III. classis
Tempora: Feria IV post Ascensionem
1. This the confessor of the Lord, whose triumph Now all the faithful celebrate, with gladness On this feast day year by year receiveth Merited honors. 2. Saintly and prudent, modest in behaviour, Peaceful and sober, chaste was he, and lowly. While that life’s vigour, coursing through his members, Quickened his being. 3. Sick ones of old time, to his tomb resorting, Sorely by ailments manifold afflicted, Oft-times have welcomed health and strength returning, At his petition. 4. Whence we in chorus gladly do him honour, Chanting his praises with devout affection, That in his merits we may have a portion, Now and forever. 5. His be the glory, power and salvation, Who over all things reigneth in the highest, Earth’s mighty fabric ruling and directing, Onely and Trinal. Amen.
My heart hath uttered a good word; * I speak my works to the King.
My tongue is the pen of a scrivener * that writeth swiftly.
Thou art beautiful above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips; * therefore hath God blessed thee for ever.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, * O thou most mighty.
With thy comeliness and thy beauty * set out, proceed prosperously, and reign.
Because of truth and meekness and justice: * and thy right hand shall conduct thee wonderfully.
Thy arrows are sharp: under thee shall people fall, * into the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: * the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.
Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: * therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Myrrh and stacte and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses: * out of which the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy glory.
The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing; * surrounded with variety.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hearken, O daughter, and see, and incline thy ear: * and forget thy people and thy father’s house.
And the king shall greatly desire thy beauty; * for he is the Lord thy God, and him they shall adore.
And the daughters of Tyre with gifts, * yea, all the rich among the people, shall entreat thy countenance.
All the glory of the king’s daughter is within, * in golden borders, clothed round about with varieties.
After her shall virgins be brought to the king: * her neighbours shall be brought to thee.
They shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing: * they shall be brought into the temple of the king.
Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee: * thou shalt make them princes over all the earth.
They shall remember thy name * throughout all generations.
Therefore shall people praise thee for ever; yea, * for ever and ever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Our God is our refuge and strength: * a helper in troubles, which have found us exceedingly.
Therefore we will not fear, when the earth shall be troubled; * and the mountains shall be removed into the heart of the sea.
Their waters roared and were troubled: * the mountains were troubled with his strength.
The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: * the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle.
God is in the midst thereof, it shall not be moved: * God will help it in the morning early.
Nations were troubled, and kingdoms were bowed down: * he uttered his voice, the earth trembled.
The Lord of armies is with us: * the God of Jacob is our protector.
Come and behold ye the works of the Lord: what wonders he hath done upon earth, * making wars to cease even to the end of the earth.
He shall destroy the bow, and break the weapons: * and the shield he shall burn in the fire.
Be still and see that I am God; * I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord of armies is with us: * the God of Jacob is our protector.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised * in the city of our God, in his holy mountain.
With the joy of the whole earth is mount Sion founded, * on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.
In her houses shall God be known, * when he shall protect her.
For behold the kings of the earth assembled themselves: * they gathered together.
So they saw, and they wondered, they were troubled, they were moved: * trembling took hold of them.
There were pains as of a woman in labour; * with a vehement wind thou shalt break in pieces the ships of Tharsis.
As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: * God hath founded it for ever.
We have received thy mercy, O God, * in the midst of thy temple.
According to thy name, O God, so also is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: * thy right hand is full of justice.
Let mount Sion rejoice, and the daughters of Juda be glad; * because of thy judgments, O Lord.
Surround Sion, and encompass her: * tell ye in her towers.
Set your hearts on her strength; and distribute her houses, * that ye may relate it in another generation.
For this is God, our God unto eternity, and for ever and ever: * he shall rule us for evermore.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Hear these things, all ye nations: * give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world.
All you that are earthborn, and you sons of men: * both rich and poor together.
My mouth shall speak wisdom: * and the meditation of my heart understanding
I will incline my ear to a parable; * I will open my proposition on the psaltery.
Why shall I fear in the evil day? * the iniquity of my heel shall encompass me.
They that trust in their own strength, * and glory in the multitude of their riches,
No brother can redeem, nor shall man redeem: * he shall not give to God his ransom,
Nor the price of the redemption of his soul: * and shall labour for ever, and shall still live unto the end.
He shall not see destruction, when he shall see the wise dying: * the senseless and the fool shall perish together:
And they shall leave their riches to strangers: * and their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever.
Their dwelling places to all generations: * they have called their lands by their names.
