{"ok":true,"date":"2030-08-08","dateKey":"08-08","liturgicalDay":"Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs","rank":"Semi-Double","color":"red","quoteOfTheDay":{"text":"Casting all your carefulness upon him, because he hath care of you.","author":"Holy Scripture","source":"1 Peter 5:7, Original Douay-Rheims","treasuryHref":"/wisdom#casting-all-your-care-upon-him","category":"Divine Providence"},"season":"Time after Pentecost","novenas":[{"title":"Novena for the Assumption","feast":"Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary","day":3,"totalDays":9,"startIsoDate":"2030-08-06","feastIsoDate":"2030-08-15","intention":"Ask Our Lady to detach the soul from earth and order hope toward Heaven.","prayer":"O Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of Thy servants, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please Thee, may we find safety through the prayers of the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord. Through the Same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.","practice":"Renounce every earthly attachment that weakens prayer or purity, beginning with the attachment that most often draws the heart from God.","sources":["The Roman Breviary, translated by John, Marquess of Bute, 1908, vol. III, Summer, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Prayer throughout the Office, printed p. 827."]}],"octaveContexts":[],"subject":"City of God in Exile: Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs - 2030-08-08","previewText":"Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs. Grace Heals and Elevates Nature. Resist naturalism, which treats human improvement as though it could take the place of supernatural life.","plainText":"CITY OF GOD IN EXILE\nSs. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs\n2030-08-08 - Time after Pentecost - Semi-Double - red\nPLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE FOR TODAY\nMartyr: a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.\nApostolic: belonging to the faith, mission, teaching, or authority handed down from Christ through the apostles.\nDeacon: an ordained minister who assists bishops and priests and is specially entrusted with service, proclamation, and charity.\nThe full Breviary lessons preserve an older English translation. Read the modern explanation first; it identifies the people, event, and doctrine before the historical wording appears.\nTODAY IN THE ROMAN YEAR\nThe green season is not empty time. It is growth under grace. The pilgrim must ask whether the seed of doctrine is becoming virtue, whether prayer is becoming habit, whether zeal is becoming charity, and whether Catholic truth is governing ordinary choices. Use prayer, fasting, the Rosary, confraternity, and other good works as means of conversion, never as permission to remain in sin. Offer all prayers and good works for contrition, pardon, conquest of evil habits, and complete return to Jesus through Mary.\n\n\"These good works are wonderfully useful to the conversion of a sinner, however hardened.\"\nSt. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 100\n\nSt. Louis de Montfort does not tell the hardened sinner to wait until worthy before praying. He counsels good works even at the edge of the abyss—but with the intention of obtaining contrition, pardon, and victory over evil habits. Prayer is medicine for conversion, not camouflage for refusal to convert.\n\nIf you are in sin, pray more urgently, not less; but act upon the grace requested. Make an examination, awaken contrition, seek Confession when necessary and possible, leave occasions, end injustice, repair scandal, and change habits. If another soul is hardened, offer Rosaries, fasting, alms, and sacrifice for the same complete conversion.\n\nPRACTICE\nHonor Our Lady throughout the day and ask what her privileges teach about the Church's fidelity.\n\nQUOTE OF THE DAY\n\"Casting all your carefulness upon him, because he hath care of you.\"\nHoly Scripture, 1 Peter 5:7, Original Douay-Rheims\n\nNOVENA IN PROGRESS\nNovena for the Assumption - Day 3 of 9\nPreparing for Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 2030-08-15.\nAsk Our Lady to detach the soul from earth and order hope toward Heaven.