Saturday, January 30, 2010
Deposito Of the Alleluia
The season of Septuagesima begins with Vespers this evening.
We do not now deserve
To sing the Alleluia forever;
Guilt forces us
To dismiss you, O Alleluia.
For the time approaches in which
We must weep for our sins.
From Father Francis X. Weiser, S.J. (former pastor of Holy Trinity, Boston), Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs:
The depositio (discontinuance) of the Alleluia on the eve of Septuagesima assumed in medieval times a solemn and emotional note of saying farewell to the beloved song. Despite the fact that Pope Alexander II had ordered a very simple and somber way of "deposing" the Alleluia, a variety of farewell customs prevailed in many countries up to the sixteenth century. They were inspired by the sentiment that Bishop William Duranti (1296) voiced in his commentaries on the Divine Office: "We part from the Alleluia as from a beloved friend, whom we embrace many times and kiss on the mouth, head and hand, before we leave him."
The liturgical office on the eve of Septuagesima was performed in many churches with special solemnity, and alleluias were freely inserted in the sacred text, even to the number of twenty-eight final alleluias in the church of Auxerre in France. This custom also inspired some tender poems that were sung or recited during Vespers in honor of the sacred word. The best known of these hymns is, Alleluia, dulce carmen ("Alleluia, Song of Gladness"), composed by an unknown author of the tenth century. It was translated into English by John Mason Neale (1866) and may be found in the official hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
In some French churches the custom developed in ancient times of allowing the congregation to take part in the celebration of a quasi-liturgical farewell ceremony. The clergy abstained from any role in this popular service. Choirboys officiated in their stead at what was called "Burial of the Alleluia" performed the Saturday afternoon before Septuagesima Sunday. We find a description of it in the fifteenth-century statute book of the church of Toul:
"On Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday all choir boys gather in the sacristy during the prayer of the None, to prepare for the burial of the Alleluia. After the last Benedicamus [i.e., at the end of the service] they march in procession, with crosses, tapers, holy water and censers; and they carry a coffin, as in a funeral. Thus they proceed through the aisle, moaning and mourning, until they reach the cloister. There they bury the coffin; they sprinkle it with holy water and incense it; whereupon they return to the sacristy by the same way."
In Paris, a straw figure bearing in golden letters the inscription "Alleluia" was carried out of the choir at the end of the service and burned in the church yard.
With the exception of these quaint aberrations, however, the farewell to alleluia in most countries was an appropriate addition to the official ceremonies of the liturgy. The special texts (hymns, responsories, antiphons) used on that occasion were taken mostly from Holy Scripture, and are filled with pious sentiments of devotion....
Thus the Alleluia is sung for the last time and not heard again until it suddenly bursts into glory during the Mass of the Easter Vigil when the celebrant intones this sacred word after the Epistle, repeating it three times, as a jubilant herald of the Resurrection of Christ.
1. Alleluia dulce carmen,
Vox perennis gaudii,
Alleluia laus suavis
Est choris coelestibus,
Quam canunt Dei manentes
In domo per saecula.
2. Alleluia laeta mater
Concivis Jerusalem:
Alleluia vox tuorum
Civium gaudentium:
Exsules nos flere cogunt
Babylonis flumina.
3. Alleluia non meremur
In perenne psallere;
Alleluia vo reatus
Cogit intermittere;
Tempus instat quo peracta
Lugeamus crimina.
4. Unde laudando precamur
Te beata Trinitas,
Ut tuum nobis videre
Pascha des in aethere,
Quo tibi laeti canamus
Alleluia perpetim.
We do not now deserve
To sing the Alleluia forever;
Guilt forces us
To dismiss you, O Alleluia.
For the time approaches in which
We must weep for our sins.
From Father Francis X. Weiser, S.J. (former pastor of Holy Trinity, Boston), Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs:
The depositio (discontinuance) of the Alleluia on the eve of Septuagesima assumed in medieval times a solemn and emotional note of saying farewell to the beloved song. Despite the fact that Pope Alexander II had ordered a very simple and somber way of "deposing" the Alleluia, a variety of farewell customs prevailed in many countries up to the sixteenth century. They were inspired by the sentiment that Bishop William Duranti (1296) voiced in his commentaries on the Divine Office: "We part from the Alleluia as from a beloved friend, whom we embrace many times and kiss on the mouth, head and hand, before we leave him."
