Christian character and its true efficacy."

-- His Holiness Benedict XVI at the Grotto of Lourdes

(Photo: The Papal motorcade is welcomed upon his arrival at Lourdes. Zimbio.com.)

Benedict to priests: "spend much time praying the Divine Office"

The Holy Father encouraged priests not to be afraid "to spend much time reading and meditating on the Scriptures and praying the Divine Office! Almost without your knowing it, God's word, read and pondered in the Church, acts upon you and transforms you."

-- His Holiness Benedict XVI at Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, on September 13, 2008.

(Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Europe.)

In Exaltatione Sanctae Crucis

Duplex II classis
Commemoratio: Dominica XVIII Post Pentecosten III. Septembris



Oremus
Deus, qui nos hodierna die Exaltationis sanctae Crucis annua solemnitate laetificas: praesta, quaesumus; ut cujus mysterium in terra cognovimus, ejus redemptionis praemia in coelo mereamur.
Per eumdem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium Tuum qui vivit et regnat...

Let us pray
O God, Who dost this day gladden us by the yearly Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, grant, we beseech Thee, that even as we have understood the mystery thereof upon earth, so we may worthily enjoy in heaven the fruits of the redemption which was paid thereon.
Through the same Jesus Chrisr your Son our Lord who lives and reigns...

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for the sacred liturgy In Exaltatione Sanctae Crucis .

Extraordinary Form Mass 26 September in Upper Marlboro, MD

Fr. Mark White will be celebrating an Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin) Mass on Friday, September 26, 2008 at 7:00 PM at the Church of Saint Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, Md.

(Photo: The Holy Father celebrates holy Mass "versus Deum" in the Sixtine Chapel, Vatican City.)

Pontiff Denies Claim 1962 Missal Is a Regression

Calls Liturgy a Living, Developing Reality

EN ROUTE TO PARIS, SEPT. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- An allowance for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal is in no way a return to the past, but rather an expression of pastoral concern, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this today en route to France; he gave a brief press conference on the plane, answering four questions previously submitted by the journalists selected to be in the press corps accompanying the Holy Father.

The Pontiff said it is "groundless" to fear that "Summorum Pontificum" -- which opened the way for a wider celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal -- is a regression.

The whole story: http://zenit.org/article-23604?l=english

Photo: asianews.it

Nativitatem beatae Mariae virginis

...cum gaudio celebremus.

Per quem salus mundi credentibus apparuit,
cuius vita gloriosa lucem dedit saeculo.

(Text: Breviarium Romanum, In Nativitate B. Mariae V. Art: Birth of Mary, Leinhart von Brixen.)

Benedicite

...universa germinantia in terra, Domino, laudate et superexaltate eum in saecula.

- Dominica ad Laudes, Daniel 3,76.

Dominica XVII post Pentecosten

Oratio
Da, quaesumus Domine, populo tuo diabolica vitare contagia: et te solum Deum pura mente sectari.
Per Dominum Jesum Christum...

Prayer
Lord, we beseech Thee, grant Thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the devil, and with pure hearts to follow Thee the only God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ...

Meeting Christ in the Liturgy offers a reflection for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost.

(Art: Christ Among the Doctors by Giotto. Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy.)

Scandalum

Psalmus 49(16-23) [8]
49:16 Peccatori autem dixit Deus quare tu enarras iustitias meas et adsumis testamentum meum per os tuum
49:17 Tu vero odisti disciplinam et proiecisti sermones meos retrorsum
49:18 Si videbas furem currebas cum eo et cum adulteris portionem tuam ponebas
49:19 Os tuum abundavit malitia et lingua tua concinnabat dolos
49:20 Sedens adversus fratrem tuum loquebaris et adversus filium matris tuae ponebas scandalum
49:21 Haec fecisti et tacui existimasti inique quod ero tui similis arguam te et statuam contra faciem tuam
49:22 Intellegite nunc haec qui obliviscimini Deum nequando rapiat et non sit qui eripiat
49:23 Sacrificium laudis honorificabit me et illic iter quod ostendam illi salutare Dei

"Opus manuum nostrarum dirige"

1 Oratio Moysi hominis Dei Domine refugium tu factus es nobis in generatione et generatione
2 Priusquam montes fierent et formaretur terra et orbis a saeculo usque in saeculum tu es Deus
3 Ne avertas hominem in humilitatem et dixisti convertimini filii hominum
4 Quoniam mille anni ante oculos tuos tamquam dies hesterna quae praeteriit et custodia in nocte
5 Quae pro nihilo habentur eorum anni erunt
6 Mane sicut herba transeat mane floreat et transeat vespere decidat induret et arescat
7 Quia defecimus in ira tua et in furore tuo turbati sumus
8 Posuisti iniquitates nostras in conspectu tuo saeculum nostrum in inluminatione vultus tui
9 Quoniam omnes dies nostri defecerunt in ira tua defecimus anni nostri sicut aranea meditabantur
10 Dies annorum nostrorum in ipsis septuaginta anni si autem in potentatibus octoginta anni et amplius eorum labor et dolor quoniam supervenit mansuetudo et cor ripiemur
11 Quis novit potestatem irae tuae et prae timore tuo iram tuam
12 Dinumerare dexteram tuam sic notam fac et compeditos corde in sapientia
13 Convertere Domine usquequo et deprecabilis esto super servos tuos
14 Repleti sumus mane misericordia tua et exultavimus et delectati sumus in omnibus diebus nostris
15 Laetati sumus pro diebus quibus nos humiliasti annis quibus vidimus mala
16 Et respice in servos tuos et in opera tua et dirige filios eorum
17 Et sit splendor Domini Dei nostri super nos et opera manuum nostrarum dirige super nos et opus manuum nostrarum dirige.
- Psalmus 89 (90)

Art: Saint Joseph, Detail from the right wing of Triptych of the Annunication, Robert Campin, Netherlands (Bruges), ca 1378-1444 (Oil on Panel). The Cloisters Collection, 1956 - The Metropolitan Museum of Art