Marcella of Rome, Monastic and Scholar, 410

The Collect:

Rite I:
O God, who dost satisfy the longing soul and fillest the hungry with good things: Grant that we, like thy servant Marcella, may hunger and thirst after thee above the vain pomp and glory of the world, and delight in thy word above all manner of riches; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
O God, who satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry with good things: Grant that we, like your servant Marcella, may hunger and thirst after you above the vain pomp and glory of the world, and delight in your word above all manner of riches; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: 1 Kings 17:8–16

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ ‘Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.’ ¹⁰ So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.’ ¹¹ As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, ‘Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.’ ¹² But she said, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.’ ¹³ Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ¹⁵ She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

Psalm: Psalm 12

¹ Help me, Lord, for there is no godly one left; *
the faithful have vanished from among us.
² Everyone speaks falsely with his neighbor; *
with a smooth tongue they speak from a double heart.
³ Oh, that the Lord would cut off all smooth tongues, *
and close the lips that utter proud boasts!
⁴ Those who say, “With our tongue will we prevail; *
our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵ “Because the needy are oppressed,
and the poor cry out in misery, *
I will rise up,” says the Lord,
“and give them the help they long for.”
⁶ The words of the Lord are pure words, *
like silver refined from ore
and purified seven times in the fire.
⁷ O Lord, watch over us *
and save us from this generation for ever.
⁸ The wicked prowl on every side, *
and that which is worthless is highly prized by everyone.

Second Lesson: Colossians 3:1-4 

¹ So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, ³ for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

Gospel: Luke 6:17-26 

¹⁷ He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. ¹⁸ They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. ¹⁹ And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

²⁰ Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,
    for yours is the kingdom of God.
²¹ ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
    for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
    for you will laugh.

²² ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. ²³ Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

²⁴ ‘But woe to you who are rich,
    for you have received your consolation.
²⁵ ‘Woe to you who are full now,
    for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
    for you will mourn and weep.

²⁶ ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

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