Occurring Scripture for the
Hour of Matins
Sunday
Lesson i
A reading from the first book of Kings
1 Kings 9:18-21
And Saul came to Samuel in the midst of the gate and said:
"Tell me, I pray, where is the house of the seer?" And Samuel
answered Saul, saying: "I am the seer, go up before me to the high place,
that you may eat with me today, and I will let you go in the morning: and
tell you
all that is in your heart. And as for the asses, which were lost three
days ago, be not solicitous, because they are found. And for whom shall be
all the best things of Israel? Shall they not be for you and for all thy
father's house?" And Saul answering, said: "Am not I a son of Jemini of the
least tribe of Israel, and my kindred the last among all the families of the
tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken this word to me?"
Lesson ii
1 Kings 9:22-25
Then Samuel taking Saul and his
servant, brought them into the parlor, and gave them a place at the head of
them that were invited. For there were about thirty men. And Samuel said
to the cook: "Bring the portion, which I gave you, and commanded you to set
it apart." And the cook took up the shoulder, and set it before
Saul. And Samuel said: "Behold what is left, set it before you, and eat:
because it was kept of purpose for you, when I invited the people." And
Saul ate with Samuel that day. And they went down from the high place into the
town, and he spoke with Saul upon the top of the house: and he prepared a
bed for Saul on the top of the house, and he slept.
Lesson iii
1 Kings 9:26-27;10:1
And when they were risen in the
morning, and it began now to be light, Samuel called Saul on the top of the
house, saying: "Arise, that I may let you go." And Saul arose: and they went
out both of them, he and Samuel. And as they were going down in the
end of the city, Samuel said to Saul: "Speak to the servant to go before us,
and pass on: but stand still a while, that I may tell you the word of the
Lord." And Samuel took a little vial of oil and poured it upon his
head, and kissed him, and said: "Behold, the Lord has anointed you to be
prince over his inheritance, and you shall deliver his people out of the
hands of their enemies, that are round about them. And this shall be a sign
unto you, that God has anointed you to be prince."
Where the Octave of the Sacred Heart
is observed
Lesson iv
From the Encyclical Letter of Pope Pius XI
Among the various devotions paid to the Sacred Heart, the one
foremost in importance and interest is assuredly the Act of Consecration,
whereby we give to the divine Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that is
ours; in recognition of the truth that all we have comes to us out of the infinite
charity of the eternal Deity. But it is expedient that any attempt of ours
at self-consecration be accompanied with the purpose of making expiation
(otherwise called reparation) to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. In
consecration the predominant intention may be said to be the purpose to
repay (as it were) the love of the Creator by the love of us his creatures.
But since Love Uncreated is passed over by human forgetfulness, and
dishonored by the sins of mankind, we should endeavor to repair such
outrages; and the performance of this duty is ordinarily known as
reparation.
Lesson v
If we are, for the stated reasons, to
undertake both of those practices, we must recognize that we are impelled to
the duty of reparation by the most powerful motives of justice and love: of
justice, in order to expiate the injury done to God by our sins, and to
re-establish through penance the divine order which was violated by them;
of love, in order to suffer together with Christ, (who patiently endured all
possible dishonor,) so that we may offer Him some solace in return for his
sufferings. For it is our duty to do more than honor God by the worship of
adoration, whereby we adore his infinite Majesty, or by means of prayer,
when we recognize His supreme dominion over us, or by acts of thanksgiving,
when we praise His infinite generosity towards us. Because we are sinners,
burdened with many offences, we must also make satisfaction to the offended
justice of God, because of the numberless sins, offences and negligences we
have committed. Wherefore, we must add to the act of consecration, by which
we offer ourselves to God, and become thereby, as it were, sacred unto God
by reason of the holiness which naturally flows from an act of
consecration, as the Angelic Doctor teaches. We must add the act of
reparation, by means of which all our faults are blotted out, lest through
some chance
the sanctity of Infinite Justice spurn our arrogant unworthiness, and look
upon the gift of ourselves as something to be rejected rather than accepted.
