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THE

LITURGICAL YEAR
ABBOT PROSPER GUERANGER, O.5.B.

ADVENT
‘TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH BY

DOM LAURENCE SHEPHERD, O.S.B.

JUBILEE YEAR 2000
LIMITED EDITION

®

LORETO
LoreTo PUBLICATIONS

P.O. Box 603
Fitzwilliam, NH 03447
Phone: (603) 239-6671
Fax: (603) 239-6127

LORETO PUBLICATIONS
The Liturgical Year 15 Volume Set

ISBN: 1-930278-03-9
Volume I — Advent
ISBN:

1-930278-04-7

Printed in the Czech Republic by
Newton Design&Print Ltd (www.newtondp.co.uk)

INTRODUCTION TO THE JUBILEE 2000
SPECIAL EDITION
The reader of these words has in his hands the first

volume of the greatest and most complete work ever writ-

ten about the liturgy of the Catholic Church. This is to speak

of the liturgy — above all, Holy Mass — as celebrated according to the principal historical rite of the Church in the
West, often and incorrectly called the Tridentine.

As is clear from the work itself, it is incorrect to call

the rite Tridentine inasmuch as the Church fathers convened
in the Council of Trent devised or innovated nothing liturgical. All they did was codify tradition and practices with
roots far more ancient than the 16th century. Tracing these
roots is part of what endows the fifteen volumes of The
Liturgical Year with their unique richness.
That richness is owed still more, however, to the ge-

nius and overarching vision of the volumes author, Dom

Prosper Guéranger. It is true that when he died in 1875, the
work was unfinished; it had to be completed by the monks

of Solesmes. Yet, the monks were Dom Guéranger’s spiri-

tual sons. Besides having his notes, they knew his mind, it

was he who had trained them in scholarship as well as litur-

gical practice. In short, they were as one. As a result, it is
impossible to discern where he left off and they took up the

work. The finished product certainly does not read like that

of acommittee. It is nothing like the compendious religious

works to which we have become accustomed in recent de-

cades, such as The Catechism of the Catholic Church, which
usually are the product of a committee, and read like it.

il

INTRODUCTION TO THE JUBILEE EDITION
The Church in France in the 19th century required a

man of genius and great vision like Dom Guéranger to do
all that he accomplished. After all, it was less than fifteen
years before his birth in 1805 that a revolutionary govern-

ment had actually made the Church illegal and thousands

of priests and religious sisters paid with their lives or were

driven into exile for not abjuring the Faith. Four years after
his birth, a French ruler, Napoleon Bonaparte, did not

scruple to make a prisoner of a pope, Pius VII, holding him
in captivity until 1814.

If little could look less promising than a career in the

Church when Dom Guéranger was ordained in 1827, the
task he set himself in 1831 seemed simply impossible. It

was nothing less than re-establishing the Benedictine Order in France, with the little priory of St. Peter in Solesmes

as its center. Yet, by September, 1837, a mere four years

after Dom Guéranger and four other priests took up residence, Pope Gregory XVI elevated the priory into an abbey, constituting it the head of the French Congregation of

the Order of Saint Benedict.

It was a struggle at times simply to keep the abbey open,
but in the end, the work begun in the 1830s did not merely
prosper. So flourishing did it become that by the end of the
20th century, monks of a French daughter-house of Solesmes,

Notre Dame de Fontgombault, would found a monastic com-

munity in our own country. Now the beautiful tones of

Gregorian Chant can be heard in the Oklahoma night.

There was another of Dom Guéranger’s achievements

— probably the one that mattered most to him. When he
was ordained, France was a hodge-podge of diocesan rites,
the legacy of too many years of rampant Gallicanism, and
pure Gregorian Chant no longer existed. Dom Guéranger

fought to have the Roman liturgy substituted for the diocesan ones and lived long enough to see his efforts rewarded
with total success.

INTRODUCTION TO THE JUBILEE EDITION

il

Less successful were his literary labors. He did complete

some works, but others were left unfinished or planned ones
never begun because his gifts as a polemicist were often needed
in defense of the Church’s position in the numerous conflicts
that arose between her and the French state all during the 19th

century — conflicts that would culminate in the years 1901-06

with the expulsion from the country of all religious orders, including the Benedictines, the closure of Catholic schools and

confiscation of Church property. (If the Benedictines have long

since returned to Solesmes, foreigners among them are instructed
to keep their passports— just in case history repeats itself.)
That so much of his other literary work was left unfinished must make Catholics who come to know The Liturgi-

cal Year all the more grateful to have it. This is especially
the case since the work becomes for many an important part

of their spiritual reading not simply for years, but for life.
This is possible due to the way the volumes are organized.
Even with daily reading, not everything in all fifteen can be
read in a year. Beyond that, there is no end to the material,

especially when it comes to the lives of the saints, that asks
to be reread, and then reread again. Dom Guéranger’s volumes resemble great music in this respect. Which musiclover has not heard a piece repeatedly only to hear it, with
one more listening, as if for the first time? The Liturgical

Year is like that when it is made a part of ones life.

There is a dimension of the work that can surprise the
American reader. Political is the only fit word for that dimension. This is to speak of politics, not in terms of parties

or elections, but simply as the means whereby the life of a
society is regulated or governed. Dom Guéranger believed
the means should be Christian because he believed society

itself should be. We Americans may believe our society is

fundamentally Christian, or used to be, but every school-

boy knows we have never had Christian government. That
would be exclusionary.

iv

INTRODUCTION TO THE JUBILEE EDITION

As a consequence, we feature that the real target of

modern revolutionaries, whether in France in 1789 or Russia in 1917, has been the Christian Faith — that they have
overthrown governments in order to get at it.

Dom Guéranger knew this view was wrong, that it was

backwards. He saw what had really happened: that the revolutionaries began their march to power in the 18th century
by first undermining religious belief, including belief in the
very existence of God and, above all, His Incarnation, in

order to dethrone Christ as King of Society. The Christian

political order, not the Christian religion, was their real target. They were determined to replace Christ with them-

selves. Instead of Christian government, there would be

government according to their lights.
To put this another way: If God could be shown as not
to exist — and this was the work of the encyclopedists and

philosophes of the 18th century— He could hardly be seen,
let alone recognized, as the Head of society.

So far have the revolutionaries succeeded that virtu-

ally everywhere today in the formerly Christian West, the
generality of men, including ones who still call themselves

Christian, believe God rules over nothing but Heaven. They

prove it whenever they say, as they do incessantly, that

Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Apparently it does
not occur to them that if Christ does not rule this world, He
simply is not God.

Read faithfully, The Liturgical Year can at least serve
as an aid to the salvation of individuals. If everything the

volumes have to say is taken truly to heart, the work can
also be a guide to the restoration of Christendom whenever

God decides the time for that is arrived.

Washington, DC

Gary Potter

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary, 2000

INTRODUCTION
TrE
needs
both
pious

The

name of Dom Guéranger, abbot of Solesmes,
no recommendation. He has been long known,
in his own country and in England, by his
and edifying works.
work which is now

put within the reach of

those who use only our own language is truly Benedictine in its aim and spirit. The sons of St. Dominie
have attached themselves to the scientific theology

of the Church, and their mission is to cry aloud in the
streets as preachers, and to stand in the breach as

defenders of the faith. The sons of St. Benedict
have a more tranquil mission, within the walls of the
sanctuary, and on the steps of the altar. The Année
Liturgique is the fruit of this interior and peaceful
spirit. It is a prolonged meditation on the wonderful
order of divine worship, which has formed itself

around the presence of the Incarnate Word. It is
the ‘ adoration of the Father in spirit and in truth’ in
the circle of His divine acts for the redemption of the
world. The calendar of the Church renews before
our spiritual and intellectual vision—it may almost
be said before our eyes of sense—the supreme worship
of the ever blessed Trinity, in the communion of the
saints. Into this interior world of heavenly beauty,

v

INTRODUCTION

vi

splendour, and peace, the liturgy of the Church
admits us day by day. And the abbot of Solesmes
has rendered a signal help to all who love this prelude
of a better world, and this avenue to the vision of
peace, by his beautiful and spiritual commentary on
our seasons and solemnities. Our thanks are also

due to the Rev. Father Shepherd, 0.8.B., for the

patience and care with which he has undertaken this
translation.
*+

Loxpox,

HENRY

EDWARD,

Archbishop of Westminster.

Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, 1867.

CONTENTS
craPTER

THE LITURGICAL YEAR
GENERAL

PREFACE

.

Pace

.

.

.

.

.

.21

o

.

.85

1

ADVENT
1. Tue

HISTORY OF ADVENT

.

II. THE MYSTERY OF ADVENT

III. PRACTICE

DURING ADVENT

IV. MORNING

AND

NIGHT

PRAYERS

.

FOR ADVENT

V. Ox HEARING MASS DURING ADVENT
.
VI. Ox HoLy COMMUNION DURING ADVENT

VIL. ON THE OFFICE OF VESPERS

VIIL

ON THE OFFICE OF COMPLINE
PROPER

THE

FIRST

SUNDAY

OF THE

OF ADVENT

DURING ADVENT

DURING ADVENT

.

41

.
.

58
94

.

100

.

123

110

TIME
.

Mass .
5
.
:
.
.
X
Vespers .
Monday of the First Week of Advent
Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Friday of the First Week of Advent
Saturday of the First Week of Advent
vii

.28

.

:
.
.
.
.
.
:
.

. 126
134
. 136
. 139
.3
L7
. 151
. 155

CONTENTS

viii
THE

SECOND

Mass

SUNDAY

.

.

Vespers .

.

Monday of the Second Wnk

.

.

of Advenl

Tuesday of the Second Week of Advent

.

A

Mass

.

.

Vespers .

.

.

.

.17

.

.

.

.

Monday of the Thxd Week ol Advenz
Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent

Wednesday in Ember Week

.

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent
Friday in Ember

Week

Saturday in Ember Week

.

.

Tre FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVERT
Mass

.

Vespers .

.

.

.

163

. 169

Wednesday of the Second Week of Advent
Thursday of the Second Week of Advent .
Friday of the Second Week of Advent
.
Saturday of the Second Week of Advent .

TrE THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

139

.

.

.

OF ADVENT

.

.
.

.

.

.

-

ATT

.
.
.
.

181
186
190
195

.

199

.

202

. 207

.
.

209
212

.

224

230

. 218

.

228

.

.

.

.

.

. 233

.

.

.

236

.

. o241

Novempze30: St. Andrew, Apostle .
5
Drosuszel
.
g
Drcrupss2: St. Bibiana, Virgin and Martyr .

. 27
. 297
. 305

Monday of the Fourt,h Waek of Advunt
.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent .
‘Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent .
Friday of the Fourth Week of Advent
.

PROPER

OF THE

. A3
.ou7
. 250
. 254
. 259

SAINTS

DrceMBER 3: St. Francis Xnvner, Confessor, Apostle of
the Indies

.

.

.

.

.

3

CONTENTS

DEcEMBER4: St. Peter (,‘hr_yso]ogus, Bisl\opnnd Doctor
of the Church

DrcespER 4 : St. Barbara, Virgin and Martyr .

DeceMBER 5: Commemoration of St. Sabas, Abbot *.
DeceMBER 6: St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, and Confessor
o
5
.
.
.
"
DECEMBER 7: St. Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the
Church

=

.

.

.

5

DECEMBER 8: THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF THE
MosT BLESSED VIRGIN

First Vespers .
Mass
Second Vespers

.

&

-

:

DecEMBER 9: Second day within |l|c OMn\c
Immaculate Conception
DecemBer 10: Third day within thz- Octnve

of lhc
of tln:

TImmaculate Conception

DecemBER 10: St. Melchiades, Pope cm(l \l'\rhr

DEcEMBER 10: The Translation of the Holy House of
Loretto
.

Drcemper 10+ St. Elalia, Virgin and Martyr .
DEcemBER 11: St. Damasus, Pope and Confessor

.

DecempER 12: Fifth day within the Octave of the
TImmaculate Conception
.
.
DrcemBER 13: St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr

Drcesser 13: St. Odilia, Virgin and Abbess .

DECEMBER

14: Seventh day within the Octave of the

DxcEMBER

16:

-

TImmaculate Conception
.
DecempER 15: Octave of the Immaculate Conception
Martyr

St. Eusebius,

.

<

Bishop

of Vercelli and

DECEMBER 17: The Cnmmenuemem of |he Greut Anu—

phons

5

DECEMBER 17: O Snpnnzm !

3

.

.

DEceMBER 18: O Adonai/
.
DEcEWBER 18: Tho Expectation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary
5
2
.

x

CONTENTS

DEceMBER
DxcevBER
DEcemBER
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
DEcEMBER

10:
20:
21 :
21 :
22:
23:

O Radix Jesse! .
O Clavis David !
St. Thomas, Apostle
O Oriens !
O Rez Gentium !
O Emmanuel! .

DECEMBER 24 : Christmas Eve

Mass

.

.

.

.

THE

LITURGICAL
GENERAL

YEAR

PREFACE

PrAYER is man’s richest boon. It is his light, his
nourishment, and his very life, for it brings him into
communication with God, who is light,! nourishment,2
and life3 But of oursclves we know not what we
should pray for as we ought ;¢ we must needs, therefore, address ourselves to Jesus Christ, and say to
Him as the apostles did : ¢ Lord, teach us how to

pray.’® He alone can make the dumb speak, and give
eloquence to the mouths of children; and this prodigy
He effects by sendirg His Spirit of grace and of
prayers,® who delights in helping our infirmity, asking
for us with unspeakable groanings.”
Now it is in the holy Church that this divine
Spirit dwells. He came down to her as an impetuous
wind, and manifested Himself to her under the expressive symbol of tongues of fire. Ever since that
day of Pentecost, He has dwelt in this His favoured
bride. He is the principle of everything that is in
her. He it is that prompts her prayers, her desires,
her canticles of praise, her enthusiasm, and even her

mourning. Hence her prayer is as uninterrupted as
her existence. Day and night is her voice sounding
1 8t. John

4 Rom.
7 Rom.

i. 12,

L

3 Ibid. xiv. 6.

® Zach. xii. 10.
1

2

ADVENT

sweetly in the ear of her divine Spouse, and her words
are ever finding a welcome in His Heart.

At one time, under the impulse of that Spirit, who
animated the admirable psalmist and the prophets,
she takes the subject of her canticles from the Books
of the old Testament ; at another, showing herself to
be the daughter and sister of the holy apostles, she

intones the canticles written in the Books of the new

Covenant ; and finally, remembering that she, too,
has had given to her the trumpet and harp, she at
times gives way to the Spirit w}}:eo animates her, and
sings
her own new canticle? From these three
sources comes the divine element which we call the
liturgy.
The prayer of the Church is, therefore, the most
pleasing to the ear and heart of God, and therefore
the most efficacious of all prayers. Happy, then, is
he who prays with the Church, and unites his own
petitions with those of this bride, who is so dear to
her Lord that He gives her all she asks. It is for

this reason that our blessed Saviour taught us to say

our Father, and not my Father ; give us, forgive us,

deliver us, and not give me, forgive me, deliver me.
Hence we find that, for upwards of a thousand years,
the Church, who prays in her temples seven times in

the day and once again during the night, did not

pray alone.

The people kept her company, and fed

themselves with delight on the manna which is hidden
under the words and mysteries of the divine liturgy.
Thus initiated into the sacred cycle of the mysteries

of the Christian year, the faithful, attentive to the
teachings of the Spirit, came to know the secrets of

eternal life ; and, without any further preparation, a

Christian was not unfrequently chosen by the bishops

to be a priest, or even a bishop, that he might go and
pour out on the people the treasures of wisdom and

love, which he had drunk in at the very fountain-head.
1 Ps exliii, 9,

3

GENERAL PREFACE

For whilst prayer said in union with the Church
is the light of the understanding, it is the fire of

divine love for the heart.

The Christian soul neither

needs nor wishes to avoid the company of the Church,

when she would converse with God, and praise His

eatness and His mercy. She knows that the company of the bride of Christ could not be a distraction
to her.

Is not the soul herself a part of this Church,

which is the bride?

Has not Jesus Christ said :

“Father, may they be one, as We also are one’ #* And,

when many are gathered in His name, does not this
same Saviour assure us that He is in the midst of
them %2 The soul, therefore, may converse freely
with her God, who tells her that He is so near her;

she may sing praise, 23 David did, in the sight of the

angels,® whose eternal prayer blends with the prayer

which the Church utters in time.
But now for many ages past, Christians have grown
too solicitous about earthly things to frequent the
holy vigils, and the mystical Hours of the day. Long
before the rationalism of the sixteenth century had

become the auxiliary of the heresies of that period by

curtailing the solemnity of the divine service, the
people had ceased to unite themselves exteriorly with
the prayer of the Church, except on Sundays and
festivals.

During the rest of the year, the solemn

and imposing grandeur of the liturgy was gone
through, and the people took no share in it. Kach
new generation increased in indifference for that
which their forefathers in the faith had loved as their
best and strongest food. Social prayer was made to
give way to individual devotion. Chanting, which is
the natural expression of the prayers and even of the
sorrows of the Church, became limited to the solemn

feasts. That was the first sad revolution in the
Christian world.
But even then Christendom was still rich in
1 8t, John xvii. 11.

2 St. Matt. xviii. 20.

3 Ps, exxyvii, 1.

ADVENT

4

churches and monasteries; and there, day and night.

was still heard the sound of the same venerable
prayers which the Church had used through all the
past ages. So many hands lifted up to God drew
down upon the earth the dew of heaven, averted

storms, and won victory for those who were in battle.

These servants of God, who thus kept up an untiring
choir that sang the divine praises, were considered as
solemnly deputed by the people, which was still
Catholic, to pay the full tribute of homage and thanks-

giving due to God, His blessed Mother, and the saints.

These prayers formed a treasury which belonged to
all. The faithful gladly united themselves in spirit
to what was done. When any affliction, or the desire

to obtain a special favour, led them to the house of
God, they were sure to hear, no matter at what hour

they went, that untiring voice of prayer which was
for ever ascending to heaven for the salvation of
mankind. At times they would give up their worldly

business and. cares, and take part in the Office of the
Church, and all still understood, at least in a general

way, the mysteries of the liturgy.
Then

came

the so-called reformation, and

at the

outset it attacked the very life of Christianity : it

would put an end to man’s sacrifice of praise to God.

It strewed many countries with the ruins of churches :

the clergy,

the

monks,

and virgins consecrated

to

God were banished or put to death; and in the
churches which were spared the divine Offices were not
permitted. In other countries, where the persecution
was not so violent, many sanctuaries were devastated

and irremediably ruined, so that the life and voice of

prayer grew faint. Faith, too, was weakened ; rationalism became fearfully developed ; and now our own
age seems threatened with what is the result of these
evils—the subversion of all social order.
For, when the reformation had abated the violence
of its persecution, it had other weapons wherewith to

GENERAL PREFACE

5

attack the Church. By these several countries which
continued to be Catholic were infected with that
spirit of pride which is the enemy of prayer. The
modern spirit would have it that prayer is not action ;

as though every good action done by man were not a
gift of God : a gift which implies two prayers, one of

petition that it may be granted, and another of
thanksgiving because it is granted. There were found
men who said : ‘ Let us abolish all the festival days
of God from the earth ;! and then came upon us that
calamity which brings all others with it, and which

the good Mardochai besought God to avert from his

nation, when he said : ¢ Shut not, O Lord, the mouths

of them that sing to Thee 2

But by the mercy of God we have not been con-

sumed ;3 there have been left remnants of Israel ;4

and the number of believers in the Lord has increased.®
What is it that has moved the heart of our God to
bring about this merciful conversion ?
Prayer, which

had been interrupted, has been resumed.

Numerous

choirs of virgins consecrated to God, and, though far

less in number, of men who have left the world to
spend themselves in the divine praises, make the voice

of the turtle-dove heard in our land.® This voice is
every day gaining more power : may it find acceptance
from our Lord, and move Him to show the sign of His

covenant

with

us,

the

rainbow

of reconciliation !

May our venerable cathedrals again re-echo those
solemn formule of prayer, which heresy has so long
suppressed ! May the faith and munificence of the
faithful reproduce the prodigies of those past ages,
which owed their greatness to the acknowledgement
paid by all, even the very civic authorities, to the allpowerfulness of prayer !
But this liturgical prayer would soon become
powerless were the faithful not to take a real share

1 Pe. Ixxiif, 8.
¢ In. x. 20-22.

3 Bstherifi. 17.

§ Acts v. 14.

3 Lam. ili. 2.

© Caat.
ii. 12.

ADVENT

6

in it, or at least not to associate themselves to it in

heart.

It can heal and save the world, but only on

the condition that it be understood.

Be wise, then,

e children of the Catholic Church, and obtain that

geness of heart which will make you pray the

rayer of your mother. Come, and by your share in
it fill up that harmony which is so sweet to the ear
Where would you obtain the spirit of prayer
of God.
if not at its natural source ? Let us remind you of
the exhortation of the apostle to the first Christians :
“ Let the peace of Christ rejoice in your hearts; let the
word of Christ dwell in you abundantly, in all wisdom ;
teaching and admonishing one another, in psalms,
hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing in grace in
your hearts to God.”*
For a long time, a remedy has been devised for an
evil which was only vaguely felt. The spirit of prayer,
and even prayer itself, has been sought for in methods
and prayer-books, which contain, it is true, laudable,

, pious thoughts, but after all only human thoughts.

uch nourishment cannot satisfy the soul, for it does

not initiate her into the prayer of the Church. Instead of uniting her with the prayer of the Church,
it isolates her. Of this kind are so many of those
collections of prayers and reflections, which have been
Eublished under different titles during the last two

undred years, and by which it was intended to edify

the faithful, and suggest to them, either for hearing
Mass, or going to the Sacraments, or keeping the

feasts of the Church, certain more or less common-

place considerations and acts, always drawn up
according to the manner of thought and sentiment
Eeculiar to the author of each book. Each manual
ad consequently its own way of treating these important subjects. To Christians already formed to
piety, such books as these would, indeed, serve a pur-

Ppose, especially as nothing better was offered to them ;
1 Col. iii. 15, 16.

GENERAL PREFACE

7

but they had not influence sufficient to inspire with the
spirit of prayer such as had not otherwise received it.
It may perhaps be objected that, were all practical
books of Christian piety to be reduced to mere expla-

nations

of the liturgy,

we

should run

the

risk

of

impoverishing, and even destroying, by excessive
formalities, the spirit of prayer and contemplation,
which is such a precious gift of the Holy Ghost to the
Church of God.

To this we answer, firstly, that by

asserting the immense superiority of liturgical over
individual prayer, we do not say that individual
methods should be suppressed ; we would only wish
them to be kept
in their proper place. Then secondly,
we answer that in the divine psalmody there are
several degrees: the lowest are mear enough to the
earth to be reached by souls that are still plodding
in the fatigues of the purgative way; but in proportion as a soul ascends this mystic ladder, she feels
herself illuminated by & heavenly ray; and still
higher, she finds union and rest in the sovereign Good.
‘Whence, for instance, did the holy doctors of the
early ages, and the venerable patriarchs of the desert,
acquire their spiritual knowledge and tender devotion, of which they have

left us such treasures in

their writings and their works ? It was from those
long hours of psalmody, during which truth, simple
yet manifold, unceasingly passed before the eyes of
their soul, filling it with streams of light and love.
‘What was it that gave to the seraphic Bernard that
wonderful unction, which runs in streams of honey

through all his writings ? To the author of the Ims-

tation of Christ that sweetness, that hidden manna,

which seems ever fresh 2 To Louis Blosius, that inexpressible charm and tenderness which mové the
heart of every reader ? It was the daily use of the
liturgy, in the midst of which they spent their days,
intermingling their songs of joy with those of their

Sorrow.

ADVENT

8

Let not then the soul, the bride of Christ, that is
possessed with a love of prayer, be afraid that her
thirst cannot be quenched by these rich streams of
the liturgy, which now flow calmly as a streamlet,
now roll with the loud impetuosity of a torrent, and
now swell with mighty heavings of the sea. Let her
come and drink this clear water which springeth up
unto life everlasting ;! for this water flows from the
very fountains of her Saviour;? and the Spirit of God

animates it by His virtue, rendering it sweet and
refreshing to the panting stag.® Neither let a soul
that is in love with the charms of contemplation be
afraid of the pomp and harmony of the chants of
liturgical prayer, as though they could distract her ;
for what is this soul herself but an instrument of har-

mony responding to the touch of that divine Spirit

who possesses her 2

Would she, when she wishes to

enjoy the heavenly interview, comport herself differently from the royal psalmist himself, that model of
all true prayer, recognized as such by God and the

Church ? Yet he, when he would enkindle the sacred
flame within his breast, has recourse to his harp :

‘My heart is ready,” he says; ‘O God, my heart is

ready ; T will sing, T will give forth & psalm, Arise,

my glory ! arise, psaltery and harp! I will arise in
the morning earfi’. I will praise Thee, O Lord,
among the people ; and I will sing unto Thee among
the nations. For Thy mercy is great above the
heavens, and Thy truth even unto the clouds™ At

other

times,

if, in the

interior recollection

of the

senses, he have entered into the powers of the Lord,s

then, in his meditation, a fire flameth out,® a fire of

holy excitement ; and, to assuage the heat which
is burning within him, he bursts out into another
canticle, saying : ¢ My heart hath uttered a good word ;
I speak my works to the King’; and publishes again
1 8t. John iv. 14.

¢ Pa. cvil. 2:5.

2 Ia. xii. 3,

©.-Zbid. 1xx. 16,

3 Ps. xli. 2.

© Ibid. xxxviii. 4.

GENERAL

PREFACE

9

and again the beauty and victories of the Bridegroom,
and the graces of the bride.! So true is it, that for
contemplative souls liturgical prayer is both the
principle ard the consequence of the visits they
receive from God.
But in nothing is the excellency of the liturgy so

apparent, as in its being milk for children, and solid’

food for the strong; thus resembling the miraculous
bread of the desert, and taking every kind of taste
according to the different dispositions of those who
eat. It 1s, indeed, a divine property, which has not
unfrequently been noticed even by those who are not

of the true fold, and has forced them to acknowledge

that the Catholic Church alone knows the secret of
prayer. Nay, might it not be said that the reason that
the Protestants have no ascetic writers, is that they
have no real liturgical prayer ? It is true that a sufficient explanation of the absolute want of unction,
which characterizes all that the reformation has produced, is to be found in its denying the holy Sacrament

of the Eucharist,

which

is the centre

of all

religion : but this is virtually the same as saying that
Protestants have no liturgical prayer, inasmuch as
the liturgy is so essentially and intimately connected

with the Eucharist.

So true is this, that wheresoever

the dogma of the real Presence has ceased to be
believed, there also have the canonical Hours ceased,
and could not but cease.
It is therefore Jesus Christ Himself who is the
source as well as the object of the liturgy ; and hence

the ecclesiastical year, which we have undertaken to
explain in this work, is neither more nor less than the

manifestation of Jesus Christ and His mysteries, in
the Church and in the faithful soul. It is the divine
cycle, in which appear all the works of God; each in
its turn : the seven days of the creation ; the Pasch
and Pentecost of the Jewish people; the ineffable
1 Ps. xliv. 2,

10

ADVENT

visit of the Incarnate Word ; His sacrifice and His
victory ; the descent of the Holy Ghost; the holy

Eucharist ; the surpassing glories of the Mother of
God, ever a Virgin ; the magnificence of the angels;
the merits and triumphs of the saints. Thus the
cycle of the Church may be said to have its beginning
under the patriarchal Law, its progress under the
written Law,

and its completion under the Law

of

love, in which, at length, having attained its last perfection, it will disappear in eternity, as the written
Law gave way the day on which the invincible power
of the Blood of the Lamb rent asunder the veil of
the temple.
Would that we might worthily describe the sacred
wonders of this mystical calendar, of which all others

are but images and humble auxiliaries!

Happy in-

deed should we deem ourselves, if we could make the

faithful understand the grand glory which is given to

the blessed Trinity, to our Saviour, to Mary, to the
angels, and to the saints, by this annual commemoration of the wondrous works of our God ! If, every

year, the Church renews her youth as that of the

eagle,! she does so because, by means of the cycle of

the liturgy, she is visited by her divine Spouse, who
supplies all her wants. Each year she again sees Him

an Infant in the manger, fasting in the desert, offering

Himself on the cross, rising from the grave, founding

His Church, instituting the Sacraments, ascending to
the right hand of His Father, and sending the Holy
Ghost upon men. The graces of all these divine
mysteries are renewed in her; so that, being made
fruitful in every good thing, the mystic garden yields

to the Spouse, 1n every season, under the influence of

the Spirit He breathes into her, the sweet perfume of

aromatic spices.? Each year the Spirit of God retakes possession of His well-beloved and gives her
light and love ; each year she derives an increase of
1 Pa. cil. 5.

2 Cant.
iv. 16.

GENERAL PREFACE

11

life from the maternal influence which the blessed
Virgin exercises over her, on the feasts of her joys, her

dolours, and her glories ; and lastly, the brilliant con-

stellation formed by the successive appearance of the
nine choirs of the angels, and of the saints in their

varied

orders

of apostles,

martyrs, confessors,

and

virgins, sheds on her, each year, powerful help and
abundant consolation.
Now, what the liturgical year does for the Church

at large, it does also for the soul of each one of the

faithful that is careful to receive the gift of God.
This succession of mystic seasons imparts to the

Christian the elements of that supernatural life, without which every other life is but a sort of death, more
or less disguised. Nay, there are some souls, so far
acted upon by the divine succession of the Catholic
cycle, that they experience even a physical effect
from each evolution : the supernatural life has gained
ascendancy over the natural, and the calendar of the
Church makes them forget that of astronomers.
Let the Catholic who reads this work be on his guard
s%:inst that coldness of faith, and that want of love,
which have well-nigh turned into an object of indifference that admirable cycle of the Church, which

heretofore was, and always ought to be, the joy of
the people, the source of light to the learned, and the
book of the humblest of the faithful.

The reader will rightly infer, from what we have
said, that the object we have in view is not, in any

way, to publish some favourite or clever method of

our own with regard to the mysteries of the ecclesiastical year, nor to make them subjects for eloquence,

philosophy, or intellectual fancy. - We have but one

aim, and we humbly ask of God that we may attain

it; it is to serve as interpreter to the Church, in

order thus to enable the faithful to follow her in her

Erayer of each mystic season, nay, of each day and
our. God forbid that we should ever presume to

ADVENT

12

put our human thoughts side by side with those which
our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Wisdom of God,
dictates by the Holy Ghost to His well-beloved bride
the Church ! All that we would do is to show what is

the spirit which the Holy Ghost has put into each

of the several periods of the liturgical year ; and for
this purpose, to study attentively the most ancient
and venerable liturgies, and embody in our explanation the sentiments of the holy fathers and the oldest
and most approved liturgists. With these helps, we

hope to give to the faithful the flowers of ecclesiastical
prayer, and thus unite, as far as possible, practical

usefulness with the charm of variety.

In this work we shall lay great stress on the cultus

of the saints, inasmuch

as it is always needed, but

now more than ever. Devotion to the adorable
Person of our Saviour has revived amongst us with a
vigorous development ; devotion to our blessed Lady
has- wonderfully spread and increased ; let the saints
also receive our honour and our confidence, and then

the last traces of the unhappy spirit introduced by

Jansenism will disappear. But, since we cannot introduce all the saints into our calendar, we shall limit
ourselves,

almost

exclusively,

to those

inserted

in

that of Rome.
Nevertheless, the Roman liturgy is not the only
one we intend to give ; though of course it will be the
most prominent, as being the very basis of our ‘ Liturgical Year.” The Ambrosian, the Gallican, the Gothic
or Mozarabic, the Greek, the Armenian, the Syriac

liturgies will, each in its turn, give us of their riches
and form our treasury of prayers; and thus, never
will the voice of the Church have been fuller and
more impressive. The western Churches, during the
middle ages, have inserted into the liturgy of some of
the feasts Sequonces so admirable for their unction
and doctrine, that we shall consider it a duty to give
them to the faithful as often as occasion serves.

GENERAL PREFACE

13

The plan we shall follow in the several volumes of
this ¢ Liturgical Year’ will depend upon the subjects
which must be treated of in each.
Everything
that relates to the merely scientific bearing of the
liturgy, will be rescrved for our ‘ Liturgical Institu-

tions.” The present work will be limited to those
details, which the faithful must necessarily understand in order to enter into the spirit of the Church
during the several mystic seasons of the year. The
sacred formule will be explained and adapted to the
use of the laity by means of a commentary, in which
we shall endeavour to avoid both the imprudence of a

literal translation, and the dulness of a tedious and

insipid paraphrase.

Since, as we have already said, pur aim is to present

to the faithful the most solid and useful portions of

the liturgies, we have excluded from our selection all

such as seemed to us not to answer our purpose.
This observation refers mainly to the portions selected
from the Offices of the Greek Church.
Nothing is
finer and more impressive than this liturgy, when
read in chosen extracts ; but nothing is so disappointing when taken as a whole. The monotony of phrases
is insupportable, and the endless repetitions of the
same idea spoil the real unction contained init. We
have therefore selected only the richest flowers of this
over-stocked garden: more than these would have
been a burden. These remarks apply especizlly to
the Menca and Anthologia of the Greek Church. The
liturgical books of the other eastern Churches are
generally drawn up with better taste and more discretion.
In order to conform with the wishes of the holy See,
we do not give, in any of the volumes of our ‘ Liturgical Year, the literal translation of the Ordinary
and Canon of the Mass ; we have in its place endeavoured to give, to such of the laity as do not under-

stand Latin, the means of uniting in the closest pos-

ADVENT

14

sible manner with everything that the priest says and

does at the altar.
The first part of the ‘ Liturgical Year’ is devoted
to Advent. The second contains the explanation of
the divine service from Christmas to the Purification.
The third takes us from the Purification as far as

Lent,

and

is

called

‘Septuagesima.’

The

fourth

comprises the four first weeks of Lent. The fifth consists of Passion-week and Holy Week.
The sixth
includes the time of Easter. The seventh will explain
the Office of the Church from the feast of the most

holy Trinity to the end of the time after Pentecost.

The year thus planned for us by the Church herself
produces a drama the sublimest that has ever been
offered to the admiration of man. God intervening
for the salvation and sanctification of men ; the reconciliation of justice with mercy ; the humiliations,
the sufferings, and the glorics of the God-Man ; the

coming of the Holy

Ghost, and His workings in

humanity and in the faithful soul; the mission and

the action of the Church—all are there portrayed in
the most telling and impressive way. Each mystery
has its time and place by means of the sublime succession of the respective anniversaries. A divine fact
happened nineteen hundred years ago; its anniversary is kept in the liturgy, and its impression is thus
reiterated every year in the minds of the faithful,
with a freshness, as though God were then doing for
the first time what He did so many ages past. Human
ingenuity could never have devised a system of such
power as this. And those writers who are bold and
frivolous enough to assert that Christianity has no
longer an influence in the world, and is now but the

ruin of an ancient thing—what would they say at
sceing these undying realities, this vigour, this end-

lessness of the liturgical year? For what is the
liturgy, but an untiring afiirmation of the works of
God ? a solemn acknowledgement of those divine

GENERAL PREFACE

15

facts, which, though done but once, are imperishable

in man’s remembrance,

and are every

year renewed

by the commemoration he makes of them ? Have
we not our writings of the nfostoh'c age, our acts of
the martyrs, our decrees of ancient Councils, our
writings of the fathers, our monuments, taking us to
the very origin of Christianity, and testifying to the
most explicit tradition regarding our feasts ? It is
true that the liturgical cycle has its integrity and its
development nowhere but in the Catholic Church ;
but the sects which are separated from her, whether

by schism or by heresy, all pay the homage of their
testimony to the divine origin of the liturgy by the
pertinacity with which they cling to the remnants
they have preserved—remnants, by the way, to which
they owe whatever vitality they still retain.
But though the liturgy so deeply impresses us by
annually bringing before us the dramatic solemnization of those mysteries which have been accomplished
for the salvation of man and for his union with hie
God, it is nevertheless wonderful how the succession
of year after year diminishes not one atom of the

freshness and vehemence of those impressions,

and

each new beginning of the cycle of mystic seasons
seems to be our first year. Advent is ever impregnated with the spirit of a sweet and mysterious expectation. Christmas ever charms us with the incomparable joy of the birth of the divine Child. We

enter, with the well-known feeling, into the gloom of
Septuagesima. Lent comes, and we prostrate our
selves before God’s justice, and our heart is filled wit}

a salutary fear and compunction, which seem so muck
keener than they were the year before. The Passior

of our Redeemer, followed in every
does it not seem as though we never
year ? The pageant of Easter makes
our former Easters appear to have
kept. The triumphant Ascension

minutest detail
knew it till thi
us so glad, tha
been only hal
discloses to us

ADVENT

16

upon the whole economy of the Incarnation, secrets
which we never knew before this year. When the
Holy

Ghost comes down

at Pentecost,

is it not the

case that we so thrill with the renewal of tho great
Presence that our emotions of last Whit Sunday seem
too tame for this? However habituated we get to
the ineffable gift which Jesus made us on the eve of
His Passion, the bright dear feast of Corpus Christi
brings a strange increase of love to our heart; and
the blessed Sacrament seems more our own thar ever.
The feasts of our blessed Lady come round, each time

revealing something more of her greatness; and the
saints—with whom we fancied we had become so
thoroughly acquainted—each year as they visit us,
seem so much grander,

we understand them better,

we feel more sensibly the link there is between them
and ourselves.
This renovative power of the liturgical year, to
which we wish to draw the attention of our readers,

is a mystery of the Holy Ghost, who unceasingly
animates the work which He has inspired the Church
to establish among men ; that thus they might sanctify that time which has been given to them for the
worship of their Creator.

The renovation works also

a twofold growth in the mind of man : the increase of
knowledge of the truths of faith, and the development
of the supernatural life. There is not a single point
of Christian doctrine which, in the course of the
liturgical year, is not brought forward, nay, is not
inculcated with that authority and unction where-

with our holy mother the Church has so deeply im-

regnated her words
ith of the believer
more each year ; the
him ; prayer leads him

and her eloquent rites. The
is thus enlightened more and
theological sensus is formed in
to science. Mysteries continue

to be mysteries; but their brightness becomes so
vivid, that the mind and heart are enchanted, and we

begin to imagine what a joy the eternal sight of thesc

GENERAL PREFACE

17

divine beauties will produce in us, when the glimpse

of them through the clonds is such & charm to us.
Yes, there must needs be a great progress in a Christian uoul when the objeot of her faith is ever gaining
greater hghe when the hope of her salvation is
almost forced upon her by the sight of all those
wonders which God’s goodness has wrought for His
creatures ; and when charity is enkindled within her

under the breath of the Holy Ghost, who has made
the lity
to be the centre of His working in men’s
souls,
not the formation of Christ within us! the
result of our uniting in His various mysteries, the
joyful, the sorrowful, and the glorious?
These
mysteries of Jesus come into us, are incorporated into
us each year, by the
power of the special
grace which
the liturgy pxof\uoesgzy communicating them to us :
the new man gradually grows up, even on the ruins
of the old. Then again, in order that the divine type
may the more easily be stamped upon us, we need
examples ; we want to see how our fellow-men have
realized that type in themselves : and the liturgy fulfils
this need for us, by offering us the practical teaching
and the encouragement of our dear saints, who shine
like stars in the firmament of the eoclesiastical year.
By looking upon them we come to learn the wa;
whlch leads to Jesus, just as Jesus is our Way whicl
leads to the Father. But above all the saints, and
bnghtet than them all, we have Mary, showing
us, in
her single
n, the "Mirror of Justice in which is
reflected all the slnetity possible in a pure creature.:

Finally, the * Liturgical Year,’ the plan of which
we have been explaining, will bring continually before
us the sublimest poetry that the human mind has
conceived. Nut only will it enable us to understand
the rhme songs of David and the prophets, on which
the h
has formed her own ; but the cycle
l{m
from the Church, according as the different
1 Gal. iv. 19.

2

ADVENT

18

seasons and feasts come round, canticles and hymns

the finest, the sublimest, and the worthiest of the
We shall hear the several countries, united
subject.

as they are in one common faith, pouring forth their
admiration and love in accents, wherein are blended
the most perfect harmony of thought and sentiment
with the most marked diversity of genius and expression. We exclude from our collection, as duty requires we should, certain modern compositions which
had too close a resemblance to pagan literature, and
which, as they had not received the sanction of the
Church’s acceptance, were likely to be short-lived :
but the productions of liturgical genius, no matter of
what age in the Church, are Xrofusely admitted ; from
Sedulius

and

Prudentius,

down

to Adam

of Saint

Victor and his contemporaries, for the Latin Church ;

and from Saint Ephrem, down to the latest Catholic

Byzantine hymnologists, for the Greek Church. A
rich vein of poetry will be found as well in the prayers
which have been composed in simple prose, as in
those which are presented to us in the garb of measure
and rhythm. Poetry, being the only language adequate to the sublime thought which is to be expressed,
is to be found everywhere in the liturgy, as it is in the
inspired writings ; and a complete collection of the
formule of public prayer would be, at the same time,
the richest selection of Christian poetry, of that
poetry which sings on earth the mysteries of heaven
and prepares us for the canticles of eternity.
In concluding this General Preface, we beg to remind our readers, that in a work like the present, the

success of the writer is absolutely dependent upon the

holy Spirit, who breatheth where

He

willeth,! and

that the most which man can do is to plant and water.2
We venture therefore to ask the children of the
Church, who desire to see her prayer loved and used
above all others, to aid us by recommending our work
1 8t. John iii. 8.

2 1 Cor. iii. 6.

GENERAL PREFACE
to God, that so our unworthiness

19
may

not be an

obstacle to what we have undertaken, and which we
feel to be so much above our strength.
‘We have only to add that we submit our work, both

in its substance and its form, to the sovereign and
infallible judgement of the holy Roman Church, which
alone is the guardian both of the words of eternal
life, and of the secret of prayer.

ADVENT
CHAPTER

THE

FIRST

THE HISTORY OF ADVENT
THE name Advent® is applied, in the Latin Church,
to that period of the year, during which the Church
requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of
the feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth
of Jesus Christ. The mystery of that great day had
every right to the honour of being prepared for by
prayer and works of penance ; and, n fact, it is im-

possible to state, with any certainty, when this season
of preparation (which had long been observed before
receiving its present name of Advent) was first instituted.

It would seem, however, that its observance

first began in the west, since it is evident that Advent
could not have been looked on as a preparation for
the feast of Christmas, until that feast was definitively

fixed to the twenty-fifth of December;

which

was

done in the east only towards the close of the fourth
century ; whereas it is certain that the Church of Rome

kept the feast on that day at a much earlier period.
We must look upon Advent in two different lights :
first, as a time of preparation, properly so called, for
the birth of our Saviour, by works of penance : and
secondly, as & series of ecclesiastical Offices drawn

up for the same purpose. We find, as far back as
the fifth century, the custom of giving exhortations
From the Latin word A‘wefi\ltw. ‘which signifies a coming.

22

ADVENT

to the people in order to prepare them for the feast
of Christmas. We have two sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin on this subject, not to speak of several
others which were formerly attributed to St. Ambrose
and St. Augustine, but which were probably written
by St. Cesarius of Arles. If these documents do not

tell us what was the duration and what the exercises

of this holy season, they at least show us how ancient
was the practice of distinguishing the time of Advent
by special sermons.

Saint Ivo of Chartres, St. Ber-

nard, and several other doctors of the eleventh and

twelfth centuries, have left us set sermons de Adventu
Domini,

quite

distinct from

on the Gospels of that season.

their Sunday

homilies

1In the capitularia of

Charles the Bald, in 846, the bishops admonish that

prince not to call them away from their Churches

during Lent or Advent, under pretext of affairs of the
State or the necessities of war, seeing that they

special duties

to fulfil, and particularly

preaching during those sacred times.

have

that of

The oldest document in which we find the length

and exercises of Advent mentioned with anything
like clearness, is a passage in the second book of the
History of the Franks by St. Gregory of Tours, where
he says that St. Perpetuus, one of his predecessors,
who held that see about the year 480, had decreed

a fast three times a week, from the feast of St. Martin

until Christmas. It would be impossible to decide
whether St. Perpetuus, by his regulations, established
a new custom, or merely enforced an already existing
law. Let us, however, note this interval of forty, or
rather of forty-three days, so expressly mentioned,
and consecrated to penance, as though it were a second
Lent, though less strict and severe than that which

precedes Easter.
Later on, we find the ninth canon

of the first

Council of Mécon, held in 582, ordaining that durin;
the same interval between St. Martin’s day ms

HISTORY

OF ADVENT

23

Christmas, the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,

should be fasting days, and that the Sacrifice should
rite.

Not

from the beginning of December till Christmas.