\nO Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of Thy servants, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please Thee, may we find safety through the prayers of the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord. Through the Same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.\nRenounce every earthly attachment that weakens prayer or purity, beginning with the attachment that most often draws the heart from God.\n\nROMAN MARTYROLOGY - August 8\nAt Rome, the holy martyrs Cyriacus, deacon, -\" Largus, and Smaragdus, with twenty others, who suffered on the 16th of March, in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. Their bodies were buried on the Salarian road by the priest John, but were on this day translated by pope St. Marcellus to the estate of Lucina, on the Ostian way. Afterwards they were brought to Rome, and placed in the Church of St. Mary in Via Lata (the title of a cardinal-deacon). — At Anzarba, in Cilicia, St. Marinus, an aged man, who was scourged, racked, and lacerated, and died by being exposed to wild beasts, in the time of the emperor Diocletian and the governor Lysias. — Also, the holy martyrs Eleutherius and Leonides, who underwent martrydom by fire. — In Persia, St. Hormisdas, a martyr, under king Sapor. — At Cyzicum, in Hellespont, St. Emilian, bishop, who ended his life in exile after having suffered much from the emperor Leo for the worship of holy images. — In Crete, St. Myron, a bishop renowned for miracles. — At Vienne, in France, St. Severus, priest and confessor, who undertook a painful journey from India in order to preach the Gospel in that city, and converted a great number of Pagans to the faith of Christ by his labors and miracles.\n\nHIGHLIGHTED SAINT\nSs. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus\nA deacon and his companions faithful through prison and death.\nSt. Cyriacus was a deacon imprisoned with Ss. Largus and Smaragdus during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. The Breviary remembers his works of mercy, the conversions and baptisms that followed his ministry, and his return to Rome, where he and his companions were tortured and put to death rather than deny Christ.\nThe Roman Martyrology adds that twenty other Christians suffered with them and that their bodies were reverently translated by Pope St. Marcellus. Their feast teaches that the Church remembers both the named leaders and the hidden companions because Christ forgets no faithful confession unto death.\nLet these martyrs strengthen both public and hidden fidelity. Grace made prison a place of ministry, and no suffering could erase the fruit of their confession.\nFROM MATINS\nMartyrdom remembered, and living faith proved by works.\nMatins - Third Nocturn - Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs\nRoman Breviary and Pope St. Gregory the Great\n\"A faith which worketh by love.\"\n- The proper lesson preserves the martyrs' confession under Diocletian and Maximian, keeping their names within the Church's public prayer.\n- The proper lesson shows St. Cyriacus continuing works of mercy and winning converts while prison and persecution pressed upon him and his companions.\n- St. Gregory teaches that the outward signs granted to the first preaching of the Gospel point toward the enduring proof of faith in holy works.\nBe willing to remain hidden, but never inactive. The martyrs teach confession under suffering, and St. Gregory teaches that living faith must be made visible in charity and obedience.\nFULL BREVIARY LESSONS\nFourth Lesson - Complete Proper Lesson\nCyriacus the Deacon was long kept in prison with Sisinius, Largus, and Smaragdus, and wrought many wonderful works. Among other things he by his prayers freed from a devil Arthemia, a daughter of Diocletian, and, being sent to Sapor, King of the Persians, also delivered his daughter Jobia from a foul spirit. He baptized the king, her father, and four hundred and thirty others, and afterwards returned to Rome. He was arrested by command of the Emperor Maximian, and dragged in chains before his chariot. Then after four days he was brought forth from prison, had boiling pitch poured upon him, was stretched on a block, [and belaboured with a cudgel,] and at last was slain with the axe, along with Largus, Smaragdus, and twenty others, at the gardens of Sallust, on the Salarian Way. On this Way were their bodies buried by John the Priest, on the 16th day of March, [in the year of our Lord 303,] but afterwards, on the 8th of August, Pope Marcellus and the noble lady Lucina took them and wrapped them in linen, and embalmed them with costly ointments, and carried them to the farm belonging to the said lady Lucina, at the seventh mile-stone from Rome on the road to Ostia.