MASS PROPERS – Feast of the Holy Martyrs Sts. Nazarius, Celsus, and Pope Victor; and Pope St. Innocent I –

Monday in the Seventh Week after Pentecost                

Feast of the Holy Martyrs Sts. Nazarius, Celsus, and Pope Victor; and Pope St. Innocent l 

Semi-Double/Red Vestments

St. Nazaire & St. Celse (St. Nazarius and St. Celsus)

Martyrs        

Saints Nazaire and Celsus are two Milanese martyrs, whose worship was placed in honor of St. Ambrose, but it is not certain that a link existed between them during their lifetime. St. Nazarius was baptized by Pope Linus at Rome; in his turn he baptized the youthful St. Celsus. They were both beheaded at Milan about the year 368. Their bodies, buried in a garden outside the city, were found by St. Ambrose in 395. The body of St. Nazarius appeared as if it had just been beheaded. It was placed by St. Ambrose in the Basilica Romana. The body of the boy St. Celsus was found in another part of the garden, but was not removed. However, a basilica was later built in his honor.

Pope St. Victor

Martyr

Pope St. Victor, the thirteenth in order from St. Peter, is famous in the history of the Church of the first three centuries for his encyclicals addressed to all the churches, in which he appointed synods with a view to coming to an agreement concerning the date of the celebration of Easter. Even the bishops of the most remote dioceses of Asia Minor obeyed the Pope’s order and sent their votes to Rome, but as these were not in accordance with the Roman view, it very nearly caused a schism. He succeeded in settling the controversy about the date of Easter, and is said to have decided that in case of necessity Baptism might be given with natural water. He was the first ecclesiastical writer to write in Latin.

St. Innocent

Pope and Confessor

 

St. Innocent I, Pope, Confessor (402-417), took a vigorous part in the defense of St. John Chrysostom; upheld the rights of the Holy See and wrote a letter on liturgical questions which remains a notable document to this day

Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee…

INTROIT:   Psalm 78: 11, 12, 10   

Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before Thee, O Lord; render to our neighbors sevenfold in their bosom; revenge the blood of Thy saints, which hath been shed.

(Ps. 78: 1) O God, the heathens are come into Thy inheritance: they have defiled Thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit. 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.

Let the sighing of the prisoners…

COLLECT

May the confession of Thy saints, Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent, fortify us, O Lord, and may it, for the sake of their merits, obtain help for our frailty. 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.

EPISTLE:   Wisdom 10: 17-20

God rendered to the just the wages of their labors, and conducted them in a wonderful way; and He was to them for a covert by day, and for the light of stars by night; and He brought them through the Red Sea, and carried them over through a great water. But their enemies He drowned in the sea, and from the depth of hell He brought them out. Therefore the just took the spoils of the wicked. And they sung to Thy holy name, O Lord, and they praised with one accord Thy victorious hand, O Lord, our God.

GRADUAL:  Exodus 15: 11-6

God is glorious in His Saints, wonderful in majesty, doing wonders. V. Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorified in strength; Thy right hand hath broken the enemies.

 ALLELUIA, alleluia                       

(Ps. 144: 10, 11 ) Thy Saints shall bless Thee, O Lord; they shall speak of the glory of Thy Kingdom. Alleluia.

GOSPEL: Luke 21: 9-19

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: When you shall hear of wars and seditions, be not terrified: these things must first come to pass, but the end is not yet presently. Then He said to them: Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be great earthquakes and pestilences, and famines and terrors from Heaven, and there shall be great signs. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and into prisons, dragging you before kings and governors for My name’s sake; and it shall happen unto you for a testimony. Lay it up therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before how you shall answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to resist and gain- say. And you shall be betrayed by your parents and brethren and kinsmen and friends, and some of you they will put to death: and you shall be hated by all men for My name’s sake; but a hair of your head shall not perish. In your patience you shall possess your souls. 

OFFERTORY: Psalm 67:36

God is wonderful in His saints: the God of Israel is He Who will give power and strength to His people : blessed be God, alleluia.

SECRET

Grant us, O almighty God, that we may both please Thee with the offering and be vivified by the receiving of these gifts which we bring fn honor of Thy saints, Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever.

PREFACE   Common Preface

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…

COMMUNION:   Wisdom: 3: 4-6

And though in the sight of men they suffered torments, God hath tried them: as gold in the furnace He hath proved them, and as a victim of a holocaust He hath received them.

POSTCOMMUNION

Being appeased by the intercession of Sts. Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent, grant, we beseech Thee, O Lord, that what we celebrate by a temporal service we may receive for our eternal salvation. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God For ever and ever.