This

be celebrated

according

to the lenten

many years before that, namely in 567, the second
Council of Tours had enjoined the monks to fast

practice of penance soon extended to the whole forty
days, even for the laity : and it was commonly called

St. Martin’s Lent. The capitularia of Charlemagne,
in the sixth book, leave us no doubt on the matter ;
and Rabanus Maurus, in the second
Institution of clerics, bears testimony

servance.

book of his
to this ob-

There were even special rejoicings made

on St. Martin’s feast, just as we see them practised

now at the approach of Lent and Easter.

The obligation of observing this Lent, which, though

introduced so imperceptibly, had by degrees acquired

the force of a sacred law, began to be relaxed, and

the forty days from St. Martin’s day to Christmas
were reduced to four weeks. We have seen that this
fast began to be observed first in France ; but thence
it spread into England, as we find from Venerable
Bede’s history ; into Italy, as appears from a diploma
of Astolphus, king of the Lombards, dated 753 ; into
Germany, Spain, &c., of which the proofs may be seen
in the learned work of Dom Martene, On the ancient

vites of the Church.

The first allusion

to Advent’s

being reduced to four weeks is to be found in the
ninth century, in a letter of Pope St. Nicholas I to the
Bulgarians. The testimony of Ratherius of Verona,

and of Abbo of Fleury, both writers of the tenth
century, goes also to prove that, even then, the ques-

tion of reducing the duration of the Advent fast by
one-third was seriously entertained. It is true that
St. Peter Damian, in the cleventh century, speaks
of the Advent fast as still being for forty days; and
that St. Louis, two centuries later, kept it for that
length of time ; but as far as this holy king is con-

ADVENT

24
cerned,

it is

probable

that

it was

only

his

own

devotion which prompted him to this practice.
The discipline of the Churches of the west, after

having reduced the time of the Advent fast, so far
relented, in a few years, as to change the fast into a

simple abstinence ; and we even find Councils of the
twelfth century, for instance Selingstadt in 1122, and
Avranches in 1172, which seem to require only the

clergy to observe this abstinence.

The Council of

Salisbury, held in 1281, would seem to expect none
but monks to keep it. On the other hand (for the
whole subject is very confused, owing, no doubt, to
there never having been any uniformity of discipline
regarding it in the western Church), we find Pope
Innocent III, in his letter to the bishop of Braga,
mentioning the custom of fasting during the whole

of Advent, as being at that time observed in Rome ;

and Durandus, in the same thirteenth century, in his
Ration.l on the Divine Offices, tells us that, in France,

fasting was uninterruptedly observed during the
whole of that holy time.
This much is certzin, that, by degrees, the custom

of fasting so far fell into disuse, that when, in 1362,
Pope Urban V endeavoured to prevent the total decay
of the Advent penance, all he insisted upon was that
all the clerics of his court should keep abstinence
during Advent, without in any way including others,

cither clergy or laity, in this law.
St. Charles
Borromeo also strove to bring back his people of

Milan

to the

spirit, if not to the letter, of ancient

times. In his fourth Council, he enjoins the parish
priests to exhort the faithful to go to Communion on

the Sundays, at least, of Lent and Advent ; and after-

wards addressed to the faithful themselves a pastoral
letter, in which, after having reminded them of the
dispositions wherewith they ought to spend this holy
time, he strongly urges them to fast on the Mondays,

Wednesdays, and Fridays, at least, of each week in

HISTORY OF ADVENT

25

Advent. Finally, Pope Benedict XIV, when archbishop of Bologna, following these illustrious examples, wrote his eleventh Ecdesiastical Institution for
the purpose of exciting in the minds of his diocesans
the exalted idea which the Christians of former times
had of the holy season of Advent, and of removing
an erroneous opinion which prevailed in those parts,
namely, that Advent concerned religious only and
not the laity. He shows them that such an opinion,
unless it be limited to the two practices of fasting
and , abstinence, is, strictly speaking, rash and
scandalous, since it cannot be denied that, in the laws

and usages of the universal Church, there exist special
practices, having for their end to prepare the faithful
for the great feast of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Greek Church still continues to observe the
fast of Advent, though with much less rigour than
that of Lent. It consists of forty days, beginning
with

November

14, the day on which

keeps the feast of the apostle St. Philip.

entire

period,

the

people

abstain from

this Church

During this
flesh-meat,

butter, milk, and eggs ; but they are allowed, which

they are not during Lent, fish, oil, and wine.

Fasting,

in its strict sense, is binding only on seven out of
the forty days ; and the whole period goes under the
nzme of St. Philip’s Lent. The Greeks justify these
relaxations by this distinction : that the Lent before
Christmas is, so they say, only an institution of the
monks, whereas the Lent before Easter is of apostolic

institution,

But, if the exterior practices of penance which for-

merly sanctified the season of Advent, have been, in

the western Church, so gradually relaxed as to have
become now quite obsolete except in monasteries,
the general character of the liturgy of this holy time

* Our recent English observance of fast and abstinence on the

Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent, may, in some scnse, be
regarded a8 & remnant of the ancient discipline. [Note of the 7'.]

26

ADVENT

has not changed ; and it is by their zeal in following
its spirit, thnt the faithful will prove their earnestness in preparing for Christmas.
The liturgical form of Advent as it now exists in

the Roman Church, has gone through certain modifications. St. Gregory seems to have been the first
to draw up the Office for this season, which originally
included five Sundays, as is evident from the most
ancient sacramentaries of this great Pope. It even
appears probable, and the opinion has been adopted
by

Amalarius

Marténe,

and

of Metz,

Benedict

Berno

XIV,

of

Reichnau,

that

St.

Dom

Gregory

originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent,
although the custom of devoting a longer or shorter
period to a preparation for Christmas has been observed from time immemorial, and the abstinence
and fast of this holy season first began in France.
St. Gregory therefore fixed, for the Churches of the

Latin rite, the form of the Office for this Lent-like

season,

and

sanctioned

the fast which

had

been

established, granting a certain latitude to the several

Churches as to the manner of its observance.
The sacramentary of St. Gelasius has neither Mass
nor Office of preparation for Christmas ; the first we
meet with afe in the Gregorian sacramentary, and,
as we just observed, these Masses are five in number.

1t is remarkable that these Sundays were then counted
inversely, that is, the nearest to Christmas was called
the first Sunday, and so on with the rest. So far
back as the ninth and tenth centuries, these Sundays
were reduced to four, as we learn from Amalarius
St. Nicholas I, Berno of Reichnau, Ratherius of
Verona, &c., and such also is their number in the
Gregorian sacramentary of Pamelius, which appears

to have been transcribed about this same period.
From that time, the Roman Church has always
observed this arrangement of Advent, which gives it
four weeks, the fourth being that in which Christmas

HISTORY OF ADVENT

21

doy falls, unless December 25 be a Sunday. We
may therefore consider the present discipline of the
observance of Advent as having lasted a thousand
years, at least as far as the Church of Rome is concerned ; for some of the Churches in France kept up
the number of five Sundays as late as the thirteenth
century.

The Ambrosian liturgy, even to this day, has six
weeks of Advent; so has the Gothic or Mozarabic

missal. As regards the Gallican liturgy, the fragments collected by Dom Mabillon give us no informa-

tion ; but it is natural to suppose with this learned
man, whose opinion has been confirmed by Dom
Marténe, that the Church of Gaul adopted, in this

as in so many other points, the usages of the Gothic
Church, that is to say, that its Advent consisted of
six Sundays and six weeks.
‘With regard to the Greeks, their rubrics for Advent

are given in the Menwa, immediately after
for November 14. They have no proper
Advent, neither do they celebrate during
the Mass of the Presanctified, as they do
There

the Office
Office for
this time
in Lent.

are only in the Offices for the saints,

whose

feasts occur between November 14 and the Sunday
nearest Christmas, frequent allusions to the birth of
the Saviour, to the maternity of Mary, to the cave
of Bethlehem, &c. On the Sunday preceding Christmas, in erder to celebrate the expected coming of the
Messias, they keep what they call the feast of the

holy fathers, that is the commemoration of the saints
of the old Law. They give the name of Ante-Feast

of the Nativity to December 20, 21, 22, and 23 ; and
although they say the Office of several saints on these

four days, yet the mystery of the birth of Jesus
pervades the whole liturgy.

28

ADVENT

CHAPTER

THE

SECOND

THE MYSTERY OF ADVENT
Ir, now that we have described the characteristic
features of Advent which distinguish it from the rest
of the year, we would penetrate into the profound
mystery which occupies the mind of the Church

during this season, we find that this mystery of the
coming, or Advent, of Jesus is at once simple and
threefold. It is simple, for it is the one same Son

of God

that

is coming;

it is threefold,

because

He

comes at three different times and in three different

ways.

“In the first coming,” says St. Bernard, ¢ He comes
in the flesh and in weakness ; in the second, He comes
in spirit and in power; in the third, He comes in
glory and in majesty ; and the second coming is the
means whereby we pass from the first to the third.’?
This, then, is the mystery of Advent. Let us now
listen to the explanation of this threefold visit of
Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third
Sermon de Adventu : ‘There are three comings of

our Lord;

the first in the flesh, the second

in the

soul, the third at the judgement. The first was at
midnight, according to those words of the Gospel:
At midnight there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh ! But this first coming is long since
past, for Christ has been scen on the earth and has
conversed among men., We are now in the second
coming, provided only we are such as that He may

thus come to us ; for He has said that if we love Him,

He will come unto us and will take up His abode
with us. So that this second coming is full of un-

certainty to us ; for who, save the Spirit of God, knows
1 Fifth sermon for Advent.

29

MYSTERY OF ADVENT

them that are of God ? They that are raised out of
themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know

indeed when He comes ; but whence He cometh,

whither He goeth, they know not.

coming,

or

As for the third

it is most certain that it will be, most un-

certain when it will be ; for nothing is more sure than
death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death.
‘When they shall say, peace and sccurity, says the
apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon
them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and

they shall not escape. So that the first coming was
humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full

of love, the third will be majestic and terrible.

In

His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly ;
in His second, He renders us just by His grace; in
His third, He will judge all things with justice. In

His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one
between the two, the tenderest of friends.’*
The holy Church, therefore, during Advent, awaits

in tears and with ardour the arrival of her Jesus in

His first coming.

For this, she borrows

the fervid

expressions of the prophets, to which she joins her
own supplications. These longings for the Messias

expressed by the Church, are not a mere commemora-

tion of the desires of the ancient Jewish people ; they

have a reality and efficacy of their own, an influence

in the great act of God’s munificence, whereby He gave
us His own Son. From all eternity, the prayers of the
ancient Jewish people and the prayers of the Christian
Church ascended together to the prescient hearing of
God ; and it was after receiving and granting them,
that He sent, in the appointed time, that blessed Dew

upon the earth, which made it bud forth the Saviour.

The Church aspires also to the second
consequence of the first, which consists,
just seen, in the visit of the Bridegroom
This coming takes place, each year, at
1 De Adventu, Sermon IIL

coming, the
as we have
to the bride.
the feast of

ADVENT

30

Christmas, when the new birth of the Son of God
delivers the faithful from that yoke of bondage, under
which the enemy would oppress them.! The Church,
therefore, during Advent, prays that she may be
visited by Him who is her Head and her Spouse; visited
in her hierarchy ; visited in her members, of whom
some are living, and some are dead, but may come
to life again ; visited, lastly, in those who are not in
communion

with her, and even in the very infidels,

that so they may be converted to the true light,
which shines even for them. The expressions of the
liturgy which the Church makes use of to ask for
this loving and invisible coming, are those which
she employs when begging for the coming of Jesus
in the flesh ; for the two visits are for the same object.
In vain would the Son of God have come, nineteen

hundred years ago, to visit and save mankind, unless

He came

again for each one of us and at every

moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing

within us that supernatural life, of which He and His

holy Spirit are. the sole principle.
But this annual visit of the Spouse does not content the Church ; she aspires after a third coming,

which will complete all things by opening the gates
of eternity. She has caught up the last words of
her Spouse, ‘Surely I am coming quickly’;2 and she

cries out to Him, “Ah! Lord Jesus ! come " She is
impatient to be loosed from her present temporal

state ; she longs for the number of the elect to be
filled up, and to see appear, in the clouds of heaven,
the sign of her Deliverer and her Spouse. Her desires,
expressed by her Advent liturgy, go even as far as
this; and here we have the explanation of these
words of the beloved disciple in his prophecy : ¢ The
nuptials of the Lamb

prepared hersclf.” ¢

are come, and His wife hath

1 Collect for Christmas day.
3 Ibid.

2 Apoc. xxii. 20,
4 Ivdd. xix. 7.

31

MYSTERY OF ADVENT

But the day of this His last coming to her will be a
day of terror. The Church frequently trembles at
the very thought of that awful judgement, in which all
mankind is to be tried. She calls it ‘ a day of wrath,
on which, as David and the Sibyl have foretold, the

world will be reduced to ashes ; a day of weeping and
of fear.”

Not

that she fears for herself, since

she

knows that this day will for ever secure for her the

crown, as being the bride of Jesus ; but her maternal
heart is troubled at the thought that, on the same day,

80 many of her children will be on the left hand of the
Judge, and, having no share with the elect, will be
bound hand and foot, and cast into the darkness,
where there shall be everlasting weeping and gnashing

of teeth.

This is the reason why the Church, in the

liturgy of Advent, so frequently speaks of the coming

of Christ as a terrible coming, and selects from the

Scriptures those passages which are most calculated
to awaken a salutary fear in the mind of such of
her children as may be sleeping the sleep of sin.
This, then, is the threefold

mystery of

Advent.

The liturgical forms in which it is embodied, are of
two kinds : the one consists of prayers, passages from
the Bible, and similar formule, in all of which, words

themselves are employed to convey the sentiments
which we have been explaining ; the other consists
of external rites peculiar to this holy time,

which,

by speaking to the outward senses, complete the
expressiveness of the chants and words.
First of all, there is the number of the days of
Advent. Forty was the number originally adopted
by the Church, and it is still maintained in the
Ambrosian liturgy, and in the eastern Church. If, at
a later period, the Church of Rome, and those which
follow her liturgy, have changed the number of days,
the same idea 1s still expressed in the four wecks
which have been substituted for the forty days. The
new birth of our Redeemer takes place after four

32

ADVENT

wecks,

as

the

first nativity

happened

after

four

thousand years, according to the Hebrew and Vulgate

chronology.

As in Lent, so likewise during Advent, marriage is
not solemnized, lest worldly joy should distract
Christians from those serious thoughts wherewith the
expected coming of the sovereign Judge ought to
inspire them, or from that dearly cherished hope
which the friends of the Bridegroom! have of being
soon called to the eternal nuptial-feast.
The people are forcibly reminded of the sadness
which fills the heart of the Church, by the sombre
colour of the vestments. Excepting on the feasts of
the saints, purple is the colour she uses; the deacon
does not wear the dalmatic, nor the sub-deacon
the

tunic.

Formerly

it was

the

custom,

in some

places, to wear black vestments. This mourning

of the Church shows how fully she unites herself
with those true Israelites of old who, clothed in sackcloth and ashes, waited for the Messias, and bewailed
Sion that she had not her beauty, and ‘Juda, that
the sceptre had been taken from him, till He should
come who was to be sent, the expectation of nations.’2

It also signifies the works of penance, whereby she
prepares for the sccond coming, full as it is of sweetness nnd mystery,

which

is realized in the souls of

men, in proportion as they appreciate the tender love

of that divine Guest, who has said: ‘ My delights
aro to bo with the children of men’s It expresses,
thirdly, the desolation of this bride who yearns after
her Beloved, who is long a-coming. Like the turtle

dove, she moans her loneliness, longing for the voice

which

will say

to her:

‘Come

from

Libanus,

my

bride! come, thou shalt be crowned. Thou hast
wounded my heart.’*
The Church also, during Advent, excepting on the

MYSTERY OF ADVENT

83

foasts of saints, suppresses the angelic canticle, Gloria

in excelsis Deo, et in terra paz hominibus bone volun~

tatis ; for this glorious song was sung at Bethlehem

over the crib of the divine Babe ; the tongues of the

angels are not loosened yet ; the Virgin has not yet
brought forth her divine Treasure ; it 18 not yet time
to sing, it is not even true to say, ‘ Glory be to God
in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good

will?

Again, at the end of Mass, the deacon does not

dismiss the assembly of the faithful by the words:
Ite missa est. He substitutes the ordinary greeting :
Benedicamus Domino / as though the Church feared
to interrupt the prayers of the people, which could
scarce be too long during these days of expectation.
In the night Office, the holy Church also suspends,
on those same days, the hymn of jubilation, Te Deum

laudamus? Tt i3 in deep humility that she awaits
the supreme blessing which is to come to her; and,

in the interval, she presumes only to ask, and entreat,
and hope. But let the glorious hour come, when in

the midst of darkest night the Sun of justice
suddenly rise upon the world : then indeed she
resume her hymn of thanksgiving, and all over
face of the earth the silence of midnight will
broken by this shout of enthusiasm :

will
will
the
be

We praise Thee,

0 God ! we acknowledge Thee to be our Lord ! Thou,

O Christ, art the King of glory, the everlasting Son
of the Father! Thou being to deliver man didst not
disdain the Virgin’s womb I’
On the ferial days, the rubrics of Advent prescribe
that certain prayers should be said kneeling, at the
end of each canonical Hour, and that f-fie choir
should also kneel during a considerable portion of the
Mass.

In

this

respect,

the

usages

of Advent

are

precisely the same as those of Lent.
But there is one feature which distinguishes Ad-

1 The monastic rite retains it. [7y.]

8

34

ADVENT

vent most markedly from Lent : the word of gladness,

the joyful Alleluia, is not interrupted during Advent,
except once or twice during the ferial Office. It is
sung in the Masses of the four Sundays, and vividly
contrasts with the sombre colour of the vestments.
On one of these Sundays, the third, the prohibition
of using the organ is removed, and we are gladdened
by its grand notes, and rose-coloured vestments may
be used instead of the purple. These vestiges of joy,
thus blended with the holy mournfulness of “the
Church, tell us, in a most expressive way, that though

she unites with the ancient people of God in praying
for the coming of the Messias (thus paying the debt
which the entire human race owes to the justice and
mercy of God), she does not forget that the Emmanuel is already come to her, that He is in her, and

that even before she has opened her lips to ask Him
to save her, she has becn 2lready redeemed and pre-

destined to an eternal union with Him.

This is the

reason why the Allcluia accompanies even her sighs,
and why she seems to be at once joyous and sad,

waiting for the coming of that holy night which will
be brighter to her than the most sunny of days, and
on which her joy will expel all her sorrow.

PRACTICE DURING ADVENT

CHAPTER

THE

35

THIRD

PRACTICE DURING ADVENT

1r our holy mother the Church spends the time of
Advent in this solemn preparation for the threefold

coming of Jesus Christ ; if, after the example of the

prudent vir%:ns, she keeps her lamp lit ready for the
coming of the Bridegroom ; we, being her members
and her children, ought to enter into her spirit, and
apply to ourselves this warning of our Saviour : ‘Let
your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands,
and ye yourselves be like unto men who wait for their
Lord’T

The

same hopes.

Church

we

and

have, in reality, the

Each one of us is, on the. part of God,

an object of mercy and care, as is the Church herself.

If she is the temple of God, it is because she is built
of living stones ; if she is the bride, it is because she

consists of all the souls which are invited to eternal
union with God. If it is written that the Saviour
hath purchased

the Church

with His

own

Blood,?

may not each one of us say of himself those words of

St. Paul, ¢ Christ hath loved me, and hath delivered
Himself up

for me’?®

Our destiny being the same,

then, as that of the Church, we should endeavour
during Advent, to enter into the spirit of preparation,

which is, as we have seen, that of the Church herself.

And firstly, it is our duty to join with the saints
of the old Law in asking for the Messias, and thus
pay the debt which the whole human race owes to
the divine mercy. In order to fulfil this duty with
fervour,

let us go

back

in thought

to those

four

thousand years, represented by the four wecks of
Advent, and reflect on the darkness and crime which

filled the world before our Saviour’s coming.
L 8t. Luke xii. 35, 3.

2 Acts xv. 28.

TLet

3 Gal. i, 20,

36

ADVENT

our hearts be filled with lively gratitude towards
Him who saved His creature man from death, and
who came down from heaven that He might know
our miseries by Himself experiencing them, yes, all
of them excepting sin. Let us cry to Him with confidence from the depths of our misery ; for, notwith-

standing His having saved the work of His hands, He

still wishes us to besecch Him to save us. Let therefore our desires and our confidence have their frco
utterance in the ardent sugplications of the ancient
prophets, which the Church puts on our lips during
these days of expectation; let us give our closest
attention to the sentiments which they express.
This first duty complied with, we must next turn
our minds to the coming which our Saviour wishes
to accomplish in our own hearts.

It is, as we have

seen, & coming full of sweetness and mystery, and
a consequence of the first; for the good Shepherd
comes not only to visit the flock in general, but He

extends His solicitude to each one of the sheep, even

to the hundredth which is lost.

Now, in order to

appreciate the whole of this ineffable mystery, we

must remember that, since we can be plesing to our
heavenly Father only inasmuch as He sees within

us His Son Jesus Christ, this amiable Saviour deigns
to come into each.one of us, and transform us, if we
will but consent, into Himself, so that henceforth we

may live, not we, but He in us.

This is, in reality,

the one grand aim of the Christian religion, to make

man divine through Jesus Christ : it is the task which
God has given to His Church to do, and she says to the
faithful what St. Paul said to his Galatians: ‘My

little children, of whom I am in labour again, until
Christ be formed within you ™
But as, on His entering into this world, our divine

Saviour first showed Himself under the form of a
weal Babe, before atteining the fulness of the age of
1 Gal.iv. 19.

PRACTICE DURING

ADVENT

87

manhood, and this to the end that nothing might be
wanting to His sacrifice, so does He intend to do in
us ; there is to be a progress in His growth within us.
Now, it is at the feast of Christmas that He delights
to be born in our souls, and that He pours out over
the whole Church a grace of being born, to which,
however, not all are faithful.
For this glorious solemnity, a3 often as it comes
round, finds three classes of men. The first, and the
smallest number, are those who live,in all its plenitude,
the life of Jesus who is within them, and aspire incessantly after the increase of this life. The second
class of souls is more numerous ; they are living, it
is true, because Jesus is in them; but they are sick

and weakly, because they care not to grow in this
divine life ; their charity has become cold * The rest
of men make up the third division, and are they that
have no part of this life in them, and are dead ; for

Christ has said : ‘I am the Life.”?
Now,

during

the

season

of

Advent,

our

Lord

knocks at the door of all men’s hearts, at one time
so forcibly that they must needs notice Him; at

another, so softly that it requires attention to know

that
them
born
built

Jesus is asking admission. He comes to ask
if they have room for Him, for He wishes to be
in their house. The house indeed is His, for he
it and preserves it ; yet He complains that His

own refused to receive

Him;®

at least the greater

number did. ‘But as many as received Him, He gave
them power to be made the sons of God, born not of
blood, nor of the flesh, but of God.’*

He will be born, then, with more beauty and lustre
and might than you have hitherto seen in Him, O

ye faithful ones, who hold Him within you as your
only treasure, and who have long lived no other life
than His, shaping your thoughts and works on the
1 8t. John xiv. 6.
4 Ibid. 12, 13.

ADVENT

a8

model of His. You will feel the necessity of words
to suit and express your love; such words as He
delights to hear you speak to Him. You will find
them in the holy liturgy.
You, who have had Him within you without
knowing Him, and have possessed Him without relishing the sweetness of His presence, open your hearts
to welcome Him, this time, with more care and love.

He repeats His visit of this year with an untiring
tenderness ; He has forgotten your past slights ; He
would * that all things be new.”>

Make room for the

divine Infant, for He desires to grow within your

soul. The time of His coming is close at hand: let
your heart, then, be on the watch; and lest you
should slumber when He arrives, watch and pray,
yea, sing. The words of the liturgy are intended
also for your use : they speak of darkness, which only
God can enlighten; of wounds, which only His
mercy can heal ; of a faintness, which can be braced
only by His divine energy.
And you, Christians, for whom the good tidings
are as things that are not, because you are dead in
sin, lo! He who is very life is coming among you.
Yes, whether this death of sin has held you as its
slave for long years, or has but freshly inflicted on you
the wound which made you its victim, Jesus, your
Life,

is coming:

desireth not the
he be converted
birth will be a
at least, for all

‘why,

then,

will

you

die?

He

death of the-sinner, but rather that
and live’®# The grand feast of His
day of mercy for the whole world ;
{o will give Him admission into

their hearts : they will rise to life again in Him, their
past life will be dcstroyed, and where sin abounded,

there grace will more abound.®
But, if the tenderness and the attractiveness of
this mysterious coming make no impression on you,
because your heart is too weighed down to be able to
1 Apoc. xxi. 5.

2 Ezechiel xviii. 31, 32.

° Rom. v. 20.

39

PRACTICE DURING ADVENT

rise to confidence, and because, having so long drunk

sin like water, you know not what it is to long with
love for the caresses of a Father whom you have
slighted—then turn your thoughts to that other
coming, which is full of terror, and is to follow the

silent one of grace that is now offered.

Think within

yourselves, how this earth of ours will tremble at the
approach of the dread Judge ; how the heavens will
flee from before His face, and fold up as a book ;!
how man will wince under His angry look ; how the
creature

will

wither

away

with

fear,

as the

edged sword, which comes from the mouth

two-

of his

Creator,? pierces him; and how sinners will cry out,
‘Ye mountains, fall on us! ye rocks, cover us !

Those unhappy souls who would not know the time

of their visitation,* shall then vainly wish to hide

themselves from the face of Jesus. They shut their
hearts against this Man-God, who, in His excessive
love

for them,

wept

over

them:

therefore,

on

the

day of judgement they will descend alive into those
everlasting

fires, whose

flame

devoureth

the

earth

with her increase, and burneth the foundations of
the mountains.®

The

worm

that never dieth®

the

useless eternal repentance, will gnaw them for ever.

Let those, then, who are not touched by the tidings

of the coming of the heavenly Physician and the
good Shepherd who giveth His life for His sheep,
meditate during Advent on the awful yet certain
truth, that so many render the redemption unavail-

able to themselves by refusing to
own salvation. They may treat
be born” with disdain; but He
God, and do they think they can

co-operate in their
the Child who is to
is also the mighty
withstand Him on

that day, when He is to come, not to save, as now,

but to judge 2 Would that they knew more of this
.
14,
1bid. xix. 44.

& Deut. xxxii. 22.
7 Is. ix. 6.

3 St. Luke x:
© St. Mark ix.

40

ADVENT

divine Judge, before whom the verysaints tremble! Let
these, also, use the liturgy of this season, and they will
there learn how much He is to be feared by sinners.
‘We would not imply by this that only sinners nced
to fear; no, every Christian ought to fear. Fear,
when there is no nobler sentiment with it, makes

man a slave ; when it accompanies love, it is a feeling

which fills the heart of a child who has offcnded his
father, yet seeks for pardon; when, at length, love

casteth out fear,! even then this holy fear will some-

times come, and, like a flash of lightning, pervade
the deepest recesses of the soul. It does the soul
good. She wakes up afresh to a keener sense of her
own misery and of the unmerited mercy of her
Redeemer.
Let no one, thercfore, think that he may
safely pass his Advent without taking any share in
the holy fear which animates the Church. She,
though so beloved by God, prays to Him to give her
this fear; and in her Office of Sext, she thus cries
out to Him: ‘ Pierce my flesh with Thy fear.” It
is, however, to those who are beginning a good life,

that this part of the Advent liturgy will be peculiarly
serviceable.

It is evident, from what we have said, that Advent

is a season specially devoted to the exercises of what
is called the purgative life, which is implied in that
expression of St. John, so continually repeated by the
Church during this holy time : Prepare ye the way of
the Lord! Let all, therefore, strive earnestly to
make straight the path by which Jesus will enter
into their souls. Let the just, agreeably to the
teaching of the apostle, forget the things that are
behind,> and labour to acquire fresh merit. Let
sinners begin at once and break the chains which now
enslave them. Let them give up those bad habits
which they have contracted. Let them weaken the
flesh, and enter upon the hard work of subjecting
1 1 8t. John iv. 18.

2 Phil. iii. 13.

MORNING

it to the spirit.

AND

NIGHT PRAYERS

41

Let them, above all things, pray

with the Church. And when our Lord comes, they
may hope that He will not pass them by, but that He

will enter and dwell within them ; for He spoke of
all when He said these words : ‘ Behold I stand at
the gate and knock : if any men shall hear My voice
and open to Me thewloor, T will come in unto him.’?

CHAPTER

THE FOURTH

MORNING AND NIGHT PRAYERS FOR ADVENT
During Advent, the Christian, on awaking in the
morning, will unite himself with the Church, who,

in her Office of Matins, says to us these solemn
words, which choirs of religious, men and women,
throughout the universe, have been chanting during
the deep silence of the night :

Regem vonturum Domi- Come, lot us adoro the King
num, venite, adoremus.
our Lord, who is to come!
He will proioundli adore this great King, whose

coming is so near at hand : and with this idea deeply
impressed upon his mind, he will perform the first

acts of religion, both

'interior and exterior,

where-

with he begins the day. The time for morning
prayer being come, he may use the following method,
which is formed upon the very prayers
of the

Church :—

MORNING

First,

praise

Trinity i

and

PRAYERS

adoration

V. Benedicamus Patrem,et
Filium, cum sancto Spiritu.

of the

most

holy

V. Let us bless the Father,
?;r;ld the Son, and the Holy

+ Apoc. i,

0st.

42

ADVENT

R. Laudemus et superexaltemus eum in secula.
V. Gloria Patri et Filio et
Spiritui sancto.
R. Sicut erat in principio,
et nunc, et semper, et in soculs smculorum. Amen.
Then,

Christ :—

praise

to

our

R. Lot us praise him and

extol him above all for over.
V. Glory bo to tho Father,
and to the Son, and to tho
Holy Ghost.
. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall
bo, world without end. Amen.
Lord

and

Saviour,

Jesus

V. Adoramus te, Christe, V. Wo adore thee, O Christ,
et benedicimus tibi.
and wo bless thee.
R. Quis per crucem tusm
R. Becauso by thy cross
redomisti mundum.
thou hast redeemed the world.
Thirdly, invocation of the Holy Ghost :—

Veni, sancte Spiritus, ro- Come, O holy Spirit, fill
ple tuorum corda fidelium, the hearts of thy faithful,
ot tui amoris in eis ignem and enkindle within them
accondo.
the fire of thy love.
After these fundamental acts of religion, you will
recite the Lord’s Prayer, asking of God, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, to grant that His holy
name may be glorified on earth by sending His Son,
who

will found

the kingdom of God; and that Ho

will vouchsafe to give us this Saviour who is our
Bread and who will obtain for us, by the mediation

so long looked for, the forgiveness of our sins ; finally,
that He will deliver us from sin, which is the sove-

reign evil.

THE

LORD'S PRAYER

qui

es

Our Father, who art in
hallowed be thy
nomen beavon,
sanctificetur
ceelis,
tuum : adveniat rognum tu- name : thy kingdom come ;
um : fiat voluntas tus, sicut thy will bo donc on carth,
in celo, ot in terra. Panem as it is in heaven. Give us
nostrum quotidianum da no- this day our daily bread ; and
bis hodio : ot dimitte nobis forgive us our trespasses, as
debita nostra, sicut et nos we forgivo them that tresPater

noster,

in

MORNING
dimittimus

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

debitoribus

no-

43

pass sgainst us: and lead us

stris: et ne nos inducas in not into temptation : but de-

tentationem : sed libera nos
a malo.

Then

Amen.

address

liverus from evil

the angelical salutation

Amen.

to Mary,

who is, in these days which flrecede the Nativity, so

truly full of grace, since she

has in her chaste womb

Him who is the author of all grace.

The

Lord, the

fruit of her womb, is with her; and we may already

give her the sublime and unshared title of Mother of

God.

THE

ANGELICAL

SALUTATION

Hail Mary, full of grace;
Dominus
tecum : benedicta the Lord is with thee ; blestu in mulieribus, et bene- sed art thou among women,
dictus fructus ventris tui, and blessed is the fruit of thy
Jesus.
womb, Jesus.
Sancta Maria, Mater Dei,
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
ora pro nobis peccatoribus, pray for us sinners, now and
nunc et in hora mortis no- at the hour of our death.
Amen.
stre.
Amen.
Ave Maria, gratia plena:

After this, recite the symbol of faith ; and as you

pronounce the words, who was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, dwell on them with special attention, adoring

the Saviour, who is as yet concealed in Mary’s womb.

THE APOSTLES'

CREED.

I belicve in God the Father
omnipotentem, _ Creatorem almighty, Creator of heaven
ceeli et terre.
And in Jesus
Et in Jesum and carth.
Christum Filium ejus uni- Christ, his only Son our Lord,
cum Dominum nost:
: who was conceived by the Holy
Credo

in

Deum,

Patrem

qui conceptus est de Spiritu Ghost, born of the Virgin
sancto, natus ex Maris Vir- Mory ; suffered under Pongine, passus sub Pontio Pi- tius Pilate, was crucified,
lato, crucifixus, mortuus, et dead, and buried; he desepultus : descendit

ad

in-

scended

into hell,

the

third

feros, tertia die resurrexit a day he rose again from the

mortuis

: ascendit ad ccelos,

sedet ad dexteram Dei Patris

dead ; he ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand

44

ADVENT

of God tho Father almighty ;
from thence he shall come to
judzo the living and tho dend.
Theliovein the Holy Ghost :
the holy Catholic Church ;
the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, tho resurroction of the body, and lifo
everlasting. Amen.

omnipotentis : inde vonturus
est, judicare vivos ot mortuos.
Credo in Spiritum sanctum, sanctam Ecclesiam Catholicam, sanctorum communionem, remissionom poccatorum, carnis rosurrectionem,
vitam smternam. Amen.
After having

thus made

faith, excite within

by

the profession of your

yourself sentiments of penance,

the remembrance of the sins you have committed ;

o{ gratitude to the Lamb of God, who is coming in
order to save us; and of fear of the last day. For

this end, say

with the Church the following hymn

taken from the Office of Lauds for Advent.

En clara vox redarguit,
Obscura quaque personans
Procul fugentur somnia :
Ab alto Jesus promicat.

HYMN
;

The

solemn

voico

of the

Precursor is heard, explaining the obscurity of the
ancient figures ; let our slumbers cease ; Jesus is rising on
our horizon.

Mens jam resurgat torpida, Lot the sluggish soul now
Non amplius jacens humi : rise, and stay no more upon
this_carth; o new star is
Bidus rofulget jam novum,
Ut tollat omne noxium.
shining which will take sll
En Agnus ad nos mittitur
Laxaro
gratis debitum :
Omnes simul, cum lacrymis,
Precemur indulgentiam.

Ut cum secundo fulserit
Metuque mundum cinxerit,
Non pro reatu punist,
Bed nos pius tunc protegat.
Virtus, honor, laus, gloris,
Deo Patri cum Filio,
Sancto simul Parsclito,
In smeulorum smouls.
Amen.

sin away.

Lo! the Lamb is sent to

forgivo us freoly our debt:
let us unite in tears and
prayers, that wo may obtain
pardon.
That

when

he comes

tho

second time, filling the world
with fear, he may not have
to punish us for our sins, but
may protect us in mercy.
Power, honour, praise, and

glory, be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the holy

Paraclete, for ever and ever.

Amen.

MORNING

45

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

Here make a humble confession of your sins,
reciting the general formula made use of by the
Church.
THE CONTESSION

OF SINS

1 confess to almighty God,
Vir- to blessed Mary ever Virgin,

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti,

beatm Marix

gini,

beato

semper

Michacli

Arch-

to blessed Michael the Arch-

angelo, beato Josnni Bap- angel, to blessed John the
tiste, sanctis apostolis Petro Baptiat, to tho holy apostles
et Paulo, et omnibus sanctis, Poter and Paul, and to all
quia peccavi nimis cogita- tho saints, that I have sinned
tione, verbo, et opere: mea excecdingly in thought, word,
culpa, mea culpa, mea ma- snd deed : through my fault,
xima culpa. Idco precor bea- through my fault, through
tam Mariam semper Virgi- my most grievous fault.
nem,

beatum

ichaclem

Thereforo

I beseech

blessed

Archangelum, beatum Jo- Mary ever Virgin, blossed
annem Baptistam, sanctos Michaelthe Archangel, blessed
apostolos Petrum et Paulum, John the Baptist, the holy

et omnes sanctos, orare pro

apostles Peter and Paul, and

strum.
Misereatur nostri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis nostris, perducat nos ad
vitam aternam.
Amen.
Indulgentiam,
~absolutionem, et remissionem pecca-

Lord our God for me.

me

ad Dominum

Deum

no-

all the saints, to pray to tho

May almighty God have
mercy on us, and, our sing
being forgiven, bring us to
life everlasting. Amen.
May the almighty and
merciful Lord grant us partorum
nostrorum
tribuat don, absolution, and remisnobis_omnipotens et miseri- sion of our sins. Amen.
cors Dominus. Amen.
This is the proper place for making your meditation, as no doubt you practise this holy exercise.
During Advent, its principal object ought to be the
removing

from

ourselves

those

hindrances,

which

+ would oppose Jesus’ coming and reigning within us.

The love of sensual pleasures, avarice, and pride, that
triple concupiscence which St. John so strongly condemns

in his first Epistle,

must be withstood,

else

our preparation for Christmas is uscless. And as
the chief thing in every prayer or meditation is to

turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ, we must, during

ADVENT

46
Advent,

contemplate

Him

in

the

womb

of Mary,

where He remains hidden, giving us, by this His stato

of abasement, a most telling lesson of devotedness to

His Father’s glory, of obedience to the divine decrees,

and of humility ; but, at the same time, He gives us a

most powerful proof of the greatness of His love of us.
This thought will naturally suggest to us a variety
of motives and resolutions for breaking those ties
which keep us from a virtuous life. But should they
not produce sufficient impression on us, we must then

consider Jesus as our Judge, in the dread magnificence of His majesty, and all the severity of His in-

evitable vengeance.

The next part of your morning prayer must be to
ask of God, by the following prayers, grace to avoid
every kind of sin during the day you are just beginning. Say, then, with the Church, whose prayers
must always be preferred to all others :
V. Domine,

tionem meam.

R.

Et clamor

veniat.

exaudi

ora-

mous

ad te

OREMUS

Domine, Deus omnipotens,
qui od principium hujus diof
nos pervenire fecisti, tua nos
hodio salva virtute, ut in hac
die ad nullum declinemus
peceatum, sed semper ad
tusm justitiem faciendam
nostra procedant eloquia, dirigantur cogitationes et opera.
Per Dominum nostrum Josum Christum Filium tuum,
qui tecum vivit et regnat in
unitate Spiritus sancti, Deus,
per omnia secula seculorum.
Smen.

V. 0 Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come

unto

thee.

LET US PRAY

Almighty Lord and God,
who hast brought us to the
beginning of this day, let thy
powerful grace so conduct us
through it, that we may not
fall into any sin, but that all
our thoughts, words, and
actions may bo regulated
according to the rules of thy
heavenly justice, and tend to
the observanco of thy holy
law. Through Jesus ~Christ
our Lord. Amen.

Then beg the divine as: stance for the actions of

the day, that you may do them well ; and say thrice :

MORNING

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

47

V. Deus, in adjutorium
meum intende.
R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina.
V. Dous, in adjutorium
meum intende.
R. Domine, ad adjuvandum me fustina.
V. Deus, in adjutorium
meum intende.
I. Domine, ad adjuvan-

0 God.
R. 0 Lord, mako haste to
help me.
. Incline unto my aid,
0 God.
R. O Lord, make hasto to
help mo.
. Incline unto my aid, O

OREMUS

LET US PRAY

V. Incline

help me.

R. Amen.

uniting

aid,

R. O Lord, make haste to

Dirigere ot sanctificare, rogoro ot gubernare dignare,
Domine Deus, Rex cali ot
terr, hodio corda et corpora
nostra, sensus, sermones et
actus nostros in lege tua, et
in operibus mandatorum tuorum, ut hic et in ®ternum, to
auxiliante, salvi et liberi esso
mercamur, Salvator mundi.
Qui vivis ot regnas in szoula
sculorum.
this,

my

God.

dum mo festina.

After

unto

Lord God, and King of
heaven and earth, vouchsafo
this day to rulo and sanctify,
to diroct and govern our souls
and bodies, our senses, words,
and actions in conformity to
thy law, and strict obedience
to thy commands; that by
the help of thy grace, O Saviour of the world, we may
bo_fenced and freed from all
evils. Who livest and reignest for ever and ever.
R. Amen.

yourself

with

the

Church,
which, both in the Divine Office, and duri
the
holy Sacrifice, prays for the coming of Jesus Christ,
say @
V. Veni
ad liberandum
nos, Domine Deus virtutum.
R. Ostende faciem tuam,

V. O Lord God of hosts,
come and deliver us.

debitur,

seen upon thee.

R. Show thy face, and wo
shall bo saved.
ot salvi erimus.
V. Ostende nobis, Domine,
V. Show us, O Lord, thy
mercy.
misericordiam tuam.
R. Et salutare tuum da
R. AndgrantustheSaviour,
whom we expeot from thee.
nobis.
V. The Lord shall riso upon
V. Super te, Jerusalom,
thee, O Jorusalem.
orietur Domini
E. And his glory shall be
R. Et gloria ejus in te vi-

48

ADVENT

(First. week)
LET US PRAY
OREMUS
Excita,
qussumus,
Do- hEr;'ol;tl; o besooch thoo, O
mine, potentism tusm ot
y
r and come ;
veni; ut ab imminentibus that by thy protoction. W
torum nostrorum peri- may be freod from tho immioulis, te mereamur
protegente nent dangers of our sins, and
eripi, te liberante
salvari. bo savod by thy meroy ; who
Qui vivis et regnas, Deus, livest and reignest God, world
per omnia swoula seculorum.
R. Amen.

without end.
R. Amen.

swoula seculorum.
R. Amen.

est God, world without end.
R. Amen.

(Second week)
Excita, Domine, corda noStir up, O Lord, our hn‘;tl
stra ad preparandas Uni- to
the ways of thy
geniti tui vias: ut per ejus only-begotten Son that by
adventum, purificatis tibi his coming we may be enmentibus servire mereamur.
abled to sorve theo with pure
Qui tecum vivit ot regnat in minds ; who livost and reign-

(Third week)
Aurem tusm, quesumus,
Bend thine ear, O Lord, wo
Domine, precibus nostris ac- beseech thee, to our prayers,
commods : ot mentis nostra and enlighten the d.n-iness of
tonebras gratia tuwm visita- our minds by the grace of thy
tionis illustra. Qui vivis ot visitation ; who livest and
oguss Deus, per ommia sa- miguesz God,
saculorum.
end,
R. Amen.
R. Amen.

world without

(Foursh week)

Excits, quesumus, Domine, potentiam tusm et
veni, et magna nobis virtute

Exert, wo beseech thee, O
Lord, thy power and come ;
and sucoour us by thy groat
might ; that by the assistance

sucourro: ub, per euxilium
gratim tum, quod nostrs pec- of thy grace, thy indulgent
cata preepodiunt indulgentia mercy masy hasten what is
aupitistionis Dl:eeleret. delayed by our sins; who
Deus, per livest and reignest God, world
ui vivis et regnas

omnis szouls seculorum.
R. Amen.

without end.
R. Amen.

It would be well to add the special prayer which
the Church says, during Advent, in honour of the
blessed Mother of God.

MORNING

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

OREMUS

Dous, qui do hoatm Mariw Virginis utero, Verbum
tuum, angelo nuntiante, carnem suscipore voluisti; prosta supplicibus tuis, ut qui
vero cam Genitricem Dei orodimus, ejus opud to intercessionibus adjuvomur. Por
oumdom Christum Dominum
nostrum.
R. Amen.

49

LET US PRAY

0 God, who wast ploasod

that

thy

Word,

angel delivered

when

the

his messago,

should take flosh in the womb
of tho blessed Virgin Mary ;
givo ear to our humblo petitions, and grant that we, who
believo her to bo truly tho
Mother of God, may bo helped by her prayers. ~ Through
the same &uish our Lord.
R. Amen.

During the day, you may use the instructions and
prayers which you will find in this volume for each

day of Advent, both for the proper of the time, and
the proper of the saints.
use the following prayers.
NIGHT

In the evening, you may

PRAYERS

After having made the sign of the cross, adore the
divine Majesty, who has so mercifully preserved you
during this day, and so plentifully bestowed upon you,
every hour, His grace and protection. Begin by reciting the hymn which the Church sings at Vespers
during Advent.
HYMN
Creator alme siderum,
Zterna lux credentium,

Jesu, Redemptor omnium,
Intende votis supplicum.