Lesson vi
All men are under obligation to make reparation;
for our souls are disfigured, as the Christian faith teaches, by original sin
as a result of the pitiable fall of Adam. We are also subject to passions,
whereby we are corrupted in a truly sad state, and have thus made ourselves
worthy of everlasting condemnation. It is true that the proud philosophers
of this world deny these truths, and in their place do raise up
again the ancient heresy of Pelagius: which taught that in human nature
there is a certain innate goodness wherewith, by our own powers, we are
raised up to ever higher levels of perfection; but such false theories, born
of human pride, have been condemned by the Apostle in his saying that all
men are by nature the children of wrath. As a matter of fact, from the very
beginning of the creation of the world, mankind recognized, in one way or
another, the obligation of making reparation, impelled to do so, as by a
natural instinct, in an endeavor to placate God by offering public
sacrifices to Him.
Lesson vii
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
Luke
Luke 15:1-5
At that time: the publicans and sinners
drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured,
saying: "This man receives sinners, and eats with them." And He spoke
to them this parable, saying: "What man of you that has a hundred sheep: and
if he shall lose one of them, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the
desert, and go after that which was lost, until he find it? And when
he has found it, he lays it upon his shoulders, rejoicing: And coming home,
he call together his friends and neighbors, saying to them: Rejoice with me,
because I have found my sheep that was lost. I say to you, that even
so there shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, more than
upon ninety-nine just who need not penance. Or what woman having ten
drachmas; if she lose one drachma, does not light a candle, and sweep the
house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she has found
it, call together her friends and neighbors, saying: Rejoice with me,
because I have found the drachma which I had lost. So I say to you,
there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance.
An Homily of Pope Saint Gregory the
Great
XXXIV on the Gospels.
Ye have heard, my brethren, from the
Gospel which has just now been read,
how that the publicans and sinners drew near unto our Redeemer, and how that
He received them, not only to converse, but also to eat with Him. And when
the Pharisees and Scribes saw it, they murmured. From this learn that
true righteousness is merciful, and false righteousness is contemptuous,
even though the righteous often feel moved with just indignation at sinners.
But it is one thing to feel indignant through pride, and
another to feel so through love of law.
Lesson viii
The righteous indeed look down upon
sinners, and yet, as not despising them; they abandon them, and yet, as not
without hope; they fight against them, and yet, as loving them all the
while; for if they are moved to chasten them grievously as touching the outer man, yet is
it through charity which offers sweetness to their inner man. In their
hearts they prefer before themselves them whom they are correcting; they
hold as better than themselves them whom they judge. And thus doing, they
watch by carefulness over them, which are committed unto their charge, and,
by lowly-mindedness, over themselves.
Lesson ix
On the other hand, they whose
exaltation comes
of a false righteousness, look down upon their neighbor, but are softened
by no mercy toward his misery, and they are all the more sinful, because they
perceive not that they themselves are sinners. Of such were those Pharisees
who judged the Lord because He received sinners, and, in the dryness of
their own heart, rebuked the very Fountain of mercy. They were sick of so
desperate a sickness that they knew not of themselves that they were sick;
but, that they might know that they were so, the Heavenly Physician applied
to them His tender ointments, and, by means of a gracious parable, lanced
the boil of their pride of heart.
Let us pray.
Collect: of the Sunday:
O God, the protector of all that trust
in Thee, without Whom nothing is strong, and nothing is holy, multiply Thy
mercies upon us; that having Thee for our ruler and guide, we may so pass
through things temporal, so that we lose not those which are eternal.
Collect: of the Sacred Heart:
O God, Who in the Heart of Thy Son,
wounded by our transgressions, does mercifully vouchsafe to bestow upon us
the infinite wealth of Thy love; grant, we beseech Thee, that revering it
with proper devotion, we may make a worthy reparation for our sins.