\nSeventh Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great on Mark 16\nThe Lesson is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (xvi. 15). At that time: JESUS said unto His disciples: Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. And so on.\nHomily by Pope St. Gregory the Great (29th on the Gospels). By the words \"every creature\" we may understand every tribe of the Gentiles. Of aforetime it had been said, \"Go not into the way of the Gentiles,\" (Matth. x. 5,) but now, \"Preach the Gospel to every creature,\" that, since the Jews had proudly rejected the preaching of the Apostles, that might become our gain which was the seal of their condemnation. But when the Eternal Truth sendeth forth His disciples to preach, what doth He but scatter seed over the field of the world? He scattered abroad a few grains for seed, that He may afterward reap an abundant harvest in our faith.\nEighth Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great\nThe great harvest of faithful souls throughout the whole world would never have sprung up, if the hand of the Lord had not first scattered those chosen grains of preachers over the reasonable soil of men's minds. Then is written, \"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned.\" Now, perchance, thou sayest in thine heart: I believe, and therefore I shall be saved. True, if to thy faith thou dost add works. He only hath a living faith whose life doth not give the lie to his profession. It is of this that Paul speaketh, where he saith of certain vain believers, \"They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him.\" (Tit. i. 16.)\nNinth Lesson - Conclusion of Pope St. Gregory's Homily\n\"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.\" My brethren, these signs do not follow us. Do we, then, not believe? Nay. The truth is, these things were needful when the Church was young. That she might grow by the increase of the faithful, she needed to be nourished with miracles. So we, when we plant a young tree, continually water and tend it, till we see that it hath taken firm root in the earth: but when once it hath taken firm root, it can grow of itself. Hence Paul saith of tongues: \"Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that believe not.\" (1 Cor. xiv. 22.)\nTHE PILGRIM'S SPIRITUAL CONFERENCE\nGrace Heals and Elevates Nature\nThe Church places this truth before you today: Man is not saved by natural goodness, sentiment, or progress. He needs sanctifying grace, the merits of Christ, and persevering conversion. Do not hurry past it as though doctrine belonged only to books and controversies. A revealed truth is also a light by which the soul must judge its loyalties, its fears, its habits, and the duties immediately before it. The Church is holy because Christ is holy, because she possesses holy doctrine and sacraments, and because she forms saints by grace.\nThe grace to be practiced is Apostolic fidelity unto martyrdom, drawn from today's saintly witness. Ask God for more than the natural appearance of this virtue. Temperament may make an action seem easy for a time, but supernatural virtue remains faithful because God is worthy of obedience, even when feeling offers no assistance and no one notices the cost. Practice active conversion by following prayer with every act of confession, avoidance, repair, discipline, and contrary virtue that grace requires.\nThere is also an enemy to recognize: Resist naturalism, which treats human improvement as though it could take the place of supernatural life. Do not study this danger only in other people. Look quietly for the door by which it seeks entrance into your own soul - perhaps through delay, curiosity, resentment, human respect, attachment to comfort, or the desire to control the outcome. Dying to self today means choosing apostolic fidelity unto martyrdom when pride, comfort, fear, resentment, or human respect asks for control.