November 5th - Fifth Day within the Octave of All Saints

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November 5 – Fifth Day Within the Octave of All Saints
Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

And the spirit and the Bride say: Come! And he that heareth, let him say: Come! —Surely I come quickly: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

While we honor the Church triumphant with our chants, and succor the Church suffering with our prayers, let us also turn our thoughts to the Church militant, during these days when the closing cycle presents her to us as about to complete her work on earth. Now the Church is our model; but especially at the close of our pilgrimage ought we to made her attitude our own. The above-cited dialogue, which will terminate the world’s history, shows clearly the sentiments wherewith the Holy Spirit inspires her in preparation for the final hour.

As the sufferings of the dying man break the last ties that bound him to the life of the senses; so the last social convulsions, however violently they may shake the Church, will eventually disengage her from the trammels of a world, which she will no longer be able to save from ruin. Free, therefore to give herself up to her desires, which had been pent up for ages and kept under control by so many labors, she will have but one word to utter: Come! And in the universal destruction, when the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall hide her light, and the prayers of heaven shall be moved, she will rejoice, knowing that in the midst of that awful night the cry will be heard: Behold the Bridegroom cometh!

Let him that heareth, let everyone of us say also: Come! If we love our Lord, if we would be recognized as members of his dear Church, let us be worthy of that beautiful title; let us see all things with the Church’s eyes; let us appreciate all things, and especially death, according to her heart; let us look upon the last passage, both for our dear ones and for ourselves, as the entrance into the eternal nuptial feast. We know well that if anyone sincerely desires our Lord, our Lord will not be wanting to him. Eve if, after this life, we have yet some debts to pay, if some adornment be wanting to our wedding garment ere we can take our place at the heavenly banquet; the blessed passage, nevertheless, places all the just, at once and entirely, in a state of impeccability, and in the secure possession of eternal love. Such, as we shall have occasion to see, were the sentiments of our forefathers.

Many churches in France, Switzerland, and England, used formerly to sing the following Sequence in honor of the Saints.

Sequence

Christo inclyto candida
Laudes omnibus dantia
Sanctis par hæc sacrata festalia.

To Christ the all-glorious our white-robed choirs sing melody, giving praise to all the Saints on this their sacred festival.


Mariam primum vox sonet nostra,
Per quam nobis vitæ sunt data præmia.
Regina, quæ es mater et casta,
solve nostra per Filium tuum peccata.

First let our voice name Mary, through whom was given to us the gift of life O Queen, who art both Mother and Virgin, through thy Son cancel our sins.


Angelorum concio tota
Et Archangelorum turba inclyta
Nostra diluant jam peccata,
Parando supera cœli gaudia.

May the whole assembly of Angels, and the glorious multitude of Archangels, cleanse away our sins, and prepare us for the supernal delights of heaven.


Tu propheta, præco, lucerna,
Atque plus quam propheta,
In lucida nos pone via,
Mundans nostra corpora.

O thou, who wast prophet, and herald, and lamp, yea and more than a prophet, make us all pure and set us in the path of light.


Apostolorum princeps
Atque cuncta
Juncta caterva,
Jam corrobora
Vera in doctrina
Plebis pectora.

Prince of Apostles, together with all thy colleagues, strengthen the hearts of thy people in true doctrine.


Stephane gloriose
Rutilans in corona,
Sanctorumque Martyrum
Turma valida,
Fortia date corda,
Corpora æque firma,
Sacra ut hostem vincant
Rite spicula.

Glorious Stephen, glittering in thy crown; mighty army of holy martyrs; give us brave hearts and strong bodies, that the darts of our holy faith may duly vanquish the enemy.


Martine inclyte
Et præsulum omnis caterva,
Suscipe nunc pia
Modo nostra clemens precata.

Illustrious Martin, and all the band of holy Pontiffs, kindly receive this day our filial prayers.


Regina Virginum permaxima,
Tu Mater es incorrupta,
Virgo et gravida;
Sacrata Domino est castitas:
Nostras serva animas
Mundaque corpora.

O peerless Queen of virgins, thou art a Mother and yet spotless, a Maiden and yet fruitful; chastity is sacred to our Lord; preserve our souls and bodies pure.


Monachorum veneranda suffragia
Omniumque Sanctorum contubernia
Per precata assidua
Nostra gubernent tempora,
Nosque ducant ad superna
Polorum vera gaudia.

May the venerable suffrages of the Monks, and may the assembly of all the Saints by their prayers, rule our times, and lead us to the true and supernatural joys of heaven.


Subjungant pium agmina
Amen redempta.

Let the ranks of the redeemed add a fervent Amen.

A hymn for the Vespers of the Dead in the Mozarabic Office is taken from the tenth song in the Cathemerinon of Prudentius.

Hymn

Deus ignee fons animarum,
Duo qui socias elementa:
Vivum simul, ac moribundum,
Hominem, Pater effigiasti.

O God, thou fiery source of living beings, who, uniting two elements in one, the mortal and the immortal, didst fashion man, O our Father.


Tua sunt, tua Rector utraque:
Tibi copula jungitur horum;
Tibi, dum vegetata cohærent
Spiritus simul et caro servit.

Both are thine, and thou art their Ruler; their union is linked to thee; and while they live and cleave together, both spirit and flesh serve thee.


Rescissa sed ista seorsum,
Solvunt hominem, perimuntque;
Humus excipit arida corpus,
Animæ rapit aura liquorem.

But when they are rent asunder, dissolution and death come upon men; the dry earth receives his body, while the swift spirit flees to heaven.


Quia cuncta creata necesse est
Labefacta senescere tandem,
Compactaque dissociari,
Et dissona texta retexi.