Qui dzemonis no fraudibus
Perirot orbis, impetu
Amoris actus, languidi
Mundi medela factus os.
Commune qui mundi nefas
Ut cxpiares, ad crucem,

0 Jesus, thou kind Creator

of the heavens, oternal light
of believers, and Redeemer of
all mankind, hear the prayers
of thy suppliants.
Lest the world should
perish by the fraud of the
devil, thou, impelled by the
vehemence of thy love for us,
didst thyself becomo the remedy

of all our weaknoss.

‘o expiate the sin of the

whole world, thou didst come

4

ADVENT

50

from the sonctuary of tho
E Virginis sacrario
Virgin’s womb, a victim desIntacta prodis victima.
tined to the cross.
How glorious is thy power,
Cajus potestas glorix
Nomenque quum primum when, at the very sound of
thy name, heaven and hell

sonat,

Et ccelites et inferi

Tremente curvantur genu.

Te deprecamur, ultim=
Magnum dici judicem,
‘Armis suporne gratiz
Defendo nos ab hostibus.
Virtus, honor, laus, gloria,
Deo Patri cum Filio,
Sancto simul Paraclito,
In swculorum swcula.
Amen.

bend the trembling kneo !

We bescech thee, dread
Judge of the last day, dofend
us from our enemics by the
armour of thy heavenly grace.
Power, honour, praiso, and
gloty, bo to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the holy
Paraclete, for ever and ever.
Amon.

After this hymn, say the Our Father, the Hail
Mary, and the Apostles” Creed, as in the morning.
Then

make

the examination

of conscience, going

over in your mind all the faults you may have committed during the day; think how unworthy sin
makes us of the merciful visit of our Saviour, and
make a firm resolution to avoid sin for the future, to
do penance for it, and to avoid the occasions which

might lead you into it.
The

examination

of conscience

concluded,

recite

the Confiteor (or ¢ I confess ’) with heartfelt contrition,
and then give expression to your sorrow by the following act, which we have taken from the Venerable

Cardinal Bellarmine’s Catechism :

ACT OF CONTRITION

0 my God, I sm exceedingly grieved for having offended

thee, and with my whole heart I repent of the sins I have
committed : I hate and abhor them above every other evil,

not only because,

by so sinning, I have lost

heaven and

deserved hell, but still more because I have offended thee,
O infinite Goodness, who art worthy to be loved above all

things.

I most firmly resolve, by the assistance of thy grace,

never more to offend thee for the time to come, and to avoid
those occasions which might lead me into sin.

MORNING AND NIGHT PRAYERS

51

You may then add the acts of faith, hope, and
charity, to the recitation of which Pope Benedict
XIV. has granted an indulgence of seven years and
seven quarantines for each time.
ACT OF FAITH

0 my God, I firmly believe whatsoever the holy, Catholio,
apostolic, Roman Church requires me to belicve : I believe
it bocause thou hast revealed it to her, thou who art the very
truth

ACT OF HOPE

0 my God, knowing thy almighty power, and thy infinite
goodness and meroy, I hope in theo that, by the merits of
fhe Passion and death of oue Saviour Jonus Christ, thon wilt
grant me oternal life, which thou hast promised to all such
as shall do theworks of a good Christian ; and these I resolve
to do with the help of thy grace.
ACT OF CHARITY

0 my God, I love thee with my whole heart and above all
things, because thou art the sovereign Good : I would rather
lose all things than offend thee. For thy love also, I love,
and desire to love, my neighbour as myself.
Then say to our blessed Lady, in honour of the

ineffable

anthem.

dignity

of her

ANTHEM

OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

Alma Redemptoris Mater,
que pervia cceli
Porta manes, et stella maris,
succurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat, populo : tu
que genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius ac posterius, Gabrielis ab ore,
Sumens illad Ave, peccatorum miserere,

maternity,

the

following

Sweet Mother of our Redeemer, gate whereby wo
enter heaven, and star of the
sea! help us, we fall; yot
do we long to rise. Nature
looked upon thee with admiration, when thou didst give
birth to thy divine Creator,
thyself remaining, before and
after it, a pure Virgin. Gabriel spoke his Hail to thee ;
we sinners crave thy pity.

52

ADVENT

V. The angel of the Lord
V. Angolus Domini nundeclarcd unto Mary.
tiavit Mariz.
R. And she conceived of
R. Et concepit de Spiritu
the Holy Ghost.
sancto.
OREMUS

Gratiam tuam; quesumus,
Domine, mentibus nostris infunde, ut qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui Incarnationom cognovimus, per Passionem cjus et crucem ad
Rosurrectionis gloriam perducamur. Per cumdom Christum Dominum

nostrum.

Pour

LET US PRAY
forth,

we

bescech

thee, O Lord, thy grace into
our hearts ; that we to whom
the Incarnation of Christ thy
Son was made known by the

message of an an;gel may by
his

Passion

and

cross

be

brought to the glory of his

Resurrection.

Through the

same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.

R. Amen.

You would do well to add the litany of our Lady.
An indulgence of three hundred days, for each time
it is recited, has been granted by the Church.
THE

LITANY

OF

THE

Kyrie, eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrio, eleison.
Christe, audi nos.
Christe, exaudi nos.
Pater do ccelis, Deus, miserere nobis.
Redemptor mundi Deus,
Fil
miserere nobis.
Spiritus sancte, Deus, miserere nobis.
Sancta Trinitas, unus Deus,
‘miserere nobis.
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis.
Sancta Dei Genitrix, ora, do.
Sancta Virgo virginum,
Mater Christi,
Mater divine gratie,
Mater inviolata,
Mater intemerata,

BLESSED

VIRGIN

Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God

the

Father

of heaven,

have morcy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of
the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have
mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have
‘mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Hu]y Mother of God, pray,
Holy Virgin of virgins,

Mother of Christ,

Mother of divine graco,
Mother most pure,
Mother most chasto,

Mother inviolate,

Mother undefiled,

MORNING

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

s,
Mater boni consilii,
Mater Creatoris,
Mater Salvatoris,
Virgo prudentissima,
Virgo venoranda,
Virgo predicanda,
Virgo potens,
Virgo clemens.
Virgo fidelis,
Speculum justitie,
Sedes sapientir,
Causa nostra latitic,
Vas spirituale,
Vas honorabile,
Vas insigne devotionis,
Rosa mystics,
Turris Davidica,
Turris cburnea,
Domus surea,
Feederis arca,
Janua cceli,
Stella matutina,
Salus infirmorum,
Rofugium peccatorm,
Consolatrix aflictorum,
Auxilium Christisnorum,
Regina angelorum,
Regina patriarcharum,
Regina prophotarum,
Regina apostolorum,
Regina martyrum,
Rogina confessorum,
Regina virginum,
Rogina sanctorum omni
Regina .sino labe originali
concepta,

Regina eacratissimi rosarii,

Regina pacis,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis poccata
mundi, parce nobis, Do‘mine,
Agnus Dei, qui tollis poccata.
mundi, exaudi nos, Domine.

Mother most amiable,
Mother most admirable,

Mother of good counsel,
Mother of our Creator,

Mother of our Rodcemer,

Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Mirror

most prudent,
most venerable,
most renowned,
most powerful,
most merciful,
most faithful,
of justice,

Seat of wisdom,

Cause of our joy,

Spiritual vessel,
‘essel of honour,

Singular vosscl of dovotion,
Mystical roso,
Tower of David,
Tower of ivory,

House of gold,
Ark of the covenant,
Gate of heaven,
Morning star,
Health of the weak,
Refugo of sinners,

Comforter of the afflicted,

Help of Christians,
Queen of angels,

Queen of patriarchs,

Queon of prophots,
Quecn of apostles,
Queen of martyrs,
Queen of confessors,
Queen of virgins,
Queen of all saints,
Queen conceived without original sin,
Queen of the most holy rosary,

Queen of

peace,

Lamb

of God,

who

takest

Lamb

of God,

who

takost

away the sins of the world,
sparc us, O Lord,

away the sins of the world,

graciously hear us, O Lord.

54

ADVENT

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, misercre nobis.

Lamb

of

God,

who

takest

away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.

Christe, audi nos.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Christe, exaudi nos.
V. Pray for us, O holy
V. Ora pro nobis, sancta
Mother of God.
Dei Genitr
I. That we may be made
R. Ut digni cfficiamur proworthy of the promises of
missionibus Christi.
Christ.
LET US PRAY
ORENUS
Concede nos famulos tuos,
Grant, O Lord, we bescech
quasumus, Domine Deus, thee, that we thy servants
perpetua mentis ct corporis may enjoy constant health of
sanitate gaudere ; et gloriosa
body and mind, and by the
beate Mariw semper Vir- glorious intercession of blesfinis intercessione, a preesenti sed Mary, ever a Virgin, be
liberari tristitia, et wmterna delivered from all present
erfrui letitia. Per Christum aflliction, and come to that
ominum nostrum. Amen. joy which is cternal. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Here invoke the holy angels, whose protection is,

indeed, always so much needed by us, but never so
much as during the hours of night.
Church :

Say with the

Sancti angeli, custodes
Holy angels, our loving
nostri, defendite nos in pree- guardians, defend us in the
lio, ut non percamus in tre- hour of battle, that we may
mendo judicio.
not be lost at the dreadful
judgeinent.
V. Angelis suis Dous manV. God hath given his
davit de te.
angels charze of thee.
R. Ut custodiant te in om- R. That they may guard
nibus viis tuis.
thee in all thy ways.
onremUs
LET US PRAY
Deus qui ineffabili pro0 God, who in thy wondervidentia sanctos angelos tuos ful’ providence hast been
ad nostram custodiam mit- pleased to appoint thy holy
tere dignaris: largire suppli- angels for our guardians:
cibus tuis, et corum semper mercifully hear our prayer,
protectione defendi,et xteina and grant we may rest se.
societate gaudere. Per Chri- curo under their protcction,

MORNING
stum
Amen.

Dominum

AND

nostrum.

NIGHT

55

PRAYERS

and enjoy their fellowship in
heaven for ever.
Christ our Lord.

Through
Amen.

Then beg the assistance of the saints by the follow-

ing antiphon and prayer of the Church :

Axt. Ecce Dominus veniet, et omnes sancti cjus
cum co : et erit in die illa lux
magna, alleluia.
V. Ecco apparebit Dominus super nubem candidam.
R. Et cum co sanctorum

AT, Behold, tho Lord
will come, and with him all
his saints; and on that day
thero shall be a great light,
alleluia.
V. Behold, the Lord shall
appat upon & white cloud:
with
him
thousands of saints.

OREMUS

LET US PRAY

millia.

Visit, we besecch thee, O
Lord, and purify our hearts
purifica: ut veniens Josus by thy grace : that when our
Lord Josus Christ thy Son
Christus Filius tuus Domicum omnibus
shall come, together with all
nus noster,
sanctis suis, paratam sibi in his saints, he may find us
nobis inveniat mansionem. ready to give him a_place
within us: who liveth and
Qui tecum vivit, etc.
roigneth with thee for cver
Conscientias nostras, quevisitando
sumus, Domine,

and ever.

Amen.

And here you may add a special mention of the
saints to whom you bear a particular devotion, either
as your patrons or otherwise ; as also of those whose
feast is kept in the Church that day, or who have been
at least commemorated in the Divine Office.
This done, remember the necessities of the Church
suffering, and beg of God that He will give to the
souls in purgatory a place of refreshment, light, and
peace. For this intention recite the usual prayers.
PsALM

129

Do profundis clamavi ad
From tho dopths I have
to, Domino : Domine, exaudi criod to thes, O Lord ; Lord,
vocom moam,
hear my voice.

ADVENT

56

Fiant aures tus intenden-

Let thine cars be attentive

Sustinuit snima mes in
verbo ejus: speravit anima
mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque
ad noctem : sperot Israel in
Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia: ot copioss apud
eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Isracl : ox
omnibus iniguitatibus cjus.
Requiem wternam dona
eis, Domine.
Et lux perpotua luccat eis.
V. A porta inferi.
R. Erue, Domino, animas
corum.
V. Requiescant in pace.
R. Amen.
V. Domine, exaudi orationom moam.
R. Et clamor meus ad to

‘waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his

plentiful redemption.
And ho shall redeem Tsrael
from all his iniquities.
Eternal rest give to them,
0 Lord.
i
And lot porpetusl light
shine upon them.
V. From the gate of hell.
B, Doliver their souls, O
Lord
. May they rost in peace.
R. Amon.
V. 0 Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And lot my cry come

OREMUS

LET US PRAY

tes: in vocem deprecationis to the voice of my supplica.
tion.
mez.
If thou wilt observe iniSi_iniquitates observaveris, Domine: Domine, quis quities, O Lord : Lord, who
shall endure it ?
sustinebit ?
For with thee there is morQuia apud te propitiatio
est: et prog)t:r legem tuam ciful forgiveness; and by
sustinui te,
reason of thy law I have
Domine.

'veniat.

Fidelium Deus omnium
Conditor et Redemptor, animabus famulorum famularumquo tusrum, remissionom
cunctorum _tribue peccatorum : ut indulgentiam, quam
somper optaverunt, piis suplicationibus consequantur.
ui vivis et rognas in sxoula
swculorum. Amen.

word ; my soul hath hoped
in the Lord.
From the morning watch

even until night, let Israel
hope

in the Lord.
ause with

the

Lord

there is mercy, and with him

unto thee.

O God the Creator and
Redcemer of all the faithful,
give to tho souls of thy servants departed the remission
of their sins : that through the
help of pious supplications,
they may obtain the pardon
they have always dosired.
Who livest and reignest for
ever and ever. Amcn.

MORNING

AND NIGHT PRAYERS

57

Here make a special memento of such of the
faithful departed as have a particular claim upon your
charity; after which, ask of God to give you His assistance, whereby you may pass the night free from danger.
Say, then, still keeping to the words of the Church :
Axr. Salva

nos,

Domine,-

Ant. Save

us,

O

Lord,

vigilantes, custodi nos dormientes: ut vigilemus cum
Christo, et requiescamus in
pace.
V. Dignare, Domino, nocte
ista.
R. Sine peccato nos custodiro.
¥. Miserere nostri, Domine.
R. Misorere nostri.
V. Fiat misericordia tua,
Domine, super nos.
R. Quemadmodum
speravimus in to.
V. Domine, exaudi orationem moam.
R. Et clamor meus ad te
veniat.

while awake, and watch us
as we sleep: that we may

OREMUS

LET US PRAY

watch

in

with Christ, and rest

peace.

. Vouchsafe, O Lord, this

night.

R. To keep us without sin.

V. Have mercy on us, O

Lord.

R. Have mercy on us.

V. Let thy mercy, O Lord,

e upon us.
R. As wo have hoped in
thee.

V. O Lord, hear my prayor.

R. And let my cry come
unto thee.

Visita, quesumus, Domine,
Visit, we beseech thee, O
habitationem istam, et omnes Lord, this house and family,
insidias inimici ab ea longe and drive from it all snares
ropello: angeli tui sancti of the enemy : let thy holy
habitent in ea, qui nos in angols dwell herein, who may
pace custodiant, et benedictio keop us in peace, and may
‘tua sit super nos semper. Por thy blessing be always upon
Dominum
nostrum Jesum us. _ Through Jesus Christ
Christum, Filium tuum, qui our Lord, thy Son, who liveth
tecum vivit et regnat in uni- and reigneth with thee, in the
God,
tato Spiritus sancti Dous, unityof the Holy Ghost,
per omnia szcula seculorum.

Amen.

worl¢ without end.

Amen.

And that you may end the day in the same sentiments with which LZZ“ began it, repeat your prayer
for the coming of
Saviour :

ADVENT

58

V. Rorate, celi desuper,

et nubes pluant Justum.

R. Aperiatur terra ot ger-

minet Salvatorem.

V. Drop

heavens,

down

dew,

ye

from abovo, and let

the clouds rain the Just One.

h
be opened,
R. Let the eart

and bud forth the Saviour.

To which add one of the four prayers for Advent,
taking the one which belongs to the week (as above,
p. 48), and then retire to rest in the expectation of
‘Him who is to come tn the midnight.
CHAPTER

THE

FIFTH

ON HEARING MASS DURING THE TIME OF ADVENT
THERE is no exercise which is more pleasing to God,
or more meritorious, or which has greater influence
in infusing solid piety intc ‘he soul, than the assisting at the holy sacrifice of tus Mass. If this be true

at all the various seasons of the Christian year, it is
80, in a very special manner, during the holy time of
Advent.
The faithful, therefore, should make every

effort in order to enjoy this precious blessing, even on

those days when they are not obliged to it by the

precept of the Church.

With what gratitude ought they to assist at that

divine sacrifice, for which the world had been longing

for four thousand years!

God has granted them to

be born after the fulfilment of that stupendous and

merciful oblation, and would not put them in the
generations of men who died before they could par-

take of its reality and its riches! This notwithstanding, they must earnestly unite with the Church

in praying for the coming of the Redeemer, so to pay
their share of that great debt which God has put
upon all, whether living before or after the fulfilment

of the mystery of the Incarnation. Let them think
of this in assisting at the holy sacrifice.

ON HEARING MASS
Let them also remember

59

that this great sacrifice,

which perpetuates on this earth even to the end of
time, though in an unbloody manner, the real obla-

tion of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, has this

for its express alm : to prepare the souls of the faithful for the mysterious coming of God, who redeemed
our souls only that He might take possession of
them. It not only prepares, it even effects this

glorious advent.

Let them, in the third place, lovingly profit by the

presence of, and intimacy with, Jesus, to which this

hidden yet saving mystery admits them; that so,
when He comes in that other way, whereby He will
judge the world in terrible majesty, He may recognize them as His friends, and even then, when mercy

shall give place to justice, again save them.
We shall now endeavour to embody these sentiments in our explanation of the mysteries of the holy
Mass, and initiate the faithful into these divine
secrets ; not, indeed, by indiscreetly presuming to
translate the sacred formule, but by suggesting such
acts, as will enable those who hear Mass to enter
into the ceremonies and sentiments of the Church
and of the priest.
The faithful, in assisting at Mass during Advent,

should first know whether it is going to be said according to the Advent rite, or in honour of the blessed
Virgin, or of a saint, or, finally, for the dead.

The

colour of the vestments worn by the priest will tell

them all this.

Purple is used, if the Mass be of

Advent ; white or red, if of our Lady or the saints ;

and black, if for the dead. If the priest be vested in
purple, the faithful must excite within themselves

the spirit of penance which the Church would signify
by this colour. They should do the same, no matter
what may be the colour of the vestments; for in

every

Mass

during

Advent,

with

the

exception

of

Masses for the dead, the priest is obliged, even on

ADVENT

60

the greatest feasts, to make a commemoration of
Advent three separate times, and thus to make
use of the same expressions of repentance and
sorrow as he would in a Mass proper to the time of
Advent.
On the Sundays, if the Mass at which they assist

be the parochial, or, as it is often called, the public
Mass, two solemn rites precede it, which are full of
instruction and blessing : the Asperges, or sprinkling

of the holy water, and the procession.

During the Asperges, let them ask for that purity
of heart, which is necessary for having a share in the
twofold coming of Jesus Christ ; and in receiving the
holy water, the sprinkling of which prepares us for
assisting worthily at the great sacrifice, wherein is
poured

forth, not a

ative water,

but the very

Blood of the Lamb, they should think of that baptism
of water, by means of which St. John the Baptist
prepared the Jews for that other Baptism, which the
power and mercy of the Redeemer were afterwards to
give to mankind.
ANTIPHON OF THE ASPERGES

Thou shalt_sprinkle me
with hyssop, O Lord, and I
shall bo oleansed ; thou shalt
wash me, and I shall be mado
whiter than snow.
Ps. Have mercy on me,
0 God, according to thy great
morcy.
V. Glory, &e.
Anr. Thou shalt sprinkle
me, &c.
V. Ostende nobis, Domine,
V. Show us, O Lord, thy
misericordiam tuam.
mercy.
R. Et salutare tuum da
R."And grant us the Sa.
nobis.
viour, whom wo expect from
thee.
V. Domine,
exaudi oraV. 0Lord, hear my prayer,
Asper
me, Domine,
hyssopo, et mundabor; lavabis me, ot super nivem dealbabor.
Ps. Miserere moi, Deus,
secundum magnam misericordiam tusm.
V. Gloria Patri, &o.
Ant. Aspergos me, &o.

tionem meam.

THE ORDINARY

61

OF THE MASS

R. Ex clamor mous ad to
R. And let my ory come
unto theo.
voniat.
V. Dominus vobiscum.
V. Tho Lord bo with you.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
R. And with thy spirit.
OREMUS

Exaudinos,
Domine sancto,
Pater omnipotens, _mterno
Deus: ot mittero digneris
sanctum angelum tuum de
caelis, qui custodiat, foveat,
rotegat, visitet atque dofondat omnes habitantes in
boc habitaculo. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.

LET US PRAY

Graciously hear us, O holy
Lord, Father
aimighty,
cternal God: and vouchsafe
to send thy holy angel from
heavon, who may keep, cherish, protect, visit, and defend
all who aro assembled in this
plce. " Through Chist our
R. Amen.

The procession, which immediately precedes the
Mass, should remind us how we ought to be standing
with lamps burning in our hands, ready to go out
and meet our Lord, who is coming!

The Church is

ever advancing towards her Spouse in an unbroken

procession, and our souls should be ever hastening
towards

their sovereign

they have found Him.
But

see,

Christians,

Good,

never

the sacrifice

priest is at the foot of the altar; God

resting until

begins!

The

is sttentive,

the angels are in adoration, the whole Church is
united with the priest, whose priesthood and action
are those of the great High Priest, Jesus Christ.
Let us make the sign of the cross with him.
THE
In nomine

ORDINARY

Patris

et Filii

OF

THE MASS

In the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the

et Spiritus sancti. Amen.
Holy Ghost. Amen.
V. Introibo ad altare Doi.
T unite myself, O my God,
R Ad Doum qui letificat with thy Church, who' comes
juventutem meam.

to seek consolation in Jesus

Christ_thy Son,
true altar.

1 8t. Luke xii. 35.

who is the

62

ADVENT

Judica me, Deus, et disLiko her, I bescech theo to
cerne causam meam do gento defend me against the malice
non sancts: &b homine of the encmies of my salvainiquo ot doloso crue me.
tion.
Quia tu es, Deus, fortitudo
It is in thee that I have
mea : quare mo repulisti ? et put my hope ; yet do I feel
quare tristis _incedo, dum sad and troubled at being in
affligit me inimicus ?
the midst of the snares which
Emitte lucem tuam et veritatem tuam: i
me de-

are set for mo.
Send me, then, him who is

light and truth ; it is he who
duxerunt ot sdduxerunt in will open to us the way to thy
‘montem sanctum tuum, et in holy mount, to thy heavenly

tabornacula tus.
Et introibo ad altare
ad Deum qui lmtificat ju-

ventutem

meam.

tabernacle.
He is the Mediator and
the living altar ; I will draw
nigh to him, and be filled

with joy.

Confitebor tibi in cithara
‘When he shall have come,
Deus, Deus meus: quare 1 will sing in my gladness.

tristis

es

anima

mea?

quare conturbas me ?

et

Spera in Deo, quoniam adhuc confitebor illi : salutaro
vultus mej, et Deus meus.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et
Spiritui sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et
nunc et semper, et in smcula
swculorum. Amen.
V. Introibo ad altare Dei.
R. Ad Deum qui ltificat
juventutem meam.
V. Adjutorium nostrum in
nomino Domini.
R. Qui fecit cclum et
terram.

Be not sad, O my soul ! why
wouldst thou be troubled ?

Hope in his coming: he
who is thy Saviour and thy
God, will soon be with thee.
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.

1 am to go to the altar of

God, and feel the presence of
him who consoles me !

This my

hope comes not

from any merits of my own,
but from the all-powerful
help of my Creator.

This announcement of the coming of our Lord,
excites in the soul of the priest a lively sentiment of
compunction. He cannot go farther in the holy

sacrifice without confessing, and publicly, that he is
a sinner, and deserves not the grace he is about to

receive.

Listen, with respect, to this confession of

63

THE ORDINARY OF TIE MASS

God’s minister, and earnestly ask our Lord to show
merey to him; for the priest is your father; he is
answerable for your salvation, for which he every
When he has finished, unite
day risks his own.
with the servers, or the sacred ministers, in this
prayer :
May almighty Cod have
Misereatur tui omnipotens
peccatis mercy on thee, and, forgiving
Dous, et dimissis

tuis, porducat te ad
@ternam.

vitam

thy sins, bring thee to everInsting life.

The priest having answered Amen, make your
confession, saying with a contrite spirit :
Confiteor
Deo
omnipotenti,
T confess to almighty God,
beat Mariw semper Virgini, to blessed Mary evor Virgin,

beato Michacli archangelo,
beato Joanni Baptist, sanctis apostolis Petro et Paulo,
omnibus sanctis, et tibi,
pater, quis peceavi nimis
cogitationc,, verbo, et opere :
mea culpa, mea culpa, mea
maxima culpa. Ideo precor
beatam Marism sempor Virginem, beatum Michaclem
archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, _sanctos
apostolos Potrum et Paulum,
omnes sanctos, et te, pater,
orare pro me ad Dominum
Deum nostrum.

to blessed Michael

the arch-

angel, to blessed John the

Baptist, to the holy apostles

Peter and Paul, to all the
saints, and to thee, father,
that I have

sinned

mz
most _
Therefore, I

grievous
fault,
beseech blessed

exceed-

ingly in thought, word, and
deed, through my fault,
through my fault,” through

Mary ever Virgin, blessed
Michael the archangel, blessed
John

the Baptist,

the holy

apostles Peter and Paul, and

al the saints, and thee, father,
to pray to the Lord our God

for me.

Receive with gratitude the paternal wish of the
priest, who says to you :

Misoreatur vestri omnipoteus Deus, ot dimissis poccatis vestris, perducat vos ad
vitam mternam.
R. Amen.
Indulgentiam, absolutionem, et remissionem pecca-

May almighty God b
merciful to you, and, forgiving your sins, bring you to
life everlasting.
R. Amen.
May tho almighty and
merciful Lord grant us par-

64

ADVENT

torum

nostrorum tribuat no-

bis omnipotens et misoricors
Dominus.
R. Amen.

don, absolution, and romission of our sins.

R. Amen.

Invoke the divine assistance, that you may
proach to Jesus Christ.

ap-

V. Dous, tu conversus viV. 0O God, it needs but one
vifioabis nos.
look of thine to give us life.
R. Et plobs tus letabitur
R. And thy peoplo shall
rejoice in thee.
in to.
V. Ostende_nobie, DomiV. Show us, O Lord, thy
no, misericordiam tuam.
mercy.
R. Et salutare twum da
R. And give us tho Savinobis.
our whom thou hast prepared
for us.
V. Domine, exaudi oraV. 0 Lord, hear my prayer.
tionem meam.
R. Et clamor mous ad te R. And lot my ory come
veniat.
unto thee.
The priest here leaves you to ascend to the altar;
but first he salutes you :
V. Dominus vobiscum.

V. The Lord be with you.

Answer him with reverence :

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
orzuUs

RB. And with thy spirit.
L Us PmAY

He ascends the steps, and comes to the Holy of

holies.

Ask, both for him and for yourself, deliver-

ance from sin.

Aufer a nobis, qumsumus
Domine, iniquitates nostras ;
ut ad Sancta sanctorum puris
mereamur mentibus introiro.
Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

Take from our hearts, O
Lord, all thoso sins, which
make us unworthy of thy
visit ; wo ask this of theo by
thy divine
Son our Lord.

Oramus te, Domino, per

Generous soldicrs of Josus
Christ, who have mingled

When the priest kisses the altar, out of reverence
for the relics of the martyrs which are there, say :
merita

sanctorum

tuorum

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

quorum roliquim hic sunt, et
omnium sanctorum : ut indulgere digneris omnia peocnta mea. Amen.

65

your own blood with his, intercedo for us that our sins
may be forgiven
; that 8o we
may, liko you, spproach unto

If it be e High Mass at which you are assisting,
the priest here blesses the incense, saying :
Ab
cujus
Amen.

illo benedicaris,
in
honore
cremaberis.

Mayst thou be blessed by
himin whose honour thou art
to be burned.
Amen.

He then censes the altar in a most solemn manner.
This white cloud, which you see ascending from
every part of the altar, signifies the prayer of the

Church who addresses herself to Jesus Christ ; whilo

the divine mediator causes that prayer to ascend,
united with His own, to the throne of the majesty of
His Father.
The priest then says the Introit. In the Masses
proper to Advent, it is a cry made to the Messias,
which has so much the greater power with God as it
goes up to Him from the holy altar.
It is followed by nine exclamations, which are even
more earnest, for they ask for mercy. In addressing
them to God, the Church unites herself with the nine

choirs of angels, who are standing round the altar of
heaven, one and the same as this before which you

are kneeling.

To the Father, who ts to send us His Son :

Kyrio eloison.
Kyrio eleison.
Kyrio oleison.

Lord, have mercy on us !
Lord, havo mercy on us !
Lord, havo mercy on us !

To the Son, who is to come to us :

Christo cloison.
Christe cleison.
Christe eleison.

Christ, have mercy on us !
Christ, have mercy on us |

Christ, have mercy on us !

ADVENT

66

To the Holy Ghost, whose operation is to accomplish
the mystery :

Kyrio eleison.
Kiyrie eleison.
Kiyrio eleison.

Lord, have mercy on us !
Lord, have meroy on us |
Lord, have mercy on us !

If it be a feast, the priest says the angelic hymn,
which the Church has made her own ever since the
birth of our Saviour: if the Mass be proper to Advent, the Church forbids the joyous canticle until
the new birth of her Spouse again comes to gladden
her,
THE

ANGELIC

Gloria in excelsis Deo, et
in terra pox hominibus bonw
voluntatis.
Laudemus to: benedicimus te : adoramus te : glorificamus to: gratiss agimus
tibi propter magnam gloriam
tuam.
Domine_Deus, Rex cales, Deus Pater omnipotens.
Domine, Fili unigenite,
Josu Christe.
Domine Deus, Agnus Dei,
Filius Patris.
Qui tollis peccats mundi,
‘miserere nobis.
Qui tollis poccata mundi,

suscipo
stram.

deprecationem

no-

Qui sedes ad dexteram Patris, miserere nobis.
Quoniam tu solus sanctus,
tu solus Dominus, tu solus
altissimus, Jesu Christe, cum
sancto Spiritu, in gloria Dei
Patris. Amen.

HYMN

Glory be to God on high,

and on earth peace to men of
good will.
Wo praise thee: wo bless
thee: we adore thee: we
glorify thee: wo give thee
thanks for thy great glory.

O Lord God, heavenly
King, God the Father almighty.
8 o s Christ, the
onlybogotton Son.
Lord God, Lamb of God,
Son of the Father.
Who takest away the sins
of the world, have mercy on
us,
Who takest away the sins
of the world, receivo our
bumble prayer.
Who sittest at the right
hand of tho Father, have
mercy on us.
For thou slone art holy,
thou alone art Lord, thou
alone, O Josus Christ, togother with the Holy Ghost,
art most high, in the glory of
God the Father. Amen.

THE ORDINARY

OF TIE MASS

67

The pricst turns towards the people, and again
salutes them, as it were to make sure of their pious

attentionto the sublime act, for which all this is but

the preparation.
The words of this greeting are
especially beautiful during the weeks of Advent:
“The Lord be with you! Isaias had foretold that it
would indeed be verified, and the angel confirms
the prophecy to Saint Joseph, when he thus says to
him: ‘ He shall be called Emmanuel,’ that is, God
with us.
Then follows the Collect or Prayer, in which the
Church formally expresses to the divine Majesty the
special intentions she has in the Mass which is being
celebrated. You may unite in this prayer, by reciting with the priést the collects which you will find
in their proper places: but on no account omit to
join with the server of the Mass in answering 4men.
Then follows the Epistle, which is generally a portion of one or other of the Epistles of the apostles,

or a passage

from some Book of the Old Testament.

Listen to this word of God’s messengers with respect
and submission, and long for Him who is the eternal
Word, and who is soon to be born among men and

converse with them.
The Gradual is an intermediate formula of prayer
between the Epistle and Gospel. It again brings to
our attention the sentiments which were expressed
in the Introit.

Read it with devotion, so as to get

more and more into the spirit of preparation for the
coming of your Saviour.

The Alleluia is like a thrill of joy, which scizes

the soul of the Church, and makes her exult, as she

reflects that she already possesses the Spouse,
whom

she is in expectation;

moment : she resumes

of

but this is only for a

her attitude of a suppliant,

asking Him to come, for she feels that she needs His
new coming.
1 St. Matt. i. 23.

ADVENT

68

Until the happy hour when He will come in per-

son, He comes to us by His words, which are spirit

and life. The Gospel is about to be read aloud in
the assembly of the faithful : “ the poor are to have
the Gospel preached unto them.” If it be a High
Mass, the deacon prepares to fulfil his noble office,
that of announcing the good tidings of salvation.
He prays God to cleanse his heart and lips. Then
kneeling, he asks the priest’s blessing ; and having
received it, he at once goes to the place where he is
to sing the Gospel.
As a preparation for hearing it worthily, you may
thus pray, together with the priest and deacon :

Munds cor meum, ac labia
mea, omnipotens Deus, qui
Iabia Issim prophete calculo
mundasti ignito : ita mo tua
grata miserationo _dignare
mundare, ut sanctum Evangolium tuum digne valeam
nuntiare. Per Christum Do‘minum nostrum. Amen.
Dominus sit in corde meo,
ot in labiis meis: ut digne
et competenter annuntiem
Evengelium suum: In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Amen.
You

Alas ! these ears of mine
are but too often defiled with
the world’s vein words;
cleanso them, O Lord, that
5o I may hear tho words of
etornal life, and treasure them
in my beart. Through our
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Grant to thy ministers thy
grace, that they may faithfully ‘oxplain thy law; that
50 all, both pastors and flock,
may be united to thee for
ever. Amen.

will stand during the Gospel, as though you

were awaiting the orders of your Lord ; at the com-

mencement, make the sign of the cross on your forehead, lips, and breast ; and then listen to every word

of the priest or deacon. Let your heart be ready and
obedient. ‘ While my Beloved was speaking,” says
the bride in the Canticle, ‘my soul melted within
me.t If you have not such love as this, have at
least the humble submission of Semuel, and say:
“Speak, Lord ! Thy servant heareth.’
1 Cant. v. 6.

2 1 Kings iii. 10.

THE ORDINARY

OF THE MASS

69

After the Gospel, if the priest says the Symbol of

~Faith is
Credo, you will say it with him.
of God, without which we cannot please
is by it that we are now looking for the
our Redeemer, whom s yet we do not see ;
faith which will merit for us the grace of

faith, the
that gift
Him. It
coming of
and it is

His ineffable visit. Faith is the mark of those true
Israelites, who are looking for the Messias and will

find Him.
Let us then say with the Catholic Church,
our mother :
THE NICENE CREED
Crodo

in

unum

Deum,

Patrem omnipotentem, factorem ceeli et terre, visibilium omnium et invisibilium.
Et in unum
Dominum
Jesum Christum, Filium Dei

unigenitum.
natum

Deum

Et ex Patre

ante

omnia

de Deo,

smcula,

lumen

do

consubstantialem Patri:

per

lumine, Deum verum de Deo
vero. Genitum non factum,

quem omnia facta sunt. Bfii
propter nos homines, et proter nostram salutem, descenit de ccelis. Et incarnatus
est do Spiritu sancto, ex
Maria Virgine ; ET HOMO FAorus

EST.

Crucifixus etiam

pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato,
passus, et sepultus est. Et
rosurrexit tertia die, secundum Scripturas. Et ascendit
in ccelum ; sedet ad dexteram

Patris. Et iterum venturus
est cum gloria
judicare vivos
et mortuos ; cujus regni non
erit fin

Et in Spiritum sanctum,

Dominum

et

vivificantem,

I believe in ono God, tho
Father almighty, maker of
heaven and carth, and of all
things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus
Christ, tho only-bogotten Son
of God. And born of the
Father beforo all ages
of God, light of light
God of true God.
ol tten,
notmade; consubstantial with
the Father: by whom all
things were made. Who for
us men and for our salvation,
came down
from heaven.

And became Incarnate by the
Holy Ghost, of the Virgin
Mary ; AND WAS MADE MAN.

He was crucified also for us,
under Pontius Pilate, suffered, and was buried.
And

the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures.

And ascended into heaven,
sitteth at the right hand of
the Father.
And he is to

come again with glory, to
judge the living Snd " the
doad: of whose kingdom
there shall be no end.

And in the Holy Ghost,
the Lord and giver of life,

70

ADVENT

qui ex Patre Filioque proce- who proceedeth from _the
Father and the Son. Who,
Qui cum Patre et Filio
dit.
simul adoratur, et conglorifi- together with the Father and
catur; qui locutus est per the Son, is adored and gloriprophetas. Etunam sanctam fied ; who spoko by the proCatholicam et apostolicam
hots. And one hgly Cathor
Ecclesiam. Confiteor unum
ic and apostolic Church. I
Baptisma in _remissionem confess one Baptism for the
poceatorum.
Et
exspecto remission of sins. And I
resurrectionem mortuorum, expect the resurrection of
et vitam venturi swculi. the dead, and the life of the
Amen.
world to come. Amen.
The priest and the people should, by this time,
have their hearts ready: it is time to prepare the
offering itself. And here we come to the second part;
of the holy Mass; it is called the Oblation, and immediately follows that which was named the Mass
of Catechumens, on account of its being formerly the
only part at which the candidates for Baptism had
a right to be present.
See,

then,

dear

Christians!

bread

and

wine

are

about to be offered to God, as being the noblest of
inanimate creatures, since they are made for the
nourishment of man; and even that is only a poor

material image of what they are destined to become
in our Christian sacrifice. Their substance will soon
give place to God Himself, and of themselves nothing
will remain but the appearances. Happy creatures,
thus to yield up their own being, that God may take
its place ! We, too, are to undergo a like transforma-

tion, when, as the apostle expresses it, that which in

us is mortal shall put on immortality. Until that
happy change shall be realized, let us offer ourselves
to God as often as we see the bread and wine presented to Him in the holy sacrifice; and let us
prepare ourselves for the coming of Jesu.s, who will
transform us, by making us partakers of the divine
nature.2
1 1 Cor. xv. 53.

3 2 8t Peteri.4

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

a1

The priest again turns to the people with the
usual salutation, as though he would warn them to
redouble their attention. Let us read the Offertory
with him, and when he offers the Host to God, let
us unite with him in saying :

Suscipe, sancte Pater, omnipotens wterne Deus, hanc.
immaculatam hostiam, quam
ego indignus famulus tuus
offero tibi Deo meo vivo
et vero, pro innumerabilibus
peccatis et offensionibus et
negligentiis meis, et pro omnibus circumstantibus, sed et
pro omnibus fidelibus christianis vivis atque defunctis ;
ut mihi et illis proficiat ad
salutem in vitam @ternam.
Amen. -

All that we have, O Lord,
comes from thee, and belongs
to thee: it is just, therofore,
that we return it unto thee.
But how wonderful art thou
in the inventions of thy
immense love ! This bread
which we are offering to thee,
is to give place, in & fow
moments, to the sacred Body
of Jesus. We beseech thes,
roceive, together with this
oblation, our hearts, which
long to live by thee, and to
00830 0 lvo their own lte of
solf.

When the priest puts the wine into the chalice, and

then mir;files with it a drop of water, let your thoughts
e divine mystery of the Incarnation, which
turn to
in a few days is to be manifested to the world ; and

say:
Deus qui humane substan-

tie

dignitatem

mirabiliter

condidisti, et mirabilius re-

formasti : da nobis per hujus
sque et vini mysterium, ejus
divinitatis esse consortes, qui
humanitatis nostre fieri diatus est particeps, Jesus
hristus Filius tlluspIa)ominns

noster: qui

regnat

tecum

in unitate

vivit

et

Spiritus

sancti Deus, per omnio sw-

cula seculorum.

Amen.

0 Lord Jesus, who art the
true vine, and whose Blood,
like 8 generous wine, has
been poured forth under the
reasure of the cross! thou
ast deigned o unite_thy
divine nature to our weal
humanity, which is signified
by this drop of water. Oh!
come, and make us partakers
of thy divinity, by showing
thyself to us in thy sweet
and wondrous visit.

The priest then offers the mixture of wine and
water, beseeching God graciously to accept this obla-

ADVENT

2

tion, which is 8o soon to be changed into the reality,

Meanwhile, say, in

of which it is now but the figure.
union with the priest :

Offerimus _ tibi, Domine,
Graciously sccept theso
calicem salutaris, tuam de- gifts, O sovereign Greator of
precantes clementiam : ut in all things. Let them be fitted
conspectu divinx majestatis for the divine transformatuz, pro nostra ot totius tion, which will make them,
mundi_salute, cum odore | from being mere offerings of
suavitatis ascendat. Amen. created things, the instrument
tion.

of the

world's

salva-

After having thus held up the sacred gifts towards
heaven, the priest bows down : let us, also, humble
ourselves, and sa;

In spiritu humilitatis, et
in animo_contrito suscipiamur s te, Domine ; et sic fiat
sacrificium nostrum in conspectu tuo hodic, ut placeat
tibi, Domine Deus.

Though daring, as we do,
to approach thy altar, O Lord,
we cannot forget that we are
sinners. Have mercy on us,
and delay not to send us thy
Son, who is our saving Host.

Let us next invoke the Holy Ghost, whose opera-

tion is about to produce on the altar the presence of
the Son of God, as it did in the womb of the blessed

Virgin Mary, in the divine mystery of the Incarnation :

Veni, Sanctificator, omnitens eterne Deus, et bene-

lic hoc sacrificium tuo sancto

nomini preeparatum.

Come,

make

O

fruitful

divine
the

Sp

offering

which is upon the altar, and

produce in our hearts him
whom they desire.

If it be a High Mass, the priest, before proceeding
further with the sacrifice, takes the thurible a second
time, after blessing the incense in these words :

Por intercessionem beati Through the intercession of
Michaelis archangeli, stantis blessed Michael the archangel,
o doxtris altaris incensi, et standing at the right hand of
omnium electorum suorum, the altar of incense, and of all
incensum _istud dignetur his elect, may our Lord deign
Dominus benedicore, et in to bless this incense, and to

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS
odorem _suavitatis _accipere.
Dominum
Christum
Per
nostrum.

Amen.

73

reccive it for an odour of
Christ
swectness. Through
our Lord.

Amen.

e then censes first the bread and wine, which have
just been offered, and then the altar itself ; hereby
inviting the faithful to make their prayer, which is
signified by the fragrant incense, more and more
fervent, the nearer the solemn moment approaches.
St. John tells us that the incense he beheld burning
on the altar in heaven is made up of the * prayers of
the saints’; let us take a share in those prayers, and
with all the ardour of holy desires, let us say with the
priest :
Incensum istud, & te bene-

dictum, ascendat ad te, Do-

mine, ¢t descendat super nos
misericordia tua.

Dirigatur, Domine, oratio

mea

sicut incensum

in con-

spectu tuo: elevatio manuum
mearum _sacrificium _vespertinum. Pone, Domine, cu-

May

this

incense,

blessed

directed lire incense

in thy

by thee, ascend to thee, O
Lord, and may thy mercy descend upon us.
Let my prayer, O Lord, be
sight : the lifting up of my
hands as an evening sacrifice.

Set a watch, O Lord, before

my mouth, and a door round
circumstantiz labiis meis ; about my lips ; that my heart
ut non declinet cor meum in may not incline to evil words,
verba malitiz, ad excusandas to make cxcuses in sins.
excusationes in peceatis.

stodiam

ori meo, et ostivm

Giving back the thurible to the deacon, the priest
says :

Accendst in nobis Dominus
ignem sui amoris, et flammam
@terna charitatis. Amen.

May the Lord enkindle
in us the fire of his love and
the flame of eternal charity.
Amen.

But the thought of his own unworthiness becomes

more intense than ever in the heart of the priest.
The public confession which he made at the foot of
the altar is not enough ; he would now at the altar
itself express to the people, in the language of a
solemn rite, how far he knows himself to be from that

74

ADVENT

spotless sanctity, wherewith he should approach to
He washes his hands.
Our hands signify
God.
our works ; and the priest, though by his
he bears the office of Jesus Christ, is, by

priesthood
his works,

but man. Seeing your father thus humble himself,
do you also make an act of humility, and say with
him these verses of the psalm :

PSALM 25.

Lavabo inter innocentes
manus meas: ot circumdabo
altare tuum, Domine.
Ut audiam vocem laudis :
et cnarrem universs mirabilia tus.
Domine, dilexi decorem
domus tuw, et looum habitationis glorie tuz.
Ne perdss cum impiis,
Deus, animam meam, et cum
viris sanguinum vitam meam.
In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt : dextera eorum
repleta est muneribus.
o sutem in innocentia
mea ingressus sum: redime
me, et misererem
Pos meus stetit in directo:
in ecclesiis benedicam te,
Domine.
Gloria Patri, ot Filio, et
Spiritui sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et
nunc et semper, ot in smcula
swoulorum. ~ Amen.

