Marie Anne Vaillot and Odile Baumgarten were Daughters of Charity from the hospital of Saint John of Angers. They were tragically killed during the French Revolution on 1st of February 1794, alongside many other martyrs. Marie Anne Vaillot was born in Fontainebleau on 13th of May 1736, and entered the Company of the Daughters of Charity on 25th of September 1761. Odile Baumgarten, born in Gondrexange in Lorraine on 15th of November 1750, joined the company on 4th of August 1775. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II, along with 94 other martyrs, on 19th of February 1984.
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: These are the saints who surrendered themselves to God's Covenant.
Antiphon 2: Fill us with the plenitude of love.
Antiphon 3: The bodies of God's saints lie buried in peace; they live with God forever.
Scripture Reading
Romans 8:35-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Short Responsory
V. The faithful are friends of God; they will possess him forever.
R. The faithful are friends of God; they will possess him forever.
V. You crowned him with glory and honour.
R. The faithful are friends of God; they will possess him forever.
V. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. The faithful are friends of God; they will possess him forever.
Benedictus Antiphon: Blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice: the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Intercessions
Let us praise Christ in remembrance of the fidelity of sisters Marie-Anne and Odile
as we pray:
R. May the charity of Christ impel us.
We remember with gratitude the grace-filled moments of our lives and ask that our faith may continue steadfast and vibrant. R.
Our two sisters freely embraced death in witness to their faith. Give us the freedom to stand firm in our convictions. R.
As we face opposition and resistance to our belief, may we have the courage to speak the truth and confront the evil of our times. R.
May all those, whose lives have been lost by acts of violence, know the fullness of the peace of Christ. R.
Our Father
Concluding Prayer
O God, You have animated blessed virgins Marie Anne and Odile
with the charity of Christ,
making them generous in the service of the poor,
and ready to give their lives for You;
grant us always to be united with You,
observing the commandment of love,
with our gaze fixed on the crown,
which You keep reserved for Your faithful servants in Your kingdom.
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: They washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb.
Antiphon 2: Those who call on God in their affliction will not be disappointed.
Antiphon 3: Their souls have flown to God like a bird from the hunter's net.
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. O God, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
R. O God, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
V. l delight in your love and saving grace.
R. O God, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
V. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
R. O God, listen to my cry; all my trust is in your promise.
Magnificat Antiphon: The martyrs of Angers clothed themselves with strength and unyielding courage, going forward with blameless hearts.
Intercessions
O God. You inspired the Martyrs of Angers, to follow Christ, who gave his life
we might live. We lift our voices and pray.
R. We praise you, Lord.
For the courage which enables us to embrace our daily sorrows. R.
For those who stand in solidarity and faith with all those who suffer injustice and oppression. R.
For missionaries of the Vincentian family who uproot themselves to serve others in troubled lands, R.
For women everywhere who hold firm to their faith and love in the face of conflicting values. R.
Our Father
Concluding Prayer
O God, You have animated blessed virgins Marie Anne and Odile
with the charity of Christ,
making them generous in the service of the poor,
and ready to give their lives for You;
grant us always to be united with You,
observing the commandment of love,
with our gaze fixed on the crown,
which You keep reserved for Your faithful servants in Your kingdom.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
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