The liturgical office on the eve of Septuagesima was performed in many churches with special solemnity, and alleluias were freely inserted in the sacred text, even to the number of twenty-eight final alleluias in the church of Auxerre in France. This custom also inspired some tender poems that were sung or recited during Vespers in honor of the sacred word. The best known of these hymns is, Alleluia, dulce carmen ("Alleluia, Song of Gladness"), composed by an unknown author of the tenth century. It was translated into English by John Mason Neale (1866) and may be found in the official hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
In some French churches the custom developed in ancient times of allowing the congregation to take part in the celebration of a quasi-liturgical farewell ceremony. The clergy abstained from any role in this popular service. Choirboys officiated in their stead at what was called "Burial of the Alleluia" performed the Saturday afternoon before Septuagesima Sunday. We find a description of it in the fifteenth-century statute book of the church of Toul:
"On Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday all choir boys gather in the sacristy during the prayer of the None, to prepare for the burial of the Alleluia. After the last Benedicamus [i.e., at the end of the service] they march in procession, with crosses, tapers, holy water and censers; and they carry a coffin, as in a funeral. Thus they proceed through the aisle, moaning and mourning, until they reach the cloister. There they bury the coffin; they sprinkle it with holy water and incense it; whereupon they return to the sacristy by the same way."
In Paris, a straw figure bearing in golden letters the inscription "Alleluia" was carried out of the choir at the end of the service and burned in the church yard.
With the exception of these quaint aberrations, however, the farewell to alleluia in most countries was an appropriate addition to the official ceremonies of the liturgy. The special texts (hymns, responsories, antiphons) used on that occasion were taken mostly from Holy Scripture, and are filled with pious sentiments of devotion....
Thus the Alleluia is sung for the last time and not heard again until it suddenly bursts into glory during the Mass of the Easter Vigil when the celebrant intones this sacred word after the Epistle, repeating it three times, as a jubilant herald of the Resurrection of Christ.
1. Alleluia dulce carmen,
Vox perennis gaudii,
Alleluia laus suavis
Est choris coelestibus,
Quam canunt Dei manentes
In domo per saecula.
2. Alleluia laeta mater
Concivis Jerusalem:
Alleluia vox tuorum
Civium gaudentium:
Exsules nos flere cogunt
Babylonis flumina.
3. Alleluia non meremur
In perenne psallere;
Alleluia vo reatus
Cogit intermittere;
Tempus instat quo peracta
Lugeamus crimina.
4. Unde laudando precamur
Te beata Trinitas,
Ut tuum nobis videre
Pascha des in aethere,
Quo tibi laeti canamus
Alleluia perpetim.
Labels: Septuagesima
Our Blessed Lady's Saturday
Affectionate Salutations to Mary
I greet thee, Mary,
Daughter of God the Father.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother of the Son of God.
I greet thee, Mary,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit.
I greet thee, Mary,
Temple of the Blessed Trinity.
I greet thee, Mary,
White Lily of the resplendent Trinity.
I greet thee, Mary,
Fragrant Rose of the heavenly court.
I greet thee, Mary,
Virgin full of meekness and humility, of whom the
King of Heaven willed to be born and nourished by thy milk.
I greet thee, Mary,
Virgin of virgins.
I greet thee, Mary,
Queen of Martyrs, whose soul was pierced by the sword of sorrows.
I greet thee, Mary,
Lady and Mistress, to whom all power has been given in Heaven and on earth.
I greet thee, Mary,
Queen of my heart, my sweetness, my life and all my
hope.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother most amiable.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother most admirable.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Mother of beautiful love.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Conceived without sin.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women,
and blessed be the Fruit of thy womb.
Blessed be thy spouse,
Saint Joseph.
Blessed be thy father,
Saint Joachim.
Blessed be thy mother,
Saint Anne.
Blessed be thy Angel,
Saint Gabriel.
