Feria

Today is a Feria with a Commemoration of the Four Crowned Martyrs.

The Commemoration:

Ant: Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered; fear not therefore ; ye are of more value than many sparrows.

V. Be glad, O ye righteous, and rejoice in the Lord.

R. And be joyful, all ye that are true of heart.

Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God : that, like as we have known thy glorious Martyrs to be constant in their confession of thy Faith ; so we may feel the succour of their loving intercession. Through.

The Roman Martyrology:

At Rome, on the Lavican Way, three miles from the city, the martyrdom of the Saints Claudius, Nicostratus, Symphorian, Castorius, and Simplicius. They were first sent to prison, then scourged with whips set with metal, but since they could not be made to forsake the faith of Christ, Diocletian ordered them to be thrown into the river.

Also, on the Lavican Way, the birthday of the saintly brothers, Severus, Severian, Carpophorus, and Victorinus, called the Four Crowned, who were scourged to death with leaded whips, during the reign of the same emperor. Because their names, known some years afterwards by revelation, could not then be ascertained, it was ordered that their anniversary should be commemorated with the preceding five, under the name of the Four Saints Crowned. This custom was retained by the Church, even after their names had been revealed.

Also at Rome, St. Deusdedit, pope, whose merit was so great that he cured a leper by kissing him.

In the village of Plexem, on the Weser River in Germany, St. Willehad, first bishop of Bremen, who, together with St. Boniface, whose disciple he was, spread the Gospel in Friesland and Saxony.

At Soissons in France, St. Godfrey, bishop of Amiens, a man of great sanctity.

At Verdun in France, St. Maur, bishop and confessor.

At Tours in France, St. Clarus, a priest whose epitaph was written by St. Paulinus.

And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins.
R. Thanks be to God.