S. Iosephi de Cupertino Confessoris

Nocturn 1

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

Psalm 77(1-8)

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: * and our fathers have described them to us.
77:4 These things have not been hidden from their sons: * in any generation.
77:4 Declaring the praises of the Lord, and his virtues: * and the wonders that he has done.
77:5 And he has received testimony with 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 Sons who will be born and will grow up, * and will 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)

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)

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: * but would even he be able to provide bread,
77:20 or provide a table * for his people?
77:21 Therefore, the Lord heard, and he was dismayed: * 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 in his virtue, 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.

℣ God struck the rock and waters flowed.

℟ And the torrents overflowed.

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.

Absolutio. Hear us, Lord Jesus Christ, and have mercy on your servants: You who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the eternal Father bless us with his everlasting blessing.

Reading 1

From the Second Letter of the blessed Apostle Paul to the Corinthians

2 Cor 4:6-11

6 For God, who told the light to shine out of darkness, has shined a light into our hearts, to illuminate the knowledge of the splendor of God, in the person of Christ Jesus.
7 But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, so that what is sublime may be of the power of God, and not of us.
8 In all things, we endure tribulation, yet we are not in anguish. We are constrained, yet we are not destitute.
9 We suffer persecution, yet we have not been abandoned. We are thrown down, yet we do not perish.
10 We ever carry around the mortification of Jesus in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.
11 For we who live are ever handed over unto death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh.

℟ My flesh is clothed with rottenness and the filth of dust, my skin is dried up and drawn together:

Remember me, O Lord, for my life is wind.

℣ My days have passed more swiftly than the web is cut by the weaver, and are consumed without any hope.

℟ Remember me, O Lord, for my life is wind.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the Only Begotten Son of God be pleased to bless and assist us.

Reading 2

2 Cor 5:1-8

1 For we know that, when our earthly house of this habitation is dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
2 And for this reason also, we groan, desiring to be clothed from above with our habitation from heaven.
3 If we are so clothed, then we will not be found to be naked.
4 Then too, we who are in this tabernacle groan under the burden, because we do not want to be stripped, but rather to be clothed from above, so that what is mortal may be absorbed by life.
5 Now the One who accomplishes this very thing in us is God, who has given us the pledge of the Spirit.
6 Therefore, we are ever confident, knowing that, while we are in the body, we are on a pilgrimage in the Lord.
7 For we walk by means of faith, and not by sight.
8 So we are confident, and we have the good will to be on a pilgrimage in the body, so as to be present to the Lord.

℟ The few days of my life will soon be ended; leave me, O Lord, that I may weep a little for my sorrow,

Before I go to the dark land, covered over with the shadow of death.

℣ Your hands, O Lord, have made me and fashioned me wholly round about; and will you then cast me down so suddenly?

℟ Before I go to the dark land, covered over with the shadow of death.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the mercy of Christ lead us to the joys of paradise.

Reading 3

2 Cor 12:1-9

1 If it is necessary (though certainly not expedient) to glory, then I will next tell of visions and revelations from the Lord.
2 I know a man in Christ, who, more than fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know: God knows), was enraptured to the third heaven.
3 And I know a certain man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I do not know: God knows),
4 who was enraptured into Paradise. And he heard words of mystery, which it is not permitted for man to speak.
5 On behalf of someone like this, I will glory. But on behalf of myself, I will not glory about anything, except my infirmities.
6 For even though I am willing to glory, I will not be foolish. But I will speak the truth. Yet I will do so sparingly, lest anyone may consider me to be anything more than what he sees in me, or anything more than what he hears from me.
7 And lest the greatness of the revelations should extol me, there was given to me a prodding in my flesh: an angel of Satan, who struck me repeatedly.
8 Because of this, three times I petitioned the Lord that it might be taken away from me.
9 And he said to me: 'My grace is sufficient for you. For virtue is perfected in weakness.' And so, willingly shall I glory in my weaknesses, so that the virtue of Christ may live within me.

℟ Hide me not, O Lord, from your face: remove your hand far from me,

And let not your dread terrify me.

℣ Correct me, O Lord, in mercy, not in your fury, lest you reduce me to nothing.

℟ And let not your dread terrify 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.

℟ And let not your dread terrify me.

Nocturn 2

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

Psalm 77(32-41)

77:32 In all these things, they continued to sin: * and they were not trustworthy with his miracles.
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 chose 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: * 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)

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: * just 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)

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 virtue 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 did not weep.
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, * which 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.

℣ The mouth of the just man shall meditate wisdom.

℟ And his tongue shall speak judgment.

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.

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

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May God the almighty Father be gracious and merciful to us.

