S. Felicis de Valois Confessoris

℣ O Lord, ✠ open my lips.

℟ And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

℣ O God, ✠ come to my assistance.

℟ Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Alleluia.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

Come, let us exult in the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to God, our Savior. Let us anticipate his presence with confession, and let us sing joyfully to him with psalms.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

For the Lord is a great God and a great King over all gods. For the Lord will not drive away his people. For in his hand are all the limits of the earth, and he beholds the heights of the mountains.

Ant. come, let us adore.

For the sea is his, and he made it, and his hands established the dry land. (kneel) Come, let us adore and fall prostrate before God, and let us weep before the Lord who made us. For he is the Lord our God, and we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts: as in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness, where your fathers tempted me; they tested and saw my works.

Ant. come, let us adore.

For forty years, I was near to that generation, and I said: These have always strayed in heart. But they have not known my ways. To them I swore in my wrath: They shall not enter into my rest.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. come, let us adore.

Ant. The Lord, King of Confessors, * come, let us adore.

This Confessor of the Lord, whom the peoples

piously praise and celebrate throughout the world,

on this day joyfully merited the highest

honors of praise.

Who, devout, prudent, humble, and pure,

led a sober life without stain,

while the breath of life

animated his mortal limbs.

By whose outstanding merit, frequently,

sick members that lay here and there,

with the power of disease overcome,

are restored to health.

Our choir sings to him

its dutiful praise and celebrated palms,

that we may be aided by his devout prayers

through every age.

Let salvation, honor, and power be to him

who, shining upon the throne of heaven,

governs the order of the whole world,

Three and One.

Amen.

At the Nocturn

Ant. The Lord raised up * a testimony in Jacob: and appointed a law in Israel.

Psalm 77(1-8) [1]

77:1 O my people, attend to my law. * Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

77:2 I will open my mouth in parables. * I will speak about concepts that are from the beginning.

77:3 We have heard and known such great things, * as our fathers have described to us.

77:4 These things have not been hidden from their sons * in the next generation:

77:4 declaring the praises of the Lord, and his powers, * and the wonders that he has done.

77:5 And he established a testimony in Jacob, * and he has set a law within Israel.

77:5 Such great things, he has commanded our fathers, so as to make these things known to their sons, * so that another generation might know them,

77:6 and so that the sons, who will be born and who will grow up, * shall describe them to their sons.

77:7 So then, may they put their hope in God, and may they not forget the works of God, * and may they seek his commandments.

77:8 May they not become like their fathers, * a perverse and exasperating generation:

77:8 a generation that does not straighten their heart * and whose spirit is not trustworthy with God.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. The Lord raised up a testimony in Jacob: and appointed a law in Israel.

Ant. Before their fathers * God worked wonders.

Psalm 77(9-16) [2]

77:9 The sons of Ephraim, who bend and shoot the bow, * have been turned back in the day of battle.

77:10 They have not kept the covenant of God. * And they were not willing to walk in his law.

77:11 And they have been forgetful of his benefits, * and of his miracle, which he revealed to them.

77:12 He performed miracles in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, * in the field of Tanis.

77:13 He broke the sea and he led them through. * And he stationed the waters, as if in a vessel.

77:14 And he led them with a cloud by day, * and with illumination by fire throughout the night.

77:15 He broke through the rock in the wasteland, * and he gave them to drink, as if from the great abyss.

77:16 He brought forth water from the rock, * and he conducted the waters, as if they were rivers.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Before their fathers God worked wonders.

Ant. The Lord opened * the gates of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat.

Psalm 77(17-31) [3]

77:17 And yet, they continued to sin against him. * In a waterless place, they provoked the Most High with resentment.

77:18 And they tempted God in their hearts, * by asking for food according to their desires.

77:19 And they spoke badly about God. * They said, “Would God be able to prepare a table in the desert?