Blessed be the Eternal Father,
Who has chosen thee.
Blessed be thy Son,
Who has loved thee.
Blessed be the Holy Ghost,
Who has espoused thee.
May all those who love thee bless thee.
O Blessed Virgin, bless us all in the
name of thy dear Son. Amen.
Labels: Our Blessed Lady
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tempus Fugit
Christmas seems like such a pleasant, and recent, memory. But Lent is fast approaching. In fact, Sunday is Septuagesima Sunday and the Deposito of the Alleluia is tomorrow!
It is time to start thinking about what you want to do for Lent. Keep it realistic and you might be able to achieve it.
It is time to start thinking about what you want to do for Lent. Keep it realistic and you might be able to achieve it.
Labels: Septuagesima
Friday At the Foot Of the Cross
I am confounded, O my God, at the sight of my sins and at the ingratitude with which I have treated Thy goodness toward me. I am confounded to think that I have fallen so often and so easily into the same offenses, after having so often and so solemnly promised that I would not commit them anymore. How, indeed, could I ever have brought myself, for the sake of such empty and trifling satisfactions, to rebel against Thee, my God---above all, knowing as well as I do how hateful all sin is in Thy sight and abusing Thy blessings in order to insult Thee? O Father of Mercies, Thou tenderest and best of parents, allow Thy just displeasure against me to be appeased. Punish me not according to the rigor of Thy justice, but in the kindness of Thy compassion, forgive me. Amen.
Labels: Friday At the Foot Of the Cross
Saint Francis de Sales
Here is a brief biography of this great saint of the Counter Reformation and Doctor of the Church.
His An Introduction To the Devout Life, which I read for the first time last year, is a Catholic classic. Here it is in e-text.
You don't really need that St. John's Wort.
One of the principle effects of holy abandonment in God is evenness of spirits in the various accidents of this life, which is certainly a point of great perfection, and very pleasing to God. The way to maintain it is in imitation of the pilots, to look continually at the Pole Star, that is, the Divine Will, in order to be constantly in conformity with it. For it is this will which, with infinite wisdom rightly distributes prosperity and adversity, health and sickness, riches and poverty, honor and contempt, knowledge and ignorance, and all that happens in this life. On the other hand, if we regard creatures without this relation to God, we cannot prevent our feelings and disposition from changing, according to the variety of accidents which occur.
Labels: Our Saintly Brethern
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saint John Chrysostum
Monday, January 25, 2010
Conversion Of Saint Paul
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Third Sunday After Epiphany
From The Liturgical Year, by Abbot Prosper Gueranger, OSB:
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
THE variation of Easter Sunday necessitates almost every year a different arrangement of the Sundays after the Epiphany from that in which they stand in the Missal. Septuagesima often comes in January and the Feast of the Purification is occasionally later than Quinquagesima Sunday; hence the office of these four last Sundays may have to be transferred to another season of the liturgical cycle. We were obliged then to provide for these changes and simplify them for the Faithful by adopting our present plan. We have inserted here the third and fourth Sundays as usually falling in Christmastide, while the office of the fifth and sixth Sundays will be found in the volumes of Septuagesima and the second after Pentecost, this latter season being the one in which they are most frequently kept.
MASS
The Introit represents the Angels of God adoring him on his entrance into this world, as St Paul1explains this passage of the Psalms. The Church celebrates with David the gladness of Sion, and the joy of the daughters of Juda.
INTROIT
Adorate Deum omnes Angeli ejus: audivit et lætata est Sion, et exsultaverunt filiæ Judæ.
Ps. Dominus regnavit, exsultet terra, lætentur insulin multæ. V. Gloria Patri. Adorate.
Adore God, all ye his Angels: Sion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Juda rejoiced.
Ps. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice, let many islands be glad. V. Glory, etc. Adore.
COLLECT
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, infirmitatem nostram propitius respice; atque ad protegendum nos, dexteram turæ majestatis extende. Per Dominum.
O Almighty and Eternal God, mercifully behold our weakness, and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty to protect us. Through, etc.
EPISTLE
Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos.
Cap. XII.