Reading 4

Joseph of Cupertino, born in the year sixteen hundred and three in a town in the Salentine country of the diocese of Nardò of devout parents there, and forestalled by the love of God, spent his boyhood and youth in the greatest simplicity of conduct and innocence of life and, after patiently bearing a troublesome illness, was freed through the aid of the Virgin Mother of God, and gave himself entirely to works of piety and the cultivation of virtues; and in order to unite himself more intimately with God who was calling him to higher things, he resolved to join the Seraphic Order. After various events, finally attaining the goal of his desire, he was enrolled among the Conventual Friars Minor at the monastery of Grotella — first among the lay brothers on account of his lack of learning, and then by divine disposition among the clerics. Initiated into the priesthood after solemn vows, he proposed to himself a more perfect rule of life. To this end, at once renouncing whatever worldly affections and earthly things almost necessary for life, he afflicted his body with hair-shirts, disciplines, chains, and every kind of austerity and penance; but he sweetly nourished his spirit with the constant practice of holy prayer and of the highest contemplation. From this it came about that the charity of God, which had already been poured out in his heart from his earliest years, shone forth day by day in a wondrous and altogether singular manner.

℟ The Lord made him honorable, and guarded him from his enemies, and protected him from those who would lead him astray:

And gave him everlasting glory.

℣ The Lord led the just man by straight paths, and showed him the kingdom of God.

℟ And gave him everlasting glory.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

Reading 5

His most ardent charity shone forth especially in the sweetest ecstasies and wondrous raptures toward God, by which he was frequently seized. Remarkable it was that, when his mind was taken from his senses, obedience alone immediately recalled him from ecstasy. This virtue he pursued with exceptional zeal, being accustomed to say that he was led about by it as if blind, and that he would rather die than not obey. He so emulated the poverty of the Seraphic Patriarch that, when near death, he could truly affirm to his superior that he had nothing that he needed to resign in the manner of religious. And so, dead to the world and to himself, he manifested the life of Jesus in his flesh; which, whenever it perceived some shameful vileness in others, breathed forth from itself a wondrous fragrance, a sign of that most pure chastity which, while an unclean spirit long strove in vain to obscure it with the most violent temptations, he preserved unharmed — by strict custody of the senses, by continual mortification of the body, and finally by the special protection of the most pure Virgin Mary, whom he was accustomed to call his mother, and whom he venerated with the deepest affection of heart as a most sweet mother, and desired that she be venerated by others, so that, as he himself would say, all good things might be obtained through her patronage.

℟ The Lord loved him and adorned him: he clothed him with a robe of glory,

And at the gates of paradise he crowned him.

℣ The Lord clothed him with the breastplate of faith, and adorned him.

℟ And at the gates of paradise he crowned him.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May God kindle the fire of his love in our hearts.

Reading 6

This solicitude of blessed Joseph flowed from his charity toward his neighbors; for he burned with such zeal for souls that he sought the salvation of all by every possible means with the utmost urgency. He likewise extended his charity to his neighbor, whether poor, sick, or afflicted by any other tribulation, and refreshed that person as much as was within his power. Nor were those who attacked him with reproaches, insults, and injuries of every kind estranged from his charity; for he received such treatment with the same patience, gentleness, and cheerfulness of countenance with which he shone amid so many and such great vicissitudes, while he was compelled by the order of his superiors or of the Holy Inquisition to wander and move from place to place. Yet although not only the people but also princes of rank admired his outstanding holiness and heavenly charisms, he was nonetheless so humble that, counting himself a great sinner, he earnestly besought God to withdraw his illustrious gifts from him; and he implored men to cast his dead body into a place where all memory of him would be utterly obliterated. But God, who raises the humble on high, who had adorned his servant during his life with heavenly wisdom, prophecy, the discernment of hearts, the grace of healing, and many other gifts in the most lavish measure, also made his death precious — in the place and at the time he had himself foretold — in the sixty-first year of his age, at Osimo in Picenum, and rendered his tomb glorious. Benedict XIV enrolled him among the Blessed; Clement XIII numbered him among the Saints on his rolls. And Clement XIV of the same order extended his Office and Mass to the universal Church.

℟ This man fulfilled all that God spoke to him, and God said to him: Enter into my rest:

For I have seen you to be just before me among all the nations.

℣ This is he who despised the life of the world, and attained the heavenly kingdoms.

℟ For I have seen you to be just before me among all the nations.

℣ 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.

℟ For I have seen you to be just before me among all the nations.

Nocturn 3

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

Psalm 78

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 keep an orchard.
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: * a mockery and a derision 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 been made greatly poor.
78:9 Help us, O God, our Savior; and free us, Lord, for the glory of your name: * and be merciful to our sins, for the sake of your name.
78:10 Let them not say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? * and may it become known among the nations before our eyes.
78:10 May the vengeance of the blood of your servants that has been poured out * enter before you as the groaning of those in chains.
78:11 According to the greatness of your arm, * take possession of the sons of those who have been put to death.
78:12 And repay our neighbors sevenfold within their sinews: * the reproach with which they have reproached 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 declare 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

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: * a pleasing Psalter with stringed instruments.
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 in Joseph, when he came out of the land of Egypt: * he heard a tongue that he knew not.
80:7 He turned his back from the burdens: * his hands had served in the basket.
80:8 In tribulation you called upon me, and I delivered you: * I heard you in the secret place of the storm; I proved you at the waters of contradiction.
80:9 Hear, O my people, and I will testify to you: * O Israel, if you will hear me, there shall be no new god among you, nor shall you adore a foreign god.
80:11 For I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt: * open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
80:12 But my people did not hear my voice: * and Israel did not heed me.
80:13 So I dismissed them according to the desires of their heart: * they shall walk in their own devices.
80:14 If my people had heard me: * if Israel had walked in my ways:
80:15 I would have humbled their enemies as nothing: * and I would have stretched forth my hand upon those who troubled them.
80:16 The enemies of the Lord have lied to him: * and their time shall be for ever.
80:17 And he fed them with the fat of wheat: * and filled 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

