January 20
BASILE-ANTOINE-MARIE
MOREAU, priest
Memorial
From
the Common of Pastors: for One Pastor, or from the Common of Holy Men and
Women:
for
Religious
|
Entrance Antiphon |
|
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me and sent me
to preach the good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted. Cf. Lk 4:18 |
|
|
|
Or: |
|
|
|
O Lord, it is you who are my portion and cup; you
yourself who secure my portion. |
Cf. Ps 16 (15):5
COLLECT
Let us pray.
Pause for
silent prayer.
O God, who in your ineffable
Providence chose your priest, Blessed Basil, to imitate the virtues of the Holy
Family and respond to the needs of the Church, grant, we beseech you, that,
supported by his prayers and example, we may have the strength to boldly
confess the Cross of Christ as our only hope. Who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Most merciful God, who were
pleased to create in blessed Basil the New Man in your image, the old having
passed away, graciously grant, we pray, that, renewed like him, we may offer
you the acceptable sacrifice of conciliation. Through Christ our Lord.
Preface
of Holy Pastors or Preface of Saints I-II
Communion
Antiphon The Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mt. 20:28
Or:
Amen I say to you: That you who have left all and
followed me will receive a hundredfold and possess eternal life.
Cf. Mt. 19:27-29
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Let us pray.
Pause for
silent prayer if this has not preceded.
May the mysteries we have received, O Lord, prepare us, we
pray, for the eternal joys that, as a faithful steward, blessed Basil came to
deserve. Through Christ our Lord.
Or:
We pray, almighty God, that we,
who are fortified by the power of this Sacrament, may learn through the example
of blessed Basil to seek you always above all things and to bear in this world
the likeness of the New Man. Through Christ our Lord.
**********
January 20
Basile-Antoine-Marie Moreau, priest
FIRST READING [722.8]
In the work of ministry, in building up the Body of
Christ.
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Brothers
and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of
the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the
spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of
your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is
over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us according to the measure
of Christ’s gifts.
And he gave some as Apostles,
others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to
equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of
Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of
God, to maturity, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM [721.1] Psalm 16 (15):1-2a and 5, 7-8, 11
R.
(see 5a) You are my inheritance, O
Lord.
Preserve me, O God, for in you, I take refuge. I say
to the Lord, “You are my Lord.” O Lord, it is you who are my portion and
cup; you yourself who secure my lot.
R. You
are my inheritance, O Lord.
I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel, who even
at night directs my heart.
I keep the Lord before me always; with him at my right hand, I shall not be
moved.
R. You
are my inheritance, O Lord.
You will show me he path of life, the fullness of joy
in your presence, at your right hand, bliss forever.
R. You
are my inheritance, O Lord.
ALLELUIA VERSE [741.9] John 8:31b-32
If you remain in my word, you
will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, says the Lord.
GOSPEL [742.6]
Those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
✠ A reading
from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:24-27
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny
himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit
would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what
can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his
angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each one according to his
conduct.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
*********************
January 20
BASILE-ANTOINE-MARIE
MOREAU, PRIEST
Memorial
LITURGY OF THE HOURS
INTRODUCTION
For the Liturgy of
the Hours, the following should be noted:
Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer
1.
At Morning Prayer and
Evening Prayer, the psalms, canticle, and antiphons are taken from the current
week of the Psalter.
2.
The reading may be taken
from either the Common of pastors or of holy men: for religious, or of the
weekday.
3.
The antiphon for the
Gospel canticle is taken from the Common.
4.
The intercessions may be
taken either from the Common or from the weekday.
5.
The prayer is proper to
the memorial.
Office of Readings
6.
The psalms and antiphons
are taken from the current weekday.
7.
There are two readings.
The first is the biblical reading with its responsory, taken from Ordinary
Time. The second reading is taken from the The
Christian Meditations of Basile Moreau, with its responsory. For
convenience, the second reading for the Office of Readings for memorials of
Holy Cross Blesseds and Saints may be found below.
8.
The prayer is proper to
the memorial.
Daytime Prayer
9.
The memorials of saints
are not celebrated at this hour. The psalms and antiphons of the current
psalmody are said and the reading is taken from the Psalter.
