Readings for the Feast of St. Henry

Readings for the Feast of
St. Henry
Confessor
July 13

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
May all your works praise you, Lord, and your saints bless you; they will tell of the glory of your kingdom and proclaim your power. - Psalm 145:10-13

OPENING PRAYER
Lord,
you filled St. Henry with your love
and raised him from the cares of an earthly kingdom
to eternal happiness in heaven.
In the midst of the changes of this world,
may his prayers keep us free from sin
and help us on our way toward you.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

FIRST READING      Micah 6:6-8
"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

RESPONSORIAL PSALM          Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R./ Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. or

R./ Blessed are they who delight in the law of the Lord. or

R./ The just will flourish like the palm tree in the garden of the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked,
nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
but delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R./
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
that yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R./
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R./

GOSPEL READING       Matthew 7:21-27
Jesus said: "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'

"Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it."

PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Lord,
in your kindness hear our prayers
and the prayers which the saints offer on our behalf.
Watch over us that we may offer fitting service at your altar.
Grant this in the name of Jesus the Lord.

COMMUNION ANTIPHON Psalm 67:4
May the just rejoice as they feast in God's presence, and delight in gladness of heart.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Father, our comfort and peace,
we have gathered as your family
to praise your name and honor your saints.
Let the sacrament we have received
be the sign and pledge of our salvation
we ask this through Christ the Lord.

The Liturgy of the Hours
Henry II

From the Common of Holy Men except the following

Office of Readings

SECOND READING

From an Ancient Life of St. Henry
(MGH, Scriptores 4:792-799)

He provided the Church with the benefits of peace and tranquility

After the most blessed servant of God had been anointed king, he was not satisfied with the anxieties of his realm; so, in order to attain the crown of immortality, he determined to campaign for the King of all, for to serve him is to rule. Accordingly, he applied the utmost energy to the extension of religious worship and began to enrich the churches with property and to furnish them with extensive adornment. He re-established the see of Bamberg in his own domain, dedicating it to Peter and Paul, the princes of the apostles, and to the most revered Saint George, the martyr; by a special law he submitted it to the holy Church of Rome, to pay the honour due by divine right to the first see and also to secure his foundation under Rome’s patronage. But to show more clearly how carefully this holy man provided his church with the benefits of peace and tranquillity even after his death, we here include his letter of establishment.

“Henry, king by the preordained mercy of God, to all the sons of the Church, both future and present. By the most salutary instructions of sacred eloquence we are taught and advised to abandon temporal riches, to lay aside earthly goods, and to strive to reach the eternal and everlasting dwelling-places in heaven. For present glory is fleeting and meaningless, while it is possessed, unless in it we can glimpse something of heaven’s eternity. But God’s mercy toward the human race provided a useful remedy when he made the reward for earthly existence a share in our heavenly country.

“Therefore, not unmindful of this clemency and aware that by the gratuitous consideration of divine mercy we were raised up to a position of regal dignity, we think it fitting not only to enlarge the churches constructed by our ancestors, but for the greater glory of God to build new ones and to raise them up as the most grateful gifts of our devotion. Furthermore, not turning a deaf ear to the Lord’s commandments and obediently following divine urgings, we desire to take the treasures of divine generosity bestowed on us by his bounty and store them in heaven, where thieves cannot dig them up or steal them and rust or moth may not destroy them. Moreover, when we reflect upon all that we have now stored up, our heart will be often drawn with longing and love.

“Accordingly we wish to make known to all the faithful that we have designated a portion of our paternal heritage called Babenberch to be raised to the dignity of an episcopal see so that there we ourselves and our parents may be held in glorious memory, and that the sacrifice of salvation may be offered constantly for all the faithful.”

RESPONSORY Wisdom 10:11-12,14,10
The Lord made him rich;
he protected him from his enemies,
and he saved him from ambush.
- He gave him unending glory.

He guided the just man on the straight path
and showed him God's kingdom.
- He gave him unending glory.

PRAYER
Lord,
you filled St. Henry with your love
and raised him from the cares of an earthly kingdom
to eternal happiness in heaven.
In the midst of the changes of this world,
may his prayers keep us free from sin
and help us on our way toward you.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

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