[Rank]
Ss. Septem Fundat. Ord. Servorum B. M. V.;;Duplex;;3;;vide C5

[RankNewcal]
Seven blessed fathers;;Duplex optional;;2

[Rule]
vide C5;;
9 lectiones

[Oratio]
Lord Jesus Christ, who, that thou mightest recall to mind the woes of thy most~
holy Mother, didst through the Seven blessed Fathers make thy Church herself the~
mother of a new household of her servants, Grant unto us in mercy that we may so~
share their tears as to share their blessedness also.
$Qui vivis

[Versum 1]
V. These were merciful men whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.
R. Their seed and their glory shall not be blotted out.

[Ant 1]
O Virgin Mary * thy praise shall not depart from the mouths of men which shall~
remember the power

[Hymnus Matutinum]
v. When war was raging, and the town
Was red with blood of brother bands,
Our Virgin Mother bowed her down
With bounteous hands.
_
Seven faithful sons she bid to share
Her dolours, all the shame and loss,
Which Jesus suffered and she bare
Beneath His Cross.
_
Soon as their Lady called, as nought
They deemed their palaces and wealth,
The mountains, desert places, sought
Far off, by stealth.
_
For others' sins the scourge they plied
As they the way of penance trod,
By prayers and tears they turned aside
The wrath of God.
_
Token of love the Mother's hand
Gave to her sons their garb of woe,
Sanctioned the pious work they planned
With wondrous show.
_
The vine to spread their honours wide
Her shoots in winter greenly flung;
See, those are Mary's servants, cried
The infant tongue.
_
Now to the Father thanks and praise;
To Thee, O Son, the same we send;
To Thee, O Spirit, through all days,
World without end.
Amen.

[Lectio4]
In the thirteenth century, when the more cultured parts of Italy were rent by~
the dread dissension of the Emperor Frederick the Second and by bloody civil~
wars, the mercy of God set forth divers men eminent for holiness, and among~
others raised up seven nobles of Florence, who were bound one to another in~
charity and gave an illustrious example of brotherly love. Their names were~
Bonfiglio Monaldi, Bonajuncta Manetti, Manetto Antalli, Amadeo de' Amidei,~
Uguccio de' Uguccioni, Sosteneo de' Sostenei, and Alexis de' Falconieri. Upon~
the holiday of the Assumption of the Virgin into heaven in the year
1233 they were praying in the oratory of a guild called the Guild of Praise,~
when the same Mother of God appeared to each one of them, and bade them embrace a~
life of greater holiness and perfection. These seven men discussed the matter~
with the Bishop of Florence, and then, considering neither the nobility of their~
birth nor their wealth, and clad in haircloth under vile and worn - out garments,~
withdrew into a little house in the country upon the th day of September, that~
they might begin their holier life upon the same day whereon the Mother of God~
herself had by her birth begun her life of holiness upon earth.

[Lectio5]
She showed by a miracle how acceptable in His sight should be their manner of~
life, for a short while after, when these seven men were begging alms from door~
to door through the city of Florence, it came to pass that some children, among~
whom was holy Philip Benizi, who had then scarcely entered the fifth month of~
his age, called them blessed Mary's servants, by the which name they were called~
ever after. To avoid meeting people, and in the desire to be alone, they all~
withdrew together to the solitude of Monte Senario, and there began a kind of~
heavenly life. They lived in caves and upon herbs and water only, while they~
wore out their bodies with watching and other hardships, while they contemplated~
unweariedly the sufferings of Christ and the woes of His most sorrowful Mother.~
One Good Friday, when their thoughts were fixed thereon more than ever, the~
Blessed Virgin appeared to them twice, and showed them her garments of mourning~
as those wherein they should clothe themselves. She bade them know that she~
would take it right well that they should raise up in the Church a new order to~
recall the memory of the sorrows which she bore beneath the Cross of the Lord.~
Holy Peter, the illustrious martyr of the Order of Friars Preachers, learnt this~
not only from his familiar converse with these holy men, but also from a special~
vision of the Mother of God, and it was on his incitement that they founded the~
regular Order called that of the Servites, or servants of the blessed Virgin,~
the which Order was afterward approved by the Supreme Pontiff Innocent IV.

