Double Major Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, Confessor and Religious Founder

WHITE Vestments

Missa "Mihi autem absit"


    Saint Francis of Assisi, born in 1182, was the founder of the Order of Friars Minor. Chosen by God to be a living manifestation to the world of Christ's poor and suffering life on earth, he was early inspired with a burning love of poverty and humiliation. Divine desire burned in him so mightily as to kindle a like desire in other hearts. Many joined him, and were constituted by Pope Innocent III into a Religious Order. He lived at the time when the feudal system was disappearing, and Christian democracy was dawning. St. Francis undertook to teach to this generation a spiritual language suited to its new aspirations. He led the people to devotion towards the sacred humanity and the person of the Redeemer, a devotion which has continued to increase. He set the example for clergy and people of detachment from worldly wealth and worldly honors. His reform was carried out not by rebellion, but in accord with the head of the Church. It was the papal authority, which from the first directed that overwhelming current of new life and evangelical mysticism loosed by the saint, and incorporated it in the service of the Church.

    Few saints are as beloved as Saint Francis who founded the Franciscans in the 12th Century. No order ever grew so fast. Francis was born Francis Bernardone in 1181 to a wealthy wool dyer who encouraged Francis to follow in his footsteps. Francis was well on his way toward this avocation, spending his youth recklessly at times with an adventurous spirit, impulsively enlisting in the war between Assisi and Perugia. One night, while sleeping on the battlefield in full gear, Francis had a mystical dream in which he saw himself returning to Assisi and entered the church of St. Damian where he heard three times Christ's words to repair His Church depicted by a crucifix that had been shattered. This dream was so pronounced that Francis, upon awakening, resigned his commission in the military, then renounced his patrimony by defrocking to the waist in front of his father, bishops and the well-to-do aristocrats of Assisi as well as the townsfolk as a gesture that he was stripping himself of all worldly possessions and consecrating himself to God by turning to a life as a mendicant preacher.

    Around 1207 Francis put on the robes of a penitent and sought to lead a contemplative, secluded life. At first he had taken Our Lord's words literally, constructing with his own hands a one room portiuncula church that still stands today inside the large church at the base of the hills leading to the town of Assisi. While reading a passage from Luke 9: 3-5 on the mission of the Apostles, Francis knew his mission was to gather a group of like-minded men for the purpose of preaching the gospel to all, especially those who could not read. Thus, he began the Order of Friars Minor and Pope Innocent III orally approved the first Rule, but not until Francis and his men had walked all the way from Assisi to Rome in hopes of gaining an audience with his holiness only to be turned away. In a mystical dream, Innocent was shown what would happen if he turned down Francis' request and what Francis' mission truly was. Innocent sent for Francis who already was half way back to Assisi to give him word that yes, the Holy Father had approved his Holy Rule. Francis, overjoyed, shared the news with his compadres and they began to preach the gospel everywhere, fostering numerous vocations as men sought to join this holy friar, with only a brown robe, cinctured rope and sandals as their possessions.

    Francis had always longed to be a martyr and yearned, like his counterpart and friend Saint Anthony to go the Morocco and preach to the heathens. Francis did go to Morocco, Egypt and then Palestine and five of his Franciscans were martyred by the Muslims, but not Francis who returned to Assisi where he, along with Saint Clare founded the Poor Clares, an order of Franciscan women dedicated to a life of contemplative, cloistered life in supporting the Friars through their sacrifices and prayers. Because his order had grown so fast, not all were the "cream of the crop" and many began to fudge here and there relaxing the rigors of the rule in respect to holy poverty. Therefore Francis, not wanting to lose them and realizing not all were cut out for a life of strict poverty, began working in 1220 on a second Rule for just this purpose establishing two branches of the Franciscan Friars, catering to the more relaxed rule, while maintaining the purity of the strict rule.

    On September 14, 1224 with his health suffering greatly from numerous physical afflictions from the rigorous schedule he had maintained and almost blind, Francis received an extraordinary gift from Jesus - the mark of the stigmata, the holy wounds of Christ while in contemplation on Mount Alverno in Italy. It was the first authenticated case of a stigmatist in the history of the Church. He was, as it were, wounded in love, and here he composed his famous "Canticle of the Sun" as well as the beautiful St. Francis' Prayer for Peace that he is most widely known for. This dedicated saint, referred to this day as "The Most Holy Father," died on October 4, 1224 at the relatively young age of 45 years old and was mourned the world over. The Franciscans remain the largest body of religious in the Church today.

    Francis, the son of a merchant of Assisi, was born in a poor stable, his birth already prophesying the Saint who would preach poverty to a world seduced by luxury. Though chosen by God to be for the world a living manifestation of Christ’s poor and suffering life on earth, in his youth he was generous, always of equal humor, and much appreciated by his friends; he was fond of splendors, fine clothing, and good company, and easily won the affection of all who knew him. More than once various holy persons foretold for him a future of glory, but in veiled terms. Francis did not understand these predictions, and supposed he would become the leader of a large militia.