\nDo the faithful act and entrust its fruit to divine Providence, God's wise and loving governance of all things. Place effort and outcome into Our Lady's hands so that the whole offering may be presented to her Divine Son. Confidence in God is not passivity: obey, pray, work, and accept that visible success, consolation, or immediate relief may not be given. God remains faithful when the duty is hidden and the outcome uncertain. Therefore, perform the duty that belongs to you, use the lawful means God has provided, and then surrender the fruit. Persevere in prayer and penance through hardened habits while refusing the lie that difficulty excuses delay or makes amendment impossible. Pray the Rosary, fast or mortify lawfully, give alms, fulfill duty, and use the sacraments for your conversion and that of hardened sinners.\nThe Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of holy; the witness placed beside it is St. Thomas Aquinas.\nYour resolution before God: Honor Our Lady throughout the day and ask what her privileges teach about the Church's fidelity.\nCarry this word: What is said of Our Lady teaches the soul how to see the Church.\nTHE PILGRIM'S MIRROR\n\"It is good that we have sometime griefs and adversities, for they drive a man to behold himself, and to see that he is here but as in an exile, and be learned thereby to know that he ought not to put his trust in any worldly thing.\"\nThomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, chapter 12, p. 20\nAdversity is not good because pain is pleasant or because every injustice should be left unopposed. It becomes profitable when Providence uses it to break an illusion: that earthly comfort is secure, that human approval can sustain the soul, or that personal strength is sufficient.\n\nWhen something unsettles you today, do not look only for the quickest escape. Ask what false support has been exposed. Then fulfill the duty the situation requires and place the shaken part of the heart more firmly in God, who alone cannot be taken from you.\nToday's Practice: When disappointments arrive, ask what earthly trusts they expose before seeking consolation.\nDAILY EXAMEN\nAsk whether today's good works moved conduct toward conversion or merely quieted conscience, and immediately act upon every received grace.\n- For what grace or mercy should I thank God today?\n- What sin, fault, neglected duty, or resistance to grace must I confess?\n- What definite amendment will I carry into tomorrow?\nPRAYER\nO Lord Jesus Christ, form in me a filial love for Thy Mother and a faithful love for Thy Church, that purity, doctrine, suffering, and hope may remain joined.\nDAILY RULE FOR THE PILGRIM\nA brief rule to keep every day:\nBegin with morning prayer\nAdore the Blessed Trinity and offer the whole day to Jesus through Mary before other duties claim the mind.\nKeep the Angelus\nPause morning, noon, and evening to remember the Incarnation.\nSeek Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament\nAttend Holy Mass when duty permits; otherwise make a Spiritual Communion and renew desire for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.\nReturn to Jesus and Mary\nUse frequent holy aspirations during work, waiting, suffering, and temptation.\nPray the Rosary\nKeep the mysteries of Christ before the mind with Our Lady and learn to imitate what they contain.\nEnd with night prayer and examen\nGive thanks, confess faults, forgive injuries, make a practical amendment, and entrust the night to Our Lady.\nCONTINUE STUDY\nWhat Is Grace?: https://cityofgodinexile.com/catechism-foundations/what-is-grace?entered=1\nOpen this day in the Sacred Calendar: https://cityofgodinexile.com/sacred-calendar?date=2030-08-08&entered=1\nOpen this day's Daily Pilgrimage: https://cityofgodinexile.com/daily-dispatch?date=2030-08-08&entered=1\nBrowse the Formation Index: https://cityofgodinexile.com/daily-dispatch/formation?entered=1","html":"\n\n \n \n \n City of God in Exile: Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs - 2030-08-08\n \n \n
\n Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs. Grace Heals and Elevates Nature. Resist naturalism, which treats human improvement as though it could take the place of supernatural life.\n
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City of God in Exile

