Quicúmque volúerit inter vos major fíeri, sit vester miníster: et qui volúerit inter vos primus esse, erit vester servus...

The rain has stopped, probably rather earlier in the morning; there were too many dry patches on the pavement when I was out walking for it to have been a prolonged or heavy episode. Today is the Wednesday post Dominicam IIam Quadragesimae and the feast of Saint John of God. At Barroux the Mass is Ne derelinquas me, Domine with commemoration of the Confessors Saints John of God and of Camillus de Lellis; presumably at Saint-Eugène, the Mass Ne derelinquas will be said but with commemoration of Saint John of God only-- I don't know, off the top of my head, when the feast of Saint Camillus is in the Roman Calendar. 

Had been moaning about the excessive shipping costs involved in obtaining a copy of the Barroux ordo, tsk: there is a pdf of it at their site. And, were further emphasis of my propensity for nonsense needed, I had downloaded said ordo at the beginning of the year. 

There is a morbid tendency in persons disposed to melancholy, and but little filled with the love of God, to approach Jesus with fear and trembling, as though in the presence of an inexorable and pitiless judge-- His Heart, on the contrary, contains such a wealth of compassion for our miseries, that no one will ever be able to exhaust it, for the more wretched we are rendered by sin, the more is he drawn to pity us. St Paul says that the Pontiff of our faith is not of such a nature as not to be able to feel compassion for us, and is therefore in this far removed from the Pharisees in the Gospel, who laid insupportable and fantastic burdens on the people, which instead of assisting them to advance, crushed them in the way. Experience shows that the most faulty and imperfect souls are always those who expect the most of others, whilst those who are truly full of the love of God are ever loving and compassionate towards their neighbour. (Liber Sacramentorum, for yesterday)

Statio ad S. Caeciliam

M l'Abbé is celebrating Holy Mass this morning, commemorating Saint John of God. He momentarily forgot about the commemoration, however, but caught himself in less than a second. The server, however, an older fellow (i.e. of perhaps my age, even), intent on his business, began the lesson from Esther in the midst of the collect for the Holy Confessor, eliciting a (not understood) ahem from Fr Grodziski-- he kept reading for a second or two before he realised that he needed to stop. The Sacred Liturgy is indeed punctuated occasionally by such moments of innocent amusement; I can't vouch for the confusion being equally amusing to the actors themselves, ahem.. 

Introitus. Ps. 37, 22-23. Ne derelínquas me, Dómine, Deus meus, ne discédas a me: inténde in adjutórium meum, Dómine, virtus salútis meæ. Ps. ibid., 2. Dómine, ne in furóre tuo árguas me: neque in ira tua corrípias me. ℣. Glória Patri.

Oratio. Pópulum tuum, quǽsumus, Dómine, propítius réspice: et, quos ab escis carnálibus prǽcipis abstinére, a noxiis quoque vítiis cessáre concéde. Per Dóminum.

Oratio. Deus, qui beátum Ioánnem, tuo amóre succénsum, inter flammas innóxium incédere fecísti, et per eum Ecclésiam tuam nova prole fœcundásti: præsta, ipsíus suffragántibus méritis; ut igne caritátis tuæ vitia nostra curéntur, et remédia nobis ætérna provéniant. Per Dóminum.

Thursday morning. I see that Dr DiPippo posted yesterday about the statio ad Sanctam Caeciliam; noting this lesson, it is the only one from the Book of Esther in the Traditional Rite (it was also used in the votive Mass contra paganos but that was a later development). I have no idea if Esther is represented in the Pauline innovation Missal or not.

This [i.e. what is given infra] is the reading as it appears in the Missal of St Pius V, but before the Tridentine reform, it began as follows: “In those days, Esther prayed to the Lord, saying…” And this, despite the fact that it is Mardochai who offers this prayer in the Bible.

That is, the lesson began, In diebus illis: Oravit Hester ad Dominum, dicens: Domine, Domine Rex omnipotens.... Dr DiPippo paraphrased from Thomas Connolly's Mourning into Joy: Music, Raphael, and Saint Cecilia (which I found used for $11 via Amazon; wasn't intending to buy any books this month, tsk).

Léctio libri Esther.
Esth. 13, 8-11 et 15-17.In diébus illis: Orávit Mardochǽus ad Dóminum, dicens: Dómine, Dómine, Rex omnípotens, in dicióne enim tua cuncta sunt pósita, et non est, qui possit tuæ resístere voluntáti, si decréveris salváre Israël. Tu fecísti cœlum et terram, et quidquid cœli ámbitu continétur. Dóminus ómnium es, nec est, qui resístat majestáti tuæ. Et nunc, Dómine Rex, Deus Abraham, miserére pópuli tui, quia volunt nos inimíci nostri pérdere, et hereditátem tuam delére. Ne despícias partem tuam, quam redemísti tibi de Ægýpto. Exáudi deprecatiónem meam, et propítius esto sorti et funículo tuo, et convérte luctum nostrum in gáudium, ut vivéntes laudémus nomen tuum, Dómine, et ne claudas ora te canéntium, Dómine, Deus noster.

... The prayer of Mardochai in today’s lesson (Esther 13,8-17) might well have been uttered by the inhabitants of Rome in the 7th century, when the Eternal City was more than once besieged, with the result that the cemeteries of the martyrs and the extramural basilicas were abandoned to the depredations of the Lombards, and the once joyful chants of the Liturgy seemed to have perished, choked by the tears and lamentations of the people. Truly there was need to say with Mardochai: Ne claudas ora te canéntium, Dómine, Deus noster, shut not the mouths of them that sing to thee, O Lord our God. (Liber Sacramentorum)

 
Graduale. Ps. 27,9 et 1. Salvum fac pópulum tuum, Dómine, et bénedic hereditáti tuæ. ℣. Ad te, Dómine, clamávi: Deus meus, ne síleas a me, et ero símilis descendéntibus in lacum.