Lesson of the Epistle of St Paul the Apostle to the Romans.
Ch. XII.
Fratres, nolite esse prudentes apud vosmetipsos : nulli malum pro malo reddentes: providentes bona non tantum coram Deo, sed etiam coram omnibus hominibus; si fieri potest, quod ex vobis est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habentes: non vosmetipsos defendentes, carissimi, sed date locum iræ; scriptum est enim; Mihi vindicta, ego retribuam, dicit Dominus. Sed si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum; si sitit, potum da illi: hoc enim faciens, carbones ignis congeres super caput ejus. Noli vinci a malo, sed vince in bono malum.
Brethren, be not wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. If it lie possible, as much as in you, having peace with all men. Not revenging yourselves, my dearly beloved, but give place unto wrath. For it is written: 'Revenge to me, I will repay,' saith the Lord. But 'if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him to drink: for doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.' Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
This love of our neighbour, recommended to us by the Apostle, is a consequence of that universal brotherhood which our Saviour, by his Birth, brought us from heaven. He came to establish peace between heaven and earth; men, therefore, ought to be at peace one with another. Our Lord bids us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil by good:---and did not he first practise this by coming among us, who were children of wrath, that he might make us children of adoption by his humiliations and his sufferings?
In the Gradual, the holy Church again celebrates the coming of Emmanuel, and invites all nations, and all the kings of the earth, to come and praise his holy name.
GRADUAL
Timebunt gentes Nomen tuum, Domine, et omnes reges terræ gloriam tuam.
V. Quoniam ædificavit Dominus Sion, et videbitur in majestate sua.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Dominus regnavit: exsultet terra, lætentur insulæ multæ. Alleluia.
The Gentiles shall fear thy Name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
V. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice; let many islands be glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthæum.
Cap. VIII.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Ch. VIII.
In illo tempore, Cum descendisset Jesus de monte, secutæ sunt eum turbæ multi; et ecce leprosus veniens, adorabat eum dicens: Domine, si vis, potes me mundare. Et extendens Jesus manum, tetigit eum dicens: Volo, mundare. Et confestim mundata est lepra ejus. Et ait illi Jesus: Vide, nemini dixeris; sed vade, ostende te sacerdoti et offer munus, quod præcepit Moyses, in testimonium illis. Cum autem introisset Capharnaum, accessit ad eum centurio, rogans eum et dicens; Domine, puer meus jacet in domo paralyticus, et male torquetur. Et ait illi Jesus: Ego veniam et curabo eum. Et respondens centurio, ait: Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum; sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur puer meus. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me milites, et dico huic: vade, et vadit; et alii: veni, et venit; et servo meo: fac hoc, et facit. Audiens autem Jesus, miratus est, et sequentibus se dixit: Amen dico vobis, non inveni tantam fidem in Israel. Dico autem vobis, quod multi ab oriente et occidente venient, et recumbent cum Abraham et Isaac et Jacob in regno cœlorum; filii autem regni ejicientur in tenebras exteriores: ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. Et dixit Jesus centurioni: Vade, et sicut credidisti, fiat tibi. Et sanatus est puer in illa hora.
At that time, when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him; and behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith to him: See thou tell no man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. And when he had entered unto Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And when Jesus heard this, he marvelled, and said to them that followed him: Amen, I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.
The human race was infected with the leprosy of sin: the Son of God touches it by the mystery of the Incarnation, and restores it to health. But he requires that the sick man, now that he is healed, shall go and show himself to the priest, and comply with the ceremonies prescribed by the law; and this, to show that he allows a human priesthood to co-operate in the work of our salvation. The vocation of the Gentiles, of which the Magi were the first-fruits, is again brought before us in the faith of the centurion. A Roman soldier, and millions like him, shall be reputed as true children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; while they who are the sons of this Patriarch according to the flesh, shall be cast out from the feast-chamber into the gloom of blindness; and their punishment shall be given, as a spectacle to the whole earth.
Let man, then, saved as he has been by the coming of Emmanuel, sing a hymn of praise to the power of God, who has wrought our salvation by the strength of his almighty arm. Man had been sentenced to death; but now that he has God for a Brother, he shall not die: he will live: and could he spend his life better than in praising the works of this God that has saved him?