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Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs

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2030-08-08 - Time after Pentecost - Semi-Double - red

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“Walk whilst you have the light, that the darkness overtake you not.”
John 12:35
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Plain-Language Guide for Today

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Martyr
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a Christian who was killed rather than deny Christ or abandon the Faith.
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Apostolic
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belonging to the faith, mission, teaching, or authority handed down from Christ through the apostles.
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Deacon
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an ordained minister who assists bishops and priests and is specially entrusted with service, proclamation, and charity.

The full Breviary lessons preserve an older English translation. Read the modern explanation first; it identifies the people, event, and doctrine before the historical wording appears.

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Today in the Roman Year

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The green season is not empty time. It is growth under grace. The pilgrim must ask whether the seed of doctrine is becoming virtue, whether prayer is becoming habit, whether zeal is becoming charity, and whether Catholic truth is governing ordinary choices.

Use prayer, fasting, the Rosary, confraternity, and other good works as means of conversion, never as permission to remain in sin.

Offer all prayers and good works for contrition, pardon, conquest of evil habits, and complete return to Jesus through Mary.

“These good works are wonderfully useful to the conversion of a sinner, however hardened.”

St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin, no. 100

St. Louis de Montfort does not tell the hardened sinner to wait until worthy before praying. He counsels good works even at the edge of the abyss—but with the intention of obtaining contrition, pardon, and victory over evil habits. Prayer is medicine for conversion, not camouflage for refusal to convert.

If you are in sin, pray more urgently, not less; but act upon the grace requested. Make an examination, awaken contrition, seek Confession when necessary and possible, leave occasions, end injustice, repair scandal, and change habits. If another soul is hardened, offer Rosaries, fasting, alms, and sacrifice for the same complete conversion.

Honor Our Lady throughout the day and ask what her privileges teach about the Church's fidelity.

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Quote of the Day

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“Casting all your carefulness upon him, because he hath care of you.”
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Holy Scripture, 1 Peter 5:7, Original Douay-Rheims

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Novena in Progress

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Novena for the Assumption - Day 3 of 9

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Preparing for Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 2030-08-15.

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Ask Our Lady to detach the soul from earth and order hope toward Heaven.

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Novena Prayer

O Lord, we beseech Thee, forgive the transgressions of Thy servants, and, forasmuch as by our own deeds we cannot please Thee, may we find safety through the prayers of the Mother of Thy Son and our Lord. Through the Same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

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Renounce every earthly attachment that weakens prayer or purity, beginning with the attachment that most often draws the heart from God.

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Roman Martyrology - August 8

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At Rome, the holy martyrs Cyriacus, deacon, -" Largus, and Smaragdus, with twenty others, who suffered on the 16th of March, in the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. Their bodies were buried on the Salarian road by the priest John, but were on this day translated by pope St. Marcellus to the estate of Lucina, on the Ostian way. Afterwards they were brought to Rome, and placed in the Church of St. Mary in Via Lata (the title of a cardinal-deacon). — At Anzarba, in Cilicia, St. Marinus, an aged man, who was scourged, racked, and lacerated, and died by being exposed to wild beasts, in the time of the emperor Diocletian and the governor Lysias. — Also, the holy martyrs Eleutherius and Leonides, who underwent martrydom by fire. — In Persia, St. Hormisdas, a martyr, under king Sapor. — At Cyzicum, in Hellespont, St. Emilian, bishop, who ended his life in exile after having suffered much from the emperor Leo for the worship of holy images. — In Crete, St. Myron, a bishop renowned for miracles. — At Vienne, in France, St. Severus, priest and confessor, who undertook a painful journey from India in order to preach the Gospel in that city, and converted a great number of Pagans to the faith of Christ by his labors and miracles.

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Highlighted Saint

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Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus

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A deacon and his companions faithful through prison and death.

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St. Cyriacus was a deacon imprisoned with Ss. Largus and Smaragdus during the persecution of Diocletian and Maximian. The Breviary remembers his works of mercy, the conversions and baptisms that followed his ministry, and his return to Rome, where he and his companions were tortured and put to death rather than deny Christ.

The Roman Martyrology adds that twenty other Christians suffered with them and that their bodies were reverently translated by Pope St. Marcellus. Their feast teaches that the Church remembers both the named leaders and the hidden companions because Christ forgets no faithful confession unto death.

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Let these martyrs strengthen both public and hidden fidelity. Grace made prison a place of ministry, and no suffering could erase the fruit of their confession.

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From Matins

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Martyrdom remembered, and living faith proved by works.