’Tis the lot of all created things to fail and grow old at last, for compound beings to be dissolved, for the union of dissimilar elements to be unknit.


Hinc maxima cura sepulchris
Impenditur: hinc resolutos
Honor ultimus accipit artus,
Et funeris ambitus ornat.

Therefore is so great care bestowed upon the sepulchers; therefore are the last honors paid to these lifeless limbs, and the funeral pomp does them homage.


Hoc provida Christicolarum
Pietas studet, utpote credens
Fore protinus omnia viva,
Quæ nunc gelidus sopor urget.

Such is the provident piety exercised by Christ’s disciples, believing that all which now lies wrapt in icy slumber, shall suddenly spring to life again.


Qui jacta cadavera passim
Miserans tegit aggere terræ:
Opus exhibet ille benignum
Christo pius omnipotenti.

Whoever, then, in loving pity, shall cover with earth the corpses that lie unburied, does in his piety a kindly deed to Christ himself the Omnipotent.


Quia lex eadem monet omnes
Gemitum dare sorte sub una,
Cognataque funera nobis
Aliena in morte dolere.

Since the common law admonished us that all groan under the same fate, it behooves us to mourn, in a stranger’s death, the loss of one of our kin.


Sequimur tua dicta, Redemptor,
Quibus atra e morte triumphans,
Tua per vestigia mandas
socium crucis ire latronem.

We follow therefore thy words, O Redeemer, when, triumphing over dismal death, thou didst bid the thief, thy fellow-crucified, to tread in thy footprints.


Patet ecce fidelibus ampli
Via lucida jam paradisi;
Licet et nemus illus adire
Homini, quod ademerat anguis.

Lo! now the shining path, that leads to the broad land of Eden, lies open to thy faithful; and man may again enter that beautiful garden, of which the serpent had despoiled him.


Illic precor, Optime Ductor,
Famulam tibi præcipe mentem
Genitali in sede sacrari,
Quam liquerat exsul, et errans.

There, O best of guides! we pray thee, bid the soul thy handmaid be made holy in the place of her creation, which she had quitted as an exile and a wanderer.


Animas, non immemor ob hoc,
Quarum memores sumus ipsi,
Deus, sorde rogamus, piatas,
Erebi rogis fac alienas.

Wherefore be mindful, O God, of the souls, whose memory we cherish; let them, we beseech thee, be cleansed from all stain, and escape the fires of hell.


Sit honor tibi, fons pietatis:
Laus, gloria, summa potestas
Patri, Genito, sive Domino
Orbis Regi; qui Deus unus.
Amen.

Honor to thee, O fount of mercy! Praise, glory, sovereign power, to the Father, to the son, to the Lord who rules the world, one only God. Amen.

The following Preface, which is well inspired and has a ring of the ancient formulæ, is still used in some places in Masses for the Dead.

Preface

Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus; per Christum Dominum nostrum. In quo nobis spem beatæ resurrectionis concessisti; ut dum naturam contristat certa moriendi conditio, fidem consoletur futuræ immortalitatis promissio. Tuis enim fidelibus, Domine, vita mutatur, non tollitur; et dissoluta terrestris hujus habitationis domo, æterna in cœlis habitatio comparatur. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia cœlestis exercitus, hymnum gloriæ tuæ canimus, sine fine dicentes: Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus.

It is truly meet and just, right and salutary, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, eternal god, through Christ our Lord. In whom thou hast bestowed on us the hope of a blessed resurrection: so that, although the inevitable sentence of death fills our human nature with sorrow, the promise of a future resurrection consoles our faith. For the life of thy faithful, O Lord, is altered, not taken away; and when this house of our earthly habitation is destroyed, an eternal dwelling is prepared for us in heaven. And therefore with the Angels and Archangels, with the Thrones and Dominations, and with all the host of the heavenly army, we sing a hymn to thy glory, saying without ceasing: Holy, Holy, Holy.

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Saint Bertilla, Abbess

(† 692)

Saint Bertilla was born during the seventh century, of one of the most illustrious Christian families in the region of Soissons. As she grew up she learned to despise the world and earnestly desired to renounce it. Before telling her parents of her aspirations, she first consulted Saint Owen, by whom she was encouraged in her resolution. The Saint's parents were then made acquainted by her counselor with her desire, which God inclined them not to oppose. They conducted her to Jouarre, a large monastery four leagues distant from Meaux, where she was received with great joy and formed in the strictest practices of monastic perfection.

She was named to receive visitors, then assigned to the care of the sick; in all her duties gentleness was joined with firmness, mercy with justice, humility with courage, and prudence with simplicity. She seemed to be the servant of each of her Sisters, and acquitted herself with such great charity and edification that she was chosen to be Prioress by the Abbess, to assist her in her administrative duties.

When the Queen of France, Saint Bathilda, wished to build the abbey of Chelles and retire there herself, she asked the Abbess of Jouarre to give her several religious and an Abbess to begin the new foundation. Saint Bertilla was placed in charge of the little group. The Archbishop of Lyons conducted the nuns to Chelles for the benediction of the monastery, which the Abbess then governed for forty-six years with both vigor and discretion. Saint Bathilda became one of her subjects, as did also a Queen of England, Heresvida, who came to seek at Chelles the peace which the world cannot give. Saint Bertilla's humility only increased when she saw these and other royal ladies, attracted by her reputation of sanctity, obedient to her commandments.

The holy Abbess died in November, 692, after a life which God did not see fit to close by martyrdom, as she ardently desired. She was, however, her own executioner by the rigors to which she subjected her flesh, wishing all her life long to appease the justice of God, irritated by the offenses which never cease to cause suffering to His divine Son. Saint Bertilla was buried beside Saint Bathilda, in the abbatial church.