77:20 He struck the rock, and so waters flowed * and the torrents flooded,

77:20 but would even he be able to provide bread, * or provide a table, for his people?”

77:21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was angry, * and a fire was kindled within Jacob, and an anger ascended into Israel.

77:22 For they neither put their trust in God, * nor did they hope in his salvation.

77:23 And he commanded the clouds from above, * and he opened the doors of heaven.

77:24 And he rained down manna upon them to eat, * and he gave them the bread of heaven.

77:25 Man ate the bread of Angels. * He sent them provisions in abundance.

77:26 He transferred the south wind from heaven, * and, by his power, he brought in the Southwest wind.

77:27 And he rained down flesh upon them, as if it were dust, * and feathered birds, as if they were the sand of the sea.

77:28 And they fell down in the midst of their camp, * encircling their tabernacles.

77:29 And they ate until they were greatly satisfied, and he brought to them according to their desires. * They were not cheated out of what they wanted.

77:30 Their food was still in their mouth, * and then the wrath of God came upon them.

77:31 And he slew the fat ones among them, * and he impeded the elect of Israel.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. The Lord opened the gates of heaven, and rained down manna upon them to eat.

Ant. God * is their helper: and the Most High is their redeemer.

Psalm 77(32-41) [4]

77:32 In all these things, they continued to sin, * and they did not believe in his wonders.

77:33 And their days faded away into vanity, * and their years with haste.

77:34 When he slew them, then they sought him. * And they returned, and they drew near to him in the early morning.

77:35 And they were mindful that God is their helper * and that the Most High God is their redeemer.

77:36 And they loved him with their mouth, * and then they lied to him with their tongue.

77:37 For their heart was not upright with him, * nor have they been living faithfully in his covenant.

77:38 Yet he is merciful, and he will pardon their sins. * And he will not destroy them.

77:38 And he has abundantly turned aside his own wrath. * And he did not enflame his wrath entirely.

77:39 And he remembered that they are flesh: * with a spirit that goes forth and does not return.

77:40 How often did they provoke him in the desert * and stir him to wrath in a waterless place?

77:41 And they turned back and tempted God, * and they exasperated the Holy One of Israel.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. God is their helper: and the Most High is their redeemer.

Ant. The Lord * redeemed them from the hand of the one who afflicted them.

Psalm 77(42-58) [5]

77:42 They did not remember his hand, * in the day that he redeemed them from the hand of the one troubling them.

77:43 Thus, he positioned his signs in Egypt * and his wonders in the field of Tanis.

77:44 And he turned their rivers into blood, * along with their rain showers, so that they could not drink.

77:45 He sent among them the common fly, and it devoured them, * and the frog, and it scattered them.

77:46 And he gave up their fruits to mold * and their labors to the locust.

77:47 And he slew their vineyards with hail * and their mulberry trees with severe frost.

77:48 And he delivered their cattle to the hail * and their possessions to fire.

77:49 And he sent the wrath of his indignation among them: * indignation and wrath and tribulation, sent forth by evil angels.

77:50 He made way for the path of his anger. He did not spare their souls from death. * And he enclosed their beasts of burden in death.

77:51 And he struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt: * the first-fruits of all their labor in the tabernacles of Ham.

77:52 And he took away his own people like sheep, * and he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

77:53 And he led them out in hope, and they did not fear. * And the sea covered their enemies.

77:54 And he led them to the mountain of his sanctification: * the mountain that his right hand had acquired.

77:54 And he cast out the Gentiles before their face. * And he divided their land by lot to them, with a line of distribution.

77:55 And he caused them to dwell in their tabernacles: * the tribes of Israel.

77:56 Yet they tempted and aggravated God Most High, * and they did not keep his testaments.

77:57 And they turned themselves aside, and they did not serve the covenant. * In the same manner as their fathers, they were turned backwards, like a crooked bow.

77:58 They impelled him to anger on their hills, * and they provoked him to rivalry with their graven images.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. The Lord redeemed them from the hand of the one who afflicted them.