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Matins - Third Nocturn - Ss. Cyriacus, Largus, and Smaragdus, Martyrs

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Roman Breviary and Pope St. Gregory the Great, Proper martyr lesson and homily on Mark 16

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“A faith which worketh by love.”
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  • The proper lesson preserves the martyrs' confession under Diocletian and Maximian, keeping their names within the Church's public prayer.
  • The proper lesson shows St. Cyriacus continuing works of mercy and winning converts while prison and persecution pressed upon him and his companions.
  • St. Gregory teaches that the outward signs granted to the first preaching of the Gospel point toward the enduring proof of faith in holy works.
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Be willing to remain hidden, but never inactive. The martyrs teach confession under suffering, and St. Gregory teaches that living faith must be made visible in charity and obedience.

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Full Breviary Lessons

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Fourth Lesson - Complete Proper Lesson

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Cyriacus the Deacon was long kept in prison with Sisinius, Largus, and Smaragdus, and wrought many wonderful works. Among other things he by his prayers freed from a devil Arthemia, a daughter of Diocletian, and, being sent to Sapor, King of the Persians, also delivered his daughter Jobia from a foul spirit. He baptized the king, her father, and four hundred and thirty others, and afterwards returned to Rome. He was arrested by command of the Emperor Maximian, and dragged in chains before his chariot. Then after four days he was brought forth from prison, had boiling pitch poured upon him, was stretched on a block, [and belaboured with a cudgel,] and at last was slain with the axe, along with Largus, Smaragdus, and twenty others, at the gardens of Sallust, on the Salarian Way. On this Way were their bodies buried by John the Priest, on the 16th day of March, [in the year of our Lord 303,] but afterwards, on the 8th of August, Pope Marcellus and the noble lady Lucina took them and wrapped them in linen, and embalmed them with costly ointments, and carried them to the farm belonging to the said lady Lucina, at the seventh mile-stone from Rome on the road to Ostia.

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Seventh Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great on Mark 16

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The Lesson is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (xvi. 15). At that time: JESUS said unto His disciples: Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. And so on.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great (29th on the Gospels). By the words "every creature" we may understand every tribe of the Gentiles. Of aforetime it had been said, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles," (Matth. x. 5,) but now, "Preach the Gospel to every creature," that, since the Jews had proudly rejected the preaching of the Apostles, that might become our gain which was the seal of their condemnation. But when the Eternal Truth sendeth forth His disciples to preach, what doth He but scatter seed over the field of the world? He scattered abroad a few grains for seed, that He may afterward reap an abundant harvest in our faith.

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Eighth Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great

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The great harvest of faithful souls throughout the whole world would never have sprung up, if the hand of the Lord had not first scattered those chosen grains of preachers over the reasonable soil of men's minds. Then is written, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned." Now, perchance, thou sayest in thine heart: I believe, and therefore I shall be saved. True, if to thy faith thou dost add works. He only hath a living faith whose life doth not give the lie to his profession. It is of this that Paul speaketh, where he saith of certain vain believers, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him." (Tit. i. 16.)

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Ninth Lesson - Conclusion of Pope St. Gregory's Homily

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"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." My brethren, these signs do not follow us. Do we, then, not believe? Nay. The truth is, these things were needful when the Church was young. That she might grow by the increase of the faithful, she needed to be nourished with miracles. So we, when we plant a young tree, continually water and tend it, till we see that it hath taken firm root in the earth: but when once it hath taken firm root, it can grow of itself. Hence Paul saith of tongues: "Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." (1 Cor. xiv. 22.)

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The Pilgrim's Spiritual Conference

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Grace Heals and Elevates Nature

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The Church places this truth before you today: Man is not saved by natural goodness, sentiment, or progress. He needs sanctifying grace, the merits of Christ, and persevering conversion. Do not hurry past it as though doctrine belonged only to books and controversies. A revealed truth is also a light by which the soul must judge its loyalties, its fears, its habits, and the duties immediately before it. The Church is holy because Christ is holy, because she possesses holy doctrine and sacraments, and because she forms saints by grace.

