Liturgical Readings and Prayers for the Memorial of Blessed Karl

— October 21 —

Mass in the Ordinary Form
Votive Mass

  • Malachi 2:6 (RM, pg. 1102)

    The law of truth was in his mouth; no dishonesty was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and peace, and turned many away from evil.

  • (RM, pg. 1102)

    O God, who alone are holy and without whom no one is good, command, we pray, through the intercession of Blessed Karl, that we be numbered among those who do not deserve to be deprived of your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

  • (International Gebetsliga Text)

    O God, through the adversities of this world you led Blessed Karl from this earthly realm to the crown reserved for him in heaven. Grant through his intercession that we may so serve your Son and our brothers and sisters that we may become worthy of eternal life. Through our lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

  • (RM, pg. 1103)

    May the sacrifices we offer to your majesty, O Lord, on this feast day of Blessed Karl be effective for our salvation and pleasing to you in your loving kindness. Through Christ our Lord.

  • (International Gebetsliga Text)

    Almighty God, we bring our gifts to your altar. Receive them, and grant us that same heartfelt devotion with which you graced your servant Blessed Karl. Purify our minds and inflame our love so that we may celebrate this sacrifice in a manner that pleases you and brings us salvation. Through Christ our Lord. 

  • Preface I of the Saints (RM, pg. 598)

    The Lord be with you.

    —And with your spirit.

    Lift up your hearts.

    —We lift them up to the Lord.

    Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. —It is right and just.

    It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.For you are praised in the company of your saints and, in crowning their merits, you crown your own gifts. By their way of life you offer us an example, by communion with them you give us companionship, by their intercession, sure support, so that, encouraged by so great a cloud of witnesses, we may run as victors in the race before us and win with them the imperishable crown of glory, through Christ our Lord.And so, with the angels and archangels, and with the great multitude of the saints, we sing the hymn of your praise, as without end we acclaim:

    Holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts . . .

  • Mt 5:8-9 (RM, pg. 1103)

    Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see god. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.

  • (RM, pg. 1103)

    Nourished by these sacred gifts, we humbly implore you, Lord, that the homage of dutiful service, which we render on the feast day of Blessed Karl, may bring us an increase of your saving grace. Through Christ our Lord.

  • (International Gebetsliga Text)

    Almighty, eternal God, Father of mercy and God of all consolation, we have gathered in praise of your name on the memorial of Blessed Karl. Grant us through the Body and Blood of your Son the pledge of eternal life which is promised to all who love you. Through Christ our Lord. 

  • Ephesians 6:10-13, 18

    Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.

  • Psalm 93:1, 1-2, 5

    —The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

    The LORD is king, in splendor robed;robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.

    —The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

    And he has made the world firm,not to be moved.Your throne stands firm from of old;from everlasting you are, O LORD.

    —The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

    Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed;holiness befits your house,O LORD, for length of days.

    —The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

  • Matthew 11:29

    —Alleluia, alleluia.

    Take my yoke upon you, says the Lord;and learn from me, for I am meek and gentle of heart.

    —Alleluia, alleluia.

  • Matthew 7:21-27

    Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ The Two Foundations. “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

  • Mark 9:33-37

    Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.”

Mass in the Extraordinary Form
Os Justi (Common of Confessors)

  • Ps. xxxvi: 30-31

    The mouth of the just man shall meditate wisdom, and his tongue shall speak judgment: the law of his God is in his heart. (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia.) [Ps.] Do not emulate evil doers, nor envy those that work iniquity. Glory be. The mouth of the just man.

    Os justi meditábitur sapiéntiam, et lingua ejus loquétur judícium: lex Dei ejus in corde ipsíus (T.P. Allelúja, allelúja). [Ps. ibid., 1] Noli æmulári in malignántibus: neque zeláveris faciéntes iniquitátem. Glória Patri. Os justi.

  • O God, who dost gladden us by the annual solemnity of blessed Karl, thy confessor, mercifully grant that we who celebrate his heavenly birthday, may also imitate his example. Through our Lord…

    Deus, qui nos beáti Caroli, confessóris tui, ánnua solemnitáte lætíficas: concéde propítius; ut, cujus natalíta cólimus, étiam actiónes imitémur. Per Dóminum…

  • Ecclesiasticus xxxi: 8-11

    A reading from the Book of Wisdom. Blessed is the man that is found without blemish, and that has not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money, nor in treasure. Who is he that we may praise him? for he has done wonderful things in his life. Who has been tried thereby, and made perfect, he shall have glory everlasting: he that could have transgressed but did not transgress: that could have done evil and did not: therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and his alms in the full assembly of the saints.

    Léctio libri Sapiéntiæ. Beatus vir, qui invéntus est sine mácula: et qui post aurum non ábiit, nec sperávit in pecúnia et thesáuris. Quis est hic, et laudábimus eum? fecit enim mirabília in vita sua. Quis probátus est in illo, et perféctus est, erit illi glória ætérna: qui pótuit tránsgredi, et non est transgréssus: fácere mala et non fecit: ideo stabilíta sunt bona illíus in Dómino, et eleemósynas illíus enarrábit omnis ecclésia sanctórum.

  • Ps. xci: 13, 14

    The just shall flourish like the palm tree. He shall grow like the cedar of Libanus in the house of the Lord. [Ps.] To show forth Thy mercy in the morning, and Thy truth in the night. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life.

