O Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth will proclaim your praise.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 66 (67)
Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
O God, take pity on us and bless us,
and let your face shine upon us,
so that your ways may be known across the world,
and all nations learn of your salvation.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and rejoice,
for you judge the peoples with fairness
and you guide the nations of the earth.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
Let the peoples praise you, O God,
let all the peoples praise you.
The earth has produced its harvest:
may God, our God, bless us.
May God bless us,
may the whole world revere him.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
– Come, let us worship the Lord, the King of martyrs.
Hymn
Ambrose of Milan (tr. J.M. Neale)
O God, creation’s secret force,
yourself unmoved, all motion’s source,
who from the morn till evening ray
through all its changes guide the day:
Grant us, when this short life is past,
the glorious evening that shall last;
that, by a holy death attained,
eternal glory may be gained.
To God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Spirit, Three in One,
may every tongue and nation raise
an endless song of thankful praise!
Psalm 102 (103)
Praise of the compassionate Lord
My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
and never forget all his blessings.
My soul, bless the Lord!
All that is in me, bless his holy name.
My soul, bless the Lord!
Never forget all he has done for you.
The Lord, who forgives your wrongdoing,
who heals all your weaknesses.
The Lord, who redeems your life from destruction,
who crowns you with kindness and compassion.
The Lord, who fills your age with good things,
who renews your youth like an eagle’s.
The Lord, who gives fair judgements,
who gives judgement in favour of the oppressed.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
and never forget all his blessings.
Psalm 102 (103)
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
The Lord is compassion and kindness,
full of patience, full of mercy.
He will not fight against you for ever:
he will not always be angry.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve;
he does not pay us back for our wrongdoing.
As high as the sky above the earth,
so great is his kindness to those who fear him.
As far as east is from west,
so far he has put our wrongdoing from us.
As a father cares for his children,
so the Lord cares for those who fear him.
For he knows how we are made,
he remembers we are nothing but dust.
Man – his life is like grass,
he blossoms and withers like flowers of the field.
The wind blows and carries him away:
no trace of him remains.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.
Psalm 102 (103)
Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.
The Lord has been kind from the beginning;
to those who fear him his kindness lasts for ever.
His justice is for their children’s children,
for those who keep his covenant,
for those who remember his commandments
and try to perform them.
The Lord’s throne is high in the heavens
and his rule shall extend over all.
Bless the Lord, all his angels,
strong in your strength, doers of his command,
bless him as you hear his words.
Bless the Lord, all his powers,
his servants who do his will.
Bless the Lord, all he has created,
in every place that he rules.
My soul, bless the Lord!
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Give thanks to the Lord, all his works.
Teach me the way of your precepts, O Lord,
– and I will reflect on the wonders you have wrought.
Reading
1 Thessalonians 5:1-28
You will not be expecting us to write anything to you, brothers, about ‘times and seasons’,
since you know very well that the Day of the Lord is going to come like a thief in the night.
It is when people are saying,
‘How quiet and peaceful it is’ that the worst suddenly happens,
as suddenly as labour pains come on a pregnant woman;
and there will be no way for anybody to evade it.
But it is not as if you live in the dark, my brothers, for that Day to overtake you like a thief.
No, you are all sons of light and sons of the day:
we do not belong to the night or to darkness,
so we should not go on sleeping, as everyone else does, but stay wide awake and sober.
Night is the time for sleepers to sleep and drunkards to be drunk,
but we belong to the day and we should be sober;
let us put on faith and love for a breastplate, and the hope of salvation for a helmet.
God never meant us to experience the Retribution,
but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us so that, alive or dead, we should still live united to him.
So give encouragement to each other, and keep strengthening one another, as you do already.
We appeal to you, my brothers, to be considerate to those who are working amongst you and are above you in the Lord as your teachers.
Have the greatest respect and affection for them because of their work.
Be at peace among yourselves.
And this is what we ask you to do, brothers: warn the idlers,
give courage to those who are apprehensive, care for the weak and be patient with everyone.
Make sure that people do not try to take revenge;
you must all think of what is best for each other and for the community.
Be happy at all times; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God,
because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus.
Never try to suppress the Spirit or treat the gift of prophecy with contempt;
think before you do anything – hold on to what is good and avoid every form of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfect and holy;
and may you all be kept safe and blameless, spirit, soul and body,
for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God has called you and he will not fail you.
Pray for us, my brothers.
Greet all the brothers with the holy kiss.
My orders, in the Lord’s name, are that this letter is to be read to all the brothers.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Responsory
God never meant us to experience the Retribution,
but to win salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
so that we should live united to him.
God has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son he loves,
so that we should live united to him.
Reading
From an account of the martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and his companions,
by a contemporary writer
You shall be my witnesses
The crosses were set in place. Father Pasio and Father Rodriguez took turns encouraging the victims.
Their steadfast behaviour was wonderful to see.
The Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward.
Brother Martin gave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms.
Again and again he repeated: “Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life.”
Brother Francis Branco also thanked God in a loud voice.
Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our Father and Hail Mary.
Our brother, Paul Miki, saw himself standing now in the noblest pulpit he had ever filled.
To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a Japanese and a Jesuit.
He was dying for the Gospel he preached.
He gave thanks to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words:
“As I come to this supreme moment of my life,
I am sure none of you would suppose I want to deceive you.
And so I tell you plainly:
there is no way to be saved except the Christian way.
My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me.
I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death.
I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.”
Then he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their final struggle.
Joy glowed in all their faces, and in Louis’ most of all.
When a Christian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven,
his hands, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on him.
Anthony, hanging at Louis’ side, looked toward heaven and called upon the holy names –
“Jesus, Mary!”
He began to sing a psalm:
“Praise the Lord, you children!”
(He learned it in catechism class in Nagasaki. They take care there to teach the children some psalms to help them learn their catechism).
Others kept repeating “Jesus, Mary!”
Their faces were serene.
Some of them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives.
In these and other ways they showed their readiness to die.
Then, according to Japanese custom, the four executioners began to unsheathe their spears.
At this dreadful sight, all the Christians cried out,
“Jesus, Mary!”
And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very skies.
The executioners killed them one by one.
One thrust of the spear, then a second blow.
It was over in a very short time.
Responsory
We ought to boast about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in whom we have our salvation, life and resurrection,
through whom we have been redeemed and saved.
It has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,
through whom we have been redeemed and saved.
Let us pray.
Lord God, source of strength to all the saints,
you called your martyrs Paul and his companions to undergo the cross that they might enter into life.
Let their prayer help us to keep the faith to the end of our days.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