The grace to be practiced is Apostolic fidelity unto martyrdom, drawn from today's saintly witness. Ask God for more than the natural appearance of this virtue. Temperament may make an action seem easy for a time, but supernatural virtue remains faithful because God is worthy of obedience, even when feeling offers no assistance and no one notices the cost. Practice active conversion by following prayer with every act of confession, avoidance, repair, discipline, and contrary virtue that grace requires.

There is also an enemy to recognize: Resist naturalism, which treats human improvement as though it could take the place of supernatural life. Do not study this danger only in other people. Look quietly for the door by which it seeks entrance into your own soul - perhaps through delay, curiosity, resentment, human respect, attachment to comfort, or the desire to control the outcome. Dying to self today means choosing apostolic fidelity unto martyrdom when pride, comfort, fear, resentment, or human respect asks for control.

Do the faithful act and entrust its fruit to divine Providence, God's wise and loving governance of all things. Place effort and outcome into Our Lady's hands so that the whole offering may be presented to her Divine Son. Confidence in God is not passivity: obey, pray, work, and accept that visible success, consolation, or immediate relief may not be given. God remains faithful when the duty is hidden and the outcome uncertain. Therefore, perform the duty that belongs to you, use the lawful means God has provided, and then surrender the fruit. Persevere in prayer and penance through hardened habits while refusing the lie that difficulty excuses delay or makes amendment impossible. Pray the Rosary, fast or mortify lawfully, give alms, fulfill duty, and use the sacraments for your conversion and that of hardened sinners.

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The Church's witness: this truth manifests the Church's mark of holy; the witness placed beside it is St. Thomas Aquinas.

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Your Resolution Before God

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Honor Our Lady throughout the day and ask what her privileges teach about the Church's fidelity.

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What is said of Our Lady teaches the soul how to see the Church.
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The Pilgrim's Mirror

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How shall I imitate Christ today?

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“It is good that we have sometime griefs and adversities, for they drive a man to behold himself, and to see that he is here but as in an exile, and be learned thereby to know that he ought not to put his trust in any worldly thing.”
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Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, Book I, chapter 12, p. 20

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Adversity is not good because pain is pleasant or because every injustice should be left unopposed. It becomes profitable when Providence uses it to break an illusion: that earthly comfort is secure, that human approval can sustain the soul, or that personal strength is sufficient.

When something unsettles you today, do not look only for the quickest escape. Ask what false support has been exposed. Then fulfill the duty the situation requires and place the shaken part of the heart more firmly in God, who alone cannot be taken from you.

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Today's Practice

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When disappointments arrive, ask what earthly trusts they expose before seeking consolation.

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Daily Examen

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Three questions before night prayer

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Ask whether today's good works moved conduct toward conversion or merely quieted conscience, and immediately act upon every received grace.

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  • For what grace or mercy should I thank God today?
  • What sin, fault, neglected duty, or resistance to grace must I confess?
  • What definite amendment will I carry into tomorrow?
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Prayer

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O Lord Jesus Christ, form in me a filial love for Thy Mother and a faithful love for Thy Church, that purity, doctrine, suffering, and hope may remain joined.

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Daily Rule for the Pilgrim

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A brief rule to keep every day:

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Begin with morning prayer

Adore the Blessed Trinity and offer the whole day to Jesus through Mary before other duties claim the mind.

Keep the Angelus

Pause morning, noon, and evening to remember the Incarnation.

Seek Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament

Attend Holy Mass when duty permits; otherwise make a Spiritual Communion and renew desire for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Return to Jesus and Mary

Use frequent holy aspirations during work, waiting, suffering, and temptation.

Pray the Rosary

Keep the mysteries of Christ before the mind with Our Lady and learn to imitate what they contain.

End with night prayer and examen

Give thanks, confess faults, forgive injuries, make a practical amendment, and entrust the night to Our Lady.

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Continue Study

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Carry today's lesson into a focused chapter from the library.

\n What Is Grace?\n
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Persevere, pilgrim.

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The gates remain open to the faithful.

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\n \"The\n
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