OFFERTORY
Dextera Domini fecit virtutem, dextera Domini exaltavit me: non moriar, sed vivam, et narrabo opera Domini.
The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me. I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.
SECRET
Hæc hostia, Domine, quæsumus, emundet nostra delicta: et sacrificium celebrandum subditorum tibi corpora, mentesque sanctificet. Per Dominum.
May this offering, O Lord, we beseech thee, cleanse away our sins: and sanctify the bodies and souls of thy servants, to prepare them for worthily celebrating this sacrifice. Through, etc.
. . .
PREFACE
V. Per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
R. Amen.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Sursum corda.
R. Habemus ad Dominum.
V. Gratias agamus Dominum Deo nostro.
R. Dignum et justum est.
Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus. Qui cum unigenito Filio tuo et Spiritu Sancto unus es Deus, unus es Dominus: non in unius singularitate Personæ, sed in unius Trinitate substantiæ. Quod enim de tua gloria, revelante, credimus, hoc de Filio tuo, hoc de Spiritu Sancto, sine differentia discretionis sentimus. Ut in confessione veræ, sempiteræque Deitatis, et in Personis proprietas, et in essentia unitas, et in Majestate adoretur æqualitas. Quam laudant Angeli atque Archangeli, Cherubim quoque ac Seraphim; qui non cessant clamare quotidie una voce dicentes, Sanctus, etc.
V. For ever and ever.
R. Amen.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We have them fixed on God.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.
It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God. Who together with thy Only Begotten Son and the Holy Ghost art one God and one Lord: not in a singularity of one Person, but in a Trinity of one substance. For what we believe of thy glory, as thou hast revealed, the same we believe of thy Son and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference or distinction. So that in the confession of the true and eternal Deity, we adore a distinction in the Persons, a unity in the essence, and an equality in the Majesty. Whom the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim praise, and cease not daily to cry out with one voice, saying, Holy, etc.
After having distributed the Bread of Life, the Church reminds us how the people were in admiration at the words of Jesus. The children of the Church, initiated into all his Mysteries, are at this moment enjoying the effects of that ineffable Word, by means of which the Redeemer has changed the bread into his Body, and the wine into his Blood.
COMMUNION
Mirabantur omnes de his quæ procedebant de ore Dei.
All wondered at the words that came from the mouth of God.
POSTCOMMUNION
Quos tantis, Domine, largiris uti mysteriis, quæsumus ut effectibus nos eorum veraciter aptare digneris. Per Dominum.
We beseech thee, O Lord, that we, to whom thou vouchsafest the use of these great mysteries, may be made truly worthy to receive the benefits thereof. Through, etc.
THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
THE variation of Easter Sunday necessitates almost every year a different arrangement of the Sundays after the Epiphany from that in which they stand in the Missal. Septuagesima often comes in January and the Feast of the Purification is occasionally later than Quinquagesima Sunday; hence the office of these four last Sundays may have to be transferred to another season of the liturgical cycle. We were obliged then to provide for these changes and simplify them for the Faithful by adopting our present plan. We have inserted here the third and fourth Sundays as usually falling in Christmastide, while the office of the fifth and sixth Sundays will be found in the volumes of Septuagesima and the second after Pentecost, this latter season being the one in which they are most frequently kept.
MASS
The Introit represents the Angels of God adoring him on his entrance into this world, as St Paul1explains this passage of the Psalms. The Church celebrates with David the gladness of Sion, and the joy of the daughters of Juda.
INTROIT
Adorate Deum omnes Angeli ejus: audivit et lætata est Sion, et exsultaverunt filiæ Judæ.
Ps. Dominus regnavit, exsultet terra, lætentur insulin multæ. V. Gloria Patri. Adorate.
Adore God, all ye his Angels: Sion heard and was glad, and the daughters of Juda rejoiced.
Ps. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice, let many islands be glad. V. Glory, etc. Adore.
COLLECT
Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, infirmitatem nostram propitius respice; atque ad protegendum nos, dexteram turæ majestatis extende. Per Dominum.