    His military life ended when Jesus told him he was destined to fight another kind of combat, one against the demon and sin; that the grandeurs predicted were spiritual, not temporal — and to return home. He became inspired with a great esteem for poverty and humiliation. The thought of the Man of Sorrows, who had nowhere to lay His Head, filled him with holy envy of the poor, and constrained him to renounce the wealth and the worldly station which he had come to abhor. And he gave a farewell feast for his friends. One day, while on horseback, he met a leper begging alms who inspired him with repugnance, and he took a path to avoid him. Then, repenting, he turned his horse around and returned to embrace him and give him a generous alms, as was his custom for all beggars. He continued on his way, but looked back once, and nowhere on the plain could the stranger be seen, though there were no trees, no refuges anywhere. He was from that day a completely transformed person.

    He decided to use his wealth to care for the poor and the sick, and dedicate himself in person to the same works. When he prayed one day in the little chapel to do only what God willed of him, the Saviour spoke again to him, repeating three times the mysterious words: “Go, Francis, and repair My house which is falling in ruin.” He then undertook to repair the old church of San Damiano where he had heard these words, retiring for refuge to a grotto. He was regarded as a fool by the people, when he returned to the city in the clothing of a poor beggar. This was indeed the folly of the Cross.

    Francis renounced his heritage definitively, to beg thereafter his daily sustenance and what he needed for the repair of the church, and left the city singing the praises of God. He repaired two other churches. The love of God which was burning brightly in the poor man of Assisi began to give light and warmth to many others also, and it was not long before several came to join him. One of them was a very wealthy man of Assisi, the second a Canon of the Assisi cathedral, and the third the now Blessed Brother Gilles. They adopted the absolute poverty of Francis, and the foundations of the Franciscan Order were laid. They were first called the “penitents of Assisi.” No counsels could make Francis change his resolution to possess nothing at all. God revealed to him then that he was to found a religious Order.

    Pope Innocent III, when Francis with his first twelve companions journeyed to Rome, after first rebuffing them, recognized him as the monk God showed him in a vision, supporting on his shoulders the Church of Saint John Latran, which was growing decrepit. He received the profession of Francis and his twelve companions, and in 1215 they were formally constituted as a religious Order, which then spread rapidly throughout Christendom.

    In 1216, Saint Francis after assembling his religious, sent them out to preach in France, Spain, England and Germany, where they established monasteries, lasting proofs of the efficacy of their missions. A second general Chapter was held in 1219 on the feast of Pentecost, and the little Brothers gathered from all over the world at Saint Mary of the Angels, the church which Francis and his first twelve disciples had received only nine years earlier. Cabins of reeds and tents were put up all over the countryside. The Cardinal who visited them exclaimed, with tears in his eyes, “O Brother, truly this is the camp of the Lord!” They were more than 5,000 in number. Saint Francis exhorted his brethren: “My Brothers, above all, let us love the Holy Church; let us pray for her exaltation, and never abandon poverty. Is it not written, ‘Trust in the Lord, and He Himself will sustain you’ ”?

    Francis, after visiting the Orient in a vain quest for martyrdom, spent his life like his Divine Master — now in preaching to the multitudes, now amid the desert solitudes in fasting and contemplation. His constant prayer was “My God and my All!” During one of these retreats on Mount Alverno, he received on his hands, feet, and side the imprints of the five wounds of Jesus. With the cry, “Welcome, sister Death!” he passed to the glory of his God, October 4, 1226, at the age of 44 years.

    Francis died at sunset on Saturday, October 3, 1226, at Assisi, his birthplace. Pope Gregory IX, his friend and director during life, raised him to the altars three years later, and built the marvelous church of Assisi over his tomb.

    Reflection: The prayer of Saint Francis, “My God and my All!” explains both his poverty and his wealth.
Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 12; Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler’s Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).

    Resources: We are grateful to Friends of Our Lady of Fatima for providing the Propers for the faithful. Sources: Saint Andrew Daily Missal and the Marian Missal , 1945



Missa "Mihi autem absit"

Go to the ORDINARY OF THE HOLY MASS THE MASS OF THE CATECHUMENS
INTROIT: Galatians 6: 14
Mihi autem absit glorári, nisi in cruce Dómini nostri Jesu Christi: per quem mihi mundus crucifíxus est, et ego mundo. (Ps. 141: 2) Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: voce mea ad Dóminum deprecátus sum.v. Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancti sicut erat in principio et nunc, et semper, et saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Repeat Mihi autem absit...
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. (Ps. 141: 2) I cried to the Lord with my voice; with my voice I made supplication to the Lord. v. 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. Repeat But God forbid that...
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COLLECT
Deus, qui Ecclésiam tuam, beáti Francísci méritis foetu novæ prolis amplíficas: tríbue nobis: ex ejus imitatióne, terréna despícere, et coeléstium donórum semper participatióne gaudére. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
O God, Who, by the merits of blessed Francis, didst increase Thy Church by bringing forth a new progeny, grant us to imitate him in despising earthly things and ever to rejoice in partaking of heavenly gifts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