1, too, would wash my
hands, O Lord, and become
like unto those who are innocent, that so I may be
worthy

to

come

near

thy

altar, and hear thy sacred
canticles, and then go and
proclaim to the world the
wonders of thy goodness. 1
love the beauty of thy house,
which thou art about to
make the dwelling-place of
thy glory. Leave me not, O
God, in the midst of thom
that are enemies both to thee

and to me. Thy morcy having
separated me from them, I
entered on the path of innocence, and was restored to
thy grace ; but have pity on
my weakness still :
redeem
me yet more, thou who hast
so mercifully brought me
back to the right path. In
the midst of these thy faithlo, I givo thee thanks,

Glopr;flge to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy

Ghost
; as it was
in the be-

ginning, is now, and ever
shall be, world without end.
Amen.

The priest, taking encouragement from the act of

humility he has just made, returns to the middle of

THE ORDINARY

5

OF THE MASS

the altar, and bows down full of respectful awe, beg-

ging of God to receive graciously the sacrifice which
is about to be offered to Him, and expresses the intentions for which it is offered. Let us do the same.
Suscipe, sancta Trinitas,
0 holy Trinity, graciously
hanc oblationem, quam tibi
offerimus ob memoriam Passionis, Resurrectionis, et Ascensionis Jesu Christi Do-

aini nflstri: et in %onorem
ate Marim semper Virginis,
et beati Joannis Epm;fec
sanctorum apostolorum Petri
ot Pauli, et istorum, et omnium sanctorum : ut illis proficiast

ad

honorem,

nobis

sutem ad salutem : et illi pro

nobis _intercedere dignentur
in ceelis quorum memoriam
agimus in terris. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

accept the sacrifice wo have
begun. We offer it in remembranco of the Passion,
Resurrection, and Ascension
of our Lord Josus Christ.
Permit thy Church to join
with this intention that of
honouring the ever glorious
Virgin Mary, the blessed Baptist John, the holy apostles
Poter and Paul, the martyrs
whose elics lio here under
our altar awaiting their resurrection, and the saints
whose memory we this day
celobrate. Increase the glory
they are enjoying, and recoive
the prayers they address to
theo for us.

The priest again turns to the people ; it is for the
last time before the sacred mysteries are accomplished.
He feels anxious to excite the fervour of the people.
Neither does the thought of his own unworthiness
leave him ; and before entering the cloud with the

Lord, he seeks support in the prayers of his brethren
who are present. He says to them :
Orate, fratres: ut meum
Brethren, pray that my

a0 vestrum saerficiam aocop.

tabile fiat apud Deum Patrem

omnipotentem.

ssorifeo, which B3 yours also,

may

be acceptable

our almighty

Father.

to God,

‘With this request he turns again to the altar, and

you will see his face no more, until our Lord Himself

shall have come down from heaven upon that same
altar. Assure the priest that he has your prayers,

and say to him:

ADVENT

76
Suscipiat

ficium

Dominus

de manibus

sacri-

tuis, ad

May our Lord accept this

sacrifice at thy hands, to the

laudem ot gloriam nominis praise and glory of his namo,
sui, ad utilitatem quoque and for our benefit and that
nostram totiusque Ecclesim of his holy Church throughout the world.

suz sancte.

Here

the priest recites the prayers called the

Secrets, in which he presents the petition of the whole
Church for God’s acceptance of the sacrifice, and then
immediately begins to fulfil that great duty of religion,
thanksgiving. So far he has adored God, and has
sued for mercy ; he has still to give thanks for the
blessings bestowed on us by the bounty of our
heavenly Father, and expressly for that chiefest of all
His gifts, the Messias. We are in the season of expectation of a new visit of this Son of God ; the priest, in

the name of the
the gratitude of
faithful to that
God for all His
silent prayer by
Per omnia

rum !

Church, is about to give expression to
all mankind.
In order to excite the
intensity of gratitude which is due to
gifts, he interrupts his own and their
terminating it aloud, saying :

swmcula swculo-

For ever and ever !

In the same feeling answer your Amen !/ Then he
continues :

V. Dominus vobisoum.
R! Et cum spiritu tuo.
V. Sursum corda.

V. The Lord be with you.
nd with thy spirit.
" Lift up your hearts !

Let your response be sincere :
R. Habemus ad Dominum,

And when he adds :
V. Gratias agamus
no Deo nostro.

Domi-

{: We have them fixed on
God.
V. Let us
the Lord our

give thanks
God.

to

Answer him with all the earnestness of your soul :

R. Dignum et justumest.

R. It is meet and just.

m

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

Then the priest :
THE

PREFACE

(For the
Vero dignum ot justum
cst, ®quum et salutare, nos
tibi somper et ubique gratiss agore, Domine sancte,
Pater omnipotens, wmterne
Deus.
Qui cum unigenito
Filio tuo_ et Spiritu sancto
unus es Deus, unus es Dominus: non in unius singularitate

unius

Porsona,

Trinitate

sed

Sundays)

in

substantiz.

Quod enim do tua gloria,

revelante te, credimus, hoc
do Filio tuo, hoc de Spiritu
sancto, sino differentia discretionis

sentimus.

Ut

in

confessiono verm, sempiternmquo Deitatis, ot in Personis proprietas, et in essentia unitas, et in majestate
adoretur equalitas. Quam
laudant Angeli atque Arch-

angoli, Cherubim quoque ac
Seraphim ; qui_non cessant
clamare quotidie, una voco
dicentes, Sanctus, &c.

THE

It is traly moot and just,
right and availablo to salva.
tion, that wo should always
and in all places give thanks
to thee, 0 holy Lord, Fathor
almighty, eternal God, who
togother with thy only-begotton Son and the Holy Ghost
art one God and ono Lord :
not in the singularity of one
Person, but in the Trinity of
ono substance. For what we
believe of thy glory, as thou
hast revealed, the samo we
boliove of thy Son and of the
Holy Ghost, without any difforence or distinction. So that
in tho confession of tho truo
and eternal Deity, we adore a
distinction in the Persons, an
unity in the essence, and an
equality in tho Majesty.
Whom the Angels and Archangels, the Cherubim also and
Seraphim praise, and coase
not daily to cry out with one
voice, saying, Holy, &e.

PREFACE

(For the
Vero dignum et justum
est, ®quum et salutare, nos
tibi somper ot ubiquo gratias
agero: Domino ssncte, Pater
omnipotens, wmterne Deus,
por
Christum
Dominum
nostrum ; per quem majestatem tusm laudant Angeli,
adorant Dominationes, tromunt Potestates, Ceeli, ccelorumque Virtutes, ac beata

Week-days)

1t is truly meet and just,
right and available to salva-

tion, that wo should always

and in all places give than
to thec, 0 holy Lord, Father
almighty,
oternal
God :
through Christ our Lord ;
by whom the Angels praiso
thy majesty, the Dominations

adore

tremble

it, tho

Powers

before it ; the

Hea-

ADVENT

78
Seraphim,

socia

concelebrant.

exultatione
quibus

Cum

vens and the heavenly Vi

tues,

the

and

blessed

Sers

et nostras voces, ut admitti phim, with common jubileo,
jubens deprocamur, supplici glorify it. Togother with
whom, we beseech thee that
confessione dicentes.
wo may be admitted to join
our humble voices, saying :
Here unite with the priest, who, on his part, unites

himself with the blessed spirits, in giving thanks to
God for the unspeakable gift. Bow down and say :

Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus,

Dominus Deus sabaoth !
Pleni sunt cceli et terra

gloria tua.

Hosanna in excelsis !

Benedictus

qui

venit

nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis !
After

these

words

in

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God

of hosts !
Heaven and earth are full

of thy glory.

Hosanna in the highest !

Blessed be the Savnour who

is coming to us in the name
of the Lord who sends him.
Hosanna be to him in the
highest !

commences

the

Canon,

that

mysterious prayer in the midst of which heaven bows
down to earth, and God descends unto us. The voice
of the priest is no longer heard ; yea, even at the altar,

all is silence.

It was thus, says the Book of Wisdom,

in the quiet of silence, and while the night was in the
midst of her course, that the almighty Word came
down from His royal throne! Let us await Him in
a like silence, and respectfully fix our eyes on what
the priest does in the holy place.
THE CANON OF THE

MASS

In this mysterious colloquy with the great God of
heaven and “carth, the first prayer of the sacrificing
priest is for the Catholic Church, his and our mother,
Te
igitur, clementissime
Pater, per Jesum Christum

Filium

tuum

Dominum

no-

O God, who manifestest
thyself unto us by means of

the mysteries which thou hast

1 Wisd. xviii. 14, 15.

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

strum, supplices rogamus ac
potimus, uti accepta habeas,
et benedicas hwo dona, hwo
munera, hwc sancta sacrificia
illibata, in primis que tibi
offerimus pro Ecclesia tus
sancta Catholica : quam pacificare, custodire, adunsre, et
regere digneris, toto orbe terrarum, una cum famulo tuo
Papa nostro N., et antistite
nostro N., et omnibus orthodoxis, atque catholice et
apostolice fidei cultoribus.

79

entrusted to thy holy Church,
our mother ; wo beseech thee,
by the merits of this sacrifice,

that thou wouldst remove all

those hindrances which oppose her during her pilgrimage in this world.
Give her
peace and unity. Do thou
thyself guide our holy Father
the Pope, thy vicar on earth.
Direct thou ‘our bishop, who
is our sacred link of unity ;
and watch over all the orthodox children of the Catholio

apostolic Roman Church.

Here pray, together with the priest, for those whose

interests should be dearest to you.
Memento,

Domine,

famu-

lorum famularumque tuarum
N. et N., et omnium circumstantium, quorum tibi fides
cognita est, et nota devotio ;

pro quibus tibi offerimus, vel
qui tibi offerunt hoc sacrifi-

cium laudis, pro se, suisque
omnibus, pro redemptione
animarum suarum, pro spe

salutis et incolumitatis su ;

tibique

reddunt

vota

wterno Deo, vivo et vero.

sua

Permit mo, O God, to intercedo with thee in more
earnest prayr for those, for
Whom_ thon knowest that T
have & special obligation to
pray: * * * Pour down
thy blessings upon them. Let
them partako of the fruits of
this divine sacrifice, which is
offered unto thee in the name
of all mankind. Visit them
by thy grace, pardon them
eir sins, grant them the
blessings of this present life
and of that which is eternal.

Here let us commemorate the saints: they are that
portion of the body of Jesus Christ, which is called
the Church triumphant.

But the offering of this
rism venerantes, in_primi sacrifice, O my God, does not
loriosm _semper
Virginis unite us with those only of
stil in
i@, Genitricis
Dei
et our brethren who are
Domini nostri Jesu Christi : this transient life of trial : it
sed et beatorum apostolo- brings us closer to those also,
on
rum sc martyrum tuorum, who are already in
Petri ot Pauli, Andrem, Ja- of heaven. Therefore it is,
Communicantes, et memo-

80

ADVENT

cobi, Joannis, Thomax, Jacobi, Philippi, Bartholomi,
Matthai, Simonis, et Thaddei: Lini, Cleti, Clementis,
Xysti, Comelii, Cypriani,
Laurentii, Chrysogoni, Joannis ot Pauli, Cosma ot
Damisni, et omnium sanctorum tuorum, quorum meritis
precibusque concedas, ut in
omnibus protectionis tux mu-

that wo wish to honour by it

tho memory of the glorious
and cver Virgin Mary ; of the
apostles, confessors, virgins
and of all the saints ; that so
they may assist us, by their
powerful intercession, to become worthy to contemplato
theo, as they now do, in tho
‘mansions of thy glory.

niamur auxilio. Per eumdem
Christum Dominum nostrum.

Amen.
The priest, who up to this time has been praying

with his hands extendod, now joins them, and holds

them over the bread and wine, as the high-priest of
the old Law did over the figurative victim : he thus

cxpresses his intention of bringing these gifts more
closely under the notice of the divine Majesty, and of
marking them as the material offering whereby we
rofess our dependence, and which, in a few instants,

18 to yield its place to the living Host, upon whom all
our iniquities are to be laid.

Hono_igitur oblationem
sorvitutis
nostre,
sed
et
cuncte fomilim tum, quesumus, Domine, ut placatus
accipias : diesque nostros in
tua pace disponas, atque ab
wterna damnatione nos eripi,
ot in electorum tuorum juboas grego mumerari.
Per
Christum Dominum nostrum.
Amen.
Quam oblationem tu Deus
in omnibus qusumus, benedictam, sdscriptam, ratam,
rationabilem, acceptabilom:
que facero digneris ; ut nobis
Corpus et Sanguis fiat dilec
simi Filii tui Domini nostri
Josu Christi.

Vouchsafe, O God, to accept this offering which this
thy assembled family presents to thee as the homage of
its most happy servitude. In
return, give us peace, save us
from thy wrath, and number
us amongst thy elect, through
him who is coming to us, thy
Son our Saviour.
Yea, Lord, this is the moment when this bread is to
becomo his sacred Body,
which is our food ; and this
wine is to bo changed into his
Blood, whichisourdrink. Ah!
delay no longer, but send to us
this divine Son our Saviour.

THE

And here the

ORDINARY

OF

THE

MASS

81

priest ceases to act as man; he now

becomes more than a mere minister of the Church.

His word becomes that of Jesus Christ, with all its

power and efficacy. Prostrate yourself in profound
adoration ; for the Emmanuel, the ‘ God with us,’ is
coming down from heaven.

Qui pridie quam paterotur,
accepit panem in sanctas ac
venerabiles manus suss: ot
clovatis oculis in ceolum, ad to
Doum Patrem suum omnipotentem, tibi gratias sgons,
benedixit, fregit, d Jue
discipulus suis, dioens : Accipite, ot manducate ex hoo
omnes. Hoo EsT Ex1M CoRPUS MEUM.

What,

O God

of heaven

lnnd carth,my Jowms, the
long-e:
ossias, what
olss oan 1 do at this solemn
moment, but adore thee, in
silence, as my sovereign Master, and open my Wholo hoatt
to thee, as to its dearest
King! Come, then, Lord
Jesus, come !

The divine Lamb is now upon our altar. Glory
and love be to Him for ever! But He has come that

He may be immolated ; for which reason the priest,

who is the minister of the will of the Most High,

immediately pronounces over the chalice those sacred
words whic{ will produce the great mystical immolation by the separation of the Victim’s Body and Blood.
The substances of the bread and wine have ceased to
exist : the species alone are left, veiling, as it were,

the Body and Blood, lest fear should keep us from

a mystery, which God gives us in order to give
us confidence.
Let us associate ourselves to the
angels, who tremblingly look upon this deepest
wonder.
Simili modo postquam cceO precious Blood! thou
natum est, accipiens et hunc price of my salvation! I
praeclarum Calicem in sanctas adore thee ! ~ Wash away my
ac venerabiles
manus suas: sins, and give me & purity
item tibi gratias agens, bene- above the whiteness of snow.
dixit, deditque discipulis suis Lamb ever slain, yet ever
dicens : Accipite et bibite ex living, thou comest to take
away the sins of the world !
€0
omnes.
10
EST
ENIM
CALIX SANGUINIS MEI, NOVI

Come

also and

reigg in me

ADVENT

82
ET XTERNI

TESTAMENTI

: MYS-

TERIUM FIDEL: QUI PRO YOBIS
XT PRO MULTIS EFFUNDETUR
IN REMISSIONEM PECCATORUM.
Heee quotiescumque feceritis,
in mei memoriam facietis.
The

priest is now

by

lovo.

thy power

and

face to face with God.

by

thy

He

again raises his hands towards heaven, and tells our
heavenly Father that the oblation now on the altar
is no longer an earthly offering, but the Body and
Blood, the whole Person, of His divine Son.
Unde

et

memores,

Do-

mine, nos servi tui, sed et
81::; tua sancts, ejusdem
isti

tui Domini nostri

tam beat Passionis, necnon
et ab

inferis Resurrectionis,

sed et in caelos gloriosm Ascensionis: offerimus_ praclar® Majostati tus do tuis
donis ac datis Hostiam puram,
Hostiam sanctam,
Hostiam

immaculatam : Panem sanctum vite eterns et Calicem

salutis perpetuz.
Supra qua propitio ac
sereno vultu respicere digneris : et accepta habere,
sicuti accepta habero digna.
tus es munera pueri tui justi
Abel, et sacrificium patriarcha nostri Abrahz, et quod

Father of infinite holiness,
the Host s0 long expected is
here beforo theo ! Behold
this thy eternal Son, who
suffered a bitter Passion, rose
again with glory from the
grave, and ascended triumphantly into heaven. He is
thy Son ; but he is also our
Host, Host pure and spotless,
our meat and drink of everlasting life.

Heretofore thou didst accopt the sacrifice of the innocent lambs offered to theo by
Abel ; and the sacrifice whic
Abraham mado theo of his
son Isaso, who, though immolated, yet lived ; and lastly,
tibi obtulit summus sacerdos the sacrifice, which Melchisetuus Melchisedech, sanctum dech presented thee, of bread
sacrificium, immaculatam ho- and wino. Receive our sacrifice, which is above all those
stiam.
others. It is the Lamb of
whom all others could be but
figures : it is the undying
Vietim : it is the Body of thy
Som, who is the breadof Life,
and his Blood, which, whilsta
drinkofimmortalityforus,
is a
tribute adequate to thy glory.

THE ORDINARY

OF THE MASS

83

The priest bows down to the altar, and kisses it as
the throne of love on whichisseated the Saviour of men.

But, O God of infinite
Supplices to rogamus, omnipotons Deus: - jube . hoso power, these sacred gifts aro
per manus sancti not only on this altar here
perferri
angeli tui in sublime altare below ; they are also on that
tuum, in conspectu divinm sublime altar of heaven,

Majestatis tum : ut quotquot which is before the throne of
ex hac altaris participatione, thy divine Majesty. Theso

Sacrosanctum Mli tul Corpus two altars are but one and the
et Sanguinem sumpserimus, same, on which is accomomni benedictione celesti et plished the great mystery of
gratia repleamur. Per eum- thy glory and our salvation.
dom Christum Dominum no- Vouchsafe to make us parstrum.

takers of the Body and Blood

Amen.

of the august Victim, from
whom flow every grace and
blessing.

Nor is the moment; less favourable for making sup-

plication for the Church suffering.

Let us therefore

ask the divine liberator, who has come down among

us, that He mercifully visit, by a ray of His consoling

light, the dark abode of purgatory, and permit His

éfioufl to flow, as a stream of mercy’s dew, from this

our altar, and refresh the panting captives there.
Let us prey expressly for those among them who
have a claim on our saffrages.
Memento

famulorum
tuarum

N.

etiam,

Domine,

et N.,

qui

fsmularumque

nos

préecesserunt cum signo fidei,
et dormiunt in somno pacis.
Ipsis, Domine, et omnibus in
ut

beneath the veil of our delighted faith ; ah! hide not

Christum Dominum

of ours, who are imprisoned
in the place of expiation.

risto_quiescentibus, locum

refrigerii,

lucis et pacis,

indulgeas, deprecamur.

eumdem

nostrum.

Dear Jesus ! let the happiness of this thy visit extend
to every portion of thy
Church. ~ Thy face gladdens
the clect in the holy city :
even our mortal eyes can see

Amen.

~Per

thyself from

those

brethren

Be thou refreshment to them
in their flames, light in their

darkness, and peace in their
agonies of torment.

84

ADVENT

This duty of charity fulfilled, let us pray for ourselves, sinners, alas! who profit so little by the visit
which our Saviour pays us. Let us, together with
the priest, strike our breast, saying :
Nobis quoque

peccatoribus

ui!fl dppz:culcimdine

famulis

Alas ! we are poor sinners,
0 God of all sanctity ! yet
do we hope that thy infinite
meroy will grant us to share
in thy kingdom, not, indeed,
by reason of our works, which

imiserationum tuaruin sperantibus, partem sliquam et
sociétatem donare digneris
cum tuis_sanctis apostolis
et martyribus : cum Joanne, deserve little clse than punStephano, Mathis, Barnaba, ishment, but because of the
Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcel- merits of this sacrifice, which
lino, Petro, Felicitate, Perpe- we are offering to thee. Retua, Agatha, Lucis, Agnete, member, too, the merits of
Ceoilia, Anastasis, ot omni- thy holy apostles, of thy holy
bus sanctis tuis; intra quo- martyrs, of thy holy virgins,
rum nos consortium, non and of all thy saints. Grant
wstimator meriti, sed venie, us, by their intercession, grace
juzsumus,
r

largitor admitte.

Christum

nostrum.

Per

Dominum

quem

hec

omnia, Domine, semper bona.
creas, sanctificas, vivificas,
benedicis, ot prastas nobis:
per ipsum, et cum ipso ot in
ipso, est tibi Deo Patri omnipotenti, in unitate Spiritus
sancti, omnis honor et gloria.

in this world, and glory eter-

nal in the next: which we
ask of thee, in the name of our

Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son.
1t is by him thou bestowest
upon us thy blessings of life
and sanctification ; and by
him also, with him, and in
bim, in the unity of the Holy
Ghost, may honour and glory

be to thee !

While saying these last few words, the priest has

taken up

the sacred Host, which was on the altar;

he has field it over the chalice, thus reuniting the
Body and Blood of the divine Victim, in order to

show that He is now immortal. Then raising up
both chalice and Host, he offers to God the most
noble and perfect homage which the divine Majesty
could receive.
This solemn and mysterious rite ends the Canon.
The silence of the mysteries is broken. The priest
concludes his long prayers, by saying aloud, and so

THE ORDINARY

OF THE MASS

85

giving the faithful the opportunity of expressing their
desire that his supplications be granted :
Per omnia

rum.

szcula

szculo-

For ever and ever.

Answer him with faith, and in a sentiment of union
with your holy mother the Church :

Amen.

Amen! I beliove the mystery which has just been accomplished. I unite myself
to the offering which has

made, and to the petitions of
the Church.

It is time to recite the prayer which our Saviour
Himself has taught us. Let it ascend to heaven

together with the sacrifice of the Body and Blood of

Jesus Christ. How could it be otherwise than heard,
when He Himself who made it for us is in our very

hands now while we say it ? As this prayer belongs

in common to all God’s children, the priest recites it

aloud, and begins by inviting us all to join in it.

OREMUS
LET US PRAY
Pracoptis salutaribus moHaving been taught by a
niti, ot divina institutione saving precept, and following
formati, sudemus dicore s
the form given us by a divine
instruction, we thus presumo
to spoak.
THE LORD'S PRAYER

Pater noster, qui es in
Our Father, who art in
caslis, sanctificetur nomen heaven, hallowod be thy
tuum : adveniat regnum tu- nome: thy kingdom come :
um: fiat voluntas tus, sicut thy will be done, on earth
in caelo, et in terra. Panem a8 it is in heaven. Give us

nostrum quotidiam um da nobis hodie:
debita

et dimitte nobis

nostra,

sicut

et

nos

dimittimus debitoribus nostris: et ne nos inducas in
tentationem.

ftlu‘- day our daily bread : and

tres
that
them
wopassTorgive
against us: and lead us
forgive us our tres,

not into temptation.

a8

86

ADVENT

Let us answer with a deep feeling of our misery:
Sed libera nos a malo.

But deliver us from evil.

The priest falls once more into the silence of the
holy mysteries. His first word is an affectionate
Amen to our last petition—deliver us from evil—on
which he forms his own next prayer : and could he
pray for anything more needed ? Evil surrounds us
everywhere, and the Lamb on our altar has been sent

to expiate it and deliver us from it.

Libers nos, quaesumus DoHow many, O Lord, are
i
ab omnibus
malis, the evils which beset us!
wteritis, prasentibus, et Evils past, which are the
turis : et intercedente bea- wounds left on the soul by our
ta et gloriosa semper Virgine sins, and which strengthen
Dei
Genitrice
ria, cum her
wicked propensities.
beatis apostolis tuis Petro et Evils present, that is, the sins
Paulo, atque Andrea, et om- now at this very time upon
nibus sanctis, da propitius our soul ; the weakness of this
and the temptapacem in diebus nostris : ut
ope misericordie tum adjuti, tions which molest her. There
et a peccato simus semper are also future evils, that is,
liberi, et ab omni perturbatione securi.
Per eumdem
Dominum
nostrum
Jesum

the chastisement which our
sins deserve from the hand of

thyjustice. Inpresenceof this

Christum Filium tuum, qui Host of our salvation, we betecum vivit et regnat in uni- seech thee, O Lord, to deliver
tate Spiritus sancti Deus,
us from all these evils, and to
accept in our favour the intercession of

the Mother of

Jesus, of thy holy apostles
Peter and Paul, and Andrew.
Liberate us, break our chains,

vo us peace: through Jesus
Earint, thy Son, who with
the liveth and reigneth God,

The priest is anxious to announce the peace which
he has asked and obtained ; he therefote finishes his
prayer aloud, saying :

Per omnia seculs seculorum.
R.

Amen.

World without end.
R. Amen.

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

81

Then he says :

Pax Domini
vobiscum.

sit semper

May the peace of our Lord
bo ever with you.

To this paternal wish reply :

R. Et oum spiritu tuo.

R. And with thy spirit.

The mystery is drawing to a close; God is about
to be united with man, and man with God, by means
of Communion.

But first, an imposing and sublime

rite takes place at the altar.

So far the priest has

announced the death of Jesus; it is time to proclaim

His Resurrection. To this end, he reverently breaks
the sacred Host, and having divided it into three

parts, he puts one into the chalice, thus reuniting the
Body and Blood of the immortal Victim. Do you
adore, and say :
Hwme

commixtio

et conse-

Glory
be to thee, O Saviour

cratio Corporis et Sanguinis of the world, who didst, in
Domini nostri Jesu Christi thy Passion, permit thy prefiat

accipientibus

vitam mternam.

nobis

Amen.

in

cious Blood to be separated

from thy sacred Body, afterwards uniting them again
together by thy divine power.

Offer now your prayer to the ever-living Lamb,
whom St. John saw on the altar of heaven *standing
though slain’ : say to this your Lord and King :
Agnus Dei, qui tollis pec-

cata mundi, miserere nobis.

Lamb of God, who takest

away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis pecLemb of God, who takest
cata mundi, miserere nobis.
away the sins of the world,
have mercy on us.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peoLamb of God, who takest
cata mundi, dona nobis pa- away the sins of the world,
cem.
give us peace.
. Peace is the grand object of our Saviour’s coming

into the world : He is the Prince of peace. The divine
Sacrament of the Eucharist ought therefore to be the
mystery of peace, and the bond of Catholic unity ;

88

ADVENT

for, as the apostle says, all we who partmke of one
It is on this
bread, are all one bread and one body.!
account that the priest, now that he is on the point of
receiving in Communion the sacred Host, prays that
fraternal peace may be preserved in the Church, and
more especially in this portion of it which is assembled
round the altar. Pray with him and for the same
blessing :

Domine Jesu Christe, qui
dixisti apostolis tuis: Pacem
relinquo vobis, pacem meam
do vobis: ne respicias peccata mea, sed fidem Ecclosie
tum: camque secundum voluntatem tusm pacificare, et
coadunare digneris. Qui vivis et regnas Deus, per omnia
swcula seculorum. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, who
saidst to thy apostles, ‘My
peaco I leave with you, my
peace 1 givo unto you " regard not my sins, but the
faith of thy Church, and
grant her that peace and
unity whichisaccording
to thy
will, Who livest and reignest
God for ever and ever.

Amen.

If it be a High Mass, the priest here gives the kiss of
ace to the deacon, who gives it to the subdeacon,

and

he to the choir.

During this ceremony,

you

should excite within yourself feelings of Christian

charity, and pardon your enemies if you have any.
Then continue to pray with the priest :
Domine Jesu Christe, Fili
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of
Dei vivi, qui ex voluntate the living God, who, accord-

Patris, codperante Spiritu ing to the will of thy Father,
sancto, per mortem tuam through the co-operation of
mundum’ vivificasti: libera the Holy Ghost, hast by thy
me per hoc sacrosanctum death given life to the world
Corpus et Sanguinem tuum, deliver me by this thy most
ab_ omnibus _iniquitatibus sacred Body and Blood from
meis, et universis malis, et fac all my iniquitics, and from
mo tuis semper inhwrere all evils; and make me almandatis, et o to nunquam ways adhere to thy command-

separari permittas.

Qui cum

codem Deo Patro et Spiritu
sancto vivis ot regnas Deus

in secula seculorum.

Amen.

ments,

and never

to be separated

suffer me

from

thee,

who with the same God.the
Father and the Holy Ghost,

livest and reignest God
ever and over.
Amen.

11 Cor. x. 17.

for

THE ORDINARY

89

OF THE MASS

If you are going to Communion at this Mass, say the
following prayer ; otherwise, prepare yourself to make
a spiritual Communion :

Perceptio Corporis tui,
Domine_Jesu Christo, quod
ego indignus sumore preesumo, non mihi proveniat
in judicium ot condemnationem : sed pro tus pietate
prosit mihi ad tutsmontum
mentis et corporis, et ad
medelam percipiendam. ~Qui
vivis ot regnss oum Deo
Patre in unitate _Spiritus
sancti Deus, per omnia smoula.
swoulorum. - Amen.

Lot not _tho_participation
of thy Body, O Lord Jesus
Christ, which I, though unworthy, presume to receive,
tum to my judgement and
condemnation ; but through
thy mercy may it bo a safeguard and remedy both to m
soul snd body. Who wit
God the Father, in the unity
of the Holy Ghost, livest and
reignest God for ever and
ever. Amen.

When the priest takes the Host into his hands, in

order to receive it in Communion, say :

Panem cclestom accipism,
Come,
come !
et nomen Domini invocabo.

my

dear

Jesus,

‘When he strikes his breast, confessing his unworthi-

ness, say thrice with him these words, and in the
same disposition as the centurion of the Gospel, who
first used them :

Domine, non sum dignus,
Lord, I sm not worthy
ut intres sub tectum meum : thou shouldst onter under my
sed tantum dic vorbo, et sa- roof ; say it only with one

nabitur anima mea.

word of ‘thine, and my soul

will be healed.

‘While the priest receives the sacred Host, if you

also are to communicate, adore
who is ready to take up

profoundly your God,

His hgodu within you, and

again say to Him with
the bride : Come, Lord Jesus,
come !’
But should you not be going to receive sacramentally, make a spiritual Communion. Adore Jesus
Christ who thus visits your soul by His grace, and
say to Him :

ADVENT

90

Corpus Domini nostri Jesu
I give thee, O Jeaus, this
Christi, oustodist animsm hesrt of mine, that thou
meam in vitam wmternam. mayst dwell in it, and do
Amen.
with me what thou wilt.
Then the priest takes the chalice in thanksgiving

and says :

Quid retribuam Domino
omnibus, que retribuit
mihi ? Calicem salutaris accipiam, et nomen Domini invocabo. Lsudans invocabo
Dominum, ot ab inimicis meis salvus ero.

What return shall I make
to the Lord for all ho hath
given tome ? Iwill tako tho
chalice of salvation, and will
call upon the name of the
Lord. Praising 1 will call
upon the Lord, and I shall be
saved from mino enemios.

But if you are to make a sacramental Communion,

you should, at this moment of the priest’s receiving
the precious Blood, again adore the God who is
coming to you, and keep to your canticle : ‘ Come,
Lord Jesus, come !’
If, on the contrary, you are going to communicate
only spiritually, again adore your divine Master, and
say to Him :

Sanguis Domini nostri Jesu
I unite myself to thee, my
Christi custodiat
animam
beloved Jesus
! do thou unite
meam in vitem wternam. thyself
to mo; and never lot
Amen.
us be soparated !

It is here that you must approach to the altar, if
you are going to Communion. The dispositions suitable for holy Communion during
this season of
Advent are given in the next chapter, p. 94.
The Communion being finished, and while the priest
is purifying the chalice the first time, say :
‘Quod ore sumpsimus,

Do-

Thou

hast visited

me,

O

mine, pura mente capiamus : God, in these days of my pll-

et de munere temporali fist grimage; give me grace to
nobis remedium sempiternum. treasuro up the fruits of this
visit for my future eternity.

‘While the priest is purifying the chalice the second
time, say :

91

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

Corpus tuum, Domine,
quod sumpsi, et Sanguis
quem potavi, adhreat visceribus meis: et prasta ut

in me non remaneat scelerum
macula, quem pura et sancta

refecerunt Sacramenta.

Qui

vivis et regnas in smcula s®culorum.

Amen.

Be thou for ever blessed, O

my Saviour, for having admitted me to the sacred mys-

tery of thy Body and Blood.

May my heart and senses presorve, by thy grace, the purity
hich thou bast imparted to
them ; and thus fit me for
that glorious light of thy

coming, that I may not then
bo confounded.

The priest, having read the antiphon called the
Communion, which is the first part of his thanksgiving
for the favour just received from God, whereby He
has renewed His divine

presence among

us, turns to

the people with the usual salutation ; after which, he
recites the prayers, called the Postcommunion, which
are the completion of the thanksgiving. You will
join him here also, thanking God for the unspeakable
gift He has just lavished on you, and asking, with
most earnest entreaty, for the coming of the Messias,

who will accomplish
those august mysteries, the
renewsl of which in the holy Mass is the chief support
of the Christian life.
These prayers having been recited, the tgriest again
turns to the people, and, full of joy for
the immense
favour he and they have been receiving, he says :
Dominus vobiscum.

Et cum spiritu tuo.

The Lord be with you.

Answer him :

And with thy spirit.

Then, if it be a Mass of a feast, the deacon (or the
pria:li himself, if it be not a High Mass) says these
‘wordas

:

Ite, Missa est.

Go, the Mass is finished.

R. Deo gratiss.
R. 'Thank
be to s
God.
But if it be a Mass proper to Advent, he does not

dismiss the faithful, bocause, in this holy season, it

92

ADVENT

behoves
says :

us to increase

V. Bonedicamus Domino.
R. Deo gratias.

our prayers;

he therefore

V. Let us bless the Lord.

R. Thanks be to God.

The priest makes a last prayer, before giving you
his blessing ; pray with him :
Placeat tibi, sancta Trini-

tas, obsequium servitutis
mez, et prasta ut sacrificium
quod oculis tum majestatis
us obtuli, tibi sit accei
ptabile, mihique, et omnibus
pro quibus illud obtuli, sit, te
miserante, propitiabile. Per
Christum Dominum nostrum.

Eternal thanks be to thee,
0O adorable Trinity, for the
mercy thou hast shown to
me, in permitting me to assist
at this divino sacrifice. Pardon me the negligence and
coldness wherewith I have
received so great a favour,
and deign to confirm tho
blessing, which thy minister
is sbout to givo me in thy
name.

The priest raises his hand, and thus blesses you :

Benedicat vos omnipotens _ May the almighty God,
Dous, Pater, et Filius, ot Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Spiritus sanctus.
bloss you !
He then concludes the Mass by reading the first
fourteen verses of the Gospel according to St. John,
which tell us of the eternity of the Word, and of the

mercy which led Him to take upon Himself our flesh,
and to dwell among us. Pray that you may be of the
number of those, who will recesve Hiém, when He comes,

this year, into the midst of His people.

Initium sancti Evangelii se- The beginning of the holy
cundum Joannom.
Gospel according to John.
Cap. i.
Ch.
In principio erat Verbum,
In the beginning was the
ot Vorbum erat lgnd Doum, Word, and tho Word was
ot Deus erat Vorbum. Hoc with God, and the Word was
erat in principio apud Deum. God. Tho samo was in tho
Omnia
per ipsum facta sunt ; beginning
with God. All
ot sine ipso factum est nihil, things were made by him,

93

THE ORDINARY OF THE MASS

quod factum est : in ipso vita

erat, et vita erat lux homi-

num : et lux in tenebris lucet,

et tenebrs eam non comprehenderunt.

Fuit homo

mis-

and

without him

was

nothing that was made.

made

In

him was life, and the life was
the light of men; and the

light shineth in darkness, and

sus a Deo, cui nomen erat the darkness did not compreJosnnes. Hic venit in testi- hend it. There was a man
‘monium, ut testimonium per- sent from God, whose name
hiberet de lumine, ut omnes

was John.

This man came

venit, et sui eum non

world,

the

croderent per illum. Non for a witness, to give testierat ille lux, sed ut testimo- mony of the light, that all
nium_perhiberet do lumine. men might believe through
Erat lux vers, quee illuminat him. Ho was not the light,
omnem hominem venientem
but was to give testimony of
the light.
That was the true
in hune mundum.
In mundo
erat, ot mundus per ipsum light, which enlightenoth
factus est, et mundus eum every man that cometh into
non cognovit. In propria this world. He was in the
perunt.

rece-

Quotquot sutem re-

and

world

was

his,

made by him, and the world
knew
him not. He came
unto his own, and his own

Er VERBUM

them that believe in his name,

ceperunt eum, dedit eis g:

testatem filios Dei fieri,

qui credunt in nomine ejus : received him not. But as
qui non ex sanguinibus, ne- many as received him, to
que ex voluntate carnis, ne- them he gave power to be
R:ex voluntate viri, sed ex made the sons of God; to
CARO

tavit

nati sunt.
FACTUM

in nobis:

EST,

et

habi-

et vidimus

who are bom, not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh, nor

gloriam ejus, gloriam _quasi of the willof man, but of God.
Unigeniti a Patre, plenum Axp THE WORD WAS MADE
gratim ot veritatis.
¥LESH, and dwelt among us ;
and we saw his glory, as it
were the glory of the Onlybogotten of the Father, full

R. Deo gratiss.

of

0 and truth.

. Thanks be to God.

ADVENT

94

CHAPTER
ON HOLY

THE SIXTH

COMMUNION

DURING

ADVENT

It is true that everything in Advent is so arranged
as to be a preparation for the coming of the Saviour

at the feast of Christmas, and that the spirit of the

faithful should be one of earnest expectation of thissame Saviour ; and yet, such is the happy lot of the
children of the new Law, that they can, if they wish it,

really, and at once, receive this God whom the Church

is expecting ; and

thus, this familiar visit of Jesus

will become itself one of the preparations for His
great and solemn visit. Let those, then, who are

living the life of

grace, and to whom the glorious day

of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ will bring an
increase of spiritual life, not omit to prepare, by
Communion, for the reception they intend to give
to the heavenly Spouse on the sacred night of His
coming. These Communions will be interviews with
their divine Lord, giving them confidence, and love,

and all those interior dispositions wherewith

they

would welcome Him who comes to load them with
fresh grace, for this Jesus is full of grace and truth.

They will understand this better by reflecting on
the sentiments which the august Mother of Jesus had
in her blessed soul during the time which preceded
the divine birth. This birth is to be an event of more
importance, both to the salvation of mankind and
to Mary’s own glory, than even that of the first

accomplishment

of the Incarnation;

for the Word

was made Flesh in order that He might be born. The
immense happiness of holding in her arms her Son and

her God, would make the sacred hour of Jesus’ birth

dearer and happier to Mary, than even that in which
she was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, and re-

ceived

from

Him

the

divine

fruit of her womb.

BEFORE COMMUNION

95

During those nine months, when she knew that her

Jesus was so undividedly hers, what must have been

the happiness which filled her heart! It was a bliss
which was a worthy preparation for that more blissful
night of Bethlehem.
Christians ! your Communions during Advent are
to prepare you for your Christmas joy, by giving you

something of the delight which Mary felt before the
birth of Jesus.

When you are in the house of God,

preparing by recollection and prayer for receiving
your Saviour in holy Communion, you may perhaps
be assisted in your preparation by the sentiments and
aflections which we have ventured to offer you in the

following acts.

BEFORE

COMMUNION

ACT OF FAITH

Knowing thiat thou art about to enter under my roof, O

eternal God, Jesus Son of the Father, I have need of all my
faith. Yes, it is thou who art coming to me, thou who didst

enter into Mary’s virginal womb, making it the sanctuary of

thy Majesty.

Thou didst send thine angel to her, and she

believed his word, when he said : * Nothing is impossible to

God : the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of
the Most High shall overshadow thee.’

She

believed, and

then conceived in her chaste womb him who had created
her. Thou kast not sent an angel to me, O my Saviour, to
tell me thou art coming into my heart. Thou hast spoken
thyself, and thou hast said: ‘I am the living Bread come
down from heaven : he that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my
Blood, abideth in me and Iin him.”

Thou hast willed thet

theso words of thine, spoken so many hundred years ago,
should reach me by thy Church, that thus I might have

both the certainty that they are thine, and the merit of

bowing down my reason to the deepest of mysteries. [
believo then, O Jesus! Help the weakness of my faith.
Enable me to submit, as Mary did, to thy infinite wisdom ;
and since thou desirest to enter under my roof, I bow down

my whole being before thee, using her blessed words : * May

it be done to me according to thy word ;’ for how dare I, who

am but nothingness,
resist thee, whoart all wisdom and power!

ADVENT

96

ACT OF HUMILITY
But, O my Saviour, when thou didst cnoose the womb of

the glorious Virgin for th’;h;boda, thou hadst but to leave

one heaven for another.

ou hadst prepared her, from her

conception, with every grace ; and she, on her part, had been
more faithful to theo than all angels and men together.

Whereas my heart has nothing in it which can induce thee to

come and make it thy dwelling.

refused thee admittance,
door

asking

me

How many times has it

when thou didst stand

to receive thee?

And even

had

at the
I been

always faithful, what proportion s there between its lowliness
and thy infinite greatness ? Elizabeth humbled hersclf when
sho was visited by Mary, and exclaimed, * How comes such
an honour to me ¥’

And I am to receive a visit, not merely

of the Mother of God, but of God himself, and in such an inti-

mate familiar manner, that a greater union cannot be. Thou
sayest, * He that eateth me, abideth in me and I in him : O

Son of God ! thou seekest, then, for what is lowest and poorost,
and in that thy heart loves to dwell. I am overwhelmed
with admiration at this condescension ; but when I reflect that

thou grt going to show it me, I can do nothing but sink into
my own nothingness, and there beseech thee to show

me

‘more and more clearly, that I am but nothing ; that so, when
thou hast come within me, my whole being may proclaim the
glory, the mercy, the power of my Jesus.
ACT OF CONTRITION

Happy should I be, O Jesus, if I could feel that this my
nothingness was the only obstacle to the glorious union to
which thou invitest me!

I would then approach

to thee,

after tho examplo of thy Immaculate Mother, my august
Queen, and would dare to partake of the banquet at which she
is on thy right hand. But I am worse than nothing—I am a

sinner : and surely

sanctity and sin,

there can be no union between infinite

between light and darkness ! I have been

thine enemy, O my Redeemer ! and yet thou wishest to come
into my heart, with the sores of its shame and wounds barely

closed ; and thou tellest me, that thou, who couldst delight

to dwell in Mary’s heart, canst find pleasuro in mine!
Oh!
how this teaches me the malice of my sins, since they offended
a God so generous, so wonderful in his love for me!
In

these few moments, which procede thy descending into the
midst of my darkness in order to chango it into light, what
can I do but renew my sorrow for those many sins whereby

BEFORE COMMUNION

97

T lost thee, as also for those whereby I grieved thee without
losing thy grace. Accelpt this my contrition, O my Saviour !

It is thus that I would

removing everything which

path of thy holy Law.

prepare thy way to my heart, by

is in opposition to the rightcous

ACT OF LOVE

For I would indeed love thee, O my Saviour, as Mary loved

thee.

Art thou not my God, as thou wast hers ?

Nay, b;

forgiving me my sins, liast thou not shown marks of tender-

ness to me, which Mary could not receive ? I love thee,
then, sweet Jesus, who art coming into me.
Most welcome

visit, which is to increase my love ! Thy blessed Mother had
lived, up to the very moment when thou didst enter her

womb, in all holiness and justice ; she had loved thee alone,
and as no other had loved : but when she felt thee within her,
when she felt that now thou wast one and the same with
herself, her love redoubled, and lost all sight of limit.
May

it be so with my heart, when thou comest into it, my God

and my all ! Yes, come quickly ; for though most unworthy
of thy visit, yet am I forced to desire it, secing that thou art
the Bread which giveth life unto the world, and our daily

Bread, by eating which we support lifo until the day of our
eteity arrives. Come, then, my Lord Jesus ! my heart is
ready and trusts in thee.
And thou, O Mary, by the joy thou didst experience in
containing within thyself him whom heaven and earth could
not contain, help me; in this Communion, to have my heart
pure and fervent. Holy angels, who looked with astonishment and awe upon this simple creature carrying God within
her, havo pity on me, that poor sinner whose heart, so lately
the abode of Satan, is this very hour to become the tabernaclo
of your sovereign Lord. All ye saints of heaven, and ye
espocially my ever faithful patrons, come to my assistance
now that he, in whom ye live for ever, just and immortal, is
coming down to me, a sinful mortal. Amen.
In order to make your preparation complete, follow,
with a lively faith and attention, all the mysteries of

the Mass at which you are to reccive Communion ;
using, for this purpose, the method we have given in
the preceding chapter.

