[Rank]
S. Josaphat Episcopi  Martyris;;Duplex;;3;;vide C2

[Rule]
vide C2;
9 lectiones

[Oratio]
Stir up in thy Church, we beseech thee, O Lord, that Spirit which so filled blessed Josaphat thy Confessor and Bishop that he laid down his life for his flock; that by his intercession we,  being likewise animated and strengthened by that same Spirit, may not fear to lay down our lives for our brethren. 
$Per Dominum eiusdem

[Lectio4]
Josaphat Kuncewitius nobilibus et catholicis parentibus Vladimiriae in Volhinia~
natus, cum puerulus matrem de Christi passione loquentem audiret, jaculo a~
latere imaginis Jesu crucifixi immisso, vulnus in corde suscepit. Dei amore~
incensus, adeo orationi aliusque piis operibus instare coepit, ut provectioribus~
adolescentibus exemplo et admirationi esset. Vicennis inter claustrales sancti~
Basilii alumnos monasticam regulam professus, mirum quos in evangelica~
perfectione progressus fecerit Nudis pedibus, frigidissima licet saeviente~
regionis hieme, incedebat: carnes numquam, vinum nonnisi ex obedientia adhibuit,~
asperrimoque cilicio ad obitum usque corpus afflixit. Castitatis florem, quem ab~
adolescentia Virgini Deiparae voverat, inviolatum servavit. Virtutis~
doctrinaeque ejus brevi sic fama percrebuit, ut quamvis junior, Bytenii~
monasterio praefectus sit; mox Vilnensis archimandrita, ac demum archiepiscopus~
Polocensis, invitus quidem, sed Catholicis gestientibus, fuerit renuntiatus.

[Lectio5]
Hac dignitate auctus, nihil de priori vivendi ratione remittens, nonnisi divinum~
cultum et creditarum sibi ovium salutem cordi habuit. Catholicae unitatis ac~
veritatis strenuus propugnator, totis viribus adlaboravit ut schismaticos~
haereticosque ad communionem cum beati Petri sede reduceret. Summum Pontificem~
ejusque potestatis plenitudinem ab impudentissimis impiorum calumniis et~
erroribus, qua concionibus, qua scriptis pietate ac doctrina refertis defendere~
numquam destitit. Episcopelem jurisdictionem et Ecclesiae bona a laicis usurpata~
vindicavit. Incredibile dictu est quot haereticos in sinum matris Ecclosiae~
revocaverit. Unionis vero Graecae Ecclesiae cum Latina Josaphatum promotorem~
exstitisse praeclarissimum, etiam pontificia oracula diserte testantur. Ad haec,~
et templi Dei decori instaurando, et sacrarum virginum exstruendis aedibus,~
aliusque piis operibus juvandis, mensae suae proventus ultro erogavit. In~
pauperes adeo effusus, ut cum olim inopiae cujusdam viduae sublevandae nihil~
occurreret, episcopale pallium, seu omophorion, oppignorari jusserit.