EPISTLE: Galatians 6: 14-18
Léctio Epístolæ beáti Pauli Apóstoli ad Gálatas. Fratres, Mihi autem absit gloriári, nisi in cruce Dómini nostri Jesu Christi: per quem mihi mundus crucifíxus est, et ego mundo. In Christo enim Jesu neque circumcísio áliquid valet, neque præpútium, sed nova creatúra. Et quicúmque hanc régulam secúti fúerint, pax super illos, et misericórdia, et super Israël Dei. De cétero nemo mihi moléstus sit: ego enim stígmata Dómini Jesu in córpore meo porto. Grátia Dómini nostri Jesu Christi cum spíritu vestro, fratres. Amen. Deo Gratias.
Lesson from the Epistle of blessed Paul the Apostle to the Galatians. Brethren, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature: and whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Isræl of God. From henceforth let no man be troublesome to me; for I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body. The grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren.Amen. Thanks be to God.

GRADUAL: Psalm 36: 30-31
Os justi meditátibitur sapiéntiam, et lingua ejus loquétur judícium: V. Lex Dei ejus in corde ipsíus: et non supplantabúntur gressus ejus. Allelúja, allelúja. V. (Ecclus. 45: 9). Amávit eum Dóminus, et ornávit eum: stolam glóriæ índuit eum. Allelúja.
The mouth of the just man shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment. V. The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not be supplanted. Alleluia, alleluia. V. (Ecclus. 45: 9) The Lord loved him and adorned him: he clothed with a robe of glory. Alleluia.

GOSPEL:   Matthew 11: 25-30
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum
R.Gloria tibi, Domine

In illo tempore: Respóndens Jesus, dixit: "Confíteor tibi, Pater, Dómine cæli et terræ, quia abscondísti hæc a sapiéntibus et prudéntibus, et revelásti ea, párvulis. Ita Pater: quóniam sic fuit plácitum ante te. Omnia mihi trádita sunt a Patre meo. Et nemo novit Fílium, nisi Pater: neque Patrem quis novit, nisi Fílius, et cui volúerit Fílius reveláre. Venite ad me omnes, qui laborátis, et oneráti estis, et ego refíciam vos. Tóllite jugum meum super vos, et díscite a me, quia mitis sum, et húmilis corde: et inveniétis réquiem animábus vestris. Jugum enim meum suáve est, et onus meum leve."
Laus tibi Christe.

The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Matthew. R. Glory to Thee, O Lord

At that time, Jesus answered, and said"I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father; for so it hath seemed good in Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and He to Whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you that labor, and are burdened; and I will refresh you. Take up My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek, and humble of heart; and you shall find rest to your souls: for My yoke is sweet, and my burden light."
Praise be to Christ

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OFFERTORY:    Psalm 88: 25
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.

Orémus. Véritas mea, et misericórdia mea cum ipso: et in nómine meo exaltabitur cornu ejus.
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray. My truth and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted.
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SECRET
Múnera tibi, Dómine, dicáta sanctífìca: et, intercedénte beáto Francísco, ab omni nos culpárum labe puríflca. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Sanctify, O Lord, the gifts dedicated to Thee and, by the intercession of blessed Francis, cleanse us from all stain of sin. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever..
R.Amen.

PREFACE   Common Preface
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Sursum corda.
R.Habemus ad Dominum.
Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
R. Dignum et justum est.

Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos Tibi simper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus: per Christum Dominum nostrum. Per quem majestatem Tuam laudant Angeli, adorant Dominationes, tremunt Potestates, Coeli, Coelorumque Virtutes, ac beata Seraphim socia exultatione concelebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admitti, jubeas, supplici confessione dicentes:
SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS...
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
R.We have lifted them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.

It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation that we should at all times and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God: through Christ our Lord. Through Whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The Heavens and the Heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise:
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY...

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COMMUNION:   Luke 12: 42
Fidélis servus et prudens, quem constítuit dóminus super famíliam suam: ut det illis in témpore trítici mensúram.
A faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord set over His family; to give them their measure of wheat in due season.

POSTCOMMUNION
Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
Oremus.
Ecclésiam tuam, quæsumus, Dómine, gratia coeléstis amplífìcet: quam beáti Francísci Confessóris tui illumináre voluísti gloriósis méritis, et exémplis. ucis meditatióne muníri. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus,
Per omnia saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
Let us pray.
May heavenly grace, we beseech Thee, O Lord, enlarge Thy Church which Thou vast pleased to enlighten by the glorious merits and examples of blessed Francis, Thy confessor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God
Forever and ever.
R. Amen.
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Feast of St. Francis of Assisi