March 12

St. Gregory I, Pope, Confessor, Doctor of the Church

   In places where the Feast of St. Gregory I is kept as a second class feast or higher, the following Mass is said. Otherwise the Mass of the Lenten Feria is said with commemorations of St. Gregory I after the Collect, Secret, and Postcommunion.

INTROIT ¤ John 21. 15-17
	Si diligis me, Simon Petre, pasce agnos meos, pasce oves meas. -- Exaltabo te, Domine, quoniam suscepisti me, nec delectasti inimicos meos super me. V.: Gloria Patri et Filii et Spiritu Sancti. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen. Si diligis me, Simon Petre, pasce agnos meos, pasce oves meas.		Simon Peter, if thou lovest Me, feed My lambs, feed My sheep. -- (Ps. 29.1). I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. V.: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Simon Peter, if thou lovest Me, feed My lambs, feed My sheep.
COLLECT
	Deus, qui animae famuli tui Gregorii aeternae beatitudinis praemia contulisti: concede propitius; ut, qui peccatorum nostrorum pondere premimur, eius apud te precibus sublevemur. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.		O God, who didst give to the soul of Thy servant Gregory the rewards of everlasting bliss: mercifully grant that we, who are oppressed by the burden of our sins may be raised up by his intercession with Thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
EPISTLE ¤ 1 Peter 5. 1-4, 10-11 Lesson from the First Epistle of Blessed Peter the Apostle. Lectio Epistolae beati Petri Apostoli. [Christ is the model for the Popes. The Pope directs the Church with love and according to the will of God.]
	Carissimi: seniores, qui in vobis sunt, obsecro consenior et testis Christi passionum, qui et eius, quae in futuro revelanda est, gloriae communicator: pascite qui in vobis est gregem Dei, providentes non coacte, sed spontanee secundum Deum, neque turpis lucri gratia, sed voluntarie; neque ut dominantes in cleris, sed forma facti gregis ex animo. Et, cum apparuerit princeps pastorum, percipietis immarcescibilem gloriae coronam. Deus autem omnis gratiae, qui vocavit Christo Iesu, modicum passos ipse perficiet, confirmabit solidabitque. Ipsi gloria et imperium in saecula saeculorum. Amen.		Dearly beloved, The ancients therefore that are among you, I beseech, who am myself also an ancient, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ: as also a partaker of that glory which is to be revealed in time to come: feed the flock of God which is among you, taking care of it, not by constraint, but willingly, according to God: not for filthy lucre's sake, but voluntarily: neither as lording it over the clergy, but being made a pattern of the flock from the heart. And when the prince of pastors shall appear, you shall receive a never fading crown of glory. But the God of all grace, who hath called us into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little, will himself perfect you, and confirm you, and establish you. To him be glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
GRADUAL ¤ Ps. 106. 32, 31
	Exaltent eum in ecclesia plebis: et in cathedra seniorum laudent eum. V.: Confiteantur Domino misericordiae eius, et mirabilia eius filiis hominum.		Let them exalt him in the church of the people: and praise him in the chair of the ancients.
TRACT ¤ Ps. 39. 10-11
	Annuntiavi justitiam tuam in ecclesia magna; ecce labia mea non prohibebo: Domine, tu scisti. V.: Justitiam tuam non abscondi in corde meo: veritatem tuam et salutare tuum dixi. V.: Non abscondi misericordiam tuam, et veritatem tuam a concilio multo.		I have declared thy justice in a great church, lo, I will not restrain my lips: O Lord, thou knowest it. V.: I have not hid thy justice within my heart: I have declared thy truth and thy salvation. V.: I have not concealed thy mercy and thy truth from a great council.
GOSPEL ¤ Matthew 16. 13-19. † Continuation of the holy Gospel according to St. Matthew. † Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthaeum. [Peter's confession of the Godhead of Christ. He is declared by our Lord to be the Rock on which the Church rests securely.]
	In illo tempore: Venit Iesus in partes Caesareae Philippi: et interrogabat discipulos suos, dicens: Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? At illi dixerunt: Alii Ioannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Ieremiam, aut unum ex prophetis. Dicit illis Iesus: Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? Respondens Simon Petrus dixit: Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. Respondens autem Iesus, dixit ei: Beatus es Simon Bar Iona: quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in caelis est. Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. Et tibi dabo claves regni caelorum. Et quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in caelis: et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in caelis.		And Jesus came into the quarters of Cesarea Philippi: and he asked his disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.
OFFERTORY ¤ Jeremias 1. 9-10
	Ecce dedi verba mea in ore tuo: ecce constitui te super gentes et super regna: ut evellas et destruas, et aedifices et plantes.		Behold I have given My words in thy mouth: lo, I have set thee over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to build, and to plant.
SECRET
	Annue nobis, quaesumus Domine: ut intercessione beati Gregorii haec nobis prosit oblatio, quam immolando, totius mundi tribuisti relaxari delicta. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.		Vouchsafe, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of blessed Gregory, this oblation may be profitable to us, by the offering of which Thou didst grant the sins of the whole world to be absolved. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
PREFACE Preface of the Apostles
	Vere dignum et iustum est, aequum et salutare, Te Domine suppliciter exorare, ut gregem tuum pator aeterne, non deseras: sed per beatos Apostolos tuos continua protectione custodias. Ut iisdem rectoribus gubernetur, quos operis tui vicarios eidem contulisti praeesse pastores. Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus, hymnum gloriae tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes:		It it truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, to entreat Thee humbly, O Lord, that Thou wouldst not desert Thy flock, O everlasting Shepherd, but, through Thy blessed Apostles, wouldst keep it under Thy constant protection; that it may be governed by those same rulers, whom as vicars of Thy work, Thou didst set over it to be its pastors. And therefore with Angels and Archangels, with Thrones and Dominations, and with all the hosts of the heavenly army, we sing the hymn of Thy glory, evermore saying:
COMMUNION ¤ Matthew 16. 18
	Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam.		Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.
POSTCOMMUNION
	Deus, qui beatum Gregorium Pontificem Sanctorum tuorum meretis coaequasti: concede propitius; ut, qui commemorationis eius festa percolimus, vitae quoque imitemur exempla. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum.		O God, Who didst make the blessed Pontiff Gregory to rank in merit with Thy Saints: mercifully grant that we who celebrate this festival in his memory may also follow the example of his life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.