And man when he was in honour did not understand; * he is compared to senseless beasts, and is become like to them.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
This way of theirs is a stumbling block to them: * and afterwards they shall delight in their mouth.
They are laid in hell like sheep: * death shall feed upon them.
And the just shall have dominion over them in the morning; * and their help shall decay in hell from their glory.
But God will redeem my soul from the hand of hell, * when he shall receive me.
Be not thou afraid, when a man shall be made rich, * and when the glory of his house shall be increased.
For when he shall die he shall take nothing away; * nor shall his glory descend with him.
For in his lifetime his soul will be blessed: * and he will praise thee when thou shalt do well to him.
He shall go in to the generations of his fathers: * and he shall never see light.
Man when he was in honour did not understand: * he hath been compared to senseless beasts, and made like to them.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: * and he hath called the earth.
From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof: * out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.
God shall come manifestly: our God shall come, * and shall not keep silence.
A fire shall burn before him: * and a mighty tempest shall be round about
He shall call heaven from above, * and the earth, to judge his people.
Gather ye together his saints to him: * who set his covenant before sacrifices.
And the heavens shall declare his justice: * for God is judge.
Hear, O my people, and I will speak: O Israel, and I will testify to thee: * I am God, thy God.
I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices: * and thy burnt offerings are always in my sight.
I will not take calves out of thy house: * nor he goats out of thy flocks.
For all the beasts of the woods are mine: * the cattle on the hills, and the oxen.
I know all the fowls of the air: * and with me is the beauty of the field.
If I should be hungry, I would not tell thee: * for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? * or shall I drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: * and pay thy vows to the most High.
And call upon me in the day of trouble: * I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
But to the sinner God hath said: * Why dost thou declare my justices, and take my covenant in thy mouth?
Seeing thou hast hated discipline: * and hast cast my words behind thee.
If thou didst see a thief thou didst run with him: * and with adulterers thou hast been a partaker.
Thy mouth hath abounded with evil, * and thy tongue framed deceits.
Sitting thou didst speak against thy brother, and didst lay a scandal against thy mother’s son: * these things hast thou done, and I was silent.
Thou thoughtest unjustly that I should be like to thee: * but I will reprove thee, and set before thy face.
Understand these things, you that forget God; * lest he snatch you away, and there be none to deliver you.
The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: * and there is the way by which I will shew him the salvation of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Have mercy on me, O God, * according to thy great mercy.
And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies * blot out my iniquity.
Wash me yet more from my iniquity, * and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my iniquity, * and my sin is always before me.
To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee: * that thou mayst be justified in thy words, and mayst overcome when thou art judged.
For behold I was conceived in iniquities; * and in sins did my mother conceive me.
For behold thou hast loved truth: * the uncertain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me.
Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: * thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
To my hearing thou shalt give joy and gladness: * and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice.
Turn away thy face from my sins, * and blot out all my iniquities.
Create a clean heart in me, O God: * and renew a right spirit within my bowels.
Cast me not away from thy face; * and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, * and strengthen me with a perfect spirit.
I will teach the unjust thy ways: * and the wicked shall be converted to thee.
Deliver me from blood, O God, thou God of my salvation: * and my tongue shall extol thy justice.
O Lord, thou wilt open my lips: * and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: * with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.
A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: * a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Deal favourably, O Lord, in thy good will with Sion; * that the walls of Jerusalem may be built up.
Then shalt thou accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings: * then shall they lay calves upon thy altar.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificétur nomen tuum: advéniat regnum tuum: fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. Panem nostrum cotidiánum da nobis hódie: et dimítte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris:
Ille nos benedícat, qui sine fine vivit et regnat.
Sénior Eléctæ dóminæ, et natis eius, quos ego díligo in veritáte, et non ego solus, sed et omnes qui cognovérunt veritátem, Propter veritátem, quæ pérmanet in nobis, et nobíscum erit in ætérnum. Sit vobíscum grátia, misericórdia, pax a Deo Patre, et a Christo Iesu Fílio Patris in veritáte, et caritáte. Gavísus sum valde, quóniam invéni de fíliis tuis ambulántes in veritáte, sicut mandátum accépimus a Patre. Et nunc rogo te dómina, non tamquam mandátum novum scribens tibi, sed quod habúimus ab inítio, ut diligámus altérutrum.
The ancient to the lady Elect, and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth, For the sake of the truth which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. Grace be with you, mercy, and peace from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus the Son of the Father; in truth and charity. I was exceeding glad, that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as writing a new commandment to thee, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another.