10. The concluding prayer is as found in the Psalter.
Born in Laigné-en-Belin, France, on February 11, 1799,
Basile-Antoine-Marie Moreau was ordained a priest of the diocese of Le Mans on
August 12, 1821, at age 22, and served as a seminary professor of philosophy,
dogma, and Sacred Scripture. Seeking to respond to the pastoral needs of his
time, he sought to establish a community of three societies (priests, brothers,
and sisters), modeled on the Holy Family. In 1857 Rome officially granted
approbation to the Congregation of Holy Cross and, in 1867, to the Marianites
of Holy Cross. Placing his complete trust in Divine Providence, he endured many
trials and sufferings, officially resigning as superior general in 1866. He
resumed his former ministry of preaching and assisting rural parishes in need.
He died in Le Mans on January 20, 1873. Today the family of Holy Cross also
includes the Sisters of the Holy Cross (1869) and the Sisters of Holy Cross
(1883). He was beatified September 15, 2007.
Antiphons and psalms from the current
weekday. For the rest of the Office, either from the current weekday or from
the Common of pastors or of holy men: religious, except for the following:
Office of Readings
Second Reading
From the Christian Meditations of Basile Moreau
(Méditations chrétiennes a l’usage des
fidèles, au Mans, 1872, pp. 258-261)
Unless you imitate Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Christian
Your duty, your
glory, and your happiness come from imitating Christ. The Eternal Word became
incarnate in order to reconcile the world with the Father and free it from
bondage to evil but that was only one part of God’s mission. One of the main
purposes of the Incarnation was to give human beings a tutor, a mentor, and a
model of all virtues. Jesus Christ himself declared this when he said that he
is not only the truth because of his doctrine; the life, because of his death
and the sacraments; but that he is also the way because of his example. That is
why, is it not, that he decided to live through all the stages of human life:
to be born, live, suffer, and die like all the children of Adam? Thus, in God’s
plan each action of the Incarnate Word is an aspect to be imitated. His life is
such a faithful mirror of what our own must be that Jesus Christ can say this
about all the actions that made up his life: “I have given you the example so
that you might do what I have done.” Gaze then on this divine model; imitate it
within the context of your vocation and imagine that he is saying to you:
Follow me!
Unless you
imitate Jesus Christ, you cannot be a Christian. The first disciples of the
Gospel received this name from the pagans only because they professed to follow
Christ and his doctrine. In becoming Christians, we become children of God
through grace, just as Jesus Christ himself did by his very nature... Since the
image of God cannot be seen, we are able to express it in ourselves by visibly
resembling his Son, who is God’s substantial image made visible for us. In Baptism we have received a seed of
spiritual life that must grow and become strong until Jesus Christ is formed
within us. Then, steeped in his outlook and adorned with his virtues, we are
another Christ, and his life is revealed in ours.
Finally, if we imitate Christ, then we are
predestined. Saint Paul teaches that through Baptism the faithful are
transformed in Jesus Christ and form a single body with him so that they are
living members of a body where he himself is the head. Now in this wonderful
masterpiece of divine wisdom, everything must exist in proportion. Thus, the
holiness of the head shines forth in its members, just as in the human body.
The same divine principle links together all of the parts composing it.
Therefore, Saint Paul adds, “All of you who have been baptized, you have put on
Jesus Christ.” It is as if he were saying, “The virtues of this divine savior
must in some way serve you as clothing.” From this it follows that the whole
Christ is formed spiritually by the God-Man and the faithful incorporated in
him; in this same way, the branches attached to the trunk, carried by the same
roots and nourished by the same sap, form one and the same tree. Then all who belong to Jesus Christ are saved
by living from this same life and imitating it: God has predestined his chosen
ones to be conformed to his Son’s image. If the imitation of Christ is your
duty, it is also your glory.
Responsory see Phil. 2:1-2; Eph.
4:3
If our life in Christ means
anything to you, if love can persuade at all,
-- make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of
peace.
With a common purpose and a
common mind
-- make every effort…
Prayer
O God,
who in your ineffable Providence chose your priest, Blessed Basil, to imitate the virtues of the Holy Family and
respond to the needs of the Church, grant, we beseech you, that, supported by
his prayers and example, we may have the strength to boldly confess the Cross
of Christ as our only hope.
Who lives and reigns with you in
the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
