Saturday, 9 February, 2008
SATURDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY ((III)
Day of fast (Traditional).

Collect: O Lord, hearken to our supplications: and grant that we may celebrate with devout service this solemn fast, which Thou hast ordained for the healing of both soul and body. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Lesson: From the Prophet Isaias, 58:9-14.
Gospel: Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Mark, 6:47-56.

ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church (III)
"St. Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, fought with his pen and his eloquence against the Nestorians. He presided in the name of Pope Celestine at the great Council of Ephesus, where the heresy of Nestorius was condemned, and he successfully defended the truth concerning the Mother of God and our Saviour in His twofold nature of God and Man. He died A.D. 444."

Collect: O God, who didst make blessed Cyril, Thy Confessor and Bishop, the invincible champion of the divine Motherhood of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary: grant that by his intercession, we who believe her to be truly the Mother of God, may be saved by her motherly protection. Through the same Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.
Epistle: From the Second Letter of Bl. Paul the Apostle to Timothy, 4:1-8.
Gospel: Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, 5:13-19.

ST. APPOLONIA, Virgin, Martyr (Comm.)
“St. Appolonia, Virgin of Alexandria, after having her teeth broken, cast herself into the flames prepared for her, under the Emperor Decius, A.D. 259.”

Collect: O God, who among the other marvels of Thy power, hast granted even to the weaker sex the victory of martyrdom: mercifully grant: that we who celebrate the heavenly birthday of blessed Appolonia, Thy Virgin and Martyr, may by her example draw nearer to Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who livest and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end.

Remarks are abstracted from The Daily Missal and Liturgical Manual, from Editio Typica of the Roman Missal and Breviary, 1962
(Baronius Press Limited, London, 2004, in conjunction with the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, www.baroniuspress.com)