82:2 O God, who shall be like you? * Be not silent, neither be still, O God.
82:3 For behold, your enemies have made a noise: * and they who hate you have lifted up their head.
82:4 They have devised a malicious counsel against your people: * and they have plotted against your holy ones.
82:5 They have said: Come, and let us destroy them as a nation: * and let the name of Israel be remembered no more.
82:6 For they have plotted together with one accord: * they have made a covenant against you— the tents of the Edomites and the Ishmaelites:
82:8 Moab and the Hagarenes, Gebal and Ammon and Amalek: * the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre.
82:9 And Assyria also has come with them: * they have become a help for the sons of Lot.
82:10 Do to them as you did to Midian and to Sisera: * as to Jabin at the torrent of Kishon.
82:11 They perished at Endor: * they became as dung upon the earth.
82:12 Make their princes as Oreb and Zeb, * and Zebah and Zalmunna:
82:13 All their princes: * who have said: Let us possess the sanctuary of God as our inheritance.
82:14 O my God, make them like a wheel, * and like stubble before the face of the wind.
82:15 As fire that burns a forest: * and as a flame burning mountains:
82:16 So shall you pursue them in your storm: * and in your anger you shall trouble them.
82:17 Fill their faces with shame: * and they shall seek your name, O Lord.
82:18 Let them be ashamed and troubled for ever and ever: * 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 over 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.

℣ The law of his God is in his heart.

℟ And his steps shall not be overthrown.

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.

Absolutio. May the almighty and merciful Lord absolve us from the bonds of our sins.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 7

A Reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Matt 22:1-14

At that time: Jesus spoke to the chief priests and the Pharisees in parables, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was king, who celebrated a wedding for his son. And so forth.

A Homily of Saint Gregory, Pope.

Liber 2 Homiliar. Hom. 38, circa medium

Since you have now entered the house of the wedding feast — that is, the holy Church — by the gift of the Lord, look carefully, brethren, lest the king upon entering should find anything to reproach in the disposition of your mind. For what is immediately added must be weighed with great fear of heart: But the king entered to see the guests, and he saw there a man who was not clothed in a wedding garment. What, dearest brethren, do we take to be signified by the wedding garment? If we call the wedding garment baptism or faith, who has entered this wedding feast without baptism and faith? For he who has not yet believed is thereby excluded. What then ought we to understand by the wedding garment, if not charity? For he who stands in the holy Church, having faith but not having charity, enters the wedding feast but does not enter with the wedding garment. For charity is rightly called the wedding garment, because our Creator had this within himself when he came to the wedding feast to unite the Church to himself.

℟ This is he who before God worked great deeds of power, and with his whole heart praised the Lord:

May he intercede for the sins of all peoples.

℣ Behold a man without complaint, a true worshiper of God, abstaining from every evil work, and remaining in his innocence.

℟ May he intercede for the sins of all peoples.

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

Benedictio. May the divine assistance remain always with us.

Reading 8

It was by the love of God alone that his Only-Begotten came to unite to himself the minds of chosen human beings. Hence John also says: For God so loved the world that he gave his Only-Begotten Son for us. He who therefore came to mankind through charity made known that same charity to be the wedding garment. Every one of you, then, who, placed in the Church, has believed in God, has already entered the wedding feast; but he has not come in the wedding garment if he does not keep the grace of charity. And indeed, brethren, if anyone were invited to a bodily wedding, he would change his garment, he would show by the very elegance of his dress that he rejoiced with the bridegroom and bride, and he would be ashamed to appear among those rejoicing and celebrating the feast in shabby clothes. We come to the wedding feast of God, and we are unwilling to change the garment of our heart. The Angels rejoice when the elect are taken up into heaven. With what spirit, then, do we behold these spiritual festivities, we who do not have the wedding garment, that is, charity, which alone makes us beautiful?

℣ Grant a blessing, O Lord.

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

Reading 9

We must know that, just as a garment is woven on two beams, the upper and the lower, so charity is held in two precepts, namely in the love of God and of neighbor. For it is written: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself. In this matter it must be noted that in the love of neighbor a measure of love is set, when it is said: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. But the love of God is bound by no measure, when it is said: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole strength. For one is not commanded how much to love, but from what depth, when it is said, From your whole; because he truly loves God who keeps nothing for himself. Therefore whoever takes care to have the wedding garment at the marriage feast must keep the two precepts of charity.

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.
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)

(Brethren, when they begin 'Te ergo quaesumus,' departing from the Stalls, let them reverently bow at the words 'Quos pretioso' and the rest)

And so we beg you, help your servants, * redeemed by your most precious blood.
Number them * among your Saints in eternal glory.
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.
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.