Ant. God * built his sanctuary on earth.

Psalm 77(59-72) [6]

77:59 God listened, and he spurned them, * and he reduced Israel greatly, almost to nothing.

77:60 And he rejected the tabernacle of Shiloh, * his tabernacle where he had dwelt among men.

77:61 And he delivered their strength into captivity, * and their beauty into the hands of the enemy.

77:62 And he enclosed his people with the sword, * and he spurned his inheritance.

77:63 Fire consumed their young men, * and their virgins were not lamented.

77:64 Their priests fell by the sword, * and their widows were not mourned.

77:65 And the Lord was awakened, as if out of sleep, * and like a powerful man impaired by wine.

77:66 And he struck his enemies on the back. * He gave them over to everlasting disgrace.

77:67 And he rejected the tabernacle of Joseph, * and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

77:68 But he chose the tribe of Judah: * mount Zion, which he loved.

77:69 And he built up his sanctuary, like a single-horned beast, in the land * that he founded for all ages.

77:70 And he chose his servant David, and he took him from the flocks of the sheep: * he received him from following the ewes with their young,

77:71 in order to pasture Jacob his servant * and Israel his inheritance.

77:72 And he fed them with the innocence of his heart. * And he led them with the understanding of his hands.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. God built his sanctuary on earth.

Ant. Help us, * O God, our salvation: and be gracious toward our sins.

Psalm 78 [7]

78:1 O God, the Gentiles have entered into your inheritance; they have polluted your holy temple. * They have set Jerusalem as a place to tend fruit trees.

78:2 They have placed the dead bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the sky, * the flesh of your saints for the beasts of the earth.

78:3 They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, * and there was no one who would bury them.

78:4 We have become a disgrace to our neighbors, * an object of ridicule and mockery to those who are around us.

78:5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry until the end? * Will your zeal be kindled like a fire?

78:6 Pour out your wrath among the Gentiles, who have not known you, * and upon the kingdoms that have not invoked your name.

78:7 For they have devoured Jacob, * and they have desolated his place.

78:8 Do not remember our iniquities of the past. May your mercies quickly intercept us, * for we have become exceedingly poor.

78:9 Help us, O God, our Savior. And free us, Lord, for the glory of your name. * And forgive us our sins for the sake of your name.

78:10 Let them not say among the Gentiles, “Where is their God?” * And may there be known among the nations before our eyes,

78:10 the retribution for your servants’ blood, which has been poured out. * may the groans of the shackled enter before you.

78:11 According to the greatness of your arm, * take possession of the sons of those who have been killed.

78:12 And repay our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom. * It is the reproach of the same ones who brought reproach against you, O Lord.

78:13 But we are your people and the sheep of your pasture: * we will give thanks to you in all ages.

78:13 From generation to generation, * we will announce your praise.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Help us, O God, our salvation: and be gracious toward our sins.

Ant. I am the Lord * your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Psalm 80 [8]

80:2 Exult before God our helper. * Sing joyfully to the God of Jacob.

80:3 Take up a psalm, and bring forth the timbrel: * the pleasant psaltery with the harp.

80:4 Sound the trumpet at the new moon, * on the noteworthy day of your solemnity,

80:5 for it is a precept in Israel * and a judgment for the God of Jacob.

80:6 He set it as a testimony with Joseph, when he went out of the land of Egypt. * He heard a tongue that he did not know.

80:7 He turned the burdens away from his back. * His hands had been a slave to baskets.

80:8 You called upon me in tribulation, and I freed you. * I heard you within the hidden tempest. I tested you with waters of contradiction.

80:9 My people, listen and I will call you to testify. * If, O Israel, you will pay heed to me, then there will be no new god among you, nor will you adore a foreign god.

80:11 For I am the Lord your God, who led you out of the land of Egypt. * Widen your mouth, and I will fill it.