Cuius festum cólimus, ipse intercédat pro nobis ad Dóminum.
Et hæc est cáritas, ut ambulémus secúndum mandáta eius. Hoc est enim mandátum, ut quemádmodum audístis ab inítio, in eo ambulétis. Quóniam multi seductóres exiérunt in mundum, qui non confiténtur Iesum Christum venísse in carnem: hic est sedúctor, et Antichrístus. Vidéte vosmetípsos, ne perdátis quæ operáti estis: sed ut mercédem plenam accipiátis. Omnis qui recédit, et non pérmanet in doctrína Christi, Deum non habet: qui pérmanet in doctrína, hic et Patrem et Fílium habet.
And this is charity, that we walk according to his commandments. For this is the commandment, that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in the same: For many seducers are gone out into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh: this is a seducer and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that you lose not the things which you have wrought: but that you may receive a full reward. Whosoever revolteth, and continueth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that continueth in the doctrine, the same hath both the Father and the Son.
Si quis venit ad vos, et hanc doctrínam non affert, nolíte recípere eum in domum, nec Ave ei dixéritis. Qui enim dicit illi Ave, commúnicat opéribus eius malígnis. Plura habens vobis scríbere, nólui per cartam et atraméntum: spero enim me futúrum apud vos, et os ad os loqui: ut gáudium vestrum plenum sit. Salútant te fílii soróris tuæ Eléctæ.
If any man come to you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him, God speed you. For he that saith unto him, God speed you, communicateth with his wicked works. Having more things to write unto you, I would not by paper and ink: for I hope that I shall be with you, and speak face to face: that your joy may be full. The children of thy sister Elect salute thee.
Ad societátem cívium supernórum perdúcat nos Rex Angelórum.
Bernardínus Albizésca, nóbili Senénsi família ortus, inter prima grammáticæ stúdia, negléctis puerílibus ludis, pietátis opéribus ánimum inténdit, beátæ Vírginis cúltui præcípue addíctus. Caritáte et misericórdia in páuperes insígnis, eórum servítio Senis in hospitáli beátæ Maríæ de Scala se mancipávit. De capesséndo religiósæ vitæ institúto delíberans, Deo sic disponénte, beáti Francísci órdinem præ céteris optávit, in quo humilitáte, patiéntia, aliísque religiósi hóminis virtútibus excélluit. Prædicándi ónere a superióribus suscépto, cum se minus idóneum agnósceret ob vocis exilitátem et raucitátem, Dei ope imploráta, prodigióse ab hoc impediménto liberátus est. Urbes atque óppida concúrsans, in nómine Iesu, quem semper in ore et péctore gerébat, cívium ubíque discórdias exstínxit, et collápsam pietátem morésque verbo et exémplo magna ex parte restítuit. Libros pie doctéque conscrípsit. Plenus méritis et miráculis clarus, annos natus sex ac sexagínta, in urbe Aquila in Vestínis, beáto fine quiévit.
St. Bernardine Albizeschi was born of a noble family of Siena. Even in his first years in school, he turned away from children's games and applied himself to exercises of devotion, especially those honouring the Blessed Virgin. Outstanding for his charity and mercy to the poor, he gave himself over to serving them at the hospital Santa Maria della Scala in Siena. When he came to think of entering the religious life, divine Providence led him to choose, in preference to others, the Franciscan Order, where he excelled in humility, patience, and the other virtues of a religious. His superiors imposed on him the duty of preaching; and, although he knew that his voice was too weak and too hoarse for a preacher's, he accepted the charge and implored the help of God. As a result, he was marvellously freed of his handicap. Going about the towns and villages in the Name of Jesus, which was always carried on his lips and in his heart, he everywhere put an end to the dissensions of the citizens, and by his word and example did much to restore their piety and morality, which had fallen to a low level. He also wrote devout and learned books. At the age of sixty-six, rich in merit and famous for his miracles, he died a happy death at the town of L'Aquila in the Abruzzi.
Orémus.
Dómine Iesu, qui beáto Bernardíno Confessóri tuo exímium sancti nóminis tui amórem tribuísti: † eius, quǽsumus; méritis et intercessióne, * spíritum nobis tuæ dilectiónis benígnus infúnde:
Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitáte Spíritus Sancti, Deus, * per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum.
O Lord Jesus, Which didst give unto thy blessed Confessor Bernardine the grace to love thy Holy Name exceeding well, be entreated, we beseech thee, for his sake and by his prayers, and mercifully pour into our hearts also the Spirit of thy love.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end.