Readings for the Feast of St. Isaac Jogues and John De Brebeuf, Priests and Martyrs, and Companions
Martyrs October 19
ENTRANCE SONG
The holy martyrs shed their blood on earth for Christ. Therefore, they have received an everlasting reward.
PRAYER
Father, you consecrated the first beginnings
of the faith in North America by preaching and martyrdom
of Saints John & Isaac and their companions.
By the help of their prayers may the Christian faith continue to grow throughout the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
FIRST READING2 Corinthians 4:7-15
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith as he had who wrote, "I believed, and so I spoke," we too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM126:1bc-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6
R. (5) Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing. R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Then they said among the nations,
“The LORD has done great things for them.”
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed. R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing. R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves. R. Those who sow in tears shall reap rejoicing.
ALLELUIAJas 1:12
Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life.
GOSPELMatthew 28:6-20
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Lord,
we who celebrate the death of your holy martyrs
offer you the sacrifice
which gives all martyrdom its meaning.
Be pleased with our praise
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
COMMUNION ANTIPHONRomans 8:38-39
Neither death nor life nor anything in all creation can come between us and Christ's love for us.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord,
keep your gift ever strong within us.
May the Eucharist we receive
in memory of Saints Cosmas and Damian
bring us salvation and peace.
We ask this in the name of Jesus the Lord.
From the spiritual diaries by Saint John de Brebeuf, priest and martyr
(The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, The Burrow Brothers C, Cleveland 1898,164,166)
May I die only for you, Jesus, who willingly died for me
For two days now I have experienced a great desire to be a martyr and to endure all the torments the martyrs suffered.
Jesus, my Lord and Savior, what can I give you in return for all the favors you have first conferred on me? I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name. I vow before your eternal Father and the Holy Spirit, before your most holy Mother and her most chaste spouse, before the angels, apostles and martyrs, before my blessed fathers Saint Ignatius and Saint Francis Xavier—in truth I vow to you, Jesus my Savior, that as far as I have the strength I will never fail to accept the grace of martyrdom, if some day you in your infinite mercy would offer it to me, your most unworthy servant.
I bind myself in this way so that for the rest of my life I will have neither permission nor freedom to refuse opportunities of dying and shedding my blood for you, unless at a particular juncture I should consider it more suitable for your glory to act otherwise at that time. Further, I bind myself to this so that, on receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit. For this reason, my beloved Jesus, and because of the surging joy which moves me, here and now I offer my blood and body and life. May I die only for you, if you will grant me this grace, since you willingly died for me. Let me so live that you may grant me the gift of such a happy death. In this way, my God and Savior, I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!
My God, it grieves me greatly that you are not known, that in this savage wilderness all have not been converted to you, that sin has not been driven from it. My God, even if all the brutal tortures which prisoners in this region must endure should fall on me, I offer myself most willingly to them and I alone shall suffer them all.
RESPONSORYHebrews 11:33, 34, 39; Wisdom 3:5
Through faith the saints conquered kingdoms and did what was just.
They secured promises and were strong in battle.
– All of them have won approval for their witness to the faith.
God tried them, and found them worthy of himself.
– All of them have won approval for their witness to the faith.
PRAYER
Father, you consecrated the first beginnings
of the faith in North America by preaching and martyrdom
of Saints John & Isaac and their companions.
By the help of their prayers may the Christian faith continue to grow throughout the world.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.