After your Communion, you

may sometimes make your thanksgiving by reciting
the prayers we here give.
7

ADVENT

98
AFTER

COMMUNION

ACT OF ADORATION

0O sovereign Majesty of God ! thou hast, then, mercifully

This favour, which thou didst

deigned to come down to me !

heretofore grant to Mary, has been given to me too !

Would

that I, during these hnp&\: moments, could adore thee as
e sentiment of her lowliness and
profoundly as she did !
unworthiness, at that solemn moment, would have overpowered her, had not thy tender love for her supported her
to bear that ineffable union of the Creator with his creature.

My lowliness, and still more my unworthiness, are of a very

different kind from hers ; and yet I find it 8o hard to feel
them. This much at least I know, that in order thus to

come to me, and be my own infinite treasure, thou hast had.

to overcome immense obstacles.

thee, that is worthy of thee ?

What, then, shall I do for

How can I best compensate

thee for the humiliation thou hast thus borne out of love for
I can but adore thee, and humble myself to the
me?

farthest depths of my own nothingness. And because this my
adoration i8 not worthy of thine acceptance, I presume to

offer thee that which Mary herself offered thee the first
moment she became Mother of God, and during the nine
months thou wast so clowl{duniwd with her. Thou hast

given her to mo to be my own

Mother ; permit mo to make this

use of her wealth, which she loves to see her children so freely

giving to thy greater glory.

ACT OF THANKSGIVING

But thy blessed Mother, O Jesus, was not satisfied with
adoring
thee interiorly ; her glad heart soon gave expression
to its intense gratitude.
She saw that thou hadst preferred
her to all the daughters of her people, nay, to all generations
both past and to come ; her soul therefore thrilled with delight, and her lips could scarce give utterance to her immense
joy. ‘Ho that is mighty,’ she said. ‘hath dono great
things in ms ; bo hath regarded the lowliness of his handmaid ; and all generations shall call me blessed.” And hast
thou not favoured mo, O Jesus, above thousands and tens of
thousands, in giving me the wonderful gift I now Lold within

me ? Thou hast made me live after the accomplishment of
thine Incarnation. This very day, how many pious servants
of thine have

not had given to them

what

I have received

AFTER COMMUNION
from

thee!

I possess thee here within

99
me;

I know

the

worth of thy coming ; but how many are there who neither
possess thee nor know thee !

Thou hast indeed invited all

to these graces, but a great number have refused them ; and

whilst thou hast compelled me, by the powerful yot sweet
ways of thy mercy, to come to thee, thou hast, in thy justice.

Mayst thou be
rmitted them to continue in their refusal.
?:r ever blessed, O my God ! who lovest, indeed, all the works
of thy hands, and wishest all men to be saved ; so that none

is lost, but he that refuses thy grace : yet, in the superabundant riches of thy mercy, thou dost multiply, for many, the
boundless resources of thy love.
ACT OF LOVE
I will love thee, then, O Jesus!

because

thou hast first

loved me ; and I will love theo the more because, by this thy
visit to me, thou hast so greatly increased my power to love.
It was thus with Mary, when thou didst choose her for thy

Mother.

Up to that time she had been the most faithful of

thy creatures, and deserved the prefercnce thou didst give
her, abova all women, of being honoured with the high

privilege of becoming Mother of God.
But when thou didst
enter her virginal womb, when thy divine Person came into

that admirablo contact ith hor nature, whioh, though holy,
was human ; Mary, transformed, as it were, into thee, began
to love thee as she had never been able to do before. May
it be so with me, dear Jesus! May my own life be lost in
thine! Is not the visit thou hast paid me that of a God ?

The visits of creatures are but exterior ; thine to me is in-

terior ; thou hast not entered my house and blessed it, thou
hast penetrated into the deepest recesses of my very soul ; so
that ive,
§
10, it i3 Rt T, but tho livest in e, aa § .y apostle
expresses the mystery. So that if I love mysclf, I must lovo
thee, since thou abidest in me, and I abide in thee.

ever separate from theo again ?

Can I

No, my divine Master, I

desire to have but thee for my love and my very life, now

and for ever.

ACT OF OBLATION
But take hecd, my soul : let not the love of thy God be
mere sentiment. He that loves God, lives for him. Jesus’

presence produced in Mary, the moment it was effected, far
more than the sentiment of total devotedness of herself to
the interests and glory of him who was both her God and her
Son. It gave her a conformity to all God’s appointments,

ADVENT

100
which

stood unshaken,

without

one moment

of faltering,

through all the trials of her long life. Thou hast visited m¢,
dear Saviour, and courage is what thou wishest to leave with
me. Between this day and that of my death and my judgement, I am to go through mmz

difficult, and some of them

trials

and temptations, all

porhaps sovers.

1If I love thee,

1 shall triumph over them all. And how can I but love thee,
even at the bare remembrance of this thy visit to me, which

thou art ready to repeat as often as I wish it !

I am thino, C

God of my heart, as thou art mino. Thou knowest my greas
weakness : give me courage and strength. Thou hast given
me, this happy hour, the richest pl«fge of thy mercy ; on
this infinite mercy I rest all my hope.
O Mary, pray for me that I mu}:)grofit by this visit of thy
divino Son.—Yo holy angels of God, defend me against my
enemies, for your Lord has made me his dwelling-place.—
All yo saints of God, pray for me, that I may never lose this
sovereign Good, with whom ye are united for a happy eternity. Amen.
CHAPTER THE SEVENTH
ON THE OFFICE OF VESPERS DURING ADVENT
THE limits which necessity requires us to put to this

volume will not admit of our inserting any of the day

Office beyond Vespers and Compline; moreover,
the faithful rarely assist at any other of the Canonical

Hours, during this part of the liturgical year.

The Office of Vespers, or Evensong, consists firstly
of five psalms with their antiphons. The antiphons
of each Sunday are given farther on, in the Proper of
the Time.
The Church commences with the supplication,
which she makes to God at the beginning of all her
Hours:

V. Deus, in adjutorium
7. Incline unto my aid, O
‘meum intende.
God.
R. Domine, ad adjuvan- _ R. O Lord, make haste ta
dum me festina.
help me.

VESPERS

101

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et
Glory be to the Father, and
Spiritui sancto.
to the Son, and to the Holy

Ghost.
Sicut erat in principio, et
As it was in the beginning,
nunc et semper, ot in szcula is now, and over shall be,
seculorum. Amen. Alloluia. world_ without ond. Amen.
Alleluia.
The first psalm is a prophecy of the glory of the
Messias. Let us, during this season, the more
earnestly proclaim the greatness of the Incarnate
Word the more we see Him humbled, out of love for

us, during these days which precede His divine birth.
psaLM
Dixit
Dominus
Domino
meo : * Sede a dextris meis.

109

Tho Lord ssid to my Lord,

his Son : Sit thou at my right

hand, and reign with me.
Until, on the day of thy
last coming, T make thy enemios thy footstool.

Doneo ponam inimicos
tuos: * scabellum pedum
tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tum emitO Christ! the Lord thy
tot Dominus ox Sion : * do- Father will send forth the
minare in modio inimicorum scoptro of thy power out of
tuorum.

Sion : from thence rule thou

in the midst of thine enemies.
With thee is the princi-

Tecum principium in_die
virtutis tum in splendoribus pality in the day of thy
sanctorum : * ex utero ante
strength, in tho brightness of
the saints : for the Father hath
luciferum genui te.
said to thee : From the womb

before the day-star I begot
thee.
The Lord hath sworn, and

Juravit Dominus, ot non
paenitebit eum : * Tu es Sa- he_will not repent: he hath
cerdos in ternum secundum said, speaking of thee, the GodMan : Thou art a Priest for
ordinem Melchisedech.
ever, according to the order
of Melchisedech.

Dominus a dextris tuis: *
Therefore, O Father, the
confregit in die ir sum reges. Lord thy Som, is at thy right
hand : he hath broken kings

Judicabit in nationibus,
implebit ruinas: * conquas-

in the day of his wrath.
Ho shall aleo judge among
nations: n that terrible

102

ADVENT

sabit capita in terra multo- coming, he shall fill the ruins
of the world : he shall crush
rum.
De torrente in via bibet : *

propterea exaltabit caput.

the heads in the land of many.

He cometh now in humility ;

he shall drink, in the way, of

the

torrent

of

sufferings

therefore shall he lift up the
head.

The following psalm commemorates the mercies
of God to His people, the promised Covenant, the
Redemption, His fidelity to His promises.
PsaLy 110

Confitebor tibi, Domine,
in toto corde meo : * in con’
silio justorum et congregatione.
Mogna opers Domini: *
ta in omnes voluntates cjus.
Confessio et magnificentia
opus ejus: * ot justitia ejus
manot in seeulum swouli.
Memoriam fecit mirabilium
suorum, misericors et miserator Dominus : * escam dedit
timentibus se.

I will praise thee, O Lord,

with my whole heart : in the
counsel of the just, and in the
congregation.
Great are the works of the
Lord: sought out according
to all his wills.
His work is ‘Fniu

and

‘magnificence : and his justice
continueth for ever and ever.
He hath made s .remembrance
of his wonderful

works, being a merciful and
gracious Lord : and being the
Bread of life he hath given
food to them that fear him.
He will be mindful for ever

Memor erit in swoulum
testamenti sui: * virtutem
of his covenant with men : he
operum suorum annuntiabit will come and will show forth
populo suo.
to his people the power of his
works.
Ut det illis hareditatem
That he may give them,
Gentium : * opers manuum his Church, the inheritance of
ejus veritas ot judicium.
the Gentiles: the works of
his hands are truth and judgement.

All his commandments are
Fidelia omnis mandata
ejus, confirmata in seculum faithful, confirmed for ever
* facta in veritate et and ever : made in truth and
equity.
®quitate.
mptionem misit popuHe hath sent Redemption

VESPERS

lo suo: * mandavit in wternum

testamentum

suum.

103

to his peoplo, and this Re-

deemer will soon appear : ho

hath, thereby, commanded his

covenant for ever.

Holy and terrible is his
Sanctum et terribile nomen
cjun; * initium sapientie name : the fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom.
timor Domini.
A good understanding to
Intellectus bonus omnibus
facientibus eum : * laudatio all that do it : his praise conejus manet in smculum se- tinueth for ever and ever.
culi.

The third %)snlm sings the happiness of the just

opes on the day of our Lord’s second
coming. It also tells us what will be the confusion of
the sinner on that terrible day.
man, and his

psaLm 111

Blessed* is_the man that
Beatus vir, qui timet Dominum : * in mandatis ejus feareth the Lord: he shall
delight exceedingly in his
volet nimis.
commandments.

Potens in terra erit semen
His seed shall bo mighty
ejus: * generatio rectorum upan earth : the generation of
the righteous shall be blessed.
benedicetur.
Gloria et divitie in domo
Glory
and wealth shall be
ejus: * et justitia ejus manet in his houso : and his justice
in smeulum seculi.
remaineth for ever and ever.
Exortum est in tenebris
To the righteous a light is
lumen rectis : * misericors et risen up in darkness: he is
‘miserator, et justus.
‘merciful, and compassionate,
and just.
Jucundus homo, qui miseAcceptable is the man that
retur et commodat, disponet showeth mercy and lendeth :
sermones suos in judicio : * he shall order his words with
quis

in @ternum

movebitur.
In memoria

non

sterna

com-

erit

justus; * ab auditiono mala
non timebit.
Paratum

cor ejus sperare

judgement: because he shall

not be moved for ever.

The just shall be in everlasting remembrance : he shall
not fear the evil hearing.
His heart is ready to hope

in Domino, confirmatum est in the Lord; his heart is
cor ejus: * non commovebi- strengthened ; he shall not be
tur donec despiciat inimicos

su0s.

moved until he look over his
enemies.

104

ADVENT

He hath distributod, he
Dispersit, dedit psuperibus, justitis ejus manet in hath given to the poor ; his
swculum smouli : * cornu ejus justico remaineth for ever
and ever: his horn shall be
exaltabitur in gloria.
exalted in glory.
The wicked shall see, and
Peccator vidobit, et irascetur, dentibus suis fremot et shall bo angry: he shall
tabescot : * desidorium pec- gnash with his_teeth, and
pine away : the desire of the
catorum peribit.
wicked shall perish.
The fourth psalm is a canticle of praise to the Lord,
who, from His high heaven, has taken pity on the
fallen human race, and raised it up again by the
Incarnation.
psaLy 112

Laudate, pueri, Dominum : Praiso the Lord, yo children : praise ye the name of
* laudate nomen Domini.

Sit nomen Domini benodictum : * ex hoc nunc et
usque in seculum.
A solis ortu usque ad occasum: * laudabilo nomen
Domini.
Excolsus _super omnes
gentes Dominus : * et super
ccelos gloria ejus.
Quis sicut Dominus Dous
noster qui in altis habitat :*
ot humilia respicit in ccelo
ot in terra ?
Suscitans
a terra inopem : *
ot de stercore erigens pauperom.
Ut collocet eum cum principibus: * cum principibus
populi sui
Qui habitare facit sterilem
in domo : * matrom filiorum
letantem.

the Lord.
Blessod be the name of the
Lord : from henceforth now
and for ever.
Trom the rising of the sun
unto the going down of the
same, the name of the Lord
is worthy of praise.
Tho Lord is high abovo all
nations : and his glory above
the heavens.
Who is as the Lord our
God, who dwelloth on_high :
and looketh down on the low
things inheavenandon
earth ?
Raising up the needy from
the earth : and lifting up the
poor out of the dunghill.
That he may place him
with princes : with tho princes
of his people.
Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the
joyful mother of children.

The fifth psalm recalls the memory of the prodigies

done under the ancient Covenant ; this will naturally

105

VESPERS

awaken within us the hope of seeing those things,
which happened to the people of Israel in figure,
realized at the coming of the Messias.
psaLym 113

When Israel went out of
* domus Jacob de populo Egypt: the houso of Jacob
from a barbarous peoplo.
barbaro.
Judea was made his sancFacta est Judwa sanctificatio ejus: * Israel potcstas tuary : Israel his dominion.
In exitu Israel de Egypto :

ejus.
Mare vidit, et fugit : * Jordanis conversus est retrorsum.
Montes exsultaverunt ut
arictes : * et colles sicut agni
ovium.
Quid est tibi, mare,

fugisti:

* et

tu

quod

Jordanis,

quia conversus es retrorsum ?
Montes

exsultastis

sicut

arictes : * et colles sicut agni
ovium ?
A facie Domini mota cst
terra : *a facio Dei Jacob.

Qui convertit petram in

stagna aquarum ; * et rupem

in fontes aquarum.
Non nobis, Domine, non

nobis : * sed nomini tuo da

gloriam.
Super misericordia tua, et
veritate tua : * nequando dicant

gentes:

corum ?

Ubi

est Deus

Deus autem noster in ceelo :

* omnia quacumque voluit,
fecit.
Simulacra Gentium argentum et auram: * opers manuum hominum.
Os habent et non loquentur: * oculos habent, et non
videbunt.

The sea saw and fled : Jordan was turned back.
The
mountains
ski
like rams: and the hills
3

the lambs of the flock.
What

ailed thee,

O

thou

sea, that thou didst flee : and
thou, O Jordan, that thou
wast turned back ?

Ye mountains that yo
skipped like rams: and ye
hills like lambs of the flock ?

At the presence of the Lord

the carth was moved, at the
presence of the God of Jacob.

Who turned the rock into

pools of water, and the stony
hill into fountains of waters.

Not to us, O Lord, not to

us: but to thy name give
glory.

For thy mercy, and for thy

truth’s sake:

lest the

Gen-

tiles should say: Where is

their God ?
But our God is in heaven :

he hath done all things whatsoever he would.
The idols of the

Gentiles

are silver and gold : the works
of the hands of men.
They have mouths, and
speak not: they have eyes,
and see not.

106

ADVENT

Aures habent, ot non sudient : * nares habent, et non
odorabunt.
Manus habent, et non palpabunt, pedes habent, et non
ambulabunt: * non clamabunt in gutture suo.
Similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea : * et omnes qui confidunt in eis.
Domus Israel speravit in
Domino : * adjutor eorum et
protector eorum est.
Domus Aaron speravit in
Domino : * adjutor eorum, et
protector eorum est.
Qui timent Dominum, speraverunt in Domino : * adjutor eorum, et protector eorum
est.
Dominus memor fuit nostri : * et benedixit nobis.
Benedixit domui Israel : *
benedixit domui Aaron.
Benedixit omnibus qui timent Dominum: * pusillis
.
cum majoribus.
Adjiciat Dominus super
vos: * super vos, et super
flios vestros.
Benedicti vos a Domino : *
qui fecit ccelum et terram.
Ceelum cceli Domino : * terram sutem dedit filiis hominum.
Non mortui laudabunt te,
Domine : * neque omnes qui
descendunt in infernum.
Sed nos qui vivimus, benedicimus Domino : * ex hoc
nunc et usque in swculum.

They have ears, and hear

not: they have noses, and

smell not.
They have hands, and feel

not : they have feet, and walk

not: neither shall they cry
out through their throat.
Let them that make them
become like unto them : and

all such as trust in them.
The house of Israel hath
hoped in the Lord: he is

their helper and their protector.
The house of Aaron hath
hnred in the Lord : he is their
helper and their protector.
They

that

fear

the

Lord

have hoped in the Lord: he
is their helper and their protector.
The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us.
Ho hath blessed the house
of Tsrael : he hath blessed the
house of Aaron.
He hath blessod all that
fear the Lord, both little and
great.
May the Lord add blessings
upon’ you: upon you, and
upon your children,
Blessed be you of the Lord,
who mado heaven and earth.
The heaven of heaven is the
Lord’s : but the carth he has
given to the children of men.
Tho dead shall not praise
thee, O Lord: nor any of
them that go down to hell.
But wo that live bless the
Lord: from this time now
and for ever.

After these five psalms, a short lesson from the
holy Scriptures is sung. It is called the Capitulum,

'VESPERS

107

or Little Chapter, because it is always very short. It
will be found in its proper place for each Sunday.
Then follows the hymn :
HYMN!

Creator almo siderum,
Eterna lux credentium,
Jesu, Redomptor omnium,
Intende votis supplioum.
Qui demonis ne fraudibus
Periret orbis, impetu
Amoris actus, languidi
Mundi medels factus es.

O Jesus, thou kind Creator

of the heavens, eternal Light

of believers, and Redeemer of

all mankind, hear the prayers
of thy suppliants.

Lest
the world
should
rish by the fraud of the

evil, thou, impelled by the
vehemence of thy love for us,

didst thyself become the re-

Commune qui mundi nefas
Ut expiares, ad crucem,
E Virginis sacrario
Intacta prodis viotima.

medy of all our weakness.
To expiate the sin of the
‘whole world, thou didst come

from the sanctuary of the
Virgin’s womb, a viotim destined to the cross.

1 According to the monastic rite, it is as follows : —

Short_Resp. Show us, O
mine, * Misericordiam tuam, Lord,
* Thy mercy. Show us.
Ostende.
V. Et salutare tuum da noV. And grant us Thy salbis: * Misericordiam,
vation. * Thy mercy.
Gloria Patri, &c. Ostende. _ Glory be to the Father, etec.
Show us.
R. breve. Ostende nobis Do-

HYMN

Conditor alme siderum,
ZAterna lux crodentium,
Christe Redemptor omnium,
Exaudi preces supplioum.
Qui condolens interitu
Mortis perire seculum,
Salvasti mundum languidum,
Donans reis remedium:

Vergente mundi vespere,
Uti sponsus de thalamo,
Egressus honestissima
Virginis matris clausula:

Cujus forti potenti
Genu curvantur omnia,
Caslestia, terrestria,
Nutu fatentur subdita.
Te deprocamur, agie,
Venturo judex swculi,
Conserva nos in tempore,
Hostis a telo perfidi.
Laus, honor, virtus, gloris,
Deo Patri, et Filio,
Sancto simul Paraclito,
In seculorum szcula,

ADVENT

108

Cujus potestas glorie
Nomenque quum primum
sonat,
Et ccelites et inferi
Tremento curvantur genu.
Te deprecamur, ultim®
Magnum diei judicom,
Armis supern® gratiz
Defende nos ab hostibus.
Virtus, honor, laus, gloria,
Deo Patri, cum Filio,
Sancto simul Paraclito,
In smculorum secula.
Amen.

How glorious is thy power,

when, at the very sound of

thy name, heaven and hell
bend the trembling knce !

Wo bescech thee, dread
Judge of the last day, defend

us from our cnemies by tho
armour
of thy heavenly grace.
Power, honour,

glory, be to the

praise, and

Father, and

to the Son, and to the holy
Paraclete, for ever and ever.

Amen.

V. Rorate, cali, desuper,
V. Drop down_dew, ye
heavens, from above, and
et nubes pluant Justum.
let the clouds rain the Just
One.
R. Aperiatur terra et gerR. Lot the earth be opened,
minet Salvatorem.
and bud forth a Saviour.
Here

is sung

the Magnificat

antiphon

given in the proper of each Sunday.

which

is

~After this the

Church always sings at Vespers the canticle in which
our blessed Lady, all full of the God whom she had
within her womb, gave utterance, in the presence of

St. Elizaboth, to the transports of her joy and gratitude. This canticlo harmonizes most sweetly with
the spirit of Advent, for it is during this very time

that Mary is almost mcassanfly before our minds, as

the beautiful Mother

divine

Fruit.

Let

that bears her precious and

us therefore

unite

with

her,

in

celebrating the matchless honour bestowed on her by
God ; the merits of that profound humility which
rendered her worthy of such an honour; the overthrow of the proud spirits who are driven from

heaven ; and the exaltation of human nature, of itself

80 poor and miserable, to that high place from which
angels fell.

109

VESPERS
OUR

LADY’S

(St. Lukei.)

Magnificat: * anima mes
Dominum
Et exsultavit spiritus meus : * in Deo salutari meo.

Quia respexit humilitatem

ancille su@:

* ecce enim ex

hoc beatam me dicent omnes

generationes.

Quis focit mihi magna qui
potens est: * ot sanctum
nomen ojus.
Et misericordia ejus a progenic in progenios : * timentibus eum.
Focit potentiam in brachio
suo: * dispersit superbos
‘mente cordis sui.
Deposuit potentes de sede :
* ot exaltavit humilos.
Esurientes implevit bonis :
* ot divites dimisit inanes.

Suscepit Isracl puerum
suum: * recordatus misericordie sue.
Sicut locutus ost ad patres
nostros: * Abraham et somini ojus in smoula.

The Magnificat

CANTICLE

Lord;
And
My

i
my spirit hath rejoiced

soul doth

magnify

the

in God my Saviour.
Because he hath regarded
the humility of his handmaid :
for, behold, from henceforth
all ‘generations shall call me
blosed.
i
canse ho
that is might,
hath demo grest things
me : and holy is his name.
And his mercy is from genoration unto
eration, to
thom that foar him,
He hath showed might in
his arm: ho hath scattered
the proud in the conceit of
their heart.
He hath put down the
mighty from their soat : and
hath exalted the humble.
Ho hath filled tho hungry
with good things : and the
rich he hath sent empty away.
Ho hath received Israel his
servant, being mindful of his
mercy.
As he spake to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his seed
for ever.

antiphon is then repeated. The
prayer,or collect, is given in the proper of each Sunday.
The Vespers end with the following versicles :

V. Benedicamus Domino.
V. Let us bloss the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
R. Deo gratias.
V. Fidelium anime per
V. May the souls of the
misericordiam Dei requie- faithful departed, through the
mercy of God, rest in peace.
seant in pace,
R. Amen.
R. Amen.

110

ADVENT

CHAPTER

THE EIGHTH

ON THE OFFICE OF COMPLINE DURING ADVENT
Turs Office, which concludes the day, commences by

a warning of the dangers of the night : then immediately follows the public confession of our sins, as
a powerful means of propitiating the divine justice,
and obtaining God’s help, now that we are going to
spend so many hours in the unconscious, and therefore dangerous, state of sleep, which is also such an
image of death.
The lector, addressing the priest, says to him :
V. Jube,

cere.

domne,

benedi-

V. Pray, father, give thy
blessing.

The priest answers :
Noctem quietam, et finem

orfectum concedat
Dominns omnipotens.

nobis

R. Amen.

May

the

almighty

Lord

grant us a quiet night and a
perfect end.
R. Amen.

The lector then reads these words, from the first

Epistle of St. Peter :

Fratres: Sobrii estote, et
Brethren, be sober and
vigilate: quia adversarius watch : because your advervester diabolus, tamquam leo sary the devil, like a roaring
rugiens, cirouit quarens quem lion, goeth about seeking
devoret : cui resistite fortes
whom he may devour : whom
in fide. Tu autem, Domine, resist ye, strong in faith. But
thou, 0 Lord, have mercy on
miserere nobis.
us.
The choir answers :

R. Deo gratias.

Then the priest :

R. Thanks be to God.

V. Adjutorium nostrum in
V. Our help is in the name
of the Lord.
nomine Domini.

111

COMPLINE

The choir :
R. Qui fecit ccolum et terram.

R. Who hath made heaven
and earth.

Then the Lord’s Prayer is recited in secret ; after
which the priest says the Confiteor, and, when he has

finished, the choir repeats it.
The priest, having pronounced the general form of
absolution, says :

V. Convert us, O God, our
Saviour.
salutaris noster.
R. And turn away thine
R. Et averte iram tuam a
anger from us.
nobis.
V. Inclino unto my aid, O
V. Deus, in adjutorium
God.
meum intende.
R. Domine, ad adjuvanR. 0 Lord, make haste to
dum me festina.
help me.
Gloris Patri, &o.
lory, &e.
ANT. Miserere.
Ant. Have mercy.
V. Converte

nos,

Deus,

The first psalm expresses the confidence with which
the just man sleeps in peace ; but the wicked know
not what calm rest is. It also speaks of the eternal
Word,

the Light

of the Father, who

dispel our darkness.

is coming

to

PsaLM 4
Cum

invocarem

exsudivit

When

I called u

him,

me Deus justitie mew: * in the God of my justice heard
tribulatione dilatasti mihi. ~ me: when I was in distress,
thou hast enlarged me.

Miserere mei: * ot exaudi
Have mercy on me: and
orationem meam.
hear my prayer.
Filii hominum, usquequo
O ye sons of men, how long
gravi corde ? * ut quid dili- will you be dull of heart ?
gitis vanitatem, et queritis why do you love vanity, and
‘mendacium ?
seok after lying ?
Et

scitote

quoniam

mirifi-

cavit Dominus sanctum
suum: * Dominus exaudiet
me, cum clamavero ad
eum.

Know

ye

also

that

the

Lord hath made his Holy
One wonderful: the Lord
will hear me when I ghall ory
unto him.

ADVENT

112

Bo yo angry and sin not:
Irascimini, et nolite peccare: * qua dicitis in cordi- the things you say in your
bus vestris, in cubilibus vo- hearts, E: sorry for them
upon your beds.
stris compungimini.
Offer up the sacrifice of
Bacrificate sacrificium justiti, ot
in the Lord :
sperate in Domino : * justice,and trust
multi dicunt: Quis ostendit many say, Who showeth us
nogia bona ?

ignatum

est super nos

lumg: vultus tui Dol:ine: .

dedisti Istitiam in corde meo.

A fructu frumenti, vini et
olei sui : * multiplicati sunt.

In pace in idipsum : * dormiam et requiescam.
Quoniam tu, Domine, singulariter in spo: * constituisti me.

good things ?
"Tho light of thy countonance, O
Lord, is signed upon
us: thou hast given gladness
in my heart.
By the fruit of their corn,
their wine, and oil, they are
multiplied.
In poace, in the selfsame, T
will sloop, and I will rest.
For thou, O Lord, singularly hast sottled me in hope.

The second psalm gives the motives of the just
man’s confidence, even during the dangers of the
night. Then we have God Himself speaking, and
promising to show us our Saviour.
psarm 90
Qui habitat in adjutorio
Altissimi : * in
protectione
Dei ceeli commorabitur.

He that dwelleth in the aid
of the Most High, shall abide

under the protection of the
God of heaven.

Dicet Domino : Susoeptor
He shall say to the Lord :
meus es tu, ot refugium Thou art my proteotor, snd
meum : * Dous mous, sperabo my refuge : my God, in him
in eum.
will I trust.
Quonism ipse liberavit mo
For he hath delivered me
do Iaqueo venantium: * et a from the snare of the hunters:
sperabis.
Scuto

ot sub ponnis ejus
circumdabit

te ve-

ritas ojus: * non timebis a
timore nocturno.

and from the sharp word.

He
will overshadow thee
with his shoulders : and under

his wings thou shalt trust.
His truth shall com
thee with a shield : thou

shalt

not be afraid of the terror of
the night.

13

COMPLINE

A sagitta volante in dio, a
negotio perambulante in tonobris : * ab incursu, ot demonio meridiano.

Of the arrow
the day : of the
walketh about
of invasion, or

that flioth in
business that
in the dark:
of the noon-

day devil.
Cadent a latere tuo mille,
A thousand shall fall at thy
ot decem millia & dextris side, and ten thousand at thy
tuis: * ad to sutem non right hand : but it shall not
appropinquabit.
come nigh thee.
erumtamen
oculis tuis
But thou shalt consider
considerabis : * et retributio- with thy eyes : and shalt seo
the reward of the wicked.
nom peccatorum videbis.
Because thou hast said :
Quonism tu es, Domine,
spes mea: * Altissimum por Thou, O Lord, art my hope :
Thou hast made the l&'-e
suisti refugium tuum.
High thy refuge.
'here shall no ovil come to
Non accedet ad te malum :
* ot flagellum non appropin- thee, nor shall the scourge
come near thy dwelling.
quabit tabernaculo tuo.
For he hath given his
Quoniam sngelis suis mandavit do te: * ut custodiant angels charge over theo : to
keep thee in all thy ways.
to in omnibus viis tuis.
In their hands they shall
In manibus portabunt to:
* ne forte offendas ad lapi- bear thes up : lest thou dash
thy foot against & stone.
dom pedem tuum.
Thou shalt, walk upon the
Super sspidem et basiliasp and basilisk: and thou
scum ambulabis : * et conculshalt tramplo under foot the
cabis lconem et draconem.
lion and the dragon.

Quonism in me speravit,
liberabo eum: * protegam
cum, quoniam cognovit momen meum.
Clamabit ad me, ot ego
exaudiam eum: * cum ipso
sum in tribulatione, eripism
oum ot glorificabo eum.
Longitudine dierum _replebo eum: * et ostendam

1lli salutare meum.

God will say of thee: Be-

cause he hoped in me, I will
deliver him: I will
protect
him, because he hath
known

my name.
o will cry to me, and I
will hear him: I am_with
him in tribulation, I will de-

liver him, and I will glorify

him.
I will fill him with length of

days: and I will show him
my salvation.

The third psalm invites the servants of God to

persevere

with

during the night.

fervour,

in the

prayers

The faithful should

they

offer

say this psalm
8

ADVENT

114

in a spirit of gratitude to God, for raising up in the

Church adorers of His holy name, whose grand vocation is to lift up their hands, day and night, for the
safety of Israel. On such prayers depend the happiness and the destinies of the world.
psALM 133

Bohold now bless ye the
Eoce nunc benedicite Dominum: * omnes sorvi Do- Lord, all yo servants of the
Lord.
mini.
‘Who stand in the house of
Qui statis in domo Domini: * in striis domus Dei the Lord, in the courts of
the house of our God.
nostri.
In the nights lift up your
Tn nootibus extollite mahands to the holy places, and
nus vestras in sancta: * et
bless ye the Lord.
benedicite Dominum.
Say to Israel : May the
Benediost te Dominus ex
Sion: * qui fecit ccelum et Lord out of Sion bless thee,
terram.

Axt. Miserere

mine, et exsudi

meam.

mei,

Do-

orationem

Te lucis ante terminum,
Rerum Creator, poscimus,
Ut pro tus clementia
Sis preesul et custodia.

he that
earth.

made

heaven

and

Axt. Have mercy on me,

0 Lord, snd hesr my prayer.

HYMN!

Before the closing of the
light, we beseech theo, Creator of all things! that, in
thy clemency, thou bo our
protector and our guard.
Procul recedant somnia,
May the dresms and phanEt noctium phantasmata :
toms of night depart far from
Hostemque nostrum com- us; and do thou repress our
‘prime,
enemy, lest our bodies be
No polluantur corpora.
profaned.
1 According to the monastic rite, as follows :

Te lucis ante terminum,
Rorum Creator, poscimus,
Ut solita clementia
Sis preesul ad custodiam.
Procul recedant somnia
Et noctium phantasmata ;

Hostemque nostrum comprime,
Ne polluantur corpora.
Praesta Pater omnipotens,
Per Jesum Christum Dominum,
Qui tecum in perpetuum
Regnat cum sancto Spiritu.

115

COMPLINE

Prasta, Pater piissiie,
Patrique compar Unico,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito
Rognans per omne szculum.
Amen.

Most merciful Father ! and
thou, his only-begotten Son,
coequal with him! reigning
for ever with the holy Paraclote ! grant this our prayor.
Amen.

CAPITULUM

(Jeremias xiv.)
Tu

autem

Domine,

in

et nomen

nobis

es,

sanctum

tuum invocatum est super
nos; no derelinquas nos,
Domine Deus noster.
R. In manus tuas, Domi-

ne: * commendo
meum.

spiritum

In manus tuas.

V. Redemisti nos, Domine

Deus veritatis. * Commendo.

Gloria. In manus tuas.
V. Custodi nos, Domine,
ut pupillam oculi.
R.

Sub umbra alarum tua-

rum protege nos.

AxT. Salva nos.

But thou art in us, O Lord,
and thy holy name has been
invoked upon us : forsako us
not, O Lord our God.
R. Into thy hands, O Lord:
* I commend my spirit. Into
thy hands.
7. Thou hast redeemed us,
0 Lord God of truth. * I
commend.
Glory. Into thy hands.
V.
Presorve us, O Lord, as
the apple of thine eye.
R.
Protoct us under the
shadow of thy wings.
Ax. Save us.

The canticle of the venerable Simeon—who,

while

holding the divine Infant in his arms, proclaimed Him
to be the light of the Gentiles, and then slept the sleep

of the just—admirably expresses the rest which a
good Christian, whose heart is united to God, enjoys
in Jesus ; for, as the apostle says, whether we wake

or sleep, we live together with Him who died for us.?
CANTICLE

Nunc

tuum,

OF

SIMEON

(St. Luke ii.)

dimittis

servum

Domine : * secundum

verbum tuum in pace.

Now dost thou dismiss thy

servant,

O

Lord,

according

to thy word, in peace.

1 1 Thees.
v. 10.

116

ADVENT

Quia

viderunt

oculi

mei:

® salutare tuum,
‘Quod parasti
: * ante faciem
omnium populorum.

Lumen

ad

revelationem

Gentium : * et gloriam plobis
tua Israel.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, etc.

AXT. Salva nos, Domino,
vigilantes : custodi nos dormientes, ut vigilemus oum
Christo, et requiescamus in
pace.

Bocause my eyes have seon
thy salvation,
hich thou hast proparod
before the face of all peoples.
A light to the revelation of
the Gentiles, and tho glory
of thy people Isracl.
Glory, ete.
Axt. Save us, O Lord,
while awake, and watch us
as wo sloep; that we may
watch with Christ, and rost
in poace.

PRAYERS

Kyrie eleison, Christo eleiLord, have mercy on us.
son.” Kyrio eloison.
Christ, have morcy on us.
Lord, havo mercy on us.
Pator noster.
Our Father.
V. Et ne nos inducas in
V. And lead us not into
tentationem.
temptation.
R. Sed libera nos a malo.
R. But deliver us from ovil.
V. Credo in Deum, &e.
V. 1 bolieve in God, &e.
V. Carnis resurrectionem.
V. The resurrection of the
body.
R. And life overlasting.
R. Vitam mternam. Amen.
Amen.
V. Benedictus es, Domine
V. Blessed art thou, O
Dous
patrum nostrorum.
Lord God of our fathers.
R. Et laudabills ot glorioR. And praiseworthy and
sus in swoula.
glorious for ever.
V. Beonedicamus Patrem, ot
V. Let us bless tho Father,
Filium, cum sanoto Spiritu. and the Son, with the Holy
Ghost.
R. Laudemus, ot superR. Lot us praiso and magexaltemus eum in swcula,
nify him for ever.
V. Benedictus s, Domine,
. Thou art blessed, O
in firmamento cceli.
Lord, in tho firmament of
heaven.
R. And praisoworthy, and
R. Et laudabilis, ot gloriosus, ot superexaltatus in glorious, and magnified fop
ever.
swcula.
V. May the almighty and
V. Benedicat ot custodist
nos omnipotens et misericors merciful Lord bless us and
keep us. R. Amen.
Dominus. R. Amon.

7

COMPLINE

V. Vouchsafe, O Lord, this
V. Dignare, Domine, nocte
night.
ista.
R. To keep us without sin.
R. Sino peccato nos custodire.
V. Have mercy on us, O
V. Miserero nostri, DoLord.
mine.
R. Have mercy on us.
R. Misorere nostri.
V. Lot thy mercy, O Lord,
V. Fiat misericordia tus,
be upon us.
Dominc, super nos.
R. As w> have hoped in
R. Quemadmodum sperathee.
vimus in te.
hear my
V.0
Lord,
V. Domine, exaudi oraprayer.
tionom meam.
R. And let my ¢ry come
R. Et clamor meus ad te
unto thee.

voniat.

After these prayers (which are omitted if the Office
be of a double rite), the priest says :
V. Dominus vobiscum.

R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
OREMUS
Visita, quesumus, Domine,

habitationem istam,et omnes
insidias inimici ab ea longe

ropelle : angeli tui sancti
habitent in es, qui nos in
pace custodiant, et benedictio
tua sit super nos semper. Por
Dominum

nostrum

Jesum

Christum, Filium tuum, qui
tecum vivit et regnat in unitate

Spiritus

sancti

Deus,

per omnia swcula sculorum.
Amen.
V. Dominus vobiscum.

V. The Lord be with you.
B. And with thy spirit.
LET US PRAY

Visit, we beseech

thee, O

Lord, this house and family,

and drive from it all snares

of the enemy: let thy holy
angels dwell herein, who may

keep us in peace, and may
thy blessing be always upon
us. Through Jesus Christ

our Lord, thy Son, who liveth

and reigneth with thee, in the

unity of the Holy Ghost, God,
world without end.

V.
R. Et cum spiritu tuo.
R.
V. Benedicamus Domino.
V.
R. Deo gratias.
R.
May
Benedicat et custodiat nos
omnipotens et misericors ciful
Dominus, Pater, ot Filius, et Holy
Bpiritus sanctus.
Berve
Amen.
R.

Amen.

Tho Lord be with you.
And with thy spirit.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
the almighty and merLord, Father, Son, and
Ghost, bless and preus.
Amen.

118

ADVENT

ANTHEM

TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Mater,
Sweet Mother of our Re-

Alma Redemptoris
que pervia oeli
Porta manes, et stella maris,
succurre cadenti,
Surgere qui curat, populo: tu
que genuisti,
Natura mirante, tuum sanctum Genitorem,
Virgo prius sc posterius, Gabrielis ab ore
Sumens illud Ave, peccatoTum miserere.
V. Angelus Domini nuntiavit Marie.
R. Et concepit do Spiritu
sancto.

OREMUS

gate

whereby

we

enter heaven, and star of the

sea ! help us, we fall; yet do
we long to rise.
Nature
looked upon thee with admiration, when thou didst give
birth to thy divine Creator,
thyself remaining, before and
after it, a pure Virgin. Gabriel spoke his Hail to thee;
we sinners crave thy pif

V. The angel of the
Lord
declared unto Mary.
R. And sho conceived of
the Holy Ghost.
LET US PRAY

Pour forth,wo buseech
thee, O Lord, thy grace into
our hearts ; that we to whom
the Incarnation of Christ thy
Son was made known by the
message of an angel, may by
his Passion
and
cross be
brought to the glory of his
Resurrection. Through the
same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
R. Amen.
V. May the divino assistDivinum suxilium masemper nobiscum.
ance remain always with us.
Amen.*
R. Amen.

Gratiam tusm quwsumus,
Domine, mentibus nostris infunde, ut qui, angelo nuntiante, Christi Fili tui Incarnationem cognovimus, per
Passionem ejus ot crucem ad
Resurrectionis gloriam
_perducamur. Per eumdom
Christum Dominum nostrum.

B.
V.
neat
R.

deemer,

Then, in secret, Pater, Ave, and Credo.
* In tho monastic rite, this response is as follows :—
R. Et cum fratribus nostris
R. And with our absent
abeentibus. Amen.
brethren.
Amen.

HNIL THL 0

93d0dd

121

PROPER OF THE TIME

PROPER

OF THE TIME

Unper this heading of Proper of the Time, we here
comprise the movable Office of the Sundays and
Ferias of Advent. Though anxious to give to the
faithful the flowers of the Advent liturgy, yet were

we to bring forward even those which might be con-

sidered

as the choicest,

four volumes

barely sufficed. The fear of making
expensive to the faithful, persuaded

would

have

our work too
us to limit it

within much narrower bounds, and out of the abun-

dant treasures before us, to give what we thought
could be least dispensed with.
The plan we have adopted is this: We give the
whole of the Mass and Vespers for the four Sundays.
of Advent. On the ferial days, we give one, at least,
of the lessons from Isaias, which are read in the
Office of Matins ; adding to this a hymn or sequence,
orsome other poetic liturgical composition.
Al these
have been taken from

the gravest sources, for ex-

ample, from the Roman and Mozarabic breviaries,
from

the

Greek

anthology

and

missals of the middle ages, &c.

menwa,

from

the

After this hymn or

se(iuence, we have givena prayer from the Ambrosian,

Gallican, or Mozarabic m:ssa{ So that the faithful
will find in our collection an unprecedented abundance
of liturgical formuls. each of which carries authority
with it, as being taken from ancient and approved
sources,

We have not thought it desirable to give a commentary to each of the liturgical formule inserted
in our work. It seemed to us that they would be

rendered sufficiently intelligible by the general ex-

122

ADVENT

planation which runs through our work, in which explanatlon we have endeavoured to excite the devotion
of the reader, give unity to the several parts, and
afford solid instruction. We shall thus avoid all
those repetitions and commonplace remarks, which

do little more than fatigue the reader.

We have inserted the Great Antiphons and the
Office of Christmas Eve in the proper of the saints,

because both of these have fixed days in the calendar,

and to put them in the proper of the time, as they
stand in the breviary and missal, would have required

us to introduce into a.book, destined for the laity,
rubrics somewhat complicated, which would, perhaps,

not have been understood.

FIRST SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

THE FIRST SUNDAY

123

OF ADVENT

This Sunday, the first of the ecclesiastical year, is
called, in the chronicles

and

charts

of the

middle

ages, Ad te levavi Sunday, from the first words of
the

Introit;

or,

Aspiciens

a longe,

from

the

first

words of one of the responsories of Matins.
The Station’ is at St. Mary Major’s. It is under

the auspices of Mary—in the splendid basilica which
possesses

the

crib

of Bethlehem,

and

is therefore

called, in ancient documents, St. Mary’s ad Prasepe—

that the Roman Church recommences, each year, the

sacred cycle. It would have been impossible to
select a place more suitable than this for saluting the
approach of the divine birth, which is to gladden
heaven and earth, and manifest the sublime portent
of a Virgin Mother. Let us go in spirit to this
august temple, and unite in the prayers which are
there being offered up: they are the very ones we

also use, and which we will now exfihin.
In

the

night

Office,

the Church

commences

the

reading of the Book of Isaias, who, of all the Prophets,
has the most distinctly and explicitly foretold the
Messias; and she continues this same Book until
Christmas day inclusively. Let us strive to enter
into the teaching of the holy prophet, and let the
eye of our faith affectionately recognize the promised
Saviour in the descriptions, sometimes consoling and

sometimes terrifying, under which Isaias depicts Him.
* The Stations marked in the Roman missal for certain days in
the year, were formerly processions, in which the whole cf

and people went to some given church, and there celebrated
the
Office and Mass. This usage, which dates from the earliest period
of the Roman Church, lns-flf which 8t. Gregory the Great was
but the restorer, still exists, at least in a measure; for the

Stations are still observed, though with less solemnity and concourse of people, on all the days specified in the missal.

124

ADVENT

The first words of

night, are these :

the Church, in the still mid-

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, sdoromus.

Come, lot us adore the
King our Lord, who is to
come.

This first duty of adoration complied with, let us
listen to the oracle of the prophet Isaias, delivered to
us by the holy Church.

Incipit liber Isaim Prophete.
Cap. i

Visio Isais lilii Amos, quam

vidit super Judam ot Jerusalem, in diebus Ozie, Joathan,

Achaz,
Juda.

et Ezechi®m

regum

Audite, cceli, et auri-

Beginning of the Book of the

Prophet Isaias.