80:12 But my people did not hear my voice, * and Israel was not attentive to me.

80:13 And so, I sent them away, according to the desires of their heart. * They will go forth according to their own inventions.

80:14 If my people had heard me, * if Israel had walked in my ways,

80:15 I would have humbled their enemies, as if it were nothing, * and I would have sent my hand upon those who troubled them.

80:16 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him, * and their time will endure forever.

80:17 And he fed them from the fat of the grain, * and he saturated them with honey from the rock.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. I am the Lord your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Ant. Be not silent, O God, * for your enemies have lifted up their head.

Psalm 82 [9]

82:2 O God, who will ever be like you? * Do not be silent, and do not be unmoved, O God.

82:3 For behold, your enemies have sounded off, * and those who hate you have raised their heads.

82:4 They have acted with malice in counsel over your people, * and they have plotted against your holy ones.

82:5 They have said, “Come, let us scatter them from the nations * and not allow the name of Israel to be remembered any longer.”

82:6 For they plotted unanimously. * Joined together against you, they ordained a covenant: the tabernacle of Edomites and Ishmaelites,

82:8 and Moab and the Hagarites, and Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek, * the foreigners with the inhabitants of Tyre.

82:9 For even Assur comes with them. * They have become the helpers of the sons of Lot.

82:10 Do to them as you did to Midian and Sisera, * just as to Jabin at the torrent of Kishon.

82:11 They perished at Endor, * and they became like the dung of the earth.

82:12 Set their leaders to be like Oreb and Zeeb, * and Zebah and Zalmunna:

82:13 all their leaders * who said, “Let us possess the Sanctuary of God for an inheritance.”

82:14 My God, set them like a wheel, * and like stubble before the face of the wind.

82:15 Like a fire burning up the forest, * and like a flame burning up the mountains.

82:16 So will you pursue them in your tempest, * and disturb them in your wrath.

82:17 Fill their faces with shame, * and they will seek your name, O Lord.

82:18 Let them be ashamed and troubled, from age to age, * and let them be confounded and perish.

82:19 And let them know that the Lord is your name. * You alone are the Most High in all the earth.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, * world without end. Amen.

Ant. Be not silent, O God, for your enemies have lifted up their head.

℣ Let them know that your name is Lord.

℟ You alone are the Most High over all the earth.

The Our Father is said silently as far as And lead us not into temptation:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: thy kingdom come: thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread: and forgive us our trespasses, as we also forgive those who trespass against us:

℣ And lead us not into temptation:

℟ But deliver us from evil.

Absolution. May his loving kindness and mercy assist us, he who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

℟ Amen.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May he bless us who lives and reigns without end.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 1

Here Begins the Prophet Obadiah

Obadiah 1:1-4

1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus says the Lord God to Edom: We have heard a report from the Lord, and he has sent an envoy to the nations: 'Arise, and let us together rise up in battle against him.'

2 Behold, I have made you little among the nations. You are greatly contemptible.

3 The arrogance of your heart has lifted you up, living in the clefts of the rocks, exalting your throne. You say in your heart, 'Who will pull me down to the ground?'

4 Though you have been lifted high like an eagle, and though you have placed your nest among the stars, from there I will pull you down, says the Lord.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ Upon your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen;

* All day and night they shall not cease to praise the name of the Lord.

℣ They shall proclaim my strength to the peoples, and declare my glory among the nations.

℟ All day and night they shall not cease to praise the name of the Lord.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May he whose feast we celebrate intercede for us to the Lord.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 2

Obadiah 1:5-7

5 If thieves had approached you, if robbers by night, how would you have remained silent? Would they not have stolen all that they wanted? If the grape-pickers had approached you, would they not have left you at least a cluster?

6 In what way have they been examining Esau? They investigated his secrets.

7 They have sent you out all the way to the limit. All the men of your alliance have deceived you. Your men of peace have prevailed against you. Those who eat with you will place snares under you. There is no foresight in him.

