Office of Readings
0710 Virgins Memorial
Invitatory Antiphon
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the God who save us.
Let us come before him giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his.
To him belongs the sea, for he made it,
and the dry land shaped by his hands.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we +
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert +
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
For forty years I was wearied of these people
and I said: 'Their hearts are astray,
these people do not know my ways.' +
Then I took an oath in my anger:
'Never shall they enter my rest.'"
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
HYMN
Let us with joy our voices raise
In that heroic woman's praise,
Whose courage, strength, and holy fame
Have given her an honored name.
O Strength of all the strong, God's Son,
Through whom alone great things are done,
By Your great strength and through her prayer
May we bear witness everywhere.
Praise God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Who gave this noble woman grace,
A life of virtue to embrace.
PSALMODY
Antiphons and Psalms and The First Reading of the Weekday
The Second Reading
From the diary of Saint Veronica Giuliani (Un Tesoro Nascosto VIII, pp.629-630)
For the conversion of souls I would offer my life's blood
Today the pain in my hands, feet and heart returned and I spent a night that was precious to me because it was filled with pains and torments. Thanks be to God! Early in the morning I went to Confession and this gave me the strength to suffer more. Later at Holy Communion I experienced the grace of God reigning deep in my soul with some kind of new internal sensation. As well as this, for some days now I have a certain feeling in my heart the nature of which I cannot make out; so I will simply describe the effects it has on me.
First, there is the realization of my faults and sorrow for them; the overwhelming desire for the conversion of souls for whom I am ready to offer my life's blood; a deep trust in the mercy of God and in the loving concern of Our Lady. The second effect is that I feel myself abandoned and submerged in a sea of temptations. As soon as I experience this inner sensation I seem to become fully content and possessed by the most profound sense of peace, firmly established in the will of God.
The third and last effect is like this: when I am disturbed interiorly by the temptations of the devil and when exteriorly I concentrate on other things, running here and there in the course of my duties, the hidden working results in my doing everything without being aware of it, so that I find the task is completed but I do not know how. This happens to me in the most important events of the day, such as receiving the Sacraments, in prayer and in the spiritual conversations which we have. I feel myself overcome by fatigue, dried up, empty, so that it scarcely seems possible to go on living. When I am in this state it seems a waste of time to go to Confession. But hardly have I felt in my heart the smallest trace of this third effect when I find myself so transformed, renewed with such strength, that no matter what the aridity, vexation or numbness, any task, even the most difficult, becomes easy for me. May God be glorified in all things!
Responsory
【V】:Set me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. *
【R】:I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine
【V】:Love is a force no flood can quench, no torrents drown. *
【R】:I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine.
Concluding Prayer
Father, you made the virgin, Saint Veronica, a wonderful embodiment of your Son's Passion. Through her example and prayer may we become conformed to Christ by humbly embracing the cross and so rejoicing when he is revealed in glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;
hail the God who save us.
Let us come before him giving thanks,
with songs let us hail the Lord.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
A mighty God is the Lord,
a great king above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his.
To him belongs the sea, for he made it,
and the dry land shaped by his hands.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Come in; let us bow and bend low;
let us kneel before the God who made us
for he is our God and we +
the people who belong to his pasture,
the flock that is led by his hand.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
O that today you would listen to his voice!
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as on that day at Massah in the desert +
when your fathers put me to the test;
when they tried me, though they saw my work.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
For forty years I was wearied of these people
and I said: 'Their hearts are astray,
these people do not know my ways.' +
Then I took an oath in my anger:
'Never shall they enter my rest.'"
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.
【Ant.】:The Lord is the king of virgins; come, let us adore him.
HYMN
Let us with joy our voices raise
In that heroic woman's praise,
Whose courage, strength, and holy fame
Have given her an honored name.
O Strength of all the strong, God's Son,
Through whom alone great things are done,
By Your great strength and through her prayer
May we bear witness everywhere.
Praise God the Father and the Son
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Who gave this noble woman grace,
A life of virtue to embrace.
PSALMODY
Antiphons and Psalms and The First Reading of the Weekday
The Second Reading
From the diary of Saint Veronica Giuliani (Un Tesoro Nascosto VIII, pp.629-630)
For the conversion of souls I would offer my life's blood
Today the pain in my hands, feet and heart returned and I spent a night that was precious to me because it was filled with pains and torments. Thanks be to God! Early in the morning I went to Confession and this gave me the strength to suffer more. Later at Holy Communion I experienced the grace of God reigning deep in my soul with some kind of new internal sensation. As well as this, for some days now I have a certain feeling in my heart the nature of which I cannot make out; so I will simply describe the effects it has on me.
First, there is the realization of my faults and sorrow for them; the overwhelming desire for the conversion of souls for whom I am ready to offer my life's blood; a deep trust in the mercy of God and in the loving concern of Our Lady. The second effect is that I feel myself abandoned and submerged in a sea of temptations. As soon as I experience this inner sensation I seem to become fully content and possessed by the most profound sense of peace, firmly established in the will of God.
The third and last effect is like this: when I am disturbed interiorly by the temptations of the devil and when exteriorly I concentrate on other things, running here and there in the course of my duties, the hidden working results in my doing everything without being aware of it, so that I find the task is completed but I do not know how. This happens to me in the most important events of the day, such as receiving the Sacraments, in prayer and in the spiritual conversations which we have. I feel myself overcome by fatigue, dried up, empty, so that it scarcely seems possible to go on living. When I am in this state it seems a waste of time to go to Confession. But hardly have I felt in my heart the smallest trace of this third effect when I find myself so transformed, renewed with such strength, that no matter what the aridity, vexation or numbness, any task, even the most difficult, becomes easy for me. May God be glorified in all things!
Responsory
【V】:Set me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. *
【R】:I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine
【V】:Love is a force no flood can quench, no torrents drown. *
【R】:I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine.
Concluding Prayer
Father, you made the virgin, Saint Veronica, a wonderful embodiment of your Son's Passion. Through her example and prayer may we become conformed to Christ by humbly embracing the cross and so rejoicing when he is revealed in glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.