O Almighty and Eternal God, mercifully behold our weakness, and stretch forth the right hand of thy majesty to protect us. Through, etc.
EPISTLE
Lectio Epistolæ beati Pauli Apostoli ad Romanos.
Cap. XII.
Lesson of the Epistle of St Paul the Apostle to the Romans.
Ch. XII.
Fratres, nolite esse prudentes apud vosmetipsos : nulli malum pro malo reddentes: providentes bona non tantum coram Deo, sed etiam coram omnibus hominibus; si fieri potest, quod ex vobis est, cum omnibus hominibus pacem habentes: non vosmetipsos defendentes, carissimi, sed date locum iræ; scriptum est enim; Mihi vindicta, ego retribuam, dicit Dominus. Sed si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum; si sitit, potum da illi: hoc enim faciens, carbones ignis congeres super caput ejus. Noli vinci a malo, sed vince in bono malum.
Brethren, be not wise in your own conceits. To no man rendering evil for evil. Providing good things not only in the sight of God, but also in the sight of all men. If it lie possible, as much as in you, having peace with all men. Not revenging yourselves, my dearly beloved, but give place unto wrath. For it is written: 'Revenge to me, I will repay,' saith the Lord. But 'if thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him to drink: for doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head.' Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.
This love of our neighbour, recommended to us by the Apostle, is a consequence of that universal brotherhood which our Saviour, by his Birth, brought us from heaven. He came to establish peace between heaven and earth; men, therefore, ought to be at peace one with another. Our Lord bids us not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil by good:---and did not he first practise this by coming among us, who were children of wrath, that he might make us children of adoption by his humiliations and his sufferings?
In the Gradual, the holy Church again celebrates the coming of Emmanuel, and invites all nations, and all the kings of the earth, to come and praise his holy name.
GRADUAL
Timebunt gentes Nomen tuum, Domine, et omnes reges terræ gloriam tuam.
V. Quoniam ædificavit Dominus Sion, et videbitur in majestate sua.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Dominus regnavit: exsultet terra, lætentur insulæ multæ. Alleluia.
The Gentiles shall fear thy Name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
V. For the Lord hath built up Sion, and he shall be seen in his glory.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. The Lord hath reigned, let the earth rejoice; let many islands be glad. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Sequentia sancti Evangelii secundum Matthæum.
Cap. VIII.
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Ch. VIII.
In illo tempore, Cum descendisset Jesus de monte, secutæ sunt eum turbæ multi; et ecce leprosus veniens, adorabat eum dicens: Domine, si vis, potes me mundare. Et extendens Jesus manum, tetigit eum dicens: Volo, mundare. Et confestim mundata est lepra ejus. Et ait illi Jesus: Vide, nemini dixeris; sed vade, ostende te sacerdoti et offer munus, quod præcepit Moyses, in testimonium illis. Cum autem introisset Capharnaum, accessit ad eum centurio, rogans eum et dicens; Domine, puer meus jacet in domo paralyticus, et male torquetur. Et ait illi Jesus: Ego veniam et curabo eum. Et respondens centurio, ait: Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum; sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur puer meus. Nam et ego homo sum sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me milites, et dico huic: vade, et vadit; et alii: veni, et venit; et servo meo: fac hoc, et facit. Audiens autem Jesus, miratus est, et sequentibus se dixit: Amen dico vobis, non inveni tantam fidem in Israel. Dico autem vobis, quod multi ab oriente et occidente venient, et recumbent cum Abraham et Isaac et Jacob in regno cœlorum; filii autem regni ejicientur in tenebras exteriores: ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium. Et dixit Jesus centurioni: Vade, et sicut credidisti, fiat tibi. Et sanatus est puer in illa hora.
At that time, when Jesus was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him; and behold a leper came and adored him, saying: Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus stretching forth his hand, touched him, saying: I will, be thou made clean. And forthwith his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus saith to him: See thou tell no man, but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift which Moses commanded for a testimony unto them. And when he had entered unto Capharnaum, there came to him a centurion, beseeching him, and saying: Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, and is grievously tormented. And Jesus saith to him: I will come and heal him. And the centurion making answer, said: Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Come, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. And when Jesus heard this, he marvelled, and said to them that followed him: Amen, I say to you, I have not found so great faith in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into the exterior darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion: Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee. And the servant was healed at the same hour.