Monday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 10:17-19
And Samuel called together the
people to the Lord in Maspha: And he said to the children of Israel: Thus said the Lord the God of Israel:
"I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the
Egyptians, and from the hand of all the kings who afflicted you. But you this day have rejected your God,
the only one Who saved you out of all your evils and your tribulations: and you
have said: 'Nay: but set a king over us.' Now therefore stand before the Lord
by your tribes, and by your families."
Lesson ii
1 Kings 10:20-24
And Samuel brought to him all the
tribes of Israel, and the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin. And he
brought the tribe of Benjamin and the kindred thereof, and the lot fell
upon the kindred of Metri, and it came to Saul the son of Cis. They sought
him therefore and he was not found. And after this they consulted the
Lord whether he would come thither. And the Lord answered: "Behold he is
hidden at home." And they ran and fetched him thence: and he stood in
the midst of the people, and he was higher than any of the people from the
shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people: "Surely you
see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is none like him among all the
people. And all the people cried and said: "God save the king."
Lesson iii
1 Kings 10:25-27
And Samuel told the people the law of
the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord: and
Samuel sent away all the people, every one to his own house. Saul also
departed to his own house in Gabaa: and there went with him a part of the
army, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said:
"Shall this fellow be able to save us?" And they despised him, and brought him
no presents, but he dissembled as though he heard not.
Tuesday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 12:1-5
And Samuel said to all Israel: "Behold I have
listened to your
voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. And now
the king goes before you: but I am old and grey: and my sons are with
you: having then conversed with you from my youth unto this day, behold here
I am. Speak of me before the Lord, and before his anointed, whether I have
taken any man's ox, or ass: If I have wronged any man, if I have oppressed
any man, if I have taken a bribe at any man's hand: and I will despise it
this day, and will restore it to you. And they said: "You have not wronged
us, nor oppressed us, nor taken anything at any man's hand." And he said to
them: The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day,
that you have not found any thing in my hand." And they said: "He is witness."
Lesson ii
1 Kings 12:6-9
And Samuel said to the people: "It is
the Lord, who made Moses and Aaron, and brought our fathers out of the land
of Egypt. Now therefore stand up, that I may plead in judgment against you
before the Lord, concerning all the kindness of the Lord, which He has
shown to you, and to your fathers: How Jacob went into Egypt, and your
fathers cried to the Lord: and the Lord sent Moses and Aaron, and brought
your fathers out of Egypt: and made them dwell in this place. And they
forgot the Lord their God, and He delivered them into the hands of Sisara,
captain of the army of Hasor, and into the hands of the Philistines, and
into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them.
Lesson iii
1 Kings 12:10-14
But afterwards they cried to the
Lord, and said: "We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have
served Baalim and Astaroth: but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies,
and we will serve Thee. And the Lord sent Jerobaal, and Badan, and Jephte,
and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and
you dwelt securely. But seeing that Naas king of the children of Ammon
was come against you, you said to me: 'Nay, but a king shall reign over us':
whereas the Lord your God was your king. Now therefore your king is
here, whom you have chosen and desired: Behold the Lord has given you a
king.
If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and hearken to his voice, and not
provoke the mouth of the Lord: then shall both you, and the king who reigns over you, be followers of the Lord your God.
Wednesday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 13:1-4
Saul was a child of ... years when he began to reign, and
he reigned ... years over Israel. And Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel:
and two thousand were with Saul in Machmas, and in mount Bethel: and a
thousand with Jonathan in Gabaa of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he
sent back every man to their dwellings. And Jonathan smote the garrison of
the Philistines which was in Gabaa. And when the Philistines had heard of
it, Saul sounded the trumpet over all the land, saying: "Let the Hebrews
hear." And all Israel heard this report: Saul has smitten the garrison of
the Philistines: and Israel took courage against the Philistines. And the
people were called together after Saul to Galgal.
