: Blessed José Maria Fernández Sánchez and companions (a group of martyrs of the Vincentian Family consists of 33 members of the Congregation of the Mission, 17 of them priests and 16 coadjutor Brothers. To these 33 religious were added six laymen, Knights of the Miraculous Medal) were victims of the fierce religious persecution that sought to eliminate the Church of Spain in the mid-1930s. The Beatification took place on 11 November 2017, in Madrid.

Blessed José Maria Fernández Sánchez was one of the four Vincentian missionaries who reached India in 1921 to commence the mission of Cuttack (India) in 1922, entrusted to the Congregation by Propaganda Fide. In 1925, when this mission was erected into a vice-Province, with three communities, he was named Vice-Visitor.

Invitatory Antiphon: The Lord is the King of martyrs; come let us adore Him.

Hymn

The martyrs living now with Christ

In suffering were tried,

Their anguish overcome by love

When on his cross he died.

Across the centuries they come,

In constancy unmoved,

Their loving hearts make no complaint,

In silence they are proved.

No man has ever measured love,

Or weighed it in his hand,

But God who knows the inmost heart

Gives them the promised land.

Praise Father, Son and Spirit blest,

Who guides us through the night

In ways that reach beyond the stars

To everlasting light.

Antiphon 1: Preferring the soul to the body, preferring the honor of God to that of the world, is typical of the kingdom of God.

Antiphon 2: We gulp down the bitter cup, we choose confusion, convinced that this will turn to our benefit.

Antiphon 3: Yes, my God, yes, if the opportunity presents itself to lose honor, pleasures and life, so that Jesus Christ may be known and served, here we are prepared, here we are ready, by Your mercy.

Scripture Reading

2 Corinthians 1:3-5.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Short Responsory

V. The holy martyrs live forever.

R. The holy martyrs live forever.

V. Their reward is the Lord:

R. The holy martyrs live forever.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

R. The holy martyrs live forever.

Benedictus Antiphon: We trust in God: he will strengthen us when necessary.

Intercessions

In our prayer, we ask Christ, the crown of martyrs, to protect and faithfully guard the Vincentian Family, just as our martyrs remained faithful to God and His  Church:

R. Lord, holy and faithful, hear us.

Eternal light, rising on the horizon of the world to dispel our darkness, awaken faith, hope, and charity within us.

Savior of the world, who walked the path of passion and the cross, grant us the grace to communicate Your redemptive death and share in the glory of Your resurrection.

Jesus, healer of bodies and souls, heal the deep wounds of our humanity, allowing us to fully enjoy the gifts of redemption.

Source of charity, help us build our communities day by day in trust and with a common desire for conversion, that we may march together toward You.

Our Father

Concluding Prayer

O God, our Father, who through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin,

made blessed José Maria Fernández and companions

imitators of Christ to the point of shedding blood,

grant us, through their example and their intercession,

to profess faith in word and deed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son

Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

Hymn

Our Lord the path of suffering trod

And since His blood for man hath flowed,

’Tis meet that man should yield to God

The life he owed. Alleluia, Alleluia.

No shame to own the Crucified -

Nay, ’tis our immortality

That we confess our God who died,

And for Him die. Alleluia, Alleluia.

Filled with this thought, with patient smile

All threats the martyr doth withstand,

Fights, Lord, Thy cause, and leans the while

Upon Thine hand. Alleluia, Alleluia.

Beholding his predestined crown,

Into death’s arms he willing goes;

Dying, he conquers death; overthrown,

Overthrows his foes. Alleluia, Alleluia.

Lord, make us Thine own soldiers true

Grant us brave faith, a spirit pure

That for Thy name, Thy cross in view,

We may endure. Alleluia, Alleluia.

Eternal Father of the Word,

Eternal Word, we Thee adore,

Eternal Spirit, God and Lord,

For evermore. Alleluia, Alleluia

Antiphon 1: I will send you like lambs among wolves, Our Lord said to his apostles.

Antiphon 2: Let us give ourselves to God to desire and ensure that the kingdom of God expands within us.

Antiphon 3: Let us give ourselves to Him, so that He may give us the grace to prefer suffering and death itself to the risk of losing His love.

Scripture Reading

1 Peter 4:13-14.

Rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Short Responsory

V. Rejoice in the Lord; rejoice, you righteous ones.

R. Rejoice in the Lord; rejoice, you righteous ones.

V. Faithful of God, shout for joy.

R. Rejoice, you righteous ones.

V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

R. Rejoice in the Lord; rejoice, you righteous ones.

Magnificat Antiphon: Faithful to the point of blood for the name of Christ, they witnessed the Gospel; in the choir of martyrs, they magnify the Lord in heaven

Intercessions

In memory of our martyrs, we ask Christ for participation in the fruit of His salvation. For the world, the Church, and the Vincentian family, we pray:

R. Strengthen, Lord, our service.

Lord, who promised to be with Your Church until the end of time, make Her constant in proclaiming the word and strong in defending human freedom. R.

Jesus our Savior, grant us to complete what is missing from Your passion, that we may share the glory of Your resurrection. R.

Raise authentic messengers of Your word, may they announce Your Gospel to the ends of the earth. R.

Turn Your gaze of goodness to the sick and suffering whom You share in Your cross; may they feel the comfort of Your presence. R.

Transfigure the bodies of our departed into the image of Your glorious body, admitting us one day into the heavenly Jerusalem. R.

Our Father

Concluding Prayer

O God, our Father, who through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin,

made blessed José Maria Fernández and companions

imitators of Christ to the point of shedding blood,

grant us, through their example and their intercession,

to profess faith in word and deed.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son

Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.