OCD: optional memorial

 

She was born at Lillo (Toledo) on Jan. 8, 1881.  A pharmacist by trade, she

was one of the first women in Spain to be admitted to this qualification.

In 1915 she entered the Carmel of St. Anne and St. Joseph in Madrid.

Through her spirit of prayer and her love for the Eucharist she was a

perfect embodiment of the contemplative and ecclesial ideal of the Teresian

Carmel.  She was Prioress of her community when she was martyred on August

15, 1936.  It was a grace she longed for and accepted in perfection of faith

ardent love for Christ.

 

 

Office of Readings

Second Reading

from the letters and writings of Bl. Maria:

 

Following Christ by way of humility and the cross

 

May Jesus reign always in my heart.  The Lord asks me to be humble, to weep

over my sins, to love Him much, to love my sisters much, to mortify them in

nothing, not to mortify myself uselessly, to live recollected in Him wanting

nothing for myself, completely surrendered to His divine will.  In this vale

of tears, suffering will not be lacking and we should be content to have

something to offer to our most beloved Jesus Who wanted so much to suffer

for love of us.  The most direct way to unite ourselves to God is that of

the cross, so we should always desire it.  May the Lord not permit that I be

separated from His divine will.

 

Blessed be God Who gives us these ways

of offering ourselves up to His love!  The day will arrive when we will

rejoice for having suffered in this way.  Meanwhile, let us be generous,

suffering everything, if not with happiness, at least in close conformity to

the divine will of Him Who suffered so much out of love for us.  However

great are our sufferings they come nowhere near His.  If you wish to be

perfect seek first of all to be quite humble in thought, word, deed and

desire, learn well what this means and work tenaciously to carry it out.

Keep your gaze always on our most beloved Jesus, asking Him in the depths of

His heart what He desires for you, and never deny Him anything even if it

means going strongly against the grain for you.

 

Blessed be He Who arranges everything

for our good!  In possessing Him, we possess everything.

 

 

Responsory

R/.  I have fought the good fight to the end; have run the race to the

finish.  I have kept the faith; * all there is to come for me now is the

crown of righteousness.

V/.  Because of the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, I

count everything else as loss, that I may partake of His sufferings by being

molded to the pattern of His death.

R/.  All there is to come for me now is the crown of righteousness.

 

Prayer

O God,

Who by a spirit of prayer

and devotion to the Eucharist

prepared Bl. Maria Sagrario

to suffer martyrdom,

grant that we, through her example,

may freely spend our lives for You

by faithfully and constantly

fulfilling Your Will. Through our Lord

Jesus Christ Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit one

God for ever and ever.  Amen.

 

*************

for Mass

 

Entrance Antiphon

The Lord will hear the just when they cry out; from all their afflictions He

will deliver them.

 

Prayer

Same as above

 

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord,

You gave Bl. Maria Sagrario

the fulfilment of her faith

in the vision of Your glory.

May the gifts we bring to honor her memory gain Your pardon and peace.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

 

Communion Antiphon

We are given over to death for Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be revealed

in our living flesh.

 

Prayer after Communion

Lord,

may this food of heaven

bring us a share in the grace You gave

the martyr, Bl. Maria Sagrario.

>From her bitter sufferings may we learn

to become strong and by patient endurance earn the victory of rejoicing in

Your holiness.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.