    Justus ut palma florébit: sicut cedrus Líbani multiplicábitur in domo Dómini. [v. Ibid., 3] Ad annuntiándum mane misericórdiam tuam, et veritátem tuam per noctem.Allelúja, allelúja. [v. Jac. i: 12] Beátus vir, qui suffert tentatiónem: quóniam cum probátus fúerit, accípiet corónam vitæ. Allelúja.

  • Blessed is the man that fears the Lord: he shall delight exceedingly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth. The generation of the righteous shall be blessed. Glory and wealth shall be in his house. And his justice remains forever and ever.

    Beátus vir qui timet Dóminum: in mandátis ejus cupit nimis. Potens in terra erit semen ejus: generátio rectórum benedicétur. Glória et divítiæ in domo ejus: et justítia ejus manet in sǽculum sǽculi.

  • Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he shall receive the crown of life. Alleluia. The Lord loved him and adorned him. He clothed him with a robe of glory. Alleluia.

    Allelúja, allelúja. [v. Jac. i: 12] Beátus vir, qui suffert tentatiónem: quóniam cum probátus fúerit, accípiet corónam vitæ. Allelúja. [Eccli: xlv: 9] Amávit eum Dóminus, et ornávit eum: stolam glóriæ índuit eum. Allelúja.

  • Luke xii: 35-40

    At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: "Let your loins be girt and lamps burning in your hands, and you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding: that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when He comes, shall find watching: amen I say to you that he will gird himself and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister to them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are these servants. But this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken into. Be you then also ready, for you do not know the hour at which the Son of man will come.

    In illo témpore: Dixit Jesus discípulis suis: “Sint lumbi vestri præcíncti, et lucérnæ ardéntes in mánibus vestris, et vos símiles homínibus exspectántibus dóminum suum, quando revertátur a núptiis: ut, cum vénerit, et pulsáverit conféstim apériant ei. Beáti servi illi, quos, cum vénerit dóminus, invénerit vigilántes: amen dico vobis, quod præcínget se, et fáciet illos discúmbere, et tránsiens ministrábit illis. Et si vénerit in secúnda vigília, et si in tértia vigília venerit, et inta invénerit, beáti sunt servi illi. Hoc autem scióte quóniam si sciret paterfamílias, qua hora fur veníret, vigiláret útique, et non síneret pérfodi domum suam. Et vos estóte paráti: quia qua hora non putátis, Fílius hóminis véniet.”

  • My truth and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted. (P.T. Alleluia!)

    Véritas mea et misericórdia mea cum ipso: et in nómine meo exaltábitur cornu ejus. (T.P. Allelúja).

  • We offer Thee, O Lord, the sacrifice of praise, in remembrance of Thy saints; through whose intercession we trust to be delivered both from present and from future ills. Through our Lord…

    Laudis tibi, Dómine, hóstias immolámus in tuórum commemoratióne Sanctórum: quibus nos et præséntibus éxui malis confídimus, et futúris. Per Dóminum…

  • Matthew xxiv: 46-47

    Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find him watching. Amen, I say to you, he will place him over all his goods. (P.T. Alleluia.)

    Beátus servus quem, cum vénerit dóminus, invénerit vigilántem: amen dico vobis, super ómnia bona sua constítuet eum. (T.P. Allelúja).

  • Refreshed with this heavenly food and drink, we humbly beseech Thee, our God, that we may be protected by his prayers in whose remembrance we have received them. Through our Lord…

    Refécti cibo, potúque cælésti, Deus noster, te súpplices exorámus: ut, in cujus hæc commemoratióne percépimus, ejus muniámur et précibus. Per Dóminum…

Divine Office Prayers

Memorial October 21
Karl of the House of Austria was born in Persenbeug (Diocese of St. Pölten) in 1887.  On October 21, 1911 he married Zita of Bourbon-Parma. With his wife and children he led an exemplary family life - a true domestic church, shaped by his intimate love for the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1916, in the midst of the First World War he became Emperor of Austria and was crowned King of Hungary.  He strove for a fair and lasting peace, and promoted equity and justice.  After the revolution of the Provisional National Assembly in 1919, he was banished into exile, lived in poverty and bore his illness with a profound trust in God.  He died on April 1, 1922, in Funchal on the island of Madeira, while calling upon the name of Jesus. 

  • Second Vatican Council Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, no. 93) 

    A World to be built up and brought to fulfillment

    Mindful of the words of the Lord: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:35), Christians can yearn for nothing more ardently than to serve the men of this age with an ever growing generosity and success.  Holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources, and joining forces with all who love and practice justice, they have shouldered a weighty task here on earth and they must render an account of it to him who will judge all men on the last day.  Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of the father (cf. Mt. 7:21), and who manfully put their hands to the work.  It is the Father’s will that we should recognize Christ our brother in the persons of all men and love them with an effective love, in word and in deed, thus bearing witness to the truth; and it is his will that we should share with others the mystery of his heavenly love.  In this way men all over the world will awaken to a lively hope (the gift of the Holy Spirit) that they will one day be admitted to the haven of surpassing peace and happiness in their homeland radiant with the glory of the Lord.

    “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever.  Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).

  • You have become light in the Lord.  Live as children of the light!

    —The light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness and truth.

    You are the light of the world.  Let your light shine before men.

    —The light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness and truth.

  • O God, through the adversities of this world You led Blessed Karl from this earthly realm to the crown reserved for him in heaven. Grant through his intercession that we may so serve Your Son and our brothers and sisters that we may become worthy of eternal life. Through our lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.