Ch. i.
The vision of Isaias, the son
of Amos, which he saw con-

corning Juda and Jerusalom,

in the days of Ozias, Joathan,
Achaz, and Ezechias, kings

of Juds. Hesr, O ye
Dominus locutus est: Filios hoavens, and give ear, O
enutrivi ot oxaltavi:
ipsi earth, for the Lord hath
sutem spreverunt me. Cogno- spoken s T huvo brought up
ildren, and exalted them :
vit bos possessorem suum,
et asinus presepe Domini sui : but they have despised me.
Israel autem me non cogno- The ox knoweth his own
vit, et populus meus non and the ass his master’s crib :
intelloxit. Va gonti pecca- but Israel hath not known
trici, populo gravi iniquitato, me, and my people hath not
somini nequam, filiis scelera- understood. Woe to the sintis. Dereliquerunt Dominum, ful nation, & people laden
seed,
blasphemaverunt Sanctum Is- with iniquity, & wicked
racl, abalienati sunt retror- ungracious children. Thoy
sum. Super quo percutiam have forsaken the Lord, they
vos ultra, addentes praevari- have blasphemed the holy
cationem ? Omno caput lan- One of Isracl, they are gone
guidum, et omne cor m- away backwards. For what
rens. A planta podis usquo shall Lst.rike you any more,
ou that increase m::sgu.
ad verticem non est in eo
sanitas: vulnus, et livor et zinn! The whole he
is
plaga tumens, non est cir- sick, and the whole heart is
cumligata, neo curata medi- sad. From the sole of the
camine, neque fota oleo.
foot unto tho topof the bead,
there is no soundness therein ;
wounds, and bruises, and
bus percipe, terra ; quoniam

swelling sores; they are not

bound up, nor dressed, nor
fomented
with oil.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

125

These words of the holy prophet, or rather of God
who speaks to us by the prophet, should make a

deep impression on the children of the Church, at

this opening of the holy period of Advent. Who
could hear without trembling this voice of our Lord,
who is despised and unknown even at the very time
when He is coming to visit His people 2 Lest men
should be terrified at the splendour of His majesty,
He divested Himself of it; and far from acknowledging the divine power of Him who thus humbled
Himself out of love to them, these men have refused

even to know Him ; and the crib where He lay after

His birth, had, at first, but two dumb animals to
honour or notice it. Do you feel, Christians, how
just are the complaints which your God here makes ?
And how your indifference for all His love is an insult 2
Ho calls heaven and earth to witness; He utters
anathema against the sinful nation, His ungrateful
children. Let us honestly confess that we, too, have
not known the value of our Jesus’ visit to us, and
that we have but too faithfully imitated the obduracy
of the Jews, who heeded not the bright light when

it burst upon their darkness. In vain did the angels
sing on that December night ; in vain did shepherds
receive and welcome the invitation to adore the Babe
and know Him ; in vain did the Magi come from the
east, asking where they were to find the crib of the
King that was born. At this last example, the city
of Jerusalem was somewhat moved ; but the astonish-

ment was only for a moment, and the old indifference

soon stifled the good tidings.

Thus it is, O Jesus, that Thou comest unto dark-

ness, and darkness does not comprehend Thee. We
beseech Thee, let our darkness comprehend the light,
and desire it. The day will come when Thou wilt
disperse the spiritual and voluntary darkness of men
by the awful light of Thy justice. Thy glory, O
sovereign Judge, will be magnificent on that day, and

ADVENT

126

we love to think upon Thy having it: but during
these days of our life on earth, deliver us from Thy
wrath. We are one great wound from the sole of
the foot unto the top of the head ; Thou knowest not

where to strike : be, then, a Saviour, O Jesus, in this

coming, for which we are now preparing. The whole
head 1s sick, and the whole heart is sad : come, and
raise up this head which shame and vile passions

bow down to the earth.

heart

oppressed

with

sin and fear.

our wounds are deep
Samaritan, pour in Thy
The whole world is in
come, dear Jesus, show

salvation.

Come, and comfort this
We

confess it,

and sore; come, thou good
soothing 0i and heal them.
expectation of its Redeemer ;
Thyself to it by granting it

The Church,

Thy bride, 13 now com-

mencing another year, and her first word is to Thee,
a word which she speaks in the anxious solicitude of
a mother for the safety of her children ; she cries out
to Thee, saying : ‘ Come !” No, we will go no farther
in our journey through the desert of this life without
Thee, (I) Jesus! Time is passing quickly away from
us ; our day is perhaps far spent, and the shades of
our life’s night are fast coming on; arise, O divine
Sun of justice. Come ! guide our steps and save us
from eternal death.
MASS
‘While the priest is approaching the altar, there to
offer up the holy sacrifice, the Church opens her
chants by this beautiful one, which so well expresses
her confidence as the beloved bride of Jesus. Let us
repeat it together with her, and let the heart be in
harmony with our voice, for the Saviour comes to
each of us in proportion to the earnestness of our
longing for Him.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

127

INTROIT

Ad to levavi enimam
moam: Deus meus, in to
confido, mon erubescam;
neque irridesnt me_inimici
mei, ctenim universi qui te
exspectant non confundentur.
Ps. Vias tuss, Domine,
demonstra mihi: et semitas
tuas edoce mo.
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et
Spiritui
sancto. Sicut erat in
principio, et nunc, et semper,
et in s@eula swculorum.
Amen.
Repeat : Ad to levavi.

To theo have I lifted u
God,
O my
my soul: in thee,
I put my trust, let me not
bo ashamed: neither let my
enemies laugh at me: for
none of them that wait on
thee shall be confounded.
Ps. Show,
O Lord, thy

ways to mo, and teach mo
thy paths.
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 bo, world without
end. Amen.

Repeat : To thee.

After the Kyrie eleison, the priest embodies in the
following prayers, called on that account the Collects,
all the desires and petitions of the Church for this
first Sunday :

COLLECT

Excits, quesumus, Domine, potentiam tuam et
veni; ut sb imminentibus
peceatorum nostrorum periculis, te mercamur protegente
eripi, to liberante salvari.
Qui vivis et regnas, Deus,
per omnia secula seculorum.
R. Amen.

Exert, we boscech theo, O
Lord, thy power and come ;
that by thy protection wo
may be freed from the imminent dsngers of our sins, and
o saved by thy morcy ; who
livest and reignest God, world
without end.
R. Amen.

It is right that we should also beg, during this

holy season, the all-powerful mediation of her who,
at first, was the sole depositary of the great secret

ADVENT

128

Let us then say

which was to give life to the world.
with the priest :
IN HONOUR
rie

Deus,

qui

Virginis

do

OF THE BLESSED

beate

utero,

Ma-

Verbum

tuum, angelo nuntisnte, car-

suscipere voluisti; prasupplicibus tuis, ut qui
sta
wvore eam Genitricem Dei credimus, ejus apud te intercessionibus adjuvemur.

VIRGIN

0 God, who wast pleased
that_thy Word, when the
angel delivered his message,
should tako flesh in the womb
of the blessed Virgin Mary ;
give oar to our humblo petitions, and grant, that we who
beliove her to be truly the
Mother of God, may be helped
by her prayers.

To this is immediately added one of the following
prayers :
AGAINST THE PERSECUTORS

Ecclesim tum, qussumus,

Domine,

precos placatus ad-

mitte : ut, destructis adversitatibus et crroribus universis, secura tibi serviat liber-

tate.

Per Dominum.

OF THE CHURCH

Mercifully hear, wo be-

soech

thee,

O

Lord,

tho

prayers of tho Church: that,

all oppositions and errors
boing removed, she may sorvo
theo with a securo lLiberty.
Through, &o.

FOR THE POPE

Dous, omnium fidelium
Pastor ot Rector, famulum
tuum N. quem pastorom
Ecclesi® tuw praesso voluisti, propitius respico: da ei,
quarsumus, verbo ot exemplo,
quibus pracest, proficorc :
ad vitam, una cum grego sibi
credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Dominum.

O God, the Pastor and

Ruler of all the faithful, look

down, in_thy mercy, on thy

servant g.,Pwhom

thou hast.

appointed
Pastor over th
cfi?.geh; and grant, wo ol

soech thee, that both by word

and example, he may edify
all those that are under his
charge; and with the flock

entrusted

to him,

arrive

at

length at eternal happiness.

Through, &e.

FIRST SUNDAY

129

OF ADVENT

EPISTLE
Lesson

Lectio Epistole beati Pauli

‘Apostoli sd Romanos.
Cap. xii.

St.

Saviour,

then,

tho

Ch. xiii.

Epistle

Apostle

oo

of

to

Brethron, know that it is

now the hour for us to riso

from sleop.

For now our

salvation is nearer than when

we belioved. The night is
Emd, and the day is at
and. Let us therefore cast
off tho works of darkness, and

ut on the armour of light.

t us walk honostly, as in
the day : not in rioting and
drunkenness, not
chambering and impurities, not in
contention and envy: but
ut ye on the Lord
wrist.

who

clothing which we are fo
nakedness. Here let us a
God, who, remembering

Paul

the Romans.

Aratres, scientes quia hora
est jam nos de somno surgere. Nuno enim propior est
nostra salus, quam cum credidimus. Nox pracossit, dies
autem appropinquavtt. Abjiciamus ergo opera tonebrarum, et induamur arma
Iucis. Siout in die honeste
ambulemus : non in comessationibus et ebrietatib
non in cubilibus et impudici
tiis, non in contentione et
@mulatione : sed _induimini
Dominum Jesum Christum.
The

the

of

is coming

Jesus

to us is the

on over our spiritual
the goodness of our

that man hid himself after

his sin, because he was naked, vouchsafes Himself to

become man’s clothing, and to cover with the robe
of His Divinity the misery of human nature. Let

us, therefore, be on the watch for the day and the
hour when He will come to us, and take precautions

against the drowsiness which comes of custom and
self-indulgence. The light will soon appear; may
its first rays be witness of our innocence, or at least
of our repentance. If our Saviour is coming to put
over our sins a covering which is to hide them for
ever, the least that we, on our part, can do, is to
retain no further affection for those sins, else it will

be said of us that we refused our salvation. The
last words of this Epistle are those which caught
9

ADVENT

130

the eye of St. Augustine, when, after a long resistance to the grace which pressed him to give himself
to God, he resolved to obey the voice which said to
him : ¢ Tolle lege ; take and read.” They decided his

conversion ; he immediately resolved to abandon the

worldly life he
Jesus.” Let us
saint. Let us
with which the

had hitherto led, and
begin this very day,
long for that dear and
mercy of our heavenly

to put on Christ
and imitate this
glorious clotking
Father is so soon

to cover us; and let us say with the Church these

touching words, which we cannot repeat too often
during this time of the year:
GRADUAL

Universi qui te exspectant,
non confundentur, Domine.

None of them that wait on
thee shall be confounded, O

Lord.
Domine,
V.Show, O Lord, thy
tuas,
V. Vias
notas fao mihi: et semitas ways to me: and teach me

tuss edoce me. Alleluia, thy paths. Alleluia, alleluia.
alleluia.
V. Show us, O Lord, thy
Domnobis,
V. Ostende
mine, misericordiam ~tuam : mercy: and grant us thy
ot salutare tuum da nobis. salvation. Alleluia.
Alloluia.
Soquentia

GOSPEL

sancti Evangelii

secundum

Lucam.

Cap. xxi.
In illo tempore : Dixit Jesus discipulis suis:
Erunt

Soquel of the holy Gospel
according to Luke.
Ch. xxi.

At that time: Jesus said to
his disciples : There shall be

signs in the sun, and in the
lis’; ot in terris pressura gen- moon, and in the stars ; and
tium pra confusione sonitus upon the earth distress of
maris et fluctuum : arescen- nations, by reason of the contibus hominibus pre timore fusion of the roaring of the
ot exspectatione, qua super- sea, and of tho waves ; mon
venient universo orbi:
nam withering away for fear, and
virtutes
ccelorum _ move- expectation of what shall
buntur; et tunc videbunt come upon the whole world :
Filium hominis
venientem for the powers of the heavens
in nube cum potestate ma- shall be moved; and then
signa in sole, et luna, et stel-

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

gua et majestato. His sufom fiori incipientibus, respicite ot levate capita vestra ; quoniom sppropinquat
redomptio vestra. Et dixit
illis

similitudinem:

131

thoy shall see the Son of Man
coming in & cloud with great
But
power and majesty.
when

these

things

begin

to

Videte

come to pass look up, and
your heads; because
lift up
your redemption is at hand.

scitote

shoot forth their fruit, you

ficulneam, et omnes arbores:
cum producunt jam ex se And he spoke to them a similfruct
scitisum,
quoniam propo _itude :
tho fig-tree and
est mstas. Ita et vos cum all tho trees: when they now
videritis

hac

fieri,

quoniam prope est regnum
Dei. Amen dico vobis: quia
non prateribit generatio haec,

know that summer is nigh.
So you also, when you shall
~see these things como to pass,

sutem moa non transibunt.

say to you, this generation
shall not pass away till all

donec omnia fiant. Celum
et terra transibunt: verba

know that
God is at

things

tho kingdom of
hand.
Amen, I

be fulfilled.

Heaven

and earth shall pass away;
but my words shall not pass
away.
Thou art to come, then, O Jesus, in all the terror

of the last judgement, and when men least expect
Thee. In afew days Thou art coming to us to clothe
our misery with the garment of Thy mercy ; a garment of glory and immortality to us; but Thou art
to come again on a future day, and in such dread
majesty that men will wither away with fear. O my
Saviour ! condemn me not on that day of the world’s
destruction. Visit me now in Thy love and mercy ;
I am resolved to prepare my soul. I desire that
Thou shouldst come and be born within me, so that
when the convulsions of nature warn me of Thy
coming to judge me, I may Zift up my head, as Thou
biddest Thy faithful disciples do, who, when the rest
of men shall tremble at the thunder of Thy judgement, will have confidence in Thee, because they have
Thee in their hearts.
During the offering of the bread and wine, the

132

ADVENT

Church, with her look steadfastly fixed on Him who
is to come, keeps to her sweet canticle :
OFFERTORY
To thee, O Lord, havo I
animam

Ad to levavi
ineam: Deus mous, in te
confido, non erubescam ;
nequo irrideant me_inimici
mei: etenim universi, qui te
exspectant, non confundentur.

lifted up

my soul: in thoe,

0 my
Cod, I ge my
lot me mnot

trust,
od ;

neither lot my encmies laugh
at mo : for none of them that
wait_on theo shall bo confounded.

After the oblation, she silently presents to God
the petitions of all her children by the following
prayers :
THE SECRETS
Hzo sacra nos, Domine,
Grant, O Lord, that these
potenti virtute mundatos, ad

sacred mysteries may cleanse

suum faciant puriores veniro us by their powerful virtue,
principium. Per Dominum.
and bring us with greater
purity to him, who was the
author and institutor of them.

Through, &o.
OF THE BLESSED

In mentibus nostris, quesumus, Domine, verm fidei
sacraments confirma; ut
qui conceptum do Virgine
Deum verum ot hominom
confitemur, por cjus salutiferm Resurrectionis potentism, ad @ternam meronmur
pervenire Latitiom.

VIRGIN

Strengthon,

thee,

O

Lord,

we

beseech

in our

souls

tho mysteries of the true

faith: that we who confess

him that was conceived of a
Virgin, to be true God and
true man, may, by the power
of his saving Resurrection,
desorve to come to cternal
joys.

AGAINST THE PERSECUTORS OF THE CHURCH

Protege nos, Domine, tuis Protect us, O Lord, while
mysteriis sorvientes; ut di- wo assist at thy sacred mys.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

133

vinis rcbus _inhwrentos, et teries: that being employed
corpore tibi famulemur ot in acts of religion, wo may
monte. Por Dominum.
sorvo thoo both in body and
mind. Through, &e.
FOR THE POPE

Oblatis, quesumus, Do- Be appeased, O Lord, with
mine, placare muneribus : et the offering we have made :
famulum tuum N. quem Pastorem

Ecclesim tus precesse

voluisti, assidus protectione
guberna. Por Dominum.

and cease not to protect thy

servant N., whom

thou hast

been pleased tom:&point Pastor over thy Church. Through,

After the Communion of the priest and people,
the choir sings these beautiful words of David in

praise of the sweetness

of the divine

Fruit,

whom

our earth is going to bring forth, and who has just
given Himself, by anticipation, to His faithful servants. This earth, which is ours, and which, as the
prophet Isaias says, opens and buds forth the
Saviour, is the blessed Virgin Mary made fruitful by
the dew of heaven.
COMMUNION

Dominus

tem:

dabit

benignita-

et terrs nostra

fructum suum.

dabit

The

Lord

will

give

his

goodness: and our earth shall

yield her fruit.

Then follow the concluding prayers of thanks-

giving.

POSTCOMMUNION

May we_receive, O Lord,
thy mercy
in the midst of thy
tompli tui: ut reparationis temple
: that with due honour
nostrm ventura solemnia We may prepare for the apcongruis honoribus preceds- proaching_solomnity of our
mus. Per Dominum.
Toparation. Througp, &o.

134

ADVENT
OF THE

BLESSED VIRGIN

Gratism tuam, quesumus,
Domine, mentibus nostris in”
funde, ut qui, angclo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui Incarnationem cognovimus, per Passionem ojus et crucem ad
Resurrectionis gloriam perducamur.

Pour forth, wo beseech
thee, O Lord, thy grace into
our hearts, that we to whom
the Incarnation of Christ thy
Son was made known by the
message of an angel, may, by
his Passion and cross,
brought to the glory of his
Resurrection.

AGAINST THE PERSECUTORS OF THE CHURCH

Quesumus, Domino Deus
noster : ut quos divina tribuis
participatione gaudere, humanis non sinas subjacere
periculis.

We besoech thee, O Lord
our God, not to leave exposed
to the dangers of human life
those whom thou hast permitted to partake of these
divine mysteries.

FOR THE POPE
Hec

mine,

nos,

quasumus

Do-

divini sacramenti Fer-

ceptio protegat : et famulum
tuum

N.

quem

Pastorem

Ecclosis tus praesse voluisti,
una cum commisso sibi grege
salvet semper et muniat.
Per Dominum.

May the participation of
this divine Sacrament pro-

tect us, we beseech thee, O

Lord; and always procure
safety snd defence to thy
servant N., whom

thou hast

appointed Pastor over thy
urch, together with the
flock committed to his charge.

Through, &o.
VESPERS

The psalms of the Sunday are given above, page 101.

The choir chants, with each psalm, one of the five

following antiphons :

1. ANr. In ills die stilla1. Axt. On that day the
bunt montes dulcedinem, et mountains shall drop
sweetcolles fiuent lac et mel, alle- noss, and the hills shall flow
luia.
with milk and honey, alleluis.
2. ANT.
Jucundare
filia
2. ANr. Bo gld, O daugh-

135

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

Sion, et exsulta satis, filia
Jerusalem, alloluia.
3. Awr. Ecco Dominus
Veniet, ot omnes sancti ojus
oum eo: ot erit in dio ills
lux magna, alloluia.
4. ANT. Omnes

sitientes,

ter of Sion: and rejoice exceodingly, O daughter of Jorusalem, alleluia.
3. ANT. Behold

the

Lord

will come, and all his saints

with him : and there shall be

s groat light on that day,
alleluia.
4. ANT. O all you that

venite ad squas: querite thirst, come to the waters:
Dominum, dum inveniri po- seek the Lord, while he may
test, alleluis.
be found, slleluia.
phfl. AxT. Ecce veniet Pro5. ANT. Behold the great
leta magnus, et ipse reno- Prophet will come, and he
vabit Jerusalem, alleluia.

himsclf

will

lem, alleluia,

renew

Jerusa-

CAPITULUM

Brethren, it is now the hour
de somno surgere.
Nunc for us to rise from sleep. For
enim propior est nostra now our salvation is nearer
salus, quam cum credidimus.
than when we belioved.
Fratres, hora est jam nos

The hymn, Creator alme siderum, the verse Rorate

and the canticle Magnificat, are given on pages

and 109.

107

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

No timeas, Maria; invenisti enim gratism apud Dominum: ecoe concipies, et
paries Filium, alloluia.
OREMUS

Fear not, Mary;

for thou

hast found favour with the
Lord : behold thou shalt con-

ceive, and bring forth a Son,
alleluia.

LET
US PRAY

Exert, wo beseoch thes, O
mine, potentiam tusm et Lo, l:;y gover and come;
veni: ut ab imminentibus
4
protection we
peccatorum nostrorum peri- ey, bo frood fyom the founts,
culis, te mereamur
te- nent dangers of our sins, and
gente eripi, te liboranto sal- be saved by thy mercy. Who
Excits,

quasumus,

Do-

136

ADVENT

vari. Qui vivis ot regnas
cum Deo Patre in unitate
Spiritus sancti Dous, por
omnia smcula swculorum.
R. Amen.

livest and reignest with God
the Father, in the unity of
the Holy Ghost, God, world
without end.
R. Amen.

MONDAY
OF THE FIRST WEEK

OF ADVENT

Regem venturum DomiCome, lot us adore the
num, venite, adoremus.
King our Lord, who is to
come.
Do Isaia Prophota.
From the Prophet Isaiss.
Cap. i.
Ch. .
Lavamini, mundi estote,
Wash yourselves, bo clean,
auforte malum cogitationum tako away tho ovil of your
vestrarum ab oculis mei dovices from my eyes: cease
quiescite agere perverse, dis to do perversely, learn to do
cite benefacere: querite well; seek judgement, relieve
judicium, subvenite opprosso, the oppressed, judge for the
judicate pupillo, defendite fatherloss, dofend the widow.
Viduam, Bt venite, ot arguite And thon come, and accuse
me, dicit Dominus. Si fue- mo, saith the Lord. If your
rint peccata vestra ut coc- sins be_ns scarlot, they shall
cinum, quasi nix dealbabun- bo made aa white as snow ;
tur: et si fuerint rubra and if they bo red as crimson,
uasi vermiculus, velut lana they shall be white a8 wool.
ba erunt.

The Saviour, who is 8o soon to be with us and to

save us, warns us not only to prepare ourselves to
appear before Him, but also to purify oursouls. ‘It
is most just,’ says St. Bernard, ‘ that the soul, which

was the first to fall, should be the first to rise.

Let

us therefore defer caring for the body, until the day
when Jesus Christ will come and reform it by the
Resurrection ; for, in the first coming, the Precursor

says to us: “ Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh
away the sins of the world.” Observe, he says not

the maladics of the body, nor the miseries of the

FIRST MONDAY OF ADVENT

137

flesh ; he says sins, which are the malady of the
and the corruption of the spirit. Take heed,
thou my body, and wait for thy turn and
Thou canst hinder the salvation of the soul, and

own safety is not within thy reach.

soul,
then,
time.
thine

Let the soul

labour for herself, and strive thou too to help her,

for if thou sharest in her sufferings thou wilt share in
her glory. Retard her perfection, and thou retardest thine own. Thou wilt not be regenerated
until God sees His own image restored in
the soul.”

Let us, then, purify our souls. Let us do the works
of the spirit, not the deeds of the flesh. Our Saviour’s

promise is most clear ; He will turn the deep dye of
our iniquities into the purest whiteness. He asks
but one thing of us : that we sin no more. He says
to us: ‘Cease to do perversely, and then come and
accuse Me, come and complain against Me, if I do not

cleanse you’

O Jesus! we will not defer a single

day of this holy season ; we accept, from this moment,

the conditions Thou offerest us. We sincerely desire
to make our peace with Thee ; to bring the flesh into
subjection to our spirit, to make good all the injustice we have committed against our neighbour, and
to hush, by the sighs of our heart-felt compunction,
that voice of our sins which has so long cried to Thee
for vengeance.
PROSE

FOR

THE

(Composed in the eleventh
Roman-French
Salus wmterna, indeficiens

mundi vita.

Lux_sempiterna, ot redemptio vera nostra.
Condolens humana perire

swela per tentantis numina.

TIME

OF

ADVENT

, and taken from the ancient
missals)
Thou our etornal salvation,

the never-failing light of the
world.

Light overlasting and our
true redemption.
Moved with compassion to

seo the human race perish
by its idolatry offered to its
very tempter.

1 Bixth Sermon of Advent.

138

ADVENT

Thou didst descend to
sti ima propria clementia.
these depths of our misery,
{:e not leaving thine own
igh throne above.
Mox tua spontanea gratis
hen, by thy own gratuiassumens humana,
tous love, assuming our human nature,
Qus fuerant perdita omThou didst save all on
nis, salvasti terres.
earth that was lost.
Ferens mundo gaudia.
Giving joy to this world.
Tu animas et corpora noCome, O Christ, purify our
stra, Christe, expis,
souls and bodies.
Ut
possideas lucida nosAnd mako them thy own
met habitaculs.
pure abode.
Adventu primo justifica.
Justify us by thy first
coming.
In secundo nosque libera ;
And in thy second, deliver
us;
Ut cum facts luce magna,
That 80, when thou judgest
judicabis omnis,
all things, on tho day of the
great light,
Compti stola incorrupts,
We may bo adorned with &
nosmet tus subsequamur mox .Konm robe, and may follow
vestigia quocumque visa. thy footsteps Jywheresoever
they are soen. men,
Non linquens excelsa, adi-

PRAYER

FROM

THE

AMBROSIAN

BREVIARY

(Second Sunday of Advent)
Dons, quesumus, omnipoO slmighty God! grant,
tens Deus, ouncts familim we boseech thoe, unto all this
tum hane voluntatem, Christo thy family, the desire of meotFilio tuo, Domino nostro ing, by good works, thy Son,
venienti, in operibus justis Christ our Lord, who is
spte occurrere: ut ejus dex- coming to us; that being
term socisti, regnum merea- placed on his right hand, we
mur_possidere celeste. Por may deserve tho possession
eumdem Christum Dominum of the heavenly kingdom.
nostrum. Amen.
Through tho same Christ our
Lord. Amen.

FIRST TUESDAY

OF ADVENT

139

TUESDAY
OF

Regem

FIRST

THE

venturum

num, venite, adoremus.

WEEEK

Domi-

Cap. ii.

quod vidit Isaias

Et erit in novis-

simis diebus preeparatus mons
‘domus Domini in vertice mon-

tium,

colles:

omnes

puli

et elevabitur super
et

fluent

Gentes.

multi,

et

ad

Et

Come, let us adore the
King our Lord, who is to
come.
Ch. ii.

filius Amos, super Juda ot
Jerusalem.

ADVENT

From the Prophet Isaias.

De Isais Propheta.
Verbum,

OF

eum

ibunt

dicent:

eoenibe, et ascendamus ad
montem Domini et ad domum Dei Jacob: et docebit
nos viss suas: et ambulabi-

mus in semitis ejus, quia de
Sion _exibit_lex, et verbum
Domini de Jerusalem.

How the Church loves
words of the prophet:
mountain of the Lord!
Lauds of every feria in
bless the Lord, who, that

The word that Isaias the
80n of Amos saw concerni
Juds snd Jerusalem.
in the last days the mounfain of the Houso of the Lord
repared on the to
of mountoins, and it shall be
exalted above tho hills: and
all nations shall low unto t.
And man;
and say: Come and lot us
go up to the mountain of the
Lord, and to the house of the
God 'of Jacob: and he will
toach us his ways: and we
will walk in his paths, for
the law shall come forth
from Sion, and_the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem.
to hear and say these grand
Come, let us go up to the
She repeats them in the
Advent; and her children
we might have no difficult;

in finding Him, has made Himself like to a hig]

mountain ; high, indeed, yet can we all ascend it.
1t is true that, at first, this mountain is, as we learn

from another prophet, a small stone which is scarcely

ADVENT

140

reeptible, and this to show the humility of the

E{eessias at His birth ; but it soon becomes great, and

all people see it, and are invited to dwell on its fertile
slopes, yea, to go up to its very summit, bright with
the rays of the Sun of justice. It is thus, O Jesus,
that Thou callest us all, and that Thou approachest
towards all, and the %fentnesa and sublimity of Thy
mysteries are put within the reach of our littleness.
‘We desire to join, without delay, that happy multitude
of people which is journeying on towards Thee ; we
are already with them; we are resolved to fix our
tent under Thy shadow, O Mountain ever blessed !
There

shelter us, and let us be out of reach of the

noise of the world beneath us. Suffer us to go so far
up, that we may lose all sight of that same world’s
vanities. May we never forget those paths which
lead even to the blissful summit, where the mountain,

the figure, disappears, and the soul finds herself face
to face with Him, whose vision eternally keeps the
angels in rapture, and whose delight is to be with the

children of men !*
HYMN

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(Composed in the ninth century, and taken from the hymnarium
of B. Joseph-Maria Tommass)
Sol, astra, torra, mquora,
May the sun, and stars,
Adventum Dei altissimi,
and lsnd, snd sea, sound
Prolem exorlsi germinis,
forth the coming of the most
Dives et inops concrepent:
high God : may the rich and
poor unite their songs of
praise to the Son of the
supreme Creator !
Olim promissum patribus
o is the Saviour promised
Partum puelle inclytum,
to our fathers; the glorious
Natum snte luciferum,
offspring of a Virgin: tho
Son of the mighty
Dei potentis Filium.
God born of
bim before the morning star.
Ho is the King of glory,
Venturum Regom glorise,
and is coming to rule as God
Doum regnare regibus ;
T Prov. viii. 31.

VIRST TUESDAY

Hostem calcare improbum,
Mundum sanare languidum.
Latentur simul angeli,

Omnes exsultent popul
Excelsus venit humilis,
Salvare quod pericrat.
Deous et homo oritur,
Sanctaque regnat Trinitas ;

Comvus Patri Filius,
Terris descendit Dominus.

OF ADVENT

141

over kings, tramplo
our wicked
enomy beneath his feet, and
heal this sick world of ours.

Let the angels rejoice, let

all natioris exult ; he that is

high is coming in lowliness to

save what had been lost.
A

God-Man

tho holy Trinity
Son coeternal
Father,

our

is born,

and

reigns ; the
with the

Lord,

descends

upon our earth.
Clament prophets et proLet the prophets cry out,
phetent :
and _prophesy : Emmanuel
Emmanuel jam propo ost ;
is nigh unto us. Let the
Mutorum lingu® jam sonent, tongues of the dumb speak,
Claudi in occursum pergite. and ye, poor lame ones, run
to meet him.

Agnus et fora bostia
Simul manducent paleas :
Agnoscat bos et asinus
Jacentem in prasepio.

Signum regale emicans
Sacrum praecedit verticem ;
Regali nato nobili,
Regos parate munera.
0 quam beatum nuntium

Virgo Maria audiit !
Credendo mater feeta fit,
Et virgo virum nesciit.
Omnes gentes et insulz,
Magnum triumphum plaudite,
Cursu cervorum currite :
Redemptor ecce jam vonit.
Discant czecorum oculi,
Clauso sedentes lumine,
Noctis tenebras solverc,
Lumen verum perciperc.

Gons Galilaa et Gracia
Crodat, Persa ot India :
Dignando Deus homo fit,
Et Verbum cum Patre
manet.

Let tho lamb and the wild
beast feed with each other:
Iet the ox and the ass know

him that lies in the manger.
Tho royal glittering standard

ushers

in

our

divine

Chief : yo kings prepare your
gifts for the o b royal
Babe.
O tho blessed me:
sent
beto tho Virgin Ma;
lioving

she conceives ; she is

& Mother, and a Virgin knowing not man.
All ye nations and islands
applaud this grand triumph.
Run swiftly as the stag, lo!
the Redeemer is coming.
Let the eyes of the blind,

who

have

been sitting in
darkness, now learn to throw
off tho murky night, and
open to the truo light.

Let
Galilee, and Greece,
and Porsia, and India, receive
the faith: a God deigns to
become man, and remains the

Word with the Father.

142

ADVENT

Praiso, honour,
_power,
Laus, honor, virtus, gloria,
glory, be to God the Father,
Deo Patri, et Filio,
and to tho Son, together with
Una cum sancto Spiritu,
the Holy Ghost, for oternal
In sompiterna secula.
ages.
‘Amen.

Amen.

PRAYER

FROM THE GALLICAN MISSAL

(In Adventu Domins, Contestatio)

Dous, cui proprium est 8o
singulare, quod bonus es, et
nulla unqusm s te es commutatione diversus; propi
tiaro supplicationibus nostris ;
ot Ecclesim tum misericordiam tusm, quam confitemur,
ostende, manifestans _plebi
tum Unigeniti tui mirabile
Sacramentum: ut universitato nationum perficiatur,
quod per Verbi tui Evan.
gelium promisisti ; et habeat
plenitudo
adoptionis, quod
tulit testificatio veritatis.
Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

0 God, whose nature and
property is goodness, and
ith whom theroisno change,
ropitious to our prayers,
and show 10 thy Church that
mercy of thine which wo
confess ; show to thy people
the wonderful mystery of thy
only-begotten Son ; that thus,
what thou hast promised by
the Gospel of thy Word, may
be fulfled by all nations
coming to the faith, and the
testimony of truth may be
verifiod by the completion of
adoption. Through Christ
our Lord. Amen.

FIRST WEDNESDAY

OF ADVENT

143

WEDNESDAY
OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
Come, let us adore the
Regem venturum DomiKing, our Lord, who is to
num, venits, adoromus.

come.
From the Prophet Isaiss.

De Isaia Propheta.

Cap. iii.

Ecce enim dominator Dominus exercituum suferet a
Jerusalem et a Juda validum

ot fortem, omne robur panis,
et omne robur aqum ; fortem,
et virum bellatorem, judicem,
ot prophetam, ot ariolum, et
senem : principem super quinquaginta, et honorabilem
vultu, et consiliarium, et sapientem do architectis, et
Erudantem eloquii mystici.
t dabo pueros principes
eorum ; ot effeminati dominsbuntur eis.
Ruit enim
Jerusalem, et Judas concidit, quia lingua eorum et ad-

inventiones eorum contra Do-

minum, ut
provocarent ooulos majestatis ejus. Agnitio
vultus eorum respondit eis,
ot peocatum suum

doma

quasi So-

_predicaverunt,

nec

Ch. iii.
For behold the soverej
the Lord of hosts shall take

away from Jerusalem and
from Juds the valiant and
the strong, the wholo strength
of

bi

and

the

whole

strength of water ; the strong
man, and the man of war, the
judge and the prophet, and
the cunning man, snd the
ancient,

the

captain

over

fifty, and the honourable in
countenance, and the counsellor, and the architect, and

the skilful in eloquent speech.

And I will give children to

bo their princes; and
effeminate
them.

ruined,

bocause

For

shall

rule

Jorusalem

and Juda

, to

provol

over

is

is fallen,

their tongue

txl‘I:‘lé devices uk:

the

and

inst. the‘

oyes of

his mje-p?,{ The show of
eorum, quoniam reddita sunt their countenance hath aneis mala! Dicite justo quo- swered them, and they have
absconderunt.

Ve

anim®

niam bene, quoniam fructum

proclaimed abroad

medet.

hid it. Woe to their souls,
for evils are rendered to

adinventionum

susrum

co-

Vs impioin malum !

retributio enim manuum ejus
fiot ei.

5

their

sin

a8 Sodom, and they have not

them | Bay to the just man

that it is well, for he shall

eat the fruit of his doi
‘Woe to the wicked unto e
for the reward of his hands

shall be given him.

ADVENT

144

Jerusalem is tending to her destruction; therefore she is losing all power, and, with the rest, the
power of understanding. She no longer knows
whither she is going, and she sees not the abyss into
which she is plunging. Such are all those men, who
never give a thought to the coming of the sovereign
Judge ; they are men of whom Moses said in his canticle : ¢ They are a nation without counsel and without wisdom. O that they would be wise and would
understand, and would provide for their last end I”
The Son of God comes now in the swaddling-clothes
of a weak Babe, in the humility of a servant, and, to

speak with the prophets, as the dew which falls softly
drop by drop; but it will not always be so. This

earth also, which now is the scene of our sins and our

hardheartedness, will perish before the face of the
angry
Judge ; and if we have made it the one object of
our

love, to what shall we then cling?

A

sudden

death which has happened in your presence,” says
St. John Chrysostom, ‘ or an earthquake, or the bare
threat of some dire calamity, terrifies and prostrates

you : what then shall it be when the whole earth
shall sink beneath your feet; when you shall see all

nature in disorder ; when you shall hear the sound of
the last trumpet ; when the sovereign Master of the
universe shall appear before you in the fulness of
His majesty ? Perchance you have seen criminals

dragged to punishment: did they not seem to die
twenty times before they reached the place of execu-

tion, and before the executioner could lay his hands
on them, fear had crushed out life ?” Oh'! the terror

of that last day!

How is it that men can expose

themselves to such misery, when,

to avoid it, they

have but to open their hearts to Him, who is now
coming to them in gentlest love, asking them to give

Him a place in their souls, and promising to shelter
them from the wrath to come, if they will but receive
Him! O Jesus, who can withstand Thy anger at

FIRST WEDNESDAY OF ADVENT

145

Now Thou art our Brother, our
the last day?
Friend, a little Child who is to be born for us: we
will therefore

make

covenant

with

Thee;

so that,

loving Thee now in Thy first coming, we may not
fear Thee in the second. When Thou comest in that
second one, bid Thy angels approach us, and say to
us those thrilling words : ‘ It is well I
HYMN

OF

ADVENT

(Roman breviary, the Office of Matins)
Verbum supernum prodions 0O sovereign Word, begotten
E Patris mterni sinu,
of the bosom of the eternal
Qui natus orbi subvonis,
Father, yet born in the flootLabente cursu temporis.
ing courss of time, thou
‘bringest succour to the world.
Fnlighten now our hearts,
and inflamo them with thy

Tllumina nune pectora,

Tuoque amore concroma,
Ut cor caduca deserens
Cali voluptas implest.

love,

esca

flammarum

gros inter turbines
. ;
Volvamaur

ni-

lovingly call the good to the
heaven they have won,
We may not bo hurled into

the dark pool of fire, but, admitted to the vision of God,

‘may enjoy the bliss of heaven.

Celi fruamur gaudiis.
Patri, simulque Filio,
‘Tibique, sancte Spiritus,
Sicut fuit sit jugiter
Swclum per omno gloria.
Amen,
FROM

detached

of heaven.
That when from his tribunal the Judge shsll condemn
the wicked to the flames, and

Vultu Dei sed compotes

PRAYER

being

from earthly things, they
may be flled with the joys

Ut cum tribunal Judicis
Damnabit igni noxios,
Et vox amica debitum
Vocabit ad ceelum pios,
Non

that,

To the Father, and to the
Son, and to thee, O Holy

Ghost, may there ever be, as

thero ever hath been, glory
for ever and ever.

Amen.

THE

MOZARABIC

MISSAL

(In the Mass of the fourth Sunday of Advent, Illation)

Dignum et justum est, vere
It is meet and just, and
ot nobis per omnia expe- availablo to us in all things,
dibile, tusm nos clementiam,

that we always should extol,
10

ADVENT

146

omnipotens Pater, quibus
possumus semper ~ lsudibus
icare ; qui bonitate nos
ingenuitateque condidisti sc
serpentis sntiqui fraude decepti, gratuita_miseratione
morte velis eripere: qui Filium tuum, quem pro nobis

in carne missurus eras, ad terras venturum nasciturumque

do Virgine longo antea pre-

dixisti,

ejus

nativitatis

ad-

ventum preetonantibus sanctis
renuntiasti ; ut exspectatus

ju qui fuerat repromissus,
magnum mundo facerot gaudium in plenitudine temporum prasentatus. Unde peti‘mus et rogamus ut qui plasma.
‘tuum, sicut vere pius et misericors, perire non passus es ;
sed per humilem adventum
Filii tui Domini nostri, quod

rierat revocasti ; quod jam

inventum et reparatum

sc

revocatum est, sic protegas,

sio custodias, sic sanes, sic
defendae,

sio liberes:

ut in

illo adventu terribili quo iterato illos venturus est judicare, & quibus et pro quibus
est judicatus, talos inveniat
quos redemit, ut in mternum
possideat quos pref tio sui sanguinis aoquisivit.

zy all possible praises, thy
lomen , O almighty Father,
who didst create us in holiness and nobleness, and, when
the fraud of the old serpent
had seduced us, didst in
ure mercy deliver us from
leath. Thou didst foretell,in
past ages, that the Son, whom
thou wast to send in the flesh
for us, would come on this
carth and nm‘hh. born of &
irgin, and by thy holy propheta didst foretell the advent
of his birth ; and this to the
end that he who had been
promised, having been long
expected, might give great
joy to the world when he
should come in the fulness of
time. Wherefore we pray and
bescech thee, that thou, who
didst not suffer thy creature
to lperi&h, because thou art
truly compassionate and merciful, but didst restoro what
was lost, by the humble coming of thy Son, wouldst now
8o rotect, so keep, so heal,
80 defend, 80 free, what thou
repaid and
hast found and
restored, that in that dread
coming, whereby thy Son
come & second time to
judge those by whom and for
‘whom he himself was judged,
he may so find the creatures
that he bas redcemed, thfi he
may eternally possess thoso
whom he purchased with the
price of his Blood.

FIRST

THURSDAY

OF

147

ADVENT

THURSDAY
OF THE

FIRST WEEK

OF ADVENT

Come, lot us adore the
Regem vonturum DomiKing our Lord, who is to
num, venite, sdoremus.
come.
From tho Prophet Isaias.
Do Isaia Propheta.
Cap. v.
Ch. v.
Cantabo dilecto meo can1 will sing to my beloved
tioum
_patruelis mei vinew
sum! Vinea facta est dilecto
meo in cornu filio olei. Et
sepivit eam, et lapides elegit
ox illa, et plantavit eam
electam, et adificavit turrim
in medio ejus et torcular
exsbruxit
in ea : et
exspectavit
ut faceret_uvas, et fecit labruscas. Nunc ergo habitatores Jerusalem, et viri
Juda, judicate inter me et
vineam meam. Quid est
quod debui ultra facere vinem
me, et non feci ci ? an quod
exspectavi ut faceret uvas, et
fecit labruscas ? Et nuno
ostondsm vobis quid ego
faciam vine® mem: aufersm
sepem ojus, ot erit in direptionem ; dirusm macerism
ejus, ot erit in conculcationem. Et ponam eam desortam: non putabitur, et non
fodietur, et ascendent ve,
et spina, et nubibus mandabo
ne pluant super eam imbrom.
Vinea enim Domini_exorcituum domus Israel est, et vir
Juda germen ejus delectabile :
et exapectavi ut faceret judi-

the canticle of my cousin
concerning his vineyard. My
beloved had & vineyard on

a hil, in a fruitful place.
And he fenced it in, and

picked the stones out of it,

and planted
choicest

vines,

it with
and

built

the

a

tower in the

midst

thereof,

in:

and

looked

that

and

it

and set up & wine-press therohe

it

should bring forth grapes,
brought

forth

wild

. And now, O ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and
ye men of Juda, judge between mo and my vineyard.
Whatis there that IM t to
do more to my vineyard, that
I have not done to it ? Was
it that I looked that it should

bring forth grapes, and it hath
brought forth wild grapes ?
And now I will show you
what I will do to my vinerd: I will take away the

thereof, and it shall be
wasted ; I will break down
the wall thereof, and it shall
be trodden down.
And I
will make it dosolate : and it

148

ADVENT

cium, ot ecco iniquitas; ot shall not bo pruned, and it
justitiam, et ecce clamor.
shall not be digged, but briars
and thorns shall como up, and
I will command the clouds to
rain no rain upon it. For
the vineyard of the Lord of
hosts is the houso of Israel,
and the man of Juda his
pleasant plant; and I looked
that he should do judgement,
and behold iniquity; and do
justice, and behold a cry.
We are awaiting the birth of a Child who is to
appear seven hundred years after the time of Isaias;
and this Child will be the world’s Saviour. Men will
persecute Him, load Him with calumnies and inJuries, and, but a few hours before they crucify Him,

they shall hear this parable from His lips : ¢ There was
a man, a householder,

who planted a vineyard, and

made a hedge round about it, and dug in 1t a press,

and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen :
and went into a strange country. And when the time
of the fruits drew nigh, he sent his servants to the
husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits

thereof.

servants,

And the husbandmen laying hands on his
beat one, and

killed another, and stoned

another. Again he sent other servants more than the
former ; and they aid to them in like manner. And
last of all, he sent to them his son, saying : They will
reverence

coming

my

to you.

son.’!

See,

Christians,

Will you reverence

this

Him ?

Son

is

Will

you treat Him as the Son of God, with that honour

and love which are due to Him?

Take notice of

the wickedness of men ; it has a progress in malice,

In the days of Isaias, the Jews despised the
but the prophets, though sent by God,
men. The Son of God came, and they
acknowledge Him; a far greater crime,
1 Bt. Matt. xxi. 33-37

prophets ;
were only
would not
assuredly,

FIRST THURSDAY

149

OF ADVENT

than to stone the prophets.

