THEN Egeas being angry, Cease, saith he, to boast of Christ, Whom like words could not hinder from being crucified by the Jews. And when Andrew, nevertheless, ceased not to preach Christ boldly, and to set Him forth as the Sacrifice for the salvation of the human race, the proconsul interrupted him with wicked words, and desired him to take thought for himself, and be willing to sacrifice to the gods; to whom Andrew said: I sacrifice every day to the Omnipotent God, Who is the One and True God, not the flesh of bulls, not the flesh of goats, but the Immaculate Lamb on the Altar Whose Flesh, when all believers shall have eaten the Lamb that was sacrificed, remains whole and living. Whereupon Ægeas, filled with anger, commanded Andrew to be thrust into prison, whence the people might easily have set him free, unless he himself had stilled them, and had urgently desired them not to impede him in his passage to the much longedfor crown of martyrdom. R. O good Cross, which hast received thy beauty and thy loveliness from the Body of my Lord, receive me from men and restore me to my Master, * that by thee He may receive me, Who by thee redeemed me. y. Fearlessly and joyfully I come unto thee; do thou likewise exultantly receive me. That. Lesson VI. TE judgment-seat, and had extolled the mysteries of the Cross, Egeas could no longer bear to have his wickedness reproached, and commanded that he should imitate Christ in his death. should be taken to the cross, and Andrew, being brought to the place of martyrdom, when he saw the cross, began to exclaim from afar, Good Cross, which hast received thy beauty from the Body of my Lord, long desired, tenderly loved, unceasingly sought, and in due time prepared for me, receive me from men, and restore me to my Master; that by thee He may receive me, Who by thee redeemed me. And so he was tied to the cross, on which hanging alive two days, and never ceasing to preach the faith of Christ, he departed to the same Lord after Whose likeness he had desired to die. All which things the presbyters and deacons of Achaia, who wrote his passion, affirm that they heard and saw. His bones were removed first to Constantinople, when Constantine was emperor, and afterwards to Amalfi. His head was brought to Rome in the pontificate of Pius II., and placed in the basilica of S. Peter. THEREFORE, no long time after, when he was brought forth to the Ry. Holy Andrew prayed looking up to heaven; with a loud voice he cried, saying, Thou art my God Whom I have seen: * suffer me not to be cast down by the unrighteous judge; * for I have acknowledged the power of the holy Cross. . Thou art my Master, O Christ, Whom I have loved, Whom I have known, Whom I have confessed: now in this one prayer only hearken unto me. Suffer. Glory. For. THIRD NOCTURN. Ant. 1. The executioners approaching, lifted him on the cross: and stretching out his whole body with ropes, hung him up as it was commanded them. Ant. 2. Meanwhile all the people cried out together, saying, The holy and chaste man, the brave teacher, excellent in his life, pitiful and meek: it is not fitting he should suffer; let him be taken down from the cross. Ant. 3. Then spake holy Andrew: Now I behold my King, now I adore Him; now I abide in His sight. Lesson of the Holy Gospel according to S, Matthew. Lesson VII. Chap. iv. AT that time: Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. And that which follows. A Homily of S. Gregory the Pope. Homily 5 on the Gospels. Lesson VIII. HE now sits in heaven, and ad monishes us to turn to Him; now has He placed the yoke of His faith on the necks of the Gentiles; now has He laid low the glory of the world, and by its increasing ruin does He announce the approaching day of His severe judgment; yet our proud mind is not inclined willingly to give up that which, against its will, it daily is losing. What therefore, beloved, what shall we say before His Judgment-seat, we who, neither by precepts nor by chastisements, are turned from the love of the present world? Ry. The Lord loved Andrew in the odour of sweetness while he hung upon the cross; He counted him a Martyr worthy for Himself, whom, while he was on the sea, He had called to be an Apostle. And therefore he was named the friend of God. . This man appeared most merciful among his people, full of holiness and grace. And. 9 Lesson IX. You have heard, brethren beloved, BUT perhaps one might reason thus how, at the first bidding of the Lord, Peter and Andrew left their nets, and followed the Redeemer. As yet indeed they had not seen Him perform any miracles, had heard nothing from Him concerning the rewards of eternal retribution; and yet at a single precept of the Lord, they forgot that which they seemed to possess. How many miracles of His do we behold, with how many chastisements are we punished, with what sharp threatenings are we warned, and yet we scorn to follow Him Who calls! in his secret thoughts: What, or how much did that fisherman leave at his Lord's command, who scarcely possessed anything? But in this matter, beloved, we ought rather to regard the disposition of mind than the amount. He left much, who retained nothing for himself; he left much, who left the whole, however small that whole was. tainly love our possessions, and what we do not possess, that we eagerly seek. Peter and Andrew, therefore, left much when they left even their desire of possessing. We cer [Ry. This man appeared most merciful among his people: full of holiness. and grace is he who prayeth much * for the people, and for the holy city, V. For the love that I had unto them, lo, they take now my contrary part: but I give myself unto prayer. For. Glory. For.] Of Isaiah the Prophet. 44 Lesson I. Chap. xliv. SING, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified Himself in Israel. Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, and He that formed thee from the womb, I am the Lord that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by Myself. Ry. The Most High hath sanctified His tabernacle: God is in the midst of her the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Y. A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son; and shall call His Name Emmanuel, which is being interpreted, God with us. God is in. I 2 Lesson II. Chap. xlv. AM the Lord, and there is none else. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together: I the Lord have created it. Ry. The Lord hath chosen her, * He hath chosen her to be an habitation for Himself. y. There shall be a performance of those things which were told her. He hath. Lesson III. THUS saith the Lord, The labour of Egypt and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. Ry. He shall come down like the rain into a fleece of wool. * Blessed be the Name of His majesty for ever, and all the earth shall be filled with His majesty. . Behold, the tabernacle of God is with man, and He will dwell with them, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. Blessed be. Glory. All the earth. SECOND NOCTURN. Ant. 1. The same is the woman whom the Lord hath appointed out : for my Master's Son. Ant. 2. I will bless her, and give thee a Son also of her: yea, I will bless her. Ant. 3. I will establish My cove nant with Him for an everlasting covenant and with His seed after Him. Him. . All men shall be blessed in Ry. All nations shall call Him blessed. A Sermon of S. Augustine the Bishop. Lesson IV. 4 begotten in His bosom, equal to Himself, Whom He loved as Himself; that naturally He might be one and the same Son, common to God the Father, and the Virgin. Ry. By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, * and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. . Be of good cheer, WHEN speaking of sin, for the thou shalt not die. And so. sake of the honour of the Lord, I prefer to say nothing at all concerning the holy Virgin Mary. For whence do we know what more of grace was given to her to conquer sin from every quarter, who was counted worthy to conceive and bear Him Who, it is certain, had no sin? Therefore, this Virgin excepted, if all the Saints whilst they lived here could have been gathered together, and asked which of them was sinless; what do we think they would have answered? However great was their sanctity whilst they were in the body, if they could have been asked this, they would have exclaimed with one voice that which the Apostle John says: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Ry. Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners? . As He spake unto our fathers. That looketh. A Sermon of S. Anselm the Bishop. ALTHOUGH the Son of God was truly conceived of a most pure Virgin, yet this was not done out of absolute necessity, as if a righteous seed could not with propriety be generated from a sinful parent by this manner of propagation; but because it was meet that the conception of this Man should be effected of a most pure mother. It was indeed meet that this Virgin should shine with purity greater than any that can be imagined except the purity of God, to whom God the Father willed to give His only Son, A Sermon of S. Bernard the Abbot. Sermon 2 on the Assumption. ALL the glory indeed of the King's daughter is from within, yet, nevertheless, in her golden borders, she is girt about with variety. She is not of the number of the foolish virgins. She is a wise virgin, whose lamp was marvellously bright to the very Angels themselves. For she glowed more Jesus her Son our Lord filled with the brightly than the rest, whom Christ oil of grace above her fellows. Ry. Thou art our sister, * be thou the mother of thousands of millions; * and let thy seed possess the gate of them which hate thee, . That we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear. And let. Glory. And let. THIRD NOCTURN. Ant. 1. O Lord God of all power: now is the time to help Thine inheritance. Ant. 2. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men: and He will dwell with them. Ant. 3. This is the house of the Lord: exceeding magnifical, of fame, and of love, throughout all countries. Lesson of the Holy Gospel acoording to S. Matthew. Lesson VII. Chap. i. THE book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob. And that which follows. A Homily of S. John Chrysostom. Homily 2 on S. Matthew. Think not it is of small things thou art hearing, when thou hearest of this Birth, but rouse up thy mind, and straightway tremble, being told that God hath come upon earth. Yea, for it is far beyond all thoughts to hear that God the Unspeakable, the Unutterable, the Incomprehensible, and He that is equal to the Father, hath passed through a Virgin's womb, and hath vouchsafed to be born of a woman, and to have Abraham and David for forefathers. Hearing these things, arise, and surmise nothing low; but even because of this very thing most of all shouldest thou marvel, that, being Son of the Unoriginate God, and His true Son, He suffered Himself also to be called Son of David, that He might make thee son of God. He suffered a slave to be father to Him, that He might make the Lord to be Father to thee a slave. Ry. Sing, O daughter of Sion; shout, O Israel; * be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. ỹ. The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee. Be glad and rejoice, Lesson VIII. SEEST thou at once, from the beginning, of what nature are the Gospels? If thou doubt concerning the things that pertain to thee, from what belongs to Him believe these also. For it is far more difficult, judging by human reason, for God to become man, than for a man to be declared a son of God. When, therefore, thou art told that the Son of God is Son of David and of Abraham, doubt not any more, that thou too, the son of Adam, shalt be son of God. For not at random, nor in vain did He abase Himself so greatly, only He was minded to exalt us. Thus He was born after the fleah, that thou mightest be born after the Spirit; He was born of a woman, that thou mightest cease to be the son of a woman. Ry. All generations shall call me blessed: * for He that is mighty hath magnified me, and holy is His Name. . And His mercy is on them that fear Him, throughout all generations. For. Lesson IX. WHEREFORE the birth was twoand also surpassing ours. fold, both made like unto us, For to be born of a woman indeed was our lot, but to be born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of man, but of the hand the birth surpassing us, the Holy Ghost, was to proclaim beforebirth to come, which He was about freely to give us of the Spirit. And everything else too was like this. Thus His Baptism also was of the same kind, for it partook of the old, and it partook also of the new. To be baptized by the prophet marked the old, but the coming down of the Spirit shadowed out the new. And like as though any one were to place himself in the space between two persons that were standing apart, and stretching forth both his hands were to lay hold on either side, and tie them together, even so hath He done, joining the old covenant with the new, God's nature with man's, the things that are His with ours. Ry. With heart and soul let us sing glory to Christ* on this holy solemnity of Mary the glorious Mother of God. Y. All gathered together into one, let us praise the Lord Jesus Christ. On. Glory. On. [In Sarum use, Te Deum is not said in Advent.] (DECEMBER 20. VIGIL OF S. THOMAS, A. M. Festival of S. Chomas, Apostle and All of the Common of Apostles, p. 76, except that which follows. |