Lesson ii
1 Kings 13:5-8
The Philistines also were assembled to
fight against Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen,
and a multitude of people besides, like the sand on the sea shore for
number. And going up they camped in Machmas at the east of Bethaven. And
when the men of Israel saw that they were straitened, (for the people were
distressed,) they hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks,
and in dens, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews passed over the Jordan
into the land of Gad and Galaad. And when Saul was yet in Galgal, all the
people that followed him were greatly afraid. And he waited seven days
according to the appointment of Samuel, and Samuel came not to Galgal, and
the people slipped away from him.
Lesson iii
1 Kings 13:9-14
Then Saul said: "Bring me the
holocaust, and the peace offerings." And he offered the holocaust. And
when he had made an end of offering the holocaust, behold Samuel came: and
Saul went forth to meet him and salute him. And Samuel said to him:
"What have you done?" Saul answered: "Because I saw that the people slipped from me,
and you had not come according to the days appointed, and the Philistines
were gathered together in Machmas, I said: 'Now will the Philistines come
down upon me to Galgal, and I have not appeased the face of the Lord.'
Forced by necessity, I offered the holocaust." And Samuel said to
Saul: "You have done foolishly, and have not kept the commandments of the
Lord your God, which He commanded you. And if you had not done this, the
Lord would now have established your kingdom over Israel for ever. But
your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought him a man according to
his own heart: and him has the Lord commanded to be prince over His people, because
you have
not observed that which the Lord commanded."
Thursday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 14:6-11
And Jonathan said to the young man that
bore his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these
uncircumcised, it may be the Lord will fight for us, because it is easy for the
Lord to save either by many, or by few." And his armor bearer said to
him: "Do all that pleases your mind: go where you will, and I will be with
you wherever you have a mind." And Jonathan said: :"Behold we will go
over to these men. And when we shall be seen by them, If they say to
us to us: 'Stay till we come to you': let us stand still in our
place, and not go up to them. But if they shall say: 'Come up to us':
let us go up, because the Lord has delivered them into our hands, this shall
be a sign for us." So both of them showed themselves to the garrison
of the Philistines: and the Philistines said: "Behold the Hebrews come out
of the holes where they were hiding."
Lesson ii
1 Kings 14:12-15
And the men of the garrison spoke to
Jonathan, and to his armor bearer, and said: "Come up to us, and we will
show you a thing." And Jonathan said to his armor bearer: "Let us go up,
follow me: for the Lord has delivered them into the hands of
Israel." And Jonathan went up creeping on his hands and feet, and his
armor bearer after him. And some fell before Jonathan, others his armor
bearer slew as he followed him. And the first slaughter which Jonathan
and his armor bearer made, was of about twenty men, within half an acre of
land, which a yoke of oxen would plough in a day. And there was a
panic in the camp, through the fields: and all the people of the
garrison, who had gone out to plunder, were terrified, and the earth trembled:
and it happened as a miracle from God.
Lesson iii
1 Kings 14:16-20
And the watchmen of Saul,
who were in Gabaa of Benjamin looked, and saw the multitude overthrown, and
fleeing this way and that. And Saul said to the people that were with
him: "Look, and see who is gone from us." And when they had sought, it was
found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. And Saul said
to Achias: "Bring the ark of the Lord." (For the ark of God was there
that day with the children of Israel.) And while Saul spoke to the priest,
there arose a great uproar in the camp of the Philistines: and it got louder, and was heard more clearly. And Saul said to the priest:
"Draw in
thy hand." Then Saul and all the people that were with him, shouted
together, and they came to the place of the fight: and behold, among the
Philistines, every man's
sword was turned upon his neighbor, and there was a very great slaughter.
Friday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 15:1-3
And Samuel said to Saul: "The Lord sent me to anoint
you king over his
People Israel: now therefore listen to the voice of the Lord:
Thus says the Lord of hosts: "I have reckoned up all that Amalec has done to
Israel: I how he opposed them in the way when they came up out of Egypt.
