[Rank]
S. Marthae Virginis;;Semiduplex;;2;;vide C6

[Rank1960]
S. Marthae Virginis;;Semiduplex;;3;;vide C6

[Rule]
vide C6;
9 lectiones;

[Oratio]
Gratiously hear us O God our savior, that we who are gladdened by the Festival~
of blessed N. may learn from it piety and devotion
$Per Dominum

[Commemoratio]
!Commemoratio Ss. Felicis, Simplicii, Faustini and Beatricis Mart.
@Commune/C3:Oratio proper
$Oremus
Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that as thy Christian people do here in time~
unite in solemn joy for the blessedness of thy Martyrs Felix, Simplicius,~
Faustinus, and Beatrix, they may also rejoice with them hereafter in their~
eternal joy, and may understand by very knowledge, that whereof they now speak~
in their prayers.
$Per Dominum

[Hymnus Matutinum]
@Commune/C6:Hymnus Matutinum 1

[Lectio4]
Martha was the daughter of noble and wealthy parents, but is best known as~
having been the hostess of the Lord Christ. After that He was ascended into~
heaven, Martha, along with her brother (Lazarus,) her sister (Mary Magdalene,)~
her waiting-woman Marcella, Maximin, who was one of the seventytwo disciples of~
the Lord Christ, and who had baptized the whole of the family, and many other~
Christians, was taken by the Jews, and turned adrift upon the open sea in a ship~
without sail or oars, to meet with certain wreck, but by the governance of God~
the ship came to land at Marseilles with all safe.

[Lectio5]
Through this miracle and the preaching of the Saints, the people of Marseilles~
first, and then those of Aix, and of the uttermost tribes, believed in Christ,~
and Lazarus was made Bishop of Marseilles, and Maximin Bishop of Aix. Mary~
Magdalene sat still at Jesus' Feet, being altogether given to prayer and the~
contemplation of heavenly blessedness, that that good part which she had chosen~
might not be taken away from her, withdrew herself to a great cave in an~
exceeding high mountain, where she lived for thirty years, utterly cut off from~
all conversation with men, and every day during that time carried up by Angels~
into the air, to listen to them that dwell in heaven praising God.

[Lectio6]
Martha, by the wondrous holiness and charity of her life, drew upon herself the~
love and wonder of all the inhabitants of Marseilles. She withdrew herself in~
company with some other honourable women into a place out of the way of men,~
where she lived long, with great praise for godliness and discretion. She~
foretold her own death long before, and at last, illustrious for miracles,~
passed away to be ever with the Lord, upon the 29th day of July. Her body is~
held in great worship at Tarascon.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
!Luke 10:38-42
At that time Jesus entered into a certain village, and a certain woman, named~
Martha, received Him into her house. And so on.
_
Homily by St Austin, Bishop (of Hippo.)
!26th upon the Words of the Lord.
The words of our Lord Jesus Christ which have just been read from the Gospel,~
give us to wit that there is one thing toward the which we are making our way,~
all the while that we are striving amid the divers cares of this world.~
Thitherward we make our way, whileas we are still strangers and pilgrims,~
unpossessed as yet of any abiding city, still on the journey, not yet come home,~
still hoping, not yet enjoying. Still thitherward let us make our way, not~
slothfully nor by fits and starts, but so that some day we may arrive thither.~
Martha and Mary were sisters, not in the flesh only, but also in godliness;~
together, they clave unto the Lord; together, with one heart they served the~
Lord present in the Flesh.

[Lectio8]
Martha received Him into her house. It was just as strangers are received, but~
it was the handmaiden receiving her Lord, the sick receiving her Saviour, the~
creature receiving her Creator. She received Him, to give bodily meat unto Him~
by Whom she herself was to be fed unto eternal life. It had been the Lord's will~
to take upon Him the form of a servant, to be fed by servants, (still out of His~
good pleasure, not of necessity,) and in that form of a servant which He had~
taken upon Him. This was His good pleasure, to offer Himself as a subject for~
hospitality. He had Flesh, wherein He was somewhiles an-hungered and athirst,~
but know ye not how that, when He was in the desert and was an-hungered, angels~
came and ministered unto Him. Himself it was therefore, That gave unto them of~
whom He was fain to be fed, the wherewithal. And what wonder is this if we~
consider how that holy Elijah, coming from being fed by the ministry of ravens,~
asked bread of the widow of Zarephath, and himself gave her the wherewithal to~
feed him? Had God failed to feed Elijah when He sent him unto the widow? God~
forbid. He did so that He might bless that godly widow for a service rendered~
unto His servant.

[Lectio9]
Thus was that same Lord received as a guest, Who came unto His own, and His own~
received Him not, but as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become~
the sons of God, adopting servants and making them children, redeeming prisoners~
and appointing them coheirs. Perchance some of you will say O how blessed were~
they who were worthy to receive Christ as a guest into their own home! but mourn~
not, neither murmur, for that thou hast been born in an age wherein thou canst~
no more see Christ in the flesh. He hath not put the honour of receiving Him~
beyond thy reach. Inasmuch, saith He, as ye have done it unto one of the.least~
of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. (Matth. xxv. 40.) The above~
remarks have occurred to me regarding the Lord considered as fed in the flesh,~
and I shall now touch briefly, as time permits, upon the Same, considered as the~
Feeder of the soul.
&teDeum

[Lectio94]
Martha was born of noble and wealthy parents, but is most renowned for her hospitality to Christ the Lord. Tradition says that after his Ascension she was arrested by the Jews, together with her brother and sister, and many other Christians, and put into a boat without sail or oars, which came to harbour in Marseilles. Because of this miracle and their preaching, the people of Marseilles and the neighbouring tribes believed in Christ. Martha won the love and admiration of all the people of Marseilles by her wonderful holiness of life and her charity. She retired with other good women to a place far removed from men. There she lived for a long time, highly renowned for her piety and her prudence. At length, famous for miracles, she went to the Lord, having foretold her death long before it occurred.
&teDeum