[Lectio6]
These holy men, when they had gathered to themselves some companions, began to~
go through the cities and towns of Italy, and especially of Tuscany, everywhere~
preaching Christ crucified, stilling contests among the citizens, and calling~
back almost countless backsliders into the path of grace. Neither did they make~
Italy only the field of their Gospel labours, but also France, Germany, and~
Poland. They passed away to be ever with the Lord when they had spread far and~
wide a sweet savour of Christ, and were famous also for the glory of signs and~
wonders. As one love of brotherhood and of the monastic life had joined them~
together upon earth, so one grave held their dead bodies, and one honour was~
paid them by the people. For this reason the Supreme Pontiffs Clement XI. and~
Benedict XIII. confirmed the honour whicfl had for centuries been paid to them~
individually, and Leo XIII., after proof of their miracles which had been~
wrought by God on the common invocation of these saints, after their veneration~
had been sanctioned in the jubilee year of his priesthood, decreed to them the~
honours paid to Saints, and ordered that their memory should every year be kept~
throughout the universal Church with an office and Mass.

[Lectio7]
@Commune/C1:Lectio7

[Lectio8]
@Commune/C1:Lectio8

[Lectio9]
@Commune/C1:Lectio9

[Capitulum Laudes]
!1 Pet 4:13
v. Dearly beloved brethren, rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's~
sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with~
exceeding joy.
$Deo gratias

[Hymnus Laudes]
v. The Fathers lived a life in shade,
Yet seemed to Peter's vision seven
White glistening lilies, for the Maid,
The Queen of Heaven.
_
Through city street, o'er hills and plains,
Upborne by Love Divine, they trod,
To fix in men the Mother's pains,
The swords of God.
_
This was the power in which they spoke
Till each wild passion owned their sway :
They cheered the sad, from sinners broke
Their chains away.
_
Till at the last the Virgin Queen
Led them to mansions in the sky,
Mansions where garlands aye are green,
And never die.
_
May they hear cries of all who pray,
And see how hard our earthly strife;
Aiding us onward to the day
When all is life.
_
Now to the Father thanks and praise;
To Thee, O Son, the same we send;
To Thee, Great Spirit, through all days,.
World without end.
Amen.

[Versum 2]
V. May their memory be blessed.
R. And let their bones flourish again out of their place.

[Ant 2]
Behold how good * and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in~
unity.

[Capitulum Tertia]
!1 Pet 4:13
v. Brethren: If you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his~
glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
$Deo gratias

[Capitulum Vespera]
!1 Pet 4:13
v. Brethren: If you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his~
glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.
$Deo gratias

[Hymnus Vespera 3]
v. Why Mary's inspiration led,
A sevenfold offspring comes to light;
At Mary's call away they sped
To Mount Senario's rugged height.
_
What fruits of grace the earth shall bear
When they have sown their seed divine!
Christ's vine shall bud with clusters rare,
Empurpled with the ruddy wine.
_
A holy death to heaven speeds
The souls with virtue's glory crowned;
When Mary for her servants pleads,
Heaven's blessed portals they have found.
_
O happy souls who now obtain
The Kingdom, and the sceptre bear,
Look down on us who still remain
Where Satan spreads his subtle snare.
_
Therefore on bended knee we pray,
For sake of Mary's bitter grief;
Chase darkness from our mind away,
And give our troubled hearts relief.
_
And Thou, O Trinity Divine!
Confirm us in Thy Holy Grace!
That as we may our hearts incline
To walk in these thy servants' ways.
Amen.

[Versum 3]
V. These were merciful men, whose righteousness hath not been forgotten.
R. With their seed shall continually remain a good inheritance.

[Ant 3]
Their name * endureth for ever, enduring unto their sons, the glory of holy men.

[Lectio94]
In the thirteenth century there were seven Florentine noblemen namely Buonfiglio~
Monaldo. Buonaiuncta Manetti, Manetto del Antella, Amadeus de Amadei, Hugo Lippi,~
Gerard Sostegni,and Alexis Falconieri, who withdrew to a little hut in the~
country to meditate on the Passion of Christ and the sorrows of His grieving~
Mother. The Blessed Virgin appeared to them on Good Friday holding out a dark~
habit which they were to wear; and she made it known that it would be most~
pleasing to her if they should found a new Order of religious who would~
reverence and foster the memory of the sorrows which she had suffered as she~
stood beneath the Lord's Cross. Then these holy men, with the help of St. Peter~
the Martyr of the Order of Preachers, founded the Order of Servants of the~
Blessed Virgin and, with their companions, began to go about through cities and~
towns, everywhere preaching Christ crucified, by word and by example. And, as~
one love had united them in a true brotherhood during life, one grave received~
them when they died, and they were venerated as one by popular devotion. Clement~
XI and Benedict XIII, therefore, confirmed this common veneration which had been~
paid to them, and Leo XIII enrolled them among the Saints.
&teDeum
