St Oswald, King & Martyr; Com. Vigil of St Lawrence & Com. St Romanus: Missa “In Virtute Tua”
Beginning in the year 449, the pagan Germanic peoples known as the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes invaded Britain and drove the native Britons, a Christian Celtic people, north and west into Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Cornwall. They established seven principal kingdoms (the Heptarchy) in England: The Saxon kingdoms of Essex, Wessex and Sussex (East Saxons, West Saxons, and South Saxons), the Angle kingdoms of East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria, and the Jute kingdom of Kent (in southeast England, the London area). To this day, there are seven principal dialects of English spoken in England, and the seven areas in which they are spoken are substantially the same as the areas of the seven ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
In 597, Augustine, a missionary from Rome, established a mission in Kent, where he was favorably received, and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury (51:17 N 1:05 E). (He is remembered on 26 May.) However, his influence was initially confined to the southeast of England.
In Northumbria (the region north of the Humber River), in the north of England, in 616, Edwin seized the throne (replacing his sister’s husband, Aethelfrith the Ravager), and Oswald, son of Aethelfrith, fled into Scotland, to the monastic settlement founded by Columba (see 9 June) in the late 500’s on the island of Iona (off the west coast of southern Scotland, 56:19 N 6:25 E). Here Oswald encountered the Christian faith and was converted and baptised. Edwin married Ethelburgha, a princess of Kent, who brought with her the missionary Paulinus, who became first Archbishop of York. Edwin and many of his court accepted baptism in 627. In 632, King Cadwallon of Wales and the pagan king Penda of Mercia invaded Northumbria and killed Edwin in battle. The queen and the archbishop fled south, and Christianity was temporarily suppressed in the North.
The following year, Oswald returned from exile to claim the throne. He met Cadwallon (or Cadwalla) in battle near Hexham (54:58 N 2:06 W). The night before the battle, vastly outnumbered, with a small army of whom not more than a dozen were Christians, he set up a wooden cross, and asked his soldiers to join him in prayer. They did so, and promised to be baptised if they won the battle. The battle was accordingly joined, and Oswald won a victory “as complete as it was unlikely,” defeating and slaying Cadwallon (the victor, as the Welsh bards tell us, of forty battles and sixty single combats). The battle site was thereafter known as Heavensfield. Northumbria, now united, became the most powerful of the Seven Kingdoms, and Oswald was recognized as paramount king of the Heptarchy.
His concern was for the conversion of his people to Christianity, and he sent messengers to Iona, where he had himself received the Gospel, asking for a Christian preacher. The first man sent (a monk named Coorman) was tactless and a failure, but his replacement, Aidan (see 31 August), was an outstanding success. Since he did not at first speak the Anglo-Saxon language, Oswald, who was fully bilingual, stood beside him as he preached and interpreted the sermon. Aidan was soon joined by other missionaries, and the Church flourished in Northumbria. Oswald went to Wessex (the second most powerful of the Seven Kingdoms, and later to be the most powerful, and the nucleus of a united England) in order to seek a bride. Wessex was at that time largely pagan, but his bride, Kineburga, agreed to become a Christian, and so did her father, the King of Wessex. Thus a door was opened for the Gospel in southwestern England.
However, Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, yet lived, and in 640 war between Mercia and Northumbria was renewed, with the former followers of Cadwallon allied once more with Mercia. In 642 Penda killed Oswald in a great battle near Maserfeld (Salop), on the border between their kingdoms. As he fell dying, Oswald prayed aloud for the souls of his bodyguards, who died with him, and for the salvation of the people of Northumbria, and for his pagan enemies. Penda ordered the corpse of Oswald to be dismembered and its parts set up on stakes as a sacrifice to Odin. The head was reclaimed by Christians and sent to Lindisfarne, and is now thought to rest in a tomb in Durham Cathedral (but it should be noted that because of invasions and tumults it has been moved several times, making its present location uncertain).
INTROIT Ps. 20. 2, 3.
In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall joy: and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly: Thou hast given him his heart’s desire. — (Ps. 20. 4). For Thou hast prevented him with blessings of sweetness: Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones. 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. In Thy strength, O Lord, the just man shall joy: and in Thy salvation he shall rejoice exceedingly: Thou hast given him his heart’s desire.
COLLECT
Almighty, everlasting God, who by the festival of thy blessed martyr Oswald hast made this a day of gladness and holy joy, increase in our hearts the love of thee, that we who celebrate his sufferings on earth may feel the power of his advocacy in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.
For the Vigil of St. Lawrence, Deacon & Martyr
Heed our prayers, O Lord, and by the intercession of Your blessed Martyr Lawrence, whose feast we anticipate, graciously grant us Your everlasting mercy.
For St. Romanus, martyr
Grant, we beseech You, almighty God, that by the intercession of St. Romanus, Your Martyr, we may be delivered from all afflictions in the body and purified in mind from all evil thoughts. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.
EPISTLE Wisdom 10. 10-14
Lesson from the Book of Wisdom. The Lord conducted the just through the right ways, and showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him the knowledge of holy things: made him honorable in his labors, and accomplished his labors. In the deceit of them that overreached him, He stood by him, and made him honorable. He kept him safe from his enemies, and He defended him from seducers, and gave him a strong conflict, that he might overcome, and know that wisdom is mightier than all. He forsook not the just when he was sold, but delivered him from sinners: He went down with him into the pit. And in bands He left him not, till He brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those that oppressed him: and shewed them to be liars that had accused him, and the Lord our God gave him everlasting glory.
GRADUAL/ALLELUIA
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he delighteth exceedingly in His commandments. V.: His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the righteous shall be blessed. Alleluia, alleluia. V.: (Ps. 20. 4). O Lord, Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones. Alleluia.
GOSPEL Matthew 16:24-27.
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.
OFFERTORY ANTIPHON Ps. 8. 6, 7.
Thou hast crowned him wtih glory and honor: and hast set him over the works of Thy hands, O Lord.
SECRET
Lord, we entreat thee to accept our offerings and prayers. Cleanse us by this heavenly rite, and mercifully heed us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God Forever and ever. R. Amen.
For the Vigil of St Lawrence
Look with favor upon the sacrificial gifts we offer You, O Lord, and through this holy exchange, loosen the bonds of our sins.
For St. Romanus, martyr
Having received our gifts and prayers, we beseech You, O Lord, mercifully hear us and cleanse us by Your heavenly sacrament. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.
PREFACE of the Common
It is truly meet and just, right and for our salvation, that we should at all times, and in all places, give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty, everlasting God, through Christ our Lord. Through whom the Angels praise Thy Majesty, the Dominations worship it, the Powers stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts together with the blessed Seraphim in triumphant chorus unite to celebrate it. Together with them, we entreat Thee, that Thou mayest bid our voices also to be admitted, while we say in lowly praise:
COMMUNION ANTIPHON Matthew 21. 24.
If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
POSTCOMMUNION
Grant, we pray thee, Lord our God, that we who in this life gladly commemorate thy saints, may find unending joy hereafter in their presence. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God For ever and ever. R. Amen.
For the Vigil of St Lawrence
Grant, we beseech You, O Lord, our God, that as we joyfully commemorate St. Lawrence, Your Martyr, in this life, so may we rejoice by beholding him in eternity.
For St. Romanus martyr
We beseech You, O almighty God, that we who have eaten the food of heaven may find in it, by the intercession of blessed Romanus, Your Martyr, strength against all harm. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.
The Brighton Oratory 