Tractus. Ps. 102, 10. Dómine, non secúndum peccáta nostra, quae fécimus nos: neque secúndum iniquitátes nostras retríbuas nobis. ℣. Ps. 78, 8-9. Dómine, ne memíneris iniquitátum nostrárum antiquárum: cito antícipent nos misericórdiæ tuæ, quia páuperes facti sumus nimis. [Hic genuflectitur] ℣. Adjuva nos, Deus, salutáris noster: et propter glóriam nóminis tui, Dómine, líbera nos: et propítius esto peccátis nostris, propter nomen tuum.

✠ Sequéntia sancti Evangélii secúndum Matthǽum.
Matth. 20, 17-28.

In illo témpore: Ascéndens Jesus Jerosólymam, assúmpsit duódecim discípulos secréto, et ait illis: Ecce, ascéndimus Jerosólymam, et Fílius hóminis tradétur princípibus sacerdótum, et scribis, et condemnábunt eum morte, et tradent eum Géntibus ad illudéndum, et flagellándum, et crucifigéndum, et tértia die resúrget. Tunc accéssit ad eum mater filiórum Zebedǽi cum fíliis suis, adórans et petens áliquid ab eo. Qui dixit ei: Quid vis? Ait illi: Dic, ut sédeant hi duo fílii mei, unus ad déxteram tuam et unus ad sinístram in regno tuo. Respóndens autem Jesus, dixit: Nescítis, quid petátis. Potéstis bíbere cálicem, quem ego bibitúrus sum? Dicunt ei: Póssumus. Ait illis: Cálicem quidem meum bibétis: sedére autem ad déxteram meam vel sinístram, non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus parátum est a Patre meo. Et audiéntes decem, indignáti sunt de duóbus frátribus. Jesus autem vocávit eos ad se, et ait: Scitis, quia príncipes géntium dominántur eórum: et qui majóres sunt, potestátem exércent in eos. Non ita erit inter vos: sed quicúmque volúerit inter vos major fíeri, sit vester miníster: et qui volúerit inter vos primus esse, erit vester servus. Sicut Fílius hóminis non venit ministrári, sed ministráre, et dare ánimam suam, redemptiónem pro multis.

...The privilege which Jesus concedes to his chosen friends is that of drinking his chalice. The draught is bitter, but it gives strength to the soul. Love is nourished on sacrifice and pain. The more we love Jesus, the more we shall suffer for him. We suffer because we love, and we love because pain feeds the pure flame of love. Thus the Seraph of Assisi, with his hands and feet and side pierced by love, taught the people how to love and suffer in the words:

Tant'è il bene ch’io m’aspetto,/ Che ogni pena m'è diletto.

So great the good I have in sight,/ It changeth pain into delight.

(Liber Sacramentorum)

Offertorium. Ps. 24, 1-3. Ad te, Dómine, levávi ánimam meam: Deus meus, in te confído, non erubéscam: neque irrídeant me inimíci mei: étenim univérsi, qui te exspéctant, non confundéntur.

Secreta. Hóstias, Dómine, quas tibi offérimus, propítius réspice: et, per hæc sancta commércia, víncula peccatórum nostrórum absólve. Per Dóminum.

Secreta. Laudis tibi, Dómine, hóstias immolámus in tuórum commemoratióne Sanctórum: quibus nos et præséntibus éxui malis confídimus et futúris. Per Dóminum.

Communio. Ps. 10, 8. Justus Dóminus, et justítiam diléxit: æquitátem vidit vultus ejus.

Postcommunio. Sumptis, Dómine, sacraméntis: ad redemptiónis ætérnæ, quǽsumus, proficiámus augméntum. Per Dóminum.

Postcommunio. Refécti cibo potúque cælésti, Deus noster, te súpplices exorámus : ut, in cuius hæc commemoratióne percépimus, eius muniámur et précibus. Per Dóminum.

And yet, all abandoned him... (They) could see no further than the scandal of the Cross; that put an end to all their Faith, and they deserted their Master. What a lesson for all future generations of Christians! 

... How very few there are, who look upon the Cross, either for themselves or for others, as the sign of God's especial love! We are men of little faith; we cannot understand the trials God sends to our brethren, and we are often tempted to believe that He has forsaken them because He sends them the Cross. We are men of little love, too; worldly tribulation seems an evil to us, and we think ourselves hardly dealt with, at the very time that our God is showing us the greatest mercy. We are like the mother of the sons of Zebedee: we would hold a high and conspicuous place near the Son of God, forgetting that we must first merit it by drinking of the chalice that He drank, that is, the chalice of Suffering. We forget, too, that saying of the Apostle: That we may be glorified with Jesus we must suffer with Him! He, the Just One par excellence, entered not into His rest by honours and pleasures: the sinner cannot follow Him, save by treading the path of penance. (L'Année liturgique)

Oratio super populum. Humiliáte cápita vestra Deo. Deus, innocéntiæ restitútor et amátor, dírige ad te tuórum corda servórum: ut, spíritus tui fervóre concépto, et in fide inveniántur stábiles, et in ópere efficáces. Per Dóminum.

LDVM