Now therefore go, and attack Amalec, and utterly destroy all that he
has: spare him not, nor covet any thing that is his: but slay both man and
woman, child and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Lesson ii
1 Kings 15:4-8
So Saul
commanded the people, and numbered them as a shepherd would count his lambs: two hundred thousand
footmen, and ten thousand of the men of Juda. And when Saul was come to
the city of Amalec, he laid ambushes in the torrent. And Saul said to the Cinites:
"Go, depart and get ye down from Amalec: lest I destroy you with him. For
you have shown kindness to all the
children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. And the Cinites departed
from the midst of Amalec. And Saul smote Amalec from Hevila, as far as Sur, which is
east of Egypt. And he took Agag the king of
Amalec alive: but all the common people he slew with the edge of the sword.
Lesson iii
1 Kings 15:9-11
And Saul and the people spared Agag and
the best of the flocks of sheep and of the herds, and the garments and the
rams, and all that was beautiful, and would not destroy them: but every
thing that was vile and good for nothing, that they destroyed. And the word of the Lord came to Samuel,
saying: "I am sorry that I have made Saul king: for he has forsaken
Me, and has not executed My commandments." And Samuel was grieved, and he cried to the Lord all night.
Where the Octave of the Sacred Heart
is observed:
Lesson iv
From a Sermon by St. Bernard the
Abbot
Sermon 61 on the Canticle of Canticles, Nos. 3-5
For us who are so frail
and weak, where is to be found a sure and certain place of abiding safety,
or of everlasting rest? Where except in the Wounds of the Savior? There
alone I may dwell safely. There alone I may find a safety as great as his
mighty power to save. The world may rage around me; the body may weigh me
down; the devil may lay snares for me; but if I hide me there I cannot fall,
for I am founded on the firm Rock. If I have committed a great sin; if my
conscience is sore troubled; I will not despair, for I have always in
remembrance the Wounds of the Lord. For in all truth: He was wounded for our
transgressions. And there is no sin so deadly that it cannot be remitted
through Christ's death. If then I keep in remembrance a remedy so powerful
and efficacious, I cannot in this present life be terrified by any evil, no
matter how malignant.
Lesson v
But as for me, since
mercies thus abound, I take to myself whatever is lacking in me; yes, I take
it to myself with confidence; I take it to myself from the compassion of the
Lord, with whom every kind of mercy abounds. For openings are not wanting,
through which these mercies may flow forth. They have pierced His hands and
His feet; yes, and His side too they have pierced with a spear. It is though
these clefts that I am permitted to suck honey from the Rock, and oil out of
the flinty Rock, and to taste and see how gracious the Lord is. His thoughts
are thoughts of peace, and I knew it not. For who has known the mind of the
Lord? or who has been His counselor? But the nail which pierced has become
for me a key which unlocks, so that the will of the Lord is set open unto
me. How could I, with such an opening, do other than to see His will? For
the nails cry aloud, and the Wounds speak, saying the truth: That God is in
Christ reconciling the world unto himself.
Lesson vi
The iron entered into his soul, and came
close to His Heart, that He might truly know compassion for my infirmities.
The secrets of His Heart lie open, through the Wounds of His body. In this
way is that great mystery of love laid open, there lie open the bowels of
the mercy of our God, whereby the Day-Spring from on high has visited us.
But why should the bowels of mercy not lie open through the wounds? For in
what has it appeared more clearly than in Thy wounds, that Thou, O Lord, art
sweet and gentle, and of great mercy? For greater pity has no man, than that
a man lay down his life for those who were doomed and condemned to death.
From this pity of the Lord is all my merit. I am not entirely destitute of
merit, so long as He is not wanting in compassion. And if the mercies of the
Lord are from eternity unto eternity, I also will sing the mercies of the
Lord forever.