The human race was infected with the leprosy of sin: the Son of God touches it by the mystery of the Incarnation, and restores it to health. But he requires that the sick man, now that he is healed, shall go and show himself to the priest, and comply with the ceremonies prescribed by the law; and this, to show that he allows a human priesthood to co-operate in the work of our salvation. The vocation of the Gentiles, of which the Magi were the first-fruits, is again brought before us in the faith of the centurion. A Roman soldier, and millions like him, shall be reputed as true children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; while they who are the sons of this Patriarch according to the flesh, shall be cast out from the feast-chamber into the gloom of blindness; and their punishment shall be given, as a spectacle to the whole earth.
Let man, then, saved as he has been by the coming of Emmanuel, sing a hymn of praise to the power of God, who has wrought our salvation by the strength of his almighty arm. Man had been sentenced to death; but now that he has God for a Brother, he shall not die: he will live: and could he spend his life better than in praising the works of this God that has saved him?
OFFERTORY
Dextera Domini fecit virtutem, dextera Domini exaltavit me: non moriar, sed vivam, et narrabo opera Domini.
The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me. I shall not die, but live, and shall declare the works of the Lord.
SECRET
Hæc hostia, Domine, quæsumus, emundet nostra delicta: et sacrificium celebrandum subditorum tibi corpora, mentesque sanctificet. Per Dominum.
May this offering, O Lord, we beseech thee, cleanse away our sins: and sanctify the bodies and souls of thy servants, to prepare them for worthily celebrating this sacrifice. Through, etc.
. . .
PREFACE
V. Per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
R. Amen.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Sursum corda.
R. Habemus ad Dominum.
V. Gratias agamus Dominum Deo nostro.
R. Dignum et justum est.
Vere dignum et justum est, æquum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus. Qui cum unigenito Filio tuo et Spiritu Sancto unus es Deus, unus es Dominus: non in unius singularitate Personæ, sed in unius Trinitate substantiæ. Quod enim de tua gloria, revelante, credimus, hoc de Filio tuo, hoc de Spiritu Sancto, sine differentia discretionis sentimus. Ut in confessione veræ, sempiteræque Deitatis, et in Personis proprietas, et in essentia unitas, et in Majestate adoretur æqualitas. Quam laudant Angeli atque Archangeli, Cherubim quoque ac Seraphim; qui non cessant clamare quotidie una voce dicentes, Sanctus, etc.
V. For ever and ever.
R. Amen.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
V. Lift up your hearts.
R. We have them fixed on God.
V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R. It is meet and just.
It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, Father Almighty, Eternal God. Who together with thy Only Begotten Son and the Holy Ghost art one God and one Lord: not in a singularity of one Person, but in a Trinity of one substance. For what we believe of thy glory, as thou hast revealed, the same we believe of thy Son and of the Holy Ghost, without any difference or distinction. So that in the confession of the true and eternal Deity, we adore a distinction in the Persons, a unity in the essence, and an equality in the Majesty. Whom the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and Seraphim praise, and cease not daily to cry out with one voice, saying, Holy, etc.
After having distributed the Bread of Life, the Church reminds us how the people were in admiration at the words of Jesus. The children of the Church, initiated into all his Mysteries, are at this moment enjoying the effects of that ineffable Word, by means of which the Redeemer has changed the bread into his Body, and the wine into his Blood.
COMMUNION
Mirabantur omnes de his quæ procedebant de ore Dei.
All wondered at the words that came from the mouth of God.
POSTCOMMUNION
Quos tantis, Domine, largiris uti mysteriis, quæsumus ut effectibus nos eorum veraciter aptare digneris. Per Dominum.
We beseech thee, O Lord, that we, to whom thou vouchsafest the use of these great mysteries, may be made truly worthy to receive the benefits thereof. Through, etc.
Labels: The Liturgical Year
