Collect
Almighty God, by whose grace Seiriol,
kindled with the holy fire of your love,
became a burning and a shining light in the Church;
inflame in us the same spirit of discipline and love,
that we may walk before you as children of the light;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 February
Anskar
White
Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary in Denmark and Sweden
England: Lesser Festival
A native of Picardy, Anskar was a monk of Corbie near Amiens who, after the conversion of the King of Denmark to Christianity, went to Schleswig and attempted to start a Christian school there. He was expelled by the locals but went on to Sweden, where he is reputed to have built the first Christian church. In 832 he was consecrated Archbishop of Hamburg and sixteen years later became Archbishop of Bremen. He returned to Denmark to convert the King of Jutland. He preached widely throughout Scandinavia and was much-loved for his work with the poor and in mitigating the slave trade. He is the patron saint of Denmark and was popularly known as ‘The Apostle of the North’. He died in the year 865.
Collect
God of grace and might,
who sent your servant Anskar
to spread the gospel to the Nordic peoples:
raise up, we pray, in our generation
messengers of your good news
and heralds of your kingdom
that the world may come to know
the immeasurable riches of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
A reading from the prophecy of Isaiah.
How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,
who brings good news,
who announces salvation,
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,
together they sing for joy;
for in plain sight they see
the return of the Lord to Zion.
Break forth together into singing,
you ruins of Jerusalem;
for the Lord has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The Lord has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
This is the word of the Lord.
Isaiah 52.7–10
Responsorial Psalm
R: Break forth together into singing God’s praises,
[for the Lord has comforted his people].
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;
to you that answer prayer shall vows be paid.
To you shall all flesh come to confess their sins;
when our misdeeds prevail against us,
you will purge them away. R
Happy are they whom you choose
and draw to your courts to dwell there.
We shall be satisfied with the blessings of your house,
even of your holy temple. R
With wonders you will answer us in your righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
O hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas. R
From Psalm 65
A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans.
The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’
This is the word of the Lord.
Romans 10.11–15
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, ‘Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.’ So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.
Mark 6.7–13
Post Communion
Holy Father,
who gathered us here around the table of your Son
to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal
the fullness of your peace,
gather people of every race and language
to share with Anskar and all your saints
in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 February
Saints and Martyrs of Europe
Saints, Martyrs and Missionaries of Europe
Scotland: Commemoration – Wales: V
If celebrated otherwise, Common of Missionaries, or of Any Saint
In the Acts of the Apostles it is related how Paul, accompanied by Barnabas and Luke, crossed the Dardanelles from Asia, and first brought the good news of Jesus Christ into Europe. Paul’s extensive journeys, to which his Letters bear witness, laid the foundation of the Church in Greece. He and others, including Peter, preached the gospel in Rome before the first persecutions began under Nero. In the following centuries many martyrs and missionaries spread the gospel message over the Roman Empire, and after the fall of Rome to the barbarians who occupied its lands. In turn they took their new-found faith to their pagan kin in northern and eastern Europe. Since then, the Church in Europe has not lacked faithful people in every age who have continued to proclaim the kingdom of God to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Collect (Scotland)
Draw your Church together, O God,
into one great