Lesson vii
The continuation of the Holy Gospel according to
John
John 19:31-37
At that time : The Jews, (because it
was the parasceve,) that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the
sabbath day, (for that was a great sabbath day,) besought Pilate that their
legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. The soldiers
therefore came; and they broke the legs of the first, and of the other that
was crucified with Him. But after they were come to Jesus, when they
saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of
the soldiers with a spear opened His side, and immediately there came out
blood and water. And he that saw it, has given testimony, and his
testimony is true. And he knows that what he said is true; that you also may
believe. For these things were done, that the scripture might be
fulfilled: "You shall not break a bone of Him" (cf. Exodus 12:46;
Psalm 33:21). And again another scripture that said: "They shall look
on Him whom they pierced" (Zacharias 12:10).
A Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop
Tract CXX on John, Nos. 2-3
"But when they came to Jesus, and saw that
He was dead
already, they broke not His legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear
opened His side, and forthwith there came out blood and water." Note that the
Evangelist makes use of a word of special significance. He said not:
"Penetrated his side": nor yet: "Wounded": nor any other thing; but rather:
"Opened": that thereby in a sense the door of life might be thrown open, from
whence the Sacraments of the Church have flowed forth, without which there
is no entrance into that life which is the only true life. For that blood
was shed for the remission of sins; and that water had brought into being the
life-giving flagon, which same is both the laver of Baptism and the cup that gives refreshment to them that thirst. All this was announced long before,
when Noah was commanded to make a door in the side of the ark,
through which all living creatures which were not destined to
perish in the flood might enter; and this same door is a figure of the Church.
Another figure is also to be found in the first woman. For
she was made out of the side of the first man whilst he slept a deep sleep;
and she was called: "Life": or as it may be interpreted: "The Mother of all
living." Thus was indicated the great good which was later to come to pass,
even before the great evil of transgression had come into being. Here, in
the Gospel, the second Adam is shown as bowing His head, and sleeping His
deep sleep upon the Cross, that a bride might be formed for Him out of that
which came forth from His side as He slept. What a death, whereby the dead
are raised anew to life! How clean and cleansing is this blood! What is more health giving than this wound! And he that saw it, said
that
his record is true: and he knows that what he says is true, that you might
believe. He said not: "That you might know"; but: "That you might believe." For he knows,
who has seen, that he, who has not seen, might believe his
record. And believing belongs more to the nature of faith than does
seeing.
Lesson ix
Commemoration of the Saint of the Day
Saturday
Lesson i
A reading from the First Book of Kings
1 Kings 16:1-3
And the Lord said to Samuel: "How long will
you mourn for Saul, whom I
have rejected from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and
come, that I may send you to Isai the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king
among his sons." And Samuel said: "How shall I go? for Saul will hear of
it, and he will kill me." And the Lord said: "You shall take a calf
of the herd with you, and you shall say: "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord." And
you shall call Isai to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to
do, and you shall anoint the one whom I show to you.
Lesson ii
1 Kings 16: 4-11
Then Samuel did
as the Lord said to him. And he came to Bethlehem, and the ancients of
the city wondered, and meeting him, they said: "Is your coming here
peaceable?" And he said: "It is peaceable: I have come to offer sacrifice to
the Lord, purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice. And he
purified Isai and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
And when they had come in, he saw Eliab, and said: "Is the Lord's
anointed before him?" And the Lord said to Samuel: "Look not to his
countenance, nor to the height of his stature: because I have rejected him,
nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man sees those things that
appear, but the Lord looks into the heart." And Isai called Abinadab,
and brought him before Samuel. And he said: "Neither has the Lord chosen this
one." And Isai brought Samma, and he said of him: "Neither has the Lord chosen
this one.' Isai therefore brought his seven sons before Samuel: and Samuel
said to Isai: The Lord has not chosen any of these." And Samuel said to Isai:
"Are all of your sons here?" He answered: "There remains a young one, who is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Isai:
"Send, and fetch him."
The third lesson is from the Office
of the feast or from the Saturday Office of the Blessed Virgin