Obadiah 1:8-11

8 Shall I not, in that day, says the Lord, wipe away the wise from Idumea and foresight from the mount of Esau?

9 And your strong men from the south will be afraid, so that man may perish from the mount of Esau.

10 Because of the execution, and because of the iniquity against your brother Jacob, confusion will cover you, and you will perish forever.

11 In the day when you stood against him, when strangers seized his army, and foreigners entered into his gates, and they cast lots over Jerusalem: you also were just like one of them.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℟ We waited for peace, and it did not come; we sought good things, and behold trouble: we acknowledge, O Lord, our sins;

* Do not forget us forever.

℣ We have sinned, we have acted wickedly, we have committed iniquity, O Lord, against all your justice.

℟ Do not forget us forever.

℣ Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Spirit.

℟ Do not forget us forever.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benediction. May the King of Angels lead us to the company of the citizens on high.

℟ Amen.

Lesson 3

Felix, formerly called Hugh, born of the royal house of Valois in France, from his youth began, out of devotion to heavenly contemplation, to think of solitude. Having been ordained a priest, he withdrew into a hermitage, where he lived for some years with Saint John of Matha, until both, admonished by an Angel from God, set out for Rome, where from the Supreme Pontiff Innocent III, who had likewise been divinely admonished, they obtained the approval of a new Order for the redemption of captives; which the same Pontiff, from the white garments marked with a two-colored cross received from the Angel, adorned with the name of the most Holy Trinity. Soon in the diocese of Meaux, at a place called Cerfroid, they constructed the first monastery of the Order. There Felix received a distinguished favor from the Blessed Virgin Mary, when he found her in the midst of the choir, clothed in the habit marked with the cross of the Order. Perfected in age and merits, he died in the Lord in the year one thousand two hundred and twelve.

℣ But you, O Lord, have mercy on us.

℟ Thanks be to God.

Te Deum

O God, we praise you; * O Lord, we acclaim you.

Eternal Father, * all the earth reveres you.

To you all the Angels, * the heavens and all the Powers of heaven:

To you the Cherubim and Seraphim * cry out in endless praise:

(A bow is made) Holy, Holy, Holy * Lord God of hosts;

Heaven and earth are filled * with the majesty of your glory.

The glorious choir of Apostles * sings to you,

the noble company of Prophets * praises you,

the white-robed army of Martyrs * glorifies you.

Holy Church throughout the earth * proclaims you,

the Father * of boundless majesty;

your true and only Son, * worthy of adoration;

and the Holy Spirit, * the Paraclete.

You, O Christ, * are the King of glory.

You are * the Father's everlasting Son.

(A bow is made) When you resolved to save the human race, * you did not spurn the Virgin's womb.

You overcame the sting of death * and opened the Kingdom of Heaven to those who put their faith in you.

You are seated at the right hand of God * in the glory of the Father.

We believe you are the Judge * who is to come.

(The following verse is said kneeling) And so we beg you, help your servants, * redeemed by your most precious blood.

Number them * among your Saints in eternal glory.

Save your people, Lord, * and bless your inheritance.

Shepherd them * and raise them to eternal life.

Day by day * we bless you,

(A bow is made, according to custom) and we praise your name * for endless ages evermore.

Be gracious, Lord, on this day, * and keep us from all sin.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, * have mercy.

May your mercy be upon us, Lord, * as we place our trust in you.

In you, O Lord, I rest my hope: * let me never be put to shame.

The rest is omitted unless Lauds is said separately.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

Let us pray.

O God, who were pleased to call your blessed Confessor Felix from the desert by a heavenly summons to the office of redeeming captives: grant, we pray, that, freed from the captivity of our sins by your grace, through his intercession, we may be led to the heavenly homeland.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son: who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

℟ Amen.

℣ O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟ And let my cry come before you.

℣ Let us bless the Lord.

℟ Thanks be to God.

℣ May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

℟ Amen.