What, then, would be

the crime of Christians, who not only acknowledge
Him who is now coming to them, but are His members

by Baptism, if they will not open their hearts to this

Messias, whom the Father is sending into the vineyard 2 What flxm’shment would not the ungrateful
vine deserve, planted, as it has been, with so much

love, should it persist in yielding nothing but bitter
fruit?

Ah,

dear Jesus!

generous : make

let not this be:

us produce

abundant

make

flower

us

and

fhr‘ui";i for the day of Thy coming, which is so near at
nd.
PRAYER

OF THE CHURCHES OF FRANCE DURING
ADVENT

(Taken from the Prophet Isaias)
Rorate, cceli, dosuper, ot
Drop down dew, yo heanubes plusnt Justum.
vens, from above, and let the
clouds rain tho Just One.
Ne irascaris, Domine, ne
Bo not angry, O Lord, and
ultra memineris iniquitatis : remember no longer our iniecco civitas sancti facta est quity : behold the city of thy
descrta, Sion deserta facta sanctuary is become & dosert,
est, Jerusalem desolata est, Sion is made a desert. Jerudomus sanctificationis nostra salem is desolate, the houso
et glorim tum, ubi laudave- of our holiness and of thy
glory, whero our fathers
runt te patres nostri.
praised theo.
Rorate, cali, desuper, et

nubes pluant Justum.

Drop
vens,

Poccavimus, ot facti sumus temqusm immundus
nos, et cocidimus quasi fo-

we have all fallen as a leaf;

lium

universi ; et iniquitates

nostrs quasi ventus abstulo-

down dow,
from above, and

healet the

clouds rain the Just One.
‘We have sinned, and we are
become as one unclean, and

and our iniquities, like the

wind, have taken us away :

runt nos : abscondisti faciem thou hast hid thy face from
tuam & nobis, et allisisti nos us, and hast crushed us by
the hand of our iniquity.
in manu iniquitatis nostre.
Drop
down dew,
Rorate, ccli, desuper, et
heavens,
from above, and let the
nubes pluant Justum.
clouds rain the Just One.

150

ADVENT

Vide, Domine, afflictionem
populi tui, ot mitte quem
missurus es. Emitte Agnum
dominatorem terr de petra
deserti ad montem filie Sion,
ut auferat ipso jugum capti-

vitatis nostra.

Seo, O Lord, the affliction
of thy poople, and send him
whom thou hast promised to
send. Send forth the Lamb,
the ruler of the earth, from
the rock of the desert to the
mount of the daughter of
Sion, that he himself may take
off the yoke of our captivity.
Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain the Just One.
. 53«1 comforted, boh com:
salmy peoplo; thy
orted,
vation_shall speedily come:
why wit thou waste amay in
ess ? why hath sorrow
seized thee ? I will save thee ;
fear not : for I am the Lord
thy God, the Holy One of

Rorate, cali, desuper, et
nubes plusnt Justum.
Consolamini, consolamini,
popule meus: cito veniet
salus tua: quare
marore
consumeris ? _quare comprehendit to dolor? Salvabo
to; moli timere: ego emim
sun Dominus Deus tuus,
Sanctus Isracl, Redemptor
Tsracl, thy Redeemer.
tuus.
Rorate, ocli, desuper, ot
Drop down dew, yo heanubes pluant Justum.
vens, from above, and let the
clouds rain the Just One.

PRAYER FROM THE

AMBROSIAN MISSAL

(Fourth Sunday of Advent)
Omnipotens
sempiterne
Almighty and everlasting
Dous, qui_per adventum God, who. by the coming of
unigeniti Filii tui Domini thine only-begotten Son our

nostri Jesu Christi nova luce

radisre dignatus es, concede
nobis, ut sicut eum per Virginis partum in forma nostri
corporis meruimus
habere
participem, ita et in regno
gratim ejus mercamur esse
consortes, qui tecum vivit et
regnat in smculs s@culorum.
Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, didst
deign to shine on us with &
now light; grant unto us,
that as we deserved to have
him as our companion in the
form of our body, by the
birth the Virgin gave him;
80 also we may merit to bo
his wmguiom in the kin&
dom of his
and reigneth

ever and ever.

grace: who live
with thee for

Amen.

FIRST FRIDAY

151

O¥ ADVENT

FRIDAY
OF THE FIRST WEEK

Regem

venturum

Domi-

num, venite, adoremus.
Do Isaia Propheta.
Cap. vi.
In anno, quo mortuus est
rex Oziss, vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum : et ea qum
sub ipso orant, replobant
templum. _Seraphim stabant,
super illud : sex ale uni, et
sox alw alteri: dusbus velabant faciem ojus, ot duabus
velabant pedes ojus, ot duabus volabsnt. Et clamabant

alter ad alterum, et dicebant :
Sanctus,

sanctus,

sanctus

OF ADVENT

Come, let us adore the King

our Lord, who is to come.

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. vi.

In the year that king Ozias
died, T sww the Lord sitting
upon a throne high and elovated : and his train filled the

temple. Upon it stood tho
Seraphim: the one had six
wings, and the other had six
wings : with two they covered
his face, and with two the
covered

his

feet, and

two they flew.

cried

one

to

witl

~And they

another

ssid: Holy, holy, holy

Dominus Deus exercituu : Lord God of hosts: all
plena est omnis terra gloria earth is fullof his glory.
ejus.

and

the
the

Such is the glory of the Lord in the highest heavens :

who could see it and live?

But now, contemplate

this same Lord upon our earth, during the days which
have dawned upon us. The womb of a Virgin contains Him, whom heaven cannot contain.

To angels

His beauty is visible, but it dazzles them not;

to

men, it is not even visible. Not a single voice is
heard saying unto Him those words of heaven : Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts! The angels no
longer say of Him : A% the earth is full
of His glory ; for

the earth is witness of His abasement, and an abase-

ment so abject and low, that the inhabitants of the

earth do not even know it. At first, there was but
one who knew the divine secret : the Virgin Mother ;

ADVENT

152

after her, Elizabeth was admitted to know that her
cousin was Mother of God; and then, after the most
painful and humiliating suspicions, the great mystery
was revealed by an angel to Joseph. So that only

three on earth know that God has come down upon it !

Thus

humbly

re-enter the world,

did He

after the

sin of pride had driven Him out of it. O God of the
ancient Covenant, how great Thou art! and who
would not tremble before Thee 2 O God of the new
Covenant, how little Thou hast made Thyself! who
would not love Thee ? Heal my pride, the source of

all my sins! teach me to value what Thou didst so

much value.

By Thy

Incarnation Thou dost a second

time create the world

; and in this second creation,

more excellent than the first, Thou workest by silence,
and Thy triumph is won by self-annihilation. I wish
to hum{le myself after Thine example, and to profit

by the lesgons which a God came down so low to give
me. Lay low all that is high and lifted up within me,
0O my Jesus, for this is one of the ends of Thy coming.
T abandon myself to Thee as to my sovereign Master !
do with me and in me what Thou wilt.
HYMN

TAKEN

FROM

THE

ANTHOLOGY

OF

THE

GREEKS

(December 23)
Antefestalia cantica ChriLot us sing, in_gladness

sti nativitatis mentis alacritate prazcansmus;

nam

qui

of heart, the canticles of the

pre-vigil

of the

birth

of

Patri et Spiritui ost mqualis, Christ; for he, who is copor misericordiam commi- equal with the Father and
serans, massam indutus- luti the Spirit, having, in his

compassion for our
debet in Bethlshom great
nasci
civitate ; cujus nativitatem miséries, ulom himself with
ineffabilem
totes
oum the leaven of otr clay, is to

angelis hymnificabunt.

be born in the city
hhfl]:;;fidh.hep

angels

blobirth

wil

of Bethrds with

his ineffa-

In cymbalis resonomus, in Let us play loud on our
canticia slalagmum_persone- cymbals, let us shout our
mus. Christi manifestatur songs of victory ; Christ is to

153

FIRST FRIDAY OF ADVENT
ostensio, prophetarum finem

appear

reclinatur ut infans.

cave, and to lie in & crib a
little child.

habuerunt preeconia ; quem

visibly ; the predic-

tions of the prophets are fulenim inter mortales dixerunt fillod ; ho, who thoy foretold
apporiturum nascitur in san- would appear amongst morcta spolunca, et in prasepio tals, is to bo born in & holy

praparare ;
Bothlehom
Eden, aporire; omnis_terra
Juds, nunc adornaro, leten$ur coeli, oxanltent homines:
in preesepio vits, in spelunca
divos, advenit per misericordio multitudinem paupertatem Adam restaurare,
absque mutatione vel confusione.
Ad te de luco vigilo, qui
per misericordiam toipsum
pro homine lapso exinanisti
sino mutations, et servi formam ex Virgine tulisti, Verbum Dei, pacom da mihi,
Philanthrope.

Got theo ready, O Beth-

lehom!
gates!

Eden,

Land

of

open

thy

Juds, put

on thy best ! Let the heavons
be glad, let men exult! To
enrich the poverty of Adsm

by the abundance of his
mercy, Life is in that crib,

the rich One is in that cave,

yet the divine Nature suffers
no change or confusion.
From the dawn of day I
watch for thee, who, in meroy
for fallen man, didst empty
thyself,

yet still remaining

God, and didst take from a
Virgin the form of a servant,
O thou Word of God, O
I;h;ar

of

men!

, give mo

I

peace.

beseech

Stillent ex alto aquam ne- 'Mflhe olouya:cdro down
bulw: qui nubes posuit do- dow from on high.- He whescendit_ipso adorandus in puts the clouds in the air, he
nebula Virgine, ut luceat ab the adorable' God, has do¢0 lumen inocciduum his qui scended in a cloud, and that
antea in tenebris perioulisque cloud is the Virgin: he has
done this, that light everlasterant.
ing may shine from him on

those who heretofore were in

O

dulcissimom

Puerum,

quomodo nutriam te 7 Quo-

darlmess and peril.

O most sweet Child, how

qui

shall I feed thee ? said the
blessed Lady.
How shall I

modo te fasciis involvam, qui

that holdest all things in thy

modo

te apprehendam,

omnia nutu tuo tenes ? Quo-

omnem terram involvis nobula ? clamabat sancta Domina.

take thee into my arms, thou

power? How shall I wrap

theo in swathing bands, that
coverest the whole earth with
clouds ?

154

ADVENT

Sol, fili mi, quomodo

re-

fasciis? Quote
condam
modo rotinobo te qui omnia
contines ? Quomodo te sine

metu

intueri

potero,

quem

non sudent contemplari qui
multos

habent

oculos ? aie-

bat Christum tenens nuptinescia.
Bethlehem, adesdum, preepara que ad partum pertinent. I, Joseph, inscribere
cum
Maria;
venerandum
prasepium, Deifers fasci ;
ubi
Vita involuta mortis
funes disrumpet, alligans immortalitati
mortales,
stus Deus noster.

PRAYER

FROM

Chri-

THE

My Babo, wid the Virgin
Mother of Christ, how shall
1 hide thee, bright Sun, in
swaddling clothos ? How
shall I 80 imprison thoo that
holdest all things
? Shall I
bo sble to fix my gaze on
theo, whom the many-oyed
spirits dare not look upon 1
Get ready, then, O Bothlohom, sl that is needed
for the birth. And thou,
Joseph, go and bo enrolled
with
.0 crib ever
venerable ! O yo bands that
swathe our God, holding in
our folds tho Life that
reaks the bands of death,
and ties us mortals to immortality, Christ Jesus our God.
MOZARABIC

MISSAL

(In the Mass of the fifth Sunday of Advent)
In proximo quidem est,
The day of thy coming, O
Domine, dies adventus tui: Lord, is. neas, indeed.” at
sed quesumus ut, antoquam hand’; but bofore thou comvenias, expiari mereamur ab est wo beseech theo make us
omni
contagione
delicti. worthy to be purified from
Prius dilue, rogamus, in nobis every contagion of sin. First
omne quod in illa futura ex- remove from us, we entreat
aminatione puniturus s ; ut theo, whatsoever there is in
cum justus adveneris judex, us which thou wouldst have
non_in nobis invenias quod to punish in that future excondemnes.
amination; that so, when
thou comest as our just
Judge, thou mayst find
nought in us to condemn.

155

FIRST SATURDAY OF ADVENT

SATURDAY
OF THE FIRST WEEK

Regem_ venturam Dominum, venite, sdoremus.
De Isaia Propheta.

Cap. vil.
Et sdjecit Dominus loqui
ad Achaz, dicens: Pete tibi
signum & Domino Deo tuo
in profundum inferni, sive
in excelsum supra. Et dixit
Achsz: Non petam, et non
tentabo Dominum.
Etdixit:
Audite ergo domus David :
Numquid param vobis est
molestos esse hominibus, quis
molesti

estis et

Deo

meo ?

signum:

Eocoe

Propter hoc dabit

i&u

vobis

Dominus

irgo concipiet, et pariet
Filium : et vocabitur nomen

ejus Emmanuel.

Let your hearts
ing this fair and
conceive and bear
salvation of the

OF ADVENT
Come,

let

us

adore

the

King our Lord, who is to
come.
From the Prophet Isaiss.
Ch. vi.
And the Lord spoke again
to Achaz, saying Fhak thee o
sign of the Lord thy God,
either unto the depth of hell
or unto the height above.
And Achaz said: I will not
aak, and I will not tempt the
Lord. And he said: Hesr
therefors, O house of
avid : Is it a small thing
for you to be grievous to
‘men, that you are grievous to
my God ‘also? Therefore,
the Lord hh]'fi.u Id.'huv_giye
Bebold, a Vi
u a sign.
Tl coreivo and bear a Som,
and his nsme shall be called
Emmanuel.

be filled with hope and joy at hearsweet prophecy: A4 Virgin shall
¢ Son. These words contain the
world, as these others express its

perdition : ‘The woman took of the fruit of the tree,

and did eat, and gave unto her husband.” This Virgin
promised to us has at length come : the divine Fruit

18 in her womb.
By her, Eve's disobedience is repaired, the world is raised from its fall, the head of

the serpent is crushed, God Himself is more glorified
by the fidelity of this second Virgin, than He had

156

ADVENT

been outraged by the disobedience of the first. The
consent of Mary exercises an immense influence in
the saving of the world. It is true that the Word

Himself is coming ; ‘ but,’ says St. Bernard, ‘Mary
is the way whereby He comes ; it is from her virginal
womb He issues, as the Bridegroom from the nuptial

chamber.
Let us endeavour, therefore, to go up to
Jesus by Mary, for Jesus came down to us by her.

By thee, O blessed one that didst find grace, O parent

of life, O mother of salvation, may we have access to

thy Son! May He, who was given to us by thee,
receive us by thee. May He admit thy purity, and,
for its sake, forgive our impurities : may He give us
the pardon of our pride, because of the pleasure He
took in thy humility. May thy abundant charity

cover the multitude of our sins. May thy glorious
fruitfulness get us fruitfulness of merit. Our Lady!

our mediatrix ! our advocate! reconcile us to thy
Son, commend us to thy Son, present us to thy
Son. By the grace thou didst find, by the prerogative
thou didst merit, by the Mercy thou didst bring forth,
nt, O blessed Virgin! that Jesus, who deigned to
ecome, through thy maternity, partaker of our
weakness and misery, may, through thy intercession,
make us partakers of His glory and bliss.”?
PROSE

IN

HONOUR

OF

THE

BLESSED

VIRGIN

(Composed by Abelard ; it is found in alf the Roman-French
missals)
God, the lover of man,
Mittit ad Virginom
sends to the Virgin no_less
Non quemvis angelum :
an sngel than him who is
Sed fortitudinem
called God’s strength, the
Suum Archangelum,
Archangel Gabriel.
Amator hominis.
May this strong messenger
Fortem expediat
be speedilyat his work ; may
Pro nobis nuncium,
be stay the rights and laws
Natura faciat
of nature in the Virgin’s deUt prajudicium
livery.
In partu Virginis.
1 Second Sermon of Advent.

FIRST

SATURDAY

157

OF ADVENT

Naturam superet
Natus Rex gloris :

May the King of glory,
when bomn, triumph over

Et zyma scorie

command ; may he take awa;

Regnet et imperet,

Tollat de medio.
Superbientium

Terat fastigia :
Colla sublimium
Calcet vi propria,
Potens in pralio.

nature;

reign

he

may

and

from the midst of men all
leaven and rust.
May
ho humble
proud

heads ; may this God, mighty
in war, trample in his power
on the necks of the haughty.

‘Foras ojiciat
Mundanum _principem ;

May he cast forth the
prince of this world; and

Matrem participem

him the empire which his

Becumque faciat
Patris imperii.

make

his Mother share with

Father has given him.

Exi qui mitteris,
Heo dono dissere :
Revela veteris
Velamen littore,
Virtute nuncii.
Accede nuncia :

Go forth, messenger of
God, announco these gifts ;
lift up, by the virtue of thy
annunciation, the veil of the
ancient Scripture.
Approach, tell thy an-

Dic

art in her

Dic:

Ave, cominus.

: Plena gratia :

Dic : Tecum Dominus
Et dic : No timeas.

Virgo suscipias
Dei depositum,

In quo perficias
Casta propositum
Et votum teneas.
Audit et suscipit
Puella nunci
Credit et concipit
Et
parit Filium,

sdmirabilem,

Consiliarium
Humani
generis:
Doum et hominem

Et Patrom

In

posteris,

stabilom.

jus stabilitas

Nos reddat stabiles,
Ne nos labilitas.
Humana labiles

Sooum precipitet,

nouncoment : say, when thou

presence : ‘ Hail I’

Say: ‘Ofull of

grace I’ Say:

“The Lord
is with thee '
then : ‘Fear not !"

And

Receive, O Virgin, the
divine doposit ; by him fulfil

thy chaste purpose, and keep
thy vow.
.
Tho Maid hears snd so-

copts the announcement ; she
believes and conceives, and
brings {irth & Son, but he is

the admirablo,

The counsellor of mankind, God and Man, Father
of the world to como, the

Prince of peace.

May his firmness render

us firm, lest human
should
make
into the abyss.

us

frailt;

ltumbl{

158

ADVENT

But may tho Giver of pardon, granting us pardon and
graco, obtained by the Mother
of grace, dwell within us.

8ed dator venim,

Concessa venia,

Per Matrom gratie

Obtonta

In nobis

gratia,

habitet.

May ho that grants us pardon of our sins, wipe away
all our guilt, and give us tho
country in the starry hoaven.

Qui nobis tribuat

Poccati veniam :

Reatus deleat,

Donet et

In arce

Amen.

patriam

siderum.

PRAYER

FROM

Amen.
THE

GALLICAN

SACRAMENTARY

(Christmas Eve)
Emmanuel, nobiscum Deus,
O Emmanuel, God with
Christe Filius Dei, qui oum us, Christ the Son of God,
ex Virgine te nasciturum who didst snnounce that
pronuntias, quia _ Marism thou wouldst_bo born of a
Virgin, and didst, as_Lord,
‘matrem oreasti ut Dominus,
de qua natus es Filius: da create” Mary, tho Mother
nobis ut, qui cum illa a te, whose Son thou art : grantus,
vel per te creati sumus ex that being, like her, created
nihilo, simili, ut ea, creduli- by theo out of nothing, we
may bo rewarded, like her,
tatis remuneremur et pramio.
for our faith in thee.

159

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

THE SECOND SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

Tue Office of this Sunday is filled, from beginning to
end, with the sentiments of hope and joy, with which
the soul should be animated at the glad tidings of the
speedy coming of Him who is her Saviour and Spouse.

The interior coming, that which is effected in the soul,
is the almost exclusive object of the Church’s prayers

for this day : let us therefore open our hearts, lot us

propare our lamps, and await in gladness that cry,
which will be heard in the midnight: ¢ Glory be to
God! Peace unto men !”
The Roman Church makes the Station to-day in
It was in
the basilica of Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem.
this venerable church that Constantine deposited a
large piece of the true cross, together with the title
which was fastened to it by Pilate’s order, and which

proclaimed the kingly character of the Saviour of
the world. These precious relics are still kept there;
and, thus enriched with such a treasure, the basilica

of Holy-Cross-in-Jerusalem is looked upon,
Jerusalem

in the

as

is evident

the sacred Scriptures and of the Church,

Jerusalem

Roman

liturgy,

as

itself,

from the allusions made in the several Masses of the
Stations held in that basilica. In the language of

is the image of the faithful soul; and the Office and

Mass of this Sunday have been drawn up on this
idea, as the one of the day. We regret not to be able
here to develop the sublime beauty of this figure;
and must proceed at once to the passage, which the
Church has selected from the prophet Isaias. There
she tells her children how well founded are her hopes
in the merciful and peaceful reign of the Messias.
But first let us adore this divine Messias:

ADVENT

160

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus.
Do Isaia Propheta.

Cap. xi.
Et ogredietur virga de ra-

dice Jesse, ot flos do radice

ejus ascendet.
super eum

Ef requiescet

Spiritus

Domini,

Spiritus sapientim ot _intol-

Come,

King,

come.

our

let

us

adore

Lord,

who

the

is to

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xi.

And there shall come forth
& branch out of the rod of

Jesse,and & flower shall rise
\ép out of his root. And the

pirit of the Lord shall rest

lectus, Spiritus consilii et
fortitudinis, Spiritus scien-

upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

eum
ni.

fortitude, the Spirit of know-

tim ot piotatis: et roplobit
f}»n’tun timoris
on “secundum

mi_visio-

nem
ooculorum judicabit,
neque secundum
suditum
aurium srguet: sed judicabit in justitia
pauperos,
et arguet in mquitate pro
mansuetis terre. Et percutiot terram virga oris sui,
ot spiritu labiorum suorum
interficiet impium. Et erit
justitia cingulum lumborum
ojus, ot fides cinctorium
ronum ejus. Habitabit lupus cum agno, et
lus
cum heedo accubabit: vitulus et leo et ovis simul morabuntur, et g;ler parvulus

minabit eos.
Vitulus et ursus pascentur: simul roquiescent catuli eorum: et

the Spirit of counsel and of

ledgo and of

godlinoss: and

ho shall be filled with the
Bpirit of the fear of the Lord.

o shall not jndge
according
to tho sight of the eyes, nor
roprove acoording to the hearing of the ears: but he shall

judge the poor with justice,

and shall reprove with equity

for the meek of tho earth.
And he shall strike tho earth

with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his

lips he shall slay
And justice shall

the wicked.
be the gir-

dlo of his loins, and faith the
girdle of his reins. The wolf
shall dwell with the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down

with

the

kid:

the

calf and

loo quosi bos comedet pa- the lion and the sheep shall
leas. Et delectabitur infans abide togother, and a little
ab ubere super foramine child shall lead them. The
sspidis : et in caverna roguli, calf and the bear shall feed :
qui ablactatus fuerit, ma- their young ones shall rest
num suam mittet. Non no- togother : and the lion shall
cebunt, et non occident in eat straw like an ox. And
universo monte sancto meo : the suckling child shall play
quia_repleta est torra scien- on the hole of the asp: and
tia Domini, sicut aque ma- the weaned child shall thrust
ris_operientes. In die illa his hand into the den of the
radix

Jesse,

qui

stat

in

si-

basilisk.

They

shall

mnot

SECOND

SUNDAY OF ADVENT

161

gaum populorum, ipsum Gen- hurt, nor shall thoy kill in all
tes doprocabuntur, ot erit my holy mountain: for the
sopulohrum ojus gloriosum.
earth is filled with the knowledgo_of .the Lord, as the
covering waters of the soa.
In thatdsy the root of Jesse,
who standeth for an_ensi
of poople, him the Genti
shall beseoch, and his sopulchro shall be glorious.

How much is contained in these magnificent words
of the prophet! The branch; the flower that is to
come from it ; the Spirit which rests on this flower ;
the seven gifts of this Spirit ;
and confidence
established on the earth ; and,
hout the world,
one brotherhood in the kingdom of the Messias! St.
Jerome, whose words are read by the Church in tho
lessons of the second

nocturn

of this Sunday,

says

that the branch which cometh forth from the root
of Jesse, is the blessed Virgin Mary, who had contact
with no shrub or plant; and that the flower is the

Lotd Jesus, who says in the Canticle of canticles :
‘I am the flower of the field, and thelily of the valley.’
In every age of the Christian Church, this wonderful
branch and its divine flower have been objects of

enthusiastic veneration. In the middle ages the tree
of Jesse, with its prophetic branches, was carved on
the cathedral ponfiies, was painted on the windows,

was embroidered on the hangings of the sanctuary, and
the melodious voice of the priests sang its praises in
the beautiful responsory composed by Fulbert of
Chartres, and put to music by the devout king
Robert.

R. Stirps Jesse virgam R. The root of Jesse gave
produxit, virgaque florem; * out & branch, and the branch
ot super hunc florem requies- & flower; * and on the
cit Spiritus almus.
flower " resteth tho . boly
pirit.
V. Virgo Dei Genitrix
V. The Virgin Mother of
virga est, flos filius ejus, * (God
is the branch, her Son the
11

ADVENT

162
Et

super

hunc

florem

quiescit Spiritus almus.

re-

flower.

* And on the flower

resteth the holy Spirit.

The devout St. Bernard, commenting upon this
responsory in his second Advent homily, says:
“The Virgin’s Son is the flower, a flower white and
ruddy, chosen out of thousands; a flower on whom

the angels love to look; a flower whose fragrance
restores the dead; a flower, as himself assures us,

of the field, not of a garden: for the flowers of the

field bloom without man’s care, no man has sown

their seed, no man has cultivated them.
Just so the
Virgin’s womb, a meadow verdant in an endless spring,

has brought forth a flower, whose beauty will never

droop, whose freshness will never fade.
O Virgin,
branch sublime, to what a height art thou grown!
Even up to Him that sitteth on the throne, even to

the Lord of majesty.
It was sure to be so, for thou
castest deep down the roots of humility. O plant of
heaven indeed ! precious above all, holier than all.
O tree of life indeed ! alone worthy to bear the fruit
of salvation.”
And of the holy Spirit and His gifts, what shall
we say? They rest and are poured out on the
Messias only to the end that they may flow from
Him upon us ; He needs them not ; but we alone need
wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude,
knowledge and godliness, and fear of the Lord. Let
us ask with instance for this divine Spirit, by whose

operation Jesus was conceived and born in Mary’s

womb, and lct us beg of Him to form Jesus within our

hearts. But let us not forget to rejoice at those other
glorious things which are told us by the prophet, of
the happiness, and peace, and delights, which are to
be on the holy mountain. The world has been looking so many ages for peace; it is now coming. Sin

had caused enmity and division everywhere ; grace
will bring unity. A little Child will be the pledge

BECOND SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

of an alliance between all nations.

163

The prophets

have foretold it, the sibyl has announced it, and
in Rome itself, buried as it is in paganism, the prince

of Latin poets has sung the celebrated poem, which,
after all, 18 but the voice of the old tradition: *‘The
last age foretold by the Cumean Sibyl, is at hand ;
& new race is being sent down to earth from high
heaven. The flock shall no more fear the fierce lions.
The serpent shall be no more : the treacherous plant,
which yielded poison, shall grow no more.*

Come then, O Messias, and restore to the world its
primitive peace ; but remember, we beseech Thee, that

it is in the heart of man that harmony has been broken
more than elsewhere in Thy creation : cure this heart,

enter into possession of this Jerusalem, which Thou

lovest, though so unworthy : she has been too long
captive in Babylon ; lead her out of this strange land.
Build up her temple again, and make the glory of
this second temple to be greater than that of the
first, by having Thee to dwell in it, not in figure, but
in the reality of Thy adorable Person. The angel
said to Mary : ‘ The Lord God shall give unto thy Son
the throne of David His father; and He shall reign

in the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom
there shall be no end.” What can we do, O Jesus,
but say with Thy beloved disciple, at the close of
his prophecy : ¢ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus I’

MASS
The

triumph,

holy

sacrifice commences

addressed

to

Jerusalem.

with

This

a song
song

of

ex-

presses the joy which will fill the heart of man, when

* Ultima Cumsi venit jam carminis etas ... .
Jam nova progenies crelo demittitur alto
... . Nec magnos metuent arments leoncs . . . .
idet ot serpons, et fallax herba vencni
S Wirgi. Beog. iv)

ADVENT

164

he shall hear the voice of his God. It extols the
goodness of that divine Shepherd, who looks on each of
our souls as a sheep most dear to Him, so dear, indecd,

that He will feed it with His own flesh.
INTROIT

Populus Sion, ecce Dominus veniot ad salvandas
gentes: et suditam _faciot
Dominus gloriam vocis suw
in ltitia cordis vestri.
Ps. Qui regis Israel intendo: qui deducis velut
ovem, Joseph. V. Gloria
Patri.

Peoplo of Sion, behold the
Lord will come to save the
Gentiles : and the Lord will
mako the glory of his voice
beard to the joy of your
hearts.
Pe. Give ear, O thou that
rulest Tarael : thou that leadest Josoph like a sheep. V.
Glory be to tho Father.

In the Collect, the priest lays stress on the great
preparation we must make for the coming of our
Baviour ; we must have purity of heart.
COLLECT

Excita, Domine, corda nostra ad preparandas Unigeniti tui vias: ut per ojus
adventum, purificatis tibi
mentibus servire mereamur.
Qui teoum.

Stir up, O Lord, our hearts
to prepare the ways of thy
only-begotten Son: that by
his coming wo may be enabled to serve theo with pure
minds. Who liveth, &o.

The other Collects of the blessed Virgin, against
the persecutors of the Church, and for the Pope,
are

the

page 128.
Lectio

same

as

on.the

first Sunday

in Advent,

EPISTLE
Epistole

beati

‘Apostoli ad Romanos.

Cap. xv.

Pauli

Lesson

St.

of

Paul

the

the

the Romans.

Ch. xv.

Epistle

Apostle
7

of

to

Fratres, quecumque scri- Brethren, what things eo.
pta sunt, ad nostram doctri- ever were written, were writ.

BECOND

nam scripta sunt: ut per
tientiam ot consolationem
ripturarum, spom habeamus. Deus autem patientia
et solatii det vobis idipsum
sapero in alterutrum sccundum Jesum Christum: ut
unanimes uno oro honorificetis Deum, et Patrem Domini nostri
Jesu Christi.

Propter quod suscipite invicem, sicut et Christus suscoit vos in honorem Dei.
ico enim

Christum

Jesum

ministrum fuisse circumcisionis propter veritatem
ad confirmandas promissi
ones patrum. Gentes autem
super misericordia honoraro
Deum,

sicut

scriptum

165

SUNDAY OF ADVENT

est:

ten for our loarning: that
through patience and tho
comfort of the Scriptures, we

might have hope. Now tho
God of patienco and of comfort grant you

mind

to be of one

one towards

anothor,

according to Jesus Christ :
that with one mind and with

one mouth you may glorify

God and the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Wherofore receive one another as
Christ also hath received you
unto the honour of God.
For

1 say that Christ Jesus was
ministor of tho circumcision
for the truth of God, to con-

firm the promises mado unto
the

fathers.

But

that

the

Propterea_confitebor tibi in Gentiles aro to glorify God
Gentibus Domine, et nomini for his mercy, as it is written :
tuo cantabo.
Et iterum di- Therefore will I confess to
cit: Latamini Gentes cum thee, O Lord, among the
plobe ejus. Et iterum : Lau- Gentiles, and will sing to thy
date omnes Gentes Domi- name.
And again he saith:
num: et magnificato eum Rejoice ye Gentiles with his
omnes populi. Et rursus people. “And again: Praiso
Isaias ait: Erit radix Josse;

the Lord all ye Gentiles, and

et qui exsurget regere Gen- magnify him all yo peoplo.
tes, in_oum Gentes spera- And again Isaias saith : There
bunt. Deus autem spei re- shall be a root of Josse, and
leat vos omni gaudio. et pace he that shall riso up to rule
i credendo: ut abundetis the Gentiles, in him the Genin spe, et virtute Spiritus tiles shall hope. Now tho
sancti.
God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing :
that you may abound in
hope, ‘and in the power of
the Holy Ghost.
Here, Christians, is your instruction; be patient,

be firm in hope, and you shall delight in the God of
peace who is coming to you. But take heed, you
must have cordial charity one for the other ; it is the
mark of the children of God. The prophet tells us

ADVENT

166

that the Messias will make even wolf and lamb dwell
together ; and now we have the apostle showing us
how this same Christ brings Jews and Gentiles into
the one same family. Gloryto this sovereign King,
the powerful offspring of the root of Jesse, who now
bids us hope in Him!
Listen to the Church, she

again tells us that He is about to show Himself in

Jerusalem.
Ex

Sion

species

GRADUAL

decoris

ejus ; Deus manifeste venict.
V. Congregate illi sanctos,
ejus, qui ordinaverunt testamontum ejus super sacrifoia.
Alleluis, alleluia.
V. Leetatus sum in his quwe
dicta sunt mihi: in domum
Domini ibimus. Alleluia.

He shall come in his come-

linoss and besuty from Sion :
God will come visibly.
V. Gather to him his
saints, who have set his
covenant by sacrifico.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. I rejoiced ot what was
told me : we are to go up to the
houso of the Lord.
~Alloluia.

GOSPEL

=i

Soquentia _sancti Evangolii Sequel of the hol.
secundum Matthasum.
Cap. xi.

1

Ch. xi.

At that time : When John
had heard in prison the works
of Christ, sending two of his

disciples, he said to him : Art

thou he that art to come, or
look we for another ? And

untes renuntiate Josnni
que eudistis, ot vidistis
i vident, claudi smbu‘mundantur,
mortui resurgunt, pauperes evangelizantur’: ot beatus est, qui
non fuerit scandslizatus in
me. 1llis autem abeuntibus,
ocepit Jesus dicero ad turbas
do Joanne: Quid existis

Jesus making answer, said to
them : Go and relate to John

what you have heard and

seen.

The blind see, the lame

walk, the lopers are cleansed,

the _deaf hear, the dead rise

again, the poor have the
1 preached to them:
and
not

And

blessed is he that shall
be scandalized in me.

when

they

went

their

way, Jesus began to say to

SECOND

SUNDAY OF ADVENT

videre ?

Arun-

quid existis videre ?

Homi-

in desertum

dinem vento agitatam ?

mollibus

nem

Sed

vestitum ?

Ecce qui mollibus vestiuntur, in domibus regum sunt.
Sed quid existis videre ?
Etiam dico vorophetam ?
i, et plus quam prophetam.
Hic est enim de quo scriptum
est : Ecco ego mitto angelum

167

the multitude, concerning
Jobn: What wont you out

into
reed
But
see

the desert to see ? A
shaken with the wind ?
what went you out to
? A man clothed in soft

garments ? Behold
they that
aro clothed in soft garments
are in the houses of kings.
But what went you out to
seo? A prophet? Yes, I
meum
ante faciem tuam, tell you, and
more than a
qui praparabit viam tusm prophet. For this is he of
whom it is written : Behold,
ante te.
1 send my angel before thy
face, who shall prepare thy
‘way before thee.

Thou art He that was to come, O Jesus! We look
for no other. We were blind, Thou hast enlightened
us;

we

were lame,

Thou

hast made

us walk;

the

leprosy of sin disfigured us, Thou hast cleansed us;

we were deaf to Thy words, Thou hast given us hearing;

we were dead in sin, Thou hast given us life again ;
we were poor and had none to care for us, Thou hast

come to us with every aid and consolation. These
have been, and will again be, the blessings of Thy
visit to our souls, O Jesus!

A visit, silent but won-

derful in its work; which flesh and blood cannot

understand, but which faithful hearts feel is granted

them. Come, my Saviour, come to me, Thy condescension, and familiarity with such poverty as
mine, shall not scandalize me ; Thy workings in the
souls of men are proof enough that Thou art God.
He alone, that created souls, can heal them.
After the symbol of faith has been chanted, when
you see the priest is about to make the offering of the
bread and wine, unite with the Church in asking to be

filled with life by the divine Guest, who is so soon to
be with her.

168

ADVENT
OFFERTORY

Thou wilt turn, O God, to
ficabis nos, et plebs tus le- us, and bring us to life, and
tabitur in te : ostendo nobis, thy peoplo shall rejoico in
Domine, misericordiam tuam, theo: show us, O Lord, thy
et salutare tuum da nobis.
mercy, and grant us thy salvation.
Deus,

tu convertens

vivi-

BECRET

Placaro, quesumus Domine,
humilitati
nostre
precibus et hostiis: ot ubi
nulla suppetunt suffragis meritorum, tuis nobis succurre
prasidiis. Per Dominum.

Bo appeased, O Lord, wo
beseech thee, by our humble
prayers and sacrificos : and
although we allege no deserts
on our part, grant us thy protootion. Through, &e.

The other Secrets as on the first Sunday, page 132.

During the Communion, the voice of the Church is

again heard, proclaiming the happiness which is to
be granted to Jerusalem. Her God is coming to

her, and He wishes to make her His bride.

Let her

prepare herself for this divine visit, and detach her-

self from everything which is not God, her God who
is her Spouse.

COMMUNION

Jorusalem, surgo, o sta in
Ariss, O Jerusalem, and
excolso: et vido jucundita- stand on high; and behold
tem, que veniet tibi & Deo tho joy that will come
to thee
tuo.
from thy God.
In the following prayer the Church explains in
what consists that high standing to which she has
just invited Jerusalem : love of the things of heaven
whence comes her Saviour, and contempt of earthly

things which, when loved, separate man from God.

Reploti

cibo

POSTCOMMUNION

spiritualis

Being filled, O Lord, with
alimonie, supplices te, Do- this
spiritual
food,
we
mine, deprecamur, ut hujus humbly beseech thee
to teach

169

SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

terii, do- us, by partsking of this
ceas nos terrena
picore, et mystery, to dospiso carthly
amare coolostia. Por Domi- things, and to love such as
aro heavenly. Through, &c.
num.
participatione

m;

The other Postcommunions as on the first Sunday,

page 134,

VESPERS
1. Axr. Ecce in nubibus
ceeli Dominus veniet cum

potestate magna, alleluia.

2. Axr. Urbs_fortitudinis
nostra Sion, Salvator ponetur in oa murus et antemuralo: aperite
portas, quia
nobiscumm Dous, allohua.
3. Axt. Ecce apparobit
Dominus, et non mentietur :
si moram fecerit, exspecta
eum, quia veniet, et non tardabit, alleluia.
4. Axt. Montes ot colles
cantabunt corsm Deo laudom, et omnia ligna silvarum plaudent manibus, quonism veniet dominator
Dominus in regnum zternum, alleluia, alleluia.
5. ANT.

Ecce

Dominus

1. ANt. Behold

the

Lord

will come in the clouds of

heaven

alleluia.

with

great

power,

2. ANT. Sion is our strong
city, the Saviour shall be its
wall and bulwark : open the
gates, for God is with us,

alleluia.
3. ANT. Behold

the

Lord

will appear, and will not deceive us: if ho stay, expect
him, for he will come,
will not delay, alleluia.
4..ANT.
Mountains

and

and

hills shall sing forth praises

bofore God, and all the trees
of the forest shall clap their

hands, because the Lord, the

ruler, will come into his
oternal
kingdom, alleluia,
alleluia.
5. ANT. Bohold

our

Lord

noster cum virtute veniet, et will come with power, and
illuminabit oculos servorum will enlighten the eyes of his
suorum, alleluia.
servants, alleluia.
CAPITULUM

Fratres, uEoumque seri- Brethron, what things
pta sunt,
nostram doctri- soever were writton, were
nam scripta sunt: ut por written for our loarning:
that through patienco and
habea- the comfort of the Scriptures

tientiam et consolationem

cripturarum

mus.

spem

we might have hopo.

ADVENT

170

The hym n Creator
alme siderum, the verse Rorate
and the canticle Magnificat, are given on pages 107
and 109.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Tu es qui venturus es, an
slium oxspectamus - Dicite

foanni qum vidistis: Ad lu-

t csmei, mortui
o
evan-

et abaln,
oBEMUS

Exoits, Domine, corda nostra ad preparsndss Unigeniti tui vias: ut per ejus
adventum, purificatis _tibi
mentibus servire mereamur.
Qui tecum vivit et regnat in
ismouls smoulorum.
R. Amen.

Art
come,

thou he that art to
or look we for ano-

ther ! Tell Jobn what you

have seen: the blind see,
the dead rise
in, the
r
have the
.g‘l
o

unto thom, alleluia.

LET US PRAY

Stir up, O Lord, our hearts
to_propare the ways of thy
only-begotten Son T:that by
his coming we may bo enabled to serve theo with pure
Tminds ; who liveth and roign.
eth with thee for ever and
over.
R. Amen.

SECOND

MONDAY

171

OF ADVENT

MONDAY
OF THE S8ECOND WEEK

Regom _venturum Domioum, venite, adoremus.

Do Isaia Prophota.

Cap. xiii.
Onus Babylonis, quod vidit Isaias filius Amos. Super
montem caliginosum lovate
signum,
exaltate
vocem,
levate manum, et ingrediantur portas duces. Ego man-

OF ADVENT

Come,

King

let

us

adore

our Lord,

who

the

is to

come.
From the Prophet Isaias.
The

Ch. xiii.

burden

of Babylon,

which Isaias the son of Amos

saw. Upon the dark mountain lift yo up a banner, exalt
the voice, lift up the hand
and lot the rulers go into the
1 have commanded
davi sanctificatis meis, ot gates.
vocavi fortes meos in ira my sanctified ones, and have
mes, oxsultantes in gloria called my strong ones in my
mea. Vox multitudinis in wrath, them that rejoice in
montibus, quasi populorum my glory. Tho noise of a
frequentium : vox
sonitus multitude in the mountains,
regum, gentium congregata- a8 it wero of many people :
rum.
Dominus exercituum the noise of the sound of
preecepit militie belli, veni- kings, of nations gathered
ontibus de terra procul, & together. The Lord of hosts
summitate ceeli;
minus, hath given charge to the
et vasa furoris ejus, ut dis- troops of war, to them that
rdat omnem terram.
Ulu- come from a country afar off,
late, quia prope est dies Do-

from the end of heaven : the
Lord and the instruments of

siones

from the Lord.
Thereforo
shall all hands be faint, and

mini, quasi vastitas a Domino veniot. Propter hoo his wrath, to_destroy the
omnes manus dissolventur, whole land.
Howl ye, for
et omne cor hominis conta- the day of the Lord is near,
bescet, et conteretur. Tor- it shall come as a destruction
et

dolores

tenebunt,

quasi parturiens dolebunt :
unusquisque ad proximum every heart of man shall
suum lhu})ebit, facies com- melt, and shall be broken.
bustw vultus eorum.
Ecce Gripings and pains shall tako
dies Domini veniet orudelis hold of them. they shall be

172

ADVENT

ot indignationis plenus, et in pain as a womanin labour :
irm, furorisque ad ponen- overy one shall bo amazed at
dam terram in_solitudinem, his neighbour, their counteot peccatores ejus_conteren- nances shall b as facos burnt.
dos de ¢a. Quoniam stollm Behold, the day of the Lord
ccli, et splendor earum non shall come, & orucl day, and
expandent lumen suum : ob- full of indignation, snd of
tenebratus est sol in ortu suo, wrath, and fury, to lay tho
ot luna non_splendebit in land desolate, and to destroy
lumine suo. Et visitabo su- the sinners thercof out of it.
per orbis mala, et contra im- For tho stars of heaven, and
pios iniquitatem eorum : et their brightness shall not disquicscore faciam suporbiam play their ligh + tho sun hal
infidclium,
ot arrogantiam
fortium humiliabo.

darkened in his rising, and
the moon shall not shine

with her light.

And I will

visit the ovils of tho world,
and against tho wickod for
their iniquity: and I will
make the pride of infidels to
cease, and will bring down the
arrogance of the mighty.
The Church puts before us again, in the Office of

to-day, the terrible spectacle of the last coming of

Jesus Christ.
speaks,

cruel
which
with
used

The sinful Babylon,

is the world

grown

of which Isaias

old in its crimes;

the

day, full of sndignation and wrath, is that on
the Messias will return to judge the world,
His sign glittering in the clouds. The words
by the prophet to describe the terror of the

inhabitants of Babylon are so expressive, that it is
difficult to meditate upon them seriously and not
tremble.
You, then, who, in this second week of
preparation for the birth of our Saviour, are still
wavering and undecided as to what you intend to do
for the day of His coming, reflect upon the connec-

tion that there is between the two comings.

If you

receive your Saviour in the first, you need be in no
fear for the second ; but if you despise the first, the

second will be to your destruction, nor will the cries

of your despair save you.