[Lectio6]
Tot catholicae fidei incrementa perditissimorii hominum adeo excitaverunt odia,~
ut, conspiratione inita, Christi athletam ad necem quaererent; quam sibi~
imminere ipse in suo ad populum sermone praenuntiavit. Cum itaque Vitepscum~
pastoralis visitationis gratia profectus esset, illi archiepiscopales invadunt~
aedes; obvios quosque feriunt ac caedunt. Tum vir mitissimus quaerentibus sponte~
occurrit, eosque amice compellans, Filioli, inquit, quare familiares meos~
caeditis? Si quid contra me habetis, ecce adsum. Hinc impetu facto, eum~
verberibus contundunt, telis confodiunt, ac demum immani securi necatum, in~
fiumen projiciunt; die duodecima Novembris alii sexcentesimi vicesimi tertii~
supra millesimum, aetatis ejus quadragesimi tertii. Corpus mirabili luce~
circumfusum, ex imo fluminis alveo elatum est. Sanguis Martyris parricidis ipsis~
in primis profuit, qui fere omnes capitis damnati, ejurato schismate suum scelus~
detestati sunt. Cum tantus Praesul plurimis post obitum coruscaret miraculis,~
eum Urbanus octavus Pontifex Maximus Beatorum honoribus decoravit. Pius nonus~
tertio Kalendas Julias anni millesimi octingentesimi sexagesimi septimi, cum~
saecularia Apostolorum Principum solemnia celebrarentur, coram Patrum~
Cardinalium senatu, simulque astantibus fere quingentis, Patriarchis,~
Metropolitis et Episcopis cujuscumque ritus, qui ex toto terrarum orbe~
convenerant, hunc ecclesiasticae unitatis assertorem, primum ex orientalibus,~
solemni ritu in Vaticana Basilica Sanctorum ordini accensuit. Cujus Officium ac~
Missam Leo decimus tertius Summus Pontifex ad universam extendit Ecclesiam.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to John
!John 10:11-16
In that time Jesus said to the pharisees: I am the good shepherd. The good~
shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. And so on.
_
Homily by St John Chrysostom, Patriarch (of Constantinople.)
!59th on John.
Dearly beloved brethren, the Bishops of the Church hold a great office, an~
office that needeth much that wisdom and strength whereof Christ hath given us~
an example. We must learn of Him to lay down our lives for the sheep and never~
to leave them; and to fight bravely against the wolf. This is the difference~
between the true shepherd and the hireling. The one leaveth the sheep and~
seeketh his own safety, but the other recketh not of his own safety, so as he~
may watch over the sheep. Christ then having given us the pattern of a good~
shepherd, warneth us against two enemies; first, the thief that cometh not but~
to kill and to steal, and, secondly, the hireling that standeth by, and~
defendeth not them that are committed to his charge.

[Lectio8]
Ezechiel hath said of old time, (xxxiv. 2): Woe be to the shepherds of Israel!~
do they not feed themselves? Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? But they~
did the contrary, a great wickedness and the root of many evils. Therefore, he~
saith, they brought not back that which was gone astray neither did they~
search for that which was lost neither did they bind up that which was broken,~
nor strengthen that which was sick; for they fed themselves, and not the flock.~
And Paul hath the same in other words, where he saith, (Phil. ii. 21): All seek~
their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's.

[Lectio9]
Christ showeth Himself very different from either the thief or the hireling;~
whereas the thief cometh to destroy, He came that they might have life, and that~
they might have it more abundantly. The hireling fleeth, but He layeth down His~
life for the sheep, that the sheep perish not. When then the Jews went about to~
kill Him, He ceased not to teach He gave not up them that believed in Him, but~
stood steadfast and died. Wherefore He hath good title often to say, I am the~
Good Shepherd. It was but a little while, and He showed us how He could lay down~
His life for the sheep. And if it appeareth not as yet how they have life, and~
have it more abundantly, (but it shall appear, in the world which is to come,)~
we may well be persuaded of the truth of the second promise, who have seen the~
fulfilment of the first.
&teDeum

[Lectio94]
Josaphat Kuncewitz was born of noble Catholic parents at Vladimir in Volhynia. As a child, when he herd his mother of speaking of the passion of Christ, he received in his heart a wound form an arrow coming from the side of the image of Christ crucified. When he was twenty, he was professed among the cloistered monks of St Basil. Soon he was made archmandrite of Vilna and than archbishop of Plolotzk, and showed himself a model of all virtues. A zealous promoter of the unity of the Greek with the Latin Church, he called innumerable heretics back to the bosom of their mother, the Church. Having gone to Vitebsk on pastoral visitation, of his own accord he went out to meet the schismatics, who were seeking to kill him and who had already invaded the archiepiscopal residence. "My children", he said, "if you have anything against me, here I am." With that they rushed at him, beat and stabbed him, delivered the dead blow with an axe and threw his body into the river. The first to benefit from the Martyr's blood were those very parricides: condemned to death nearly all of them adjured their schism and repented of their crime. Pope Urban VIII gave Josaphat the honors of the Blessed, and Pius IX added to the number of Saints this first promoter of the unity of the Church among the Easterners.
&teDeum
