Saint Aelred of Rievaulx

For study and meditation: proper texts for the Mass of Saint Aelred, Abbot.

Entrance Antiphon
MR
The Lord is my inheritance and my cup; he alone will give me my reward.
The measuring line has marked a lovely place for me;
my inheritance is my great delight (Ps 15:5-6).

or GR, Caritas Dei, 248.
The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
V. My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name (Rom 5:5; Ps 102:1).

Collect
O God, who gave the blessed Abbot Aelred
the grace of being all things to all men,
grant that, following his example,
we may so spend ourselves in the service of one another,
as to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Prayer Over the Oblations
Most merciful God,
who, in the Blessed Abbot Aelred,
deigned to make an end of the old self
and to create a new self according to your own desire,
mercifully grant
that we also, renewed in like manner,
may offer this, the acceptable sacrifice of our atonement.
Through Christ our Lord.

Preface
Truly it is right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.
Tenderly you drew Saint Aelred
to the school of your service
where, having tasted of the sweetness of your love,
he became the gentle father of many sons,
a merciful shepherd to the weak,
and a model of spiritual friendship.
Inflamed by the love of Christ,
he embraced the Cross
as the pattern of monastic conversion,
and so attained the repose of those who love you,
the true and eternal Sabbath of the blessed.
And so, on his feast day, we join with him to adore you,
and with all the company of Angels and Saints,
sing the ageless hymn of your praise:

Communion Antiphon
MR
What we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord,
with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor 4:5).

Postcommunion
Almighty God,
we beseech you
that, fortified by the strength of this sacrament,
we may learn, from the example of the Blessed Abbot Aelred,
to seek you above all things,
and to bear, while we are yet in this world,
the imprint of the new self.
Through Christ our Lord.