The Judge will come on

SECOND MONDAY OF ADVENT

173

a sudden, at midnight, at the very time when you
persuade yourself that He is far off from you.
Say not that the end of the world is not yet come,
and that the destinies of the human race are not
filled up : it is not the world that is here in

question,

it is you individually. True the day of the Lord
will be terrible, when this world shall be broken uj

a8 a vessel of clay, and the remnants of creation shall

be a prey to devouring flames ; but, long before that
day of universal terror, your own day of judgement
will come. The inexorable Judge will come to you,

you will stand before His face, you will have none to
defend you, and the sentence He will pass will be

eternal; and though the nature of that sentence,
whether for or against you, will not be known to

the rest of the world until the last and general judge-

ment, still is this His coming to you, at your own
judgement, terrible above measure. Remember, there-

fore, that what will make the terror of the last day
80 great is, that then will be solemnly and publicly
confirmed what was judged irrevocably, though
secretly, between your own soul and her Judge ; just
as the favourable

sentence, which the good receive

at the happy moment of their death, will be repeated
before the immense assembly of men and angels on

the last day. Is it wise, then, Christians, to put off
your conversion, on the plea of the day of the Lord

not having to come for ages, when it might be this
night that your soul were roquired of you?* The
Lord is coming : lose no time ; prepare to meet Him ;
a humble and contrite and converted heart is sure to
find acceptance.
1 8t. Luke xii. 20.

174

ADVENT
CANTICLE

OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT

(It ss an interpolation of appropriate sentences inio the Re-

aponsory Libera : it was occasionallys0 sung in the fifteenth

and sizieenth centuries)
R. Libera me, Domine, do
morte wterns, in dio illa tremendsa ;
* Quando ocli movendi
sunt ot terrs ;
* Dum veneris judicare
sreculum per ignem.
V. Timebunt _Angeli et
Archangeli : impii sutem ubi
parobunt ?
* Quando celi movendi
sunt et terra.
V. Quid orgo misorrimus,
quid dicam, vel quid faciam,
dum nil boui perferam antc
tantum judicem ?

* Dum veneris judicaro
s@culum per
ignem.
V. Vix! justas salvabitut
ot ogo miser, ubi parobo ?
* Quando ceeli - movendi
sunt et terra.
V. Lux
immarcescibilis,
eripe mo do tenebris, ne ca.
dom in obscura penarum incendia ;
* Dum veneris judicare
smculum per ignem.
V. Plangent super so omnes tribus terrm ;
* Quando cali ‘movendi
sunt et terra.
V. Vox do calis! O vos
mortui qui jacetis in sapulchris, surgits ot occurrite ad
fudicium Salvatorin

R. Deliver me, O Lord,
from oternal doath, on that
dread day ;
* When heaven and earth
are to bo moved ;
* When thou shalt come

to judge the world by fire.
V. The Angels and Archangels shall fear; but the
impious, whers shall they

be ?
* When heaven
are to be moved.

and earth

V. What, therefore, shall
I wretched sinner say? or
what shall T do? who can
take no good before so great
a Judge,
* When

thou

shalt

come

to judge the world by fire.

V. The just shall scarce be
saved : and I & sinner, where

shall I appear ?

* When heaven and earth
are to be moved.

V. O Light eternal, deliver

me from darkness, lest I fall
into the dismal fire of tor-

ment ;

* When

thou

shalt

come

to judge the world by fire.

V. All the tribes
earth shall mourn ;

of

the

* When heaven and earth

are to be moved.
V. And then a voice from
heaven : Arise yo dead that

slecp in your graves, and come
to the judgement of Jesus;

175

SECOND MONDAY OF ADVENT

® Dum veneris judicare
smoulum per ignom.
V. Lauda, anims mes, Dominum ; lsudabo Dominum
in vita mea, et in carne mea
videbo Doum ;
* Dum veneris judicare
swculum por
ignem.
V. Quando Dous filics Virginis
Judicare seculum venerit,
Dicet justis ad dexteram positia:
Accedite, dileoti fili,
Vobis dare regnum disposui.
0O felix vox! felix promissio !
Felix dator et felix datio !
* Quando

sunt et terra.

V. Post hec
vam

Nescio vos,

cceli

movendi

dicet ad lepositis:

cultores crimis

* When thou shalt come to

judlgu the world by fire.

. Praise the tvaxd, o

soul ! I will praise the Lord,

while I live ; and in the flesh,

1 shall see God ;
ju

* When thou shalt come to

the

the world by fire.

. When

Virgin,

God

shall

the Son of

come

to

judge the world, ho will say

to the just on his right hand :

Come, my beloved children, T

have prepared a kingdom to
be given unto you. O happy

word!

H_:&py

happy

Giver!

and

romise !
happy

* When heaven and earth

are to be moved.

V. After this, he will say

to them that are on his left :
I know you not,
workers

Vos decepit gloria smouli ; " of iniquity : the glory of the

world deceived you'; go to
that deep abyss with
the devil
and his ministers. O what
O proh dolor! quanta tri- griof | whot sadness! what
wailing
! what weeping !
stitia |

Descendite ad ima barathri,
Cum Zabulon et suis ministris.

Quantus luctus! quants suspiria !

judicare

* Dum
veneris
seculum per
ignem.
V. Jnmpeies‘inn Rex
judicium,
Dies
instat horrenda
mium ;

ad

ni-

Et quis erit nobis refugium,
Nisi Mater Virgo, spes omnium,
Qua pro nobis exoret Filium ?
O Jesu Rex, exaudi poscimus

Preces nostras, et salvi eri-

mus ;

* When thou shalt come to
judge the world by fire.
. Even now tho King ia
reparing for his judgement;

The day. torrible boyond al
thought, is at hand ; and who

will be our refuge ? The Virgin Mother, the hope of all.
May sho pray to her Son for
us ! O Josus, our King, hear,
we beseoch theo, our prayers,

and we shall be sa;

ADVENT

176
* Quando

sunt ot terra.

ccli

movendi

V. Creator omnium

Deus

qui

me

rerum

de limo terra

formasti, et mirabiliter proprio sanguine redemisti, corpusque meum, licet modo
putrescat, de sepulchro facies
in die judicii resuscitari ; oxaudi, exaudi me, ut animam
meam in sinu Abrah® patriarchsm tui jubess collocari ;

* When heavon and earth

are to bo moved.
V. O God, the Creator of

all things, who hast formed
me

from

the

slimo

of

tho

earth, and hast wonderfully
rodoomed me by thine own
Blood, and on the day of
judgement wilt make this my
now corruptible body to riso
again from tho grave; hoar,
oh hear mo, and mercifully
lead my soul into tho bosom
of thy
[:4

patriarch Abraham ;
ion thou shalt come to

* Dum veneris judicaro
swoulum per ignom.
judge tho world by firo.
PRAYER

FROM

THE

AMBROSIAN

LITURGY

(In the third week of Advent)
Omnipotens _ Christe, Fili O Josus, almighty Son of
Dei, in dio Nativitatis tum God, mercifully como and
propitius ad salvandum in savo thy peoplo on the day
to_populum veni: ut beni- of thy Nativity; and deign,
gnitate solita, ab omni dubie- with thy wonted compassion,
fate, ot metu temporis nos to deliver us from all the
jubeas liberari. Qui vivis et anxioties snd foars of this
rognas, &o.
present timo. Who livest
and reignest for ever and
ever. Amen.

SECOND TUESDAY

177

OF ADVENT

TUESDAY
OF THE SECOND

WEEK OF ADVENT

Regom vonturum DomiComo, lot us adoro tho
num, vonito, adoremus.
King our Lord, who is to
como.
Do Isaia Propheta.
From tho Prophot Isaiss.
Cap. xiv.
Ch. xiv.
Prope est ut veniat tempus
Hor timo is near at hand,
cjus, et dies ejus non olon- and her days shall not by
gabuntur. Miscrebitur enim prolonged. For the Lord
Dominus Jacob, et eligot ad- will have morcy on Jacob,
huc_do Isracl, ot requicscere and will yet chooso out of
cos faciet super huLum suam : Tsracl, and will mako them
adjungetur advena ad cos, o rest upon their own ground :
adherebit domui Jacob. ~Et and tho_stranger shall bo
tencbunt cos populi, et ad- joined with them, and shall
ducent, eos in locum suum: adhore to tho houso of Jacob.
et possidebit cos domus Isracl And tho peoplo shall take
super terram Domini in ser- thom, and bring them into
vos
et
ancillas:
et erunt
thoir place : and the house of
capiontes eos qui 8o ceperant, Tsracl shall possess_ them in
ot subjicient_exactores suos. tho land of the Lord for
Et erit in_dio ills, cum re- sorvants and
handmaids :
quiom dedorit tibi Deus a and thoy shall mako thom
lzboro tuo ot & coneussiono captivos that had taken thom,
tua, ot & servitute dura, qua and shall subdue their opante scrvisti: sumos para- pressors. And it shall como
bolam istam contra rogom to pass in that day, that when
Babylonis, ot dicos: Quo- God shall give theo rest from
modo_cessavit exactor, quie- thy labour, snd from thy
vit tributum ? Contrivit Do- vexation, and from the hard
minus baculum impiorum, bondage, wherowith thou
virgam
dominantium, ca- didst serve boforo, thou shalt
dentom populos in_indigna- tako up this parablo against
tione, plaga insanabili, sub- the king of Babylon, and
jiciontem in furore Gentes, shalt say: How is tho_ opporsequontem
cradeliter. pressor come to nothing ?
Quomodo cocidisti do_cclo, tho tribute hath coased ?
Lucifer, qui mane oricbaris The Lord hath broken the
12

ADVENT

178

corruisti in terram, qui vul- staff of the wicked, the rod

nerabas gentes: qui dicebas
in corde tuo: In celum conscendam; super sstrs Doi
exaltabo solium meum, sodebo in monte testamenti, in
lateribus aquilonis : ascendam super altitudinem nubiAltissimo.
ero
similis
um,
Verumtamen ad infernum
dotraberis in profundum
Iaci.

of the rulers, that struck the
people in wrath with an
incurable wound, that brought
nations under in fury, that
rsecuted in & cruel manner.
ow art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, who didst
rise in the morning? how
art thou fallen to tho earth,
that didst wound the nations 7
And thou saidst in thy heart :
I will ascend into heaven, I
will exalt my throne above
the stars of God, I will sit
in the
mountain
of the
covenant, in the sides of

the north:

I will ascend

above the height of
clouds, I will
like

the
the

Most High. But yet thou
shalt be brought down to
hell, into
pit.

Thy

ruin,

O

Lucifer,

the

is irreparable!

dopth

of the

Thou

re-

fusedst to humble thyself before God, and thou wast
cast into hell. Thy pride then sought a compensation for this thy deep humiliation, and thou causedst

the ruin of the human race, out of hatred for God
and His creatures.
him,

who

was

Thou didst succeed in inspiring

formed

out of dust, with

that same

pride which had caused thine own destruction.

By

thee sin came into this world, and by sin death : the

human race seemed now a vietim which never could
escape thy vengeance. Forced to give up thy hopes
of a heavenly royalty, thou aimedst at. reigning in
hell and destroying the creatures of God as they came
from His creating love. But again thou art foiled
and conquered. Thy reign was in pride ; pride alono
could form thy court and give thee subjects; now,
see how the sovereign Lord of all things uproots thy
kingdom : He Himself comes to teach His creatures

BECOND TUESDAY OF ADVENT

179

humility ; and He teaches it, not by laws given with
awful majesty, as once on Sinai, but by Himself

meekly practising that heavenly humility,

which

alone can raise up them that had fallen {y pride.
Tremble, proud spirit, thy sceptre is to be broken !
In thy haughty wisdom, thou disdainest this
humble and lowly Virgin of Nazareth, who holds
within herself, in adoring silence, the mystery of thy
ruin and our salvation. The Child whom she carries
in her womb, and who is 8o soon to be born, has long
since been the object of thy contempt. Know, then,
that God does not disdain this unborn Child, for this

Child is also God!

And a single act of adoration

and devotedness to His Father, which He is making

in the womb of Mary, gives more glory to the Divinity
than all thy pride could rob it of, even were thy pride

to increase for eternity. Henceforth, men, taught
Dby the lessons of a God the immense power of humility,
will have recourse to it as their great remedy. Instead

of exalting themselves, as thou didst, by a mad
guilty pride, they will humble themselves with
and pleasure : the lower they humble themselves,
higher will God raise them: the poorer they

and
love
the
own

themselves, the richer will He make them.

It is the

and sweet to her children, and so terrible

to thee,

glorious Virgin that tells us this in her exquisite
canticle. May she be ever blessed, Mother so gentle

Lucifer ! that writhest beneath her as she crushes and

conquers thee.

PROSE FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(Composed in the eleventh century, and taken from the ancient
Roman-French missals)
Rognantem sempiterna per ~ Ready to receive him who
sawols suscoptura
reigneth for ever and ever,
Concio, devote, concropa: _ Dovoutly sing, O Christian
Factori redde
debita.
people ; pay thy homage to
thy Crestor.

180

ADVENT

Quem jubiloat agmina oc- The heavenly hosts, who
enjoy tho besuty of his counlica, ejus vultu exhilarata.

tenance, are ever praising him
in jubilation.
All earthly things, which
Quom exspeotant omnia
terroa, ojus vultu exami- are to be examined before his
faco, are in.expectation

nands,

Districtum ad judicis,
Clementomin potentia.
dm
nos
salva, Christe,

lementia
s
dim.p propt
pter er q quos P pas-

Ad poli sstra sublova nitida : qui sordo tergis secula.

him.

of

Him so severe in judgement,
So merciful in power.
Save us in thy mercy,

Christ, for whom

O

thou didst

suffer 8o cruel a passion.

Raiso us up to the bright

stars of heaven, O thou that

dost take away tho sins of the
earth.

Influens salus vers, effuga True Saviour, descondi
as dew upon us, drive
pericula.
Omnis ut sint munds, tribue pacifica.
Ut hio tus salvi miserileeti regna post adea-

mu

1pera.

Qui rognas swoula por in-

finita.

Amon.

PRAYER

FROM

THE

dangers from us.
Purify oll that is about us,
make all in peace ;
That here protected by thy
mercy, we may ascend, herosfter, into the kingdom of
heaven in gladness.
Who livest and reignest for
endless ages. Amen.

GALLICAN

SACRAMENTARY

(Mass for Christmas Eve)
Misericors ao piissime Deus,
0 merciful and most lovin,
cujus_voluntate sc mu- God, by whose will an
nere Dominus noster Jesus bounty our Lord Jesus Christ
Christus ad hoo so humiliavit, humbled himself that he
ut totum genus exsltaret hu- might exalt the whole human
manum, et idoo sd ima do- race, and came down to what
scenderot, ut humilia subli- was lowest that ho might
maret: 8o propterca Deus mise up tho humble: who,
bomo nascitar per Virginom, being God, did become man,
ut in homine porditam ccle- born of & Virgin, to tho end
stem reformaret_imaginom : that he might ro-form in man
da ut plobs huo tibi adhareat, the heavenly imago that had
ut quam redomisti tuo mu- been corrupted ; grant that

SECOND

WEDNESDAY

nere, tibi semper dovota pla-

ceat servituto.

OF ADVENT

181

this thy Fople may cling

thee, and

to

that they, whom

thou hast redeemed

by thy

bounty, may ever ploase theo

by devoted servico.

WEDNESDAY
OF THE SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT

Regem_ venturum DomiCome, let us adoro the
num, venite, adoromus.
King, our Lord, who is to
De Issia Propheta.

Cap. xvi.
Emittoe Agnum Domine,
dominatorem terre, do petra

deserti ad montem filie Sion.

Et erit : sicut avis fugiens, et
pulli de

nido

avolantes,

sic

come.
From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xvi.

Send forth, O Lord, the

Lamb, the ruler of the earth,

Petra of the desert to

from

the mount of the daughter of
And

Sion.

it shall come

to

pass, that as a bird fleeing
censu Arnon. Ini consilium, awoy, and as young ones
coge concilium, pone quasi flying out of the nest, 5o shall

erunt filie Moab in trans-

noctem umbram tuam in me-

the daughters of Moab be in

vagosne prodas. Habitabunt
apud te profugi mei: Moab,

counsel,

make thy

pulvis,

consummatus

that flee, and betray not them
that wander about.” My fugi-

torram.

Et preeparabitur in

ridie : absconde fugientes, et

esto latibulum eorum a facie
vastatoris. Finitus est enim

est

miser, defecit qui conculcabat

‘nmisericordia
solium, et sedebit

super illud in veritate, in
tabernaculo David, judicans
et quarens judicium, et velociter reddens quod justum
est.

the passage of Amon.

in

the

gather

a

Take

council,

shadow as the night

midday:

them

hidoe

tives shall dwell with thee :

O Moab, be thou a covert to
them from the face of the

destroyer.

For

the

hath

failed

dust is

at an end, the wretch is consumed,

trod
And

he

the earth

a throne

under

shall be

that

foot.

pre-

pared in mercy, and one
sit upon it in truth in the
tabernacle of David, judging

eli uichjust.
e i et& which

182

ADVENT

Send forth to us, O Lord, the Lamb : ‘It is the

Lamb,’ says Peter of Celles, it is the Lamb we need,
and not the Lion; the Lamb that knows no anger,

and whose meekness is never ruffled ; the Lamb that

will give us His snow-white wool to warm our cold-

ness, and cover our nakedness;

the Lamb

that will

give us His flesh to eat, lest we faint with hunger on
the way.

Send Him full of wisdom, for in His divine

prudence He will vanquish the spirit of pride ; send
Him full of strength, for it is written that the Lord

is strong and mighty in battle; send Him full of
meekness, for He is to come down as dew that falls
on the fleece ; send Him as a victim, for He is to be

sold and immolated for our ransom; send Him the
pardoner of sinners, for He is to come to call them,

and not the just; send Him to receive power and
divinity, for He is worthy to loose the seven seals of
the sealed book, the unspeakable mystery of the
Incarnation.’? Thou art King, then, O divine Lamb !

Thou

art even now, in thy Mother’s womb,

the

sovereign Ruler. This virginal womb is a throne of
mercy whereon Thou art seated in humility, ready to
avenge our rights and confound our cruel enemy.
O most dear King ! our eyes cannot yet behold Thee,
but our hearts tell us Thou art near us. We know
that it is for our sake that Thou hast put on this
strange royalty. Suffer us to approach Thee, and
offer Thee our homage and loyalty, even now that a
cloud hides Thee from our sight. A few days more,

and Thou wilt be seated on another throne, Thy
Mother’s arms, and then all the earth will see the

salvation that is sent unto it.
HYMN

TAKEN

FROM

THE

ANTHOLOGY

OF

THE

GREEKS

(December 20)
Spelunca, parare; Agna
Cave of Bothlehem, be
enim venit fetum gorens resdy, for here comes the
1 Third Sermon for Advent.

SECOND

WEDNESDAY

Christum: recipe, prasepium, illim qui nos terrigenas verbo solvit ineffabili
modo : pastores de nocte vigilantes, prodigiosum confitemini miraculum ; magique
e

Perside

aurum,

thus

et

myrrham Regi afferte: quia
visus est o Virgine matre
Dominus, quem et ipsa prona
servili modo, mater adoravit

et ei quem in brachiis suis
tenebat

dixit:

Quomodo

in

183

OF ADVENT

Mother bearing Christ, her
Lamb, in her womb; and
thou,

O

crib,

receive

him

Virgin Mother ; before
she herself falls down,

him
and

who delivers us mortals by
his word ineffably ; ye shepherds, luefiing your nightwatch, tell the wondrous
miracle ; yo Magi, from Persia, bring to the King gold,
incense, and myrrh ; for the
Lord hath appeared, born of a

me inseminatus es : vel quo- though his Mother, yet adores
modo in me ingeneratus es, him as his lowly handmaid,
and then taking him into her
Salvator meus et Deus ?
arms, she says unto him: O
my Saviour, my God, how is
it that thou camest unto me,

Audi colum, et intelligo
terra; ecce enim Filius Verbumque Dei Patris pro
ditur ad nascendum ex
ine, inexperts virum, sine
olore illum pariente et virtute Spiritus sancti. Bethlehem parare : aperi januam,
Eden, nam qui Est fit qui
non erat, et plasturgus omnis
creatur®
plasmatur ipse,
afferens mundo magnam
‘misericordiam.

Naturs immense, Christe
Rex, quomodo parva to re-

and wast

produced in me ?

. Hear, O ye heavens, and

thou, O earth, attend:

Son

and

Father

Word

of God

is to be born

the

the

of a

Virgin that knows not man,
and travails not when giving

him

birth, for all is by

wer of the Holy

thlehem,
be ready !

the

Ghost.

Eden,

open thy gates! for he that

Is is made what he was not,
and he that formed all creatures’
receives
himself
a

created form, bringing to the

world plentiful mercy.

O thou that art immense
Nature,

O

Christ

our

cipiet spelunca ? Quomodo
ing, how shall a little cavo
presops to poterit, continers, receive thee ? How shall a
fesu, ex
Matre nesciente crib contain thee, O Jesus,
virum, advena factus in pro- Son of a spotless Virgin,
pria, ut hospites ipse salves ? making thyself a stranger in
thine own house, that thou
mayst give salvation to them

Novam facta cclum, Domina, e vulva tua, sicut o

that harbour thee ?

Thou art a new heaven, O

Lady!

Hasten
to make arise

184

ADVENT

nebula_Christum solem glo- from thy womb, as from &
ri® oriri facore festines in cloud, Christ, the Sun ;‘:l
spelunca
liter, omnos glory ; may he appoar in tho
terra fines suis splendoribus flesh, in the mv’g“-hedding
fulgentissime irradiaturum, thenco to the ends of the
per incommensurabilom misericordiam.
Noscis nostrum

et

miseriam,

dolorem

misericors

Christe, et nos non despicis ;

world his dazzling splendour
by his immense mercy.
Thou knowest, O merciful
Jesus, our

and

thou

pains

and misery,

despisest us not;

but emptiest thyself even
adhuc egressus ox tus geni- before leaving thy Mother’s
trice ; tabernaculumque figens virginal womb, where thou
in matrice nuptinescia, qum hast set thy tabernacle ; this
sine dolore te pariet in spe- thy Mother will not travail
sed exinanis temetipsum, non

lunca caro factum.

Montes et colles, valles ot
campi, populi et tribus, gentes ac omnis spiritus, slalagmum agite; letitie divina
venit, plenitudo, omnium advenit redemptio, Verbum Dei
tempors nesciens per misoriiam factum sub tempore.

in’ giving thee birth in the

cave, thee who art made flesh.
Mountains and hills, val-

leys and plains, peoplos and
tribes, nations and every
spirit, sing the song of victory ! the fullness of & divine
joy is coming, and sll are to
redeemed, for the Word of
God, who is beyond all time,
is now made in time.
Now is coming towards
us the heavenly vine, on
which has ripened the im-

Vitis divina incorruptam
maturitate nigrescere faciens
uvam, appropinquat: paritura venit letiti vinum sca- mortal fruit; she comes to
turiens ot nos bibere faciens produce for us the wine of
ipsi canentes: Deus noster, joy, of which she will give us
benedictus cs !
to drink: we will then sing
to him, Blessed art thou our
God !

Myrotheca divina, intus
There is advancing the
myrum ferens graditur, ut in vessel bearing the divine perspelunca Bethlehem cffundat fume, and she will place it in
illud a quo mystico replentur the cave of Bethlehem, and
odore canentes: Deus pa- we, filled with the mystioc
trum, benediotus es!
fragrance, will sing, Blessed
art

Forceps quam_olim vidit
Tsaias propheta, divinum carbonem
Christum in utero

O

thou,

fathers !

Thou,

O

God

Mary,

of

our

art

like

that instrument which Isaias
saw of old, holding in thy

SECOND WEDNESDAY

185

OF ADVENT

materiom womb the Christ, who, liko
omnem
geris
peceati comburentem, fideli- a burning coal, will consume
umque animas illuminantem. all the dross of sin, and will
cnlighten

Finom bhabuerunt prophetarum preconis ; quem enim
prenuntisrunt in temporis
Plenitudine venturum, adest,
apparet casta ex Virgine corporatus ; illum puris mentibus cxcipiamus.

PRAYER

the

minds

of the

faithful.
The songs of the prophets
arc

hushed ; for

he,

whom

they announced as having to
come in the fullness of time,
is present and appears to us,
having sssumed & body from

the chaste Virgin ; let us re-

neive him with pure hearts.

FKOM

THE

MOZARABIC

MISSAL

(Second Sunday of Advent)

Tho earth is glad, O Lord,

Jucundatur, Domine, ot
tripudiat terra; quis Ver-

and leaps with joy, for that

sacre Virginis membra. In
cujus adventu omnis de capti-

in the womb of the holy
Virgin. At his coming, the

tinebatur
per transgresSotein AdMi ohesurita
gebenna. Nunc — moveatur
mare, et omnia que in eo
sunt; montes exsultent et
omnia ligna silvgrum ; quia.

captivity, after having been
kept, by Adam’s sin, in a

bum

caro factum

habitat in

;i:.w h-:dimimr terra;

que

Deus homo dignatur, per uto-

rum beate Virginis Marie,
de celo in mundum

venire.

the Word

made

flesh dwells

‘whole earth is ransomed

dark

prison.

that

are

from

Now

let

the

thercin;

let

the

sea bo moved, and all things

‘mountains leap with joy, and
all the trees of the forests;
because God, having become
man, has deigned

to come,

Per ipsius igitur adventum I:bliu-ou h ‘;.he womb of the
te deprecamur, omnipotens
irgin
Mary, from
Deus, ut nostrs carnis fra- heaven into.this wogld. - By
gilitatem & vinculis
to- this his coming, therefore,
rum absolvas, et prasenti we beseech thee, O almighty
familiz tue misericordia ple- God, that thou loose the
nus occurras.
‘weakness of our flesh from
the bwnd:“tg sin, and come,

in thy
overflowing mercy,to
the assistanca of this thy
flfly

here

present

before

186

ADVENT

THURSDAY
OF THE SECOND
Regem

venturum

num, venite, adoremus.

Domi-

Do Issia Propheta.
Cap. xix.
Onus Egypti. Ecoe Dominus ascendet. super nubem
lovem : et ingredietur Egyptum : et commovebuntur simulacraEgypti facie ejus,
ot cor Egypti tabescetin modio ejus : ot concurrere faciam
Egyptios adversus Egyptios, ot pugnabit vir contra
fratrem suum, et vir contra
amioum suum, civitas adversus civitatem, regnum adversus regoum.

WEEK

OF ADVENT

Come, let us adore the
King our Lord, who is to
come.
From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xix.
The burden of Egypt. Bohold the Lord will ascend
upon a light cloud : and will
enter into Egypt: and the
idols of Egypt shall b moved
at his presence, and the heart

of Egypt shall
melt in the
n:ed.;:f. ‘thereof : mthwi.l.l set,

the

Egyptians to

fight against

the Egyptians, and they shall
fight brother against brother,

and friend against friend, city

against city, kingdom against
kingdom.

The Egypt which the Lord is here represented as
visiting, and whose idols and empire He will overthrow, is the city of satan, which is to be destroyed,

and to give place to the city of God. But
how
peaceful is the divine Conqueror’s entrance into His
conquest ! it is on a cloud, a light cloud, that He comes,
8s on His triumphal chariot. How many mysteries
in these few words!
There are three clouds,” says
Poter of Blois ; ¢ the first the obscurity of the prophets ;
the second, the depth of the divine
decrees ; the third,
the prodigy of a Virgin Mother.”” First, as to the
obscurity of the prophets, it is esseatial to every
1 Bocond Sermonof Advent.

SECOND THURSDAY

OF ADVENT

187

prophecy that it be thus veiled, to the end that
man’s free will may not be interfered with; but
under this cloud the Lord comes at last, and when
the day comes for the prophecy to be accomplished,
all things are clear enough. Thus was it with the
first coming ; so will it be with the second. Then,
a8 to the decrees of God ; as they are ordinarily made
manifest by second, that is by created, causes only,
it almost always happens that the extreme simplicity
of the means employed by the divine Wisdom takes
men by surprise. Never was this so observable as
in the grand event of the Incarnation. Men would

naturally expect that, in restoring a fallen world, a
power equal, at least, to that which first created it
would be displayed ; and all they are told about the
portent is: ‘ You will find the Child wrapped in

swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger’! O
almighty fi?wer of God, how dazzling is Thy light
through this cloud! how strong art Thou in this
apparent weakness'!

But there is the third cloud ; it is the Virgin Mary ;
a light cloud, ‘for,” says St. Jerome, ‘neither concupiscence, nor the burden of earthly marriage,
weighs upon her ;’ a cloud, too, laden with a refreshing Dew, since it holds the Just One, who is to be
rained down upon us, that our seething passions may
be quenched, and the soil of our spiritual life made

fext‘fie. How sweet is the majesty of our divine
King, when seen thus through this beautiful cloud !
O incomparable Virgin ! the whole Church of God
recognizes thee in
that mysterious cloud which the

prophet Elias,! from the summit of Mount Carmel,
saw rising up from the sea, little, at first, like a man’s
foot, but sending at last such a plentiful rain that

all Israel was refreshed by its abundance.

Delay

not, we pray thee ; give us that heavenly and divine
Dew which thou possessest within thee. Our sins

1 3 Kings xviil. 4244,

188

ADVENT

have made the heavens as brass, and we are parched ;
thou alone of creatures art just and pure! Beseech
our Lord, who has set up His throne of mercy in thee,

to come speedily and destroy our enemies and bring

us peace.

HYMN

FOR

ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, first Sunday of Advent)
Cunotorum rex omnipoThe almighty King of the
tons,
universe, coming to save the
Mundum sslvare veniens,
world, sssumed to himself a
Formam assumpsit corporis body like unto ours.
Nostr similitudinis.
Qui regnat cum Altissimo,
He who reigns with tho*
Virginis intrat utorum,
Most High, enters the VirNasciturus in corpore,
gin’s womb, that he may be
Mortis vincla disrumpere.
born in the flesh, and break
the bonds of death.
Gentes erant in tenebris :
The nations have sat in
Videbunt lumen fulgoris,
darkness ; but they shall soe
Cum Salvator sdvenerit
the brightest light, when the
Rodimere quos condidit.
Saviout shall come to redeeni’
Quem olim vatum praescia
Cecinerunt oracula,
Nuno veniet in gloria,
Nostra ut ouret vulners.

his creatures.
He

of whom

the

future-

secing oracles of the prophets
anciently sang, shall now
come in glory to cure our
wounds.
Do- Let us now be glad in the
Lord, and in the Son of
God, and be ready to reccivo

Latemur nuno in
mino,
Simol in Dei Filio,
Parati
eum suscipere
Adventus sui gloria. Amen.
PRAYER

Vere

FROM

THE

et

justum

him in his glorious coming.
Amen.

AMBROSIAN

BREVIARY

(Sizth Sunday of Advent, Proface)

dignum

1t is truly meet and just,

est,
equum et salutare : nos right and available to salvatibi,
Domine Deus omnipo- tion, that we should
give
tens, gratias agere: et cum thanks to thee, O Lord
tue invocatione virtatis, almighty : and that weshould,
boate Marise Virginis festa whilst invoking thy power,
celebrare: de cujus ventre ocelebrate the fcasts of the

189

SECOND THURSDAY OF ADVENT

fructus _offoruit, qui Panis blessed Virgin an; from
angelici munere nos replevit. whose womb grew the Fruit,
Quod Eva voravit in crimine, which has filled us with the
Maria restituit in salute. Bread of angels. That Fruit
Distat opus serpentis et Vir- ‘which Eve took from us when
ginis. Inde fusa sunt venena she sinned, Mary has restored
discriminis : hinc ~ egressa to us, and it has saved us.
mysteria Salvatoris. Inde so Not as the work of the serrmbuit tentantis iniquites : pent is tho work of Mary.
Bin Redemptoris est opitum the one, came the poiIsta majestas.

Inde

partus

occubuit ; hino Conditor resurrexit, a quo humsana na-

tura, non jam captiva, sed

libera

restituitur.

Quod

Adam perdidit in parente,
Christo Tecepit auctore.

son of our destruction ; from

the other, the mysteries of
salvation.

In

the

one,

we

see the malice of the temp-

ter; in the other, the help of
tho'divine Majesty.

By the

one, came death to the crea-

ture ; by the other, the re-

surreotion of the Creator, by
‘whom human nature, now not
captive but free, is restored ;
and what it lost by its
parent
Adam,

it

regained

Maker Christ.

by

its

ADVENT

190

FRIDAY
OF THE SECOND

WEEK OF ADVENT

Regem venturum DomiCome, let us adore the
King our Lord, who is to
num, venite, sdoremus.
De

come.

Isaia Propheta.
Cap. xxiv.

Ecce Dominus_dissipabit

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xxiv.
Behold the Lord shall la)
waste the earth, and shall

terram, et nudabit eam; et
affliget faciem ejus et dis- strip it : and shall afflict the
perget habitatores

ejus.

Et

erit_sicut populus, sic sacerdos; et sicut servus, sic

dominus ejus;

sicut ancilla,

sic domina ejus ;

sic

sicut emens,

ille qui vendit;

sicut

fenerator, sic is qui mutuum accipit; sicut qui
petit, sic qui debet. Dissipatione dissipabitur _terrs
ot diroptione
preedabitur :
Dominus_enim_locutus est
verbum hoc. Luxit et defluxit terra, ot infirmata es
defluxit orbis, infirmata est
altitudo populi terre. Et
terra infecta est ab habitatoribus suis : quia transgressi
sunt leges, mutaverunt jus,
dissipaverunt feedus sempiternum. Propter hoc maledictio vorabit terram, ot peccabunt
habitatores ejus,
idooque inssnient cultores
ejus; et relinquentur homines pauci. Luxit_ vindemia, infirmata est vitis, inmuerunt omnes qui letatur corde. Cessavit gaudium tympanorum, quievit

face thereof,
and
scatter
abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be as with

the people, 80 with the priest ;
and as with the servant, so

with his master ; as with the
handmaid,

so with her mis-

tress ; as with the buyer, so

with the seller; as with the
lender, so with the borrower ;
as with him that calleth for

his money, 80 with him that

oweth. With desolation shall
the earth be laid waste, and

it shall be utterly spoiled:

for the Lord hath spoken this
word. The earth mourned

and faded away, and is weal

ened : the world faded awe

the height of the people of

the earth is weakened.

the

And

earth is infected by the

inhabitants thereof : because

they have transgressed the
laws, they have changed the
ordinance, they have broken
the everlasting covenant.
Therefore shall a curse dovour the earth, and the inha-

bitants thereof shall sin ; and

SECOND

FRIDAY OF ADVENT

sonitus letantium, conticuit
dulcedo citharm. Cum cantico non bibent vinum : smara
erit potio bibentibus illam.
Attrita est civitas vanitatis :
clausa est omnis domus, nullo
super
eritor
introcunte. Clam
vino in plateis: deserta est
omnis letitia, translatum est
gaudium terrm. Relicta est
in urbe solitudo, et calamitas
opprimet portss. Quia hae
erunt in medio terr®, in
medio populorum ; quomodo
si pauew olive qui remanserunt, excutiantur ex ol
ot racemi, cum fuerit finita
vindemis. Hilevabuntvocem
suam, atque laudabunt ; cum
lorificatus fuerit Dominus,
innient de mari. Propter
boc in doctrinis glorificato
Dominum, in_insulis maris
nomen Domini Dei Isracl. A
finibus terra lsudes sudivimus, gloriam justi.

191

thorofore they that dwell
therein shall bo mad, and few
men shall be left.

The vin-

tage hath mourned, the vine

hath languished away, all the
merry-hearted have sighed.
The ‘mirth of timbrels hath
ceased, the noise of them that
rejoice is ended, the melody

of the harp is silent. They
shall not drink wine with a
song; tho drink shall be

bitter to them that drink it.

The city of vanity is broken
down, every house is shut up,
no man cometh in. There
shall be a crying for wine in
the strects: all mirth is forsaken, the joy of the earth
is gone away. Desolation is
Jeft in the city, and calamity
shall o press the gates. For
it shall be thus in the midst

of the earth, in the midst of

the people, as if a few olives

that remain should be shaken
out of tfie ol{lvs tree: or
, when the vintage is

Shded.

Thoso shall 1‘,?‘5 up

their voice, and

shall

raise, when the Lord

give

shal

glorified, they shall make

s joyful noise from the sea.

Therefore glorify ye the Lord
in instruction :
name of
the Lord God of Israel in the
islands of the sea.

From the

ends of the earth we have

heard praises, the glory of

the just one.
Thus was the carth in desolation when the Messias
came to deliver and save it. So diminished, so decayed, were truths among the children of men, that

the human race was bordering onitsruin. The knowledge of the true God was becoming rarer as the

192

ADVENT

world grew older ; 1dolatry had made everything in
creation an object of its adulterous worship; the
practical result of a religion which was but gross

materialism, was frightful immorality ; man was for
ever at war with man; and the only safeguards of
what social order still existed in the world, were the
execrable laws of slavery and extermination.
Among
the countless inhebitants of the globe, a mere hand-

ful could be found who were seeking God ! they were
as rare as the olives that remain on the tree aftera

careful plucking, or as irapevbunches after the vintage is ended. Of this happy few were, among the
Jewish people, those true Israelites whom our Saviour
chose for His disciples; and, among the Gentiles,

the Magi that came from the east, asking for the
new-born King ; and later on, Cornelius the centurion,

whom the angel of the Lord directed to St. Peter.
But with what faith and joy did they acknowledge
the incarnate God! and what their hymns of glad
gratitude, when they found that they had been
privileged, above others, to see with their own eyes
the promised Saviour !
Now, all this will egain happen when the time
draws near of the second coming of the Messias.

The earth will once more be filled with desolation,

and mankind will be again a slave of its self-degradation.

The ways of men will again grow corrupt ; and,

this time, the malice of their evil will be the greater,

because they will have received Him who is the Light

of the world, the Word of life.

A profound sadness

will sit heavy on all nations, and every effort for
their well-being will seem paralyzed ; they, and the
earth they live on, will be conscious of decrepitude ;
and yet it will never once strike them that the world
is drawing to an end. There will be great scandals ;
there shall fall stars from heaven, that is, many of
those who had been masters in Israel shall apostatize,
and their light shall be changed into darkness, Thero

SECOND

FRIDAY OF ADVENT

193

shall be days of temptation, and faith shall grow slack :
so that when the Son of Man sholl appear, faith shall
scarce be found on the carth.

Let it not be, O Lord,

that we live to see those days of temptation ; or, if it
be Thy will that they overtake us, meke oue he
firm in t]\clr allegiance to Thy holy Church, which
wil
be the only beacon left to Thv faithful children in that

ficzeo storm,

Grant, O Lord, that we may be of the

number of those chosen alives, of those clect bunches

of grapes, wherewith Thou wilt complete the rich
harvest which

house.

Thou

wilt gerner for ever into Thy

Preserve intact within us the deposit of faith

which Thou hest entrusted to us ; let our eye be fixed

on that Orient of which the Church speaks to us, and

where Thou art suddenly to 2ppear in Thy majesty.
When that day of Thine comes, and we behold Thy
triumph, we will shout our glad delight, and then,
like eagles which cluster round the body, we shell
be taken up to meet Thee in the air, as Thy apostle
speaks, and thus shall we for ever he with Thee.
Then

we shall hear the praises and glor . of the Just

One, from the ends of this earth, which it is Thy good
will to preserve until the decrecs of Thy mercy and
justice shall have been fully executed. O Jesus! we
are the work of Thy hands; save us, 2nd be merciful

to us on that great day.
HYMN OF ADVENT
(Mozaradic breviary, in the second week of Advent)
A Patre, Unigenite,

Only-begotten

Son of the

Ad nos venis per Virginem,

Father, thou comest to us by

Cunctos fide rogencrans.
De clo celsus prodiens,
Excepit formam hominis,

all by the dew of Baplism,
and by faith regenerating us.
The Most High coming
from heaven has taken on

Gaudia vita largiens.

roturning

Daptismi rore consccrans,

Victor a morte redicns,

the Virgin, consccrating us

himself

the

form

after

of

man,

conquering

death, and giving us tho joys
of a now life.
11 Thess. iv. 16.
1

ADVENT

194

Hoo te, Redemptor, quesumus,
Tllabero propitius,
Clarumque nostris cordibus
Lumen prabe deificum.
Deo Patri sit gloria
Ejusque soli Filio
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
In sempiterna sacula.
Amen.
PRAYER

FROM

‘Wherefore, we beseech thee,

O Redeemer, descend upon
us in thy mercy, and give to

our hearts the brightness of

the divine light.

To God the Father, and to

his only Son, and to the
holy Paraclete, be glory for
ever and ever.
Amen.

THE GALLICAN MISSAL

(In Adventu Domins,

Collecta)

Anime
nostre_ quasuGrant, we beseech thee, O
mus, omnipotens Deus, hoc .mgfimy God, that our souls
potiantur desiderio: ut a be filled with a esire of being
tuo Spiritu inflammentur, inflamed with thy Spiri
ut sicut lampades divino that being nourished with
munere satiati, ante con- the divine gift, as lamps with
spectum
venientis Christi their oil, we may shine as
ilii tui velut clara lumina bright lights before the face
of Christ thy Son, who is
fulgeamus.
coming to us.

SECOND

SATURDAY

195

OF ADVENT

SATURDAY
OF THE SECOND WEEK

Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus.

OF ADVENT

Come, lot us adore the
King our Lord, who is to
come.
From the Prophet Isaiss.

De Isaia Propheta.
Cap. xxv.
Domine, Deus meus es tu,
exaltabo te, et confitebor no-

I will exalt

populos, et telam quam ordi-

from the lees.

Ch. xxv.

0 Lord, thou art my God,
thee,

and

give

mini tuo: quoniam fecisti gfiry to thy name : for thou
mirabilis, cogitationes antit done wonderful things,
quas fideles. Amen. Quia thy designs of old faithful.
posuisti civitatem in tumu- Amen. For thou hast reJum, urber fortem in ruinam, duced the city to a heap, the
domum alienorum, ut non sit. strong city to ruin, the house
civitas, ot in sempiternum of strangers to be no city, and
non_smdificetur. Super hoo to be no more built up for
landabit te populus fortis, ever. Therefore shall a strong
civitas gentium robustarum people praise thee, the city
timobit te. Quia factus es of mighty nations shall fear
fortitudo pauperi, fortitudo thee. Because thou hast
egeno in _tribulatione sua: been a strength to the poor,
spes a turbine, umbraculum ab a strength to the needy in his
wstu.
Et faciet Dominus distress: a refuge from the
exorcituum omnibus populis whirlwind, a shadow from
in monte hoc convivium pin- the heat. ... And the Lord of
guium, convivium vindemiw, hosts shall make unto all
singuium medullatorum, vin- people, in this mountain, a
i defreate. Et praci- feast of fat things, a feast of
bit in monte isto faciem wine, of fat things full of
vinculi colligati super omnes marrow, of wine
purified
And

he shall

tus est super omnes nationes.

destroy in this mountain tho

sompiternum : ot auferet Dominus Deus lacrymam ab
omni_facie, et opprobrium
populi sui auferet do universa
torra :_quia Dominus locutus

all peoplo were tied, and the
wob that ho began over all

Prmcipitabit

est.

Et

dicet

mortem

in

die

in

illa:

face of the bond with.which

nations.

He shall cast death

down headlong for ever : and
the Lord God shall wipo
away tears from ovory face.

196

ADVENT

Ecco

Dous

noster

iste, ex-

mus

eum,

exsultabimus

and the rcpreach of his peo-

spectavimus cum, et salvabit
ple he ball tako away from
nos: iste Dominus, sustinui- off the whole carth: for the
letabimur in salutari ejus.

et

Lord

hath

spoken

it.

And

they shall say in that day:

Lo, this is our God, we havo

Waited for him, and ho will
save us : this is the Lord, wo

have paticntly waited for
him, we shall rejoice and bo
joyful in his salvation.

Yet a little while, and the conqueror of death will

appear, and then, in the joy of our hearts, we will
say : Lo/ this is our God; we have waited for Him,
and He will save us; we have patiently waited for
Him ; this is He, and we will rejoice and be joyful in
His salvation. Let us, therefore, prepare the way of
the Lord that we may receive Him worthily ; and
in this work of our preparation, let us have recourse
to Mary. Saturday is the day which is sacred to
her ; she will the more readily grant the prayers said
to her upon it. Let usi consider her in her grand
privilege of being full of grace, carrying in her womb
Him whom we so long to possess. If we ask her by
what means she rendered herself worthy of such an
jmmense favour, she will tell us that in her was
simply fulfilled the prophecy, which the Church so
continually repeats during these days of Advent:

“Every valley shall be filled up. The humble Mary

was the valley blessed by the Lord : a valley beautitul

and fertile, in which God sowed ‘the divine wheat, our

Saviour Jesus : for it is written in the psalm, that the
valleys shall abound with corn? O Mary ! it is thy
humility that drew down upon thee the admiration
of thy Creator. If, from the high heaven where He
dwells, He had perceived a virgin more humble in
her love, He would have chosen her in preference ot
thee : but no, it is thou that didst win His predilection,
1 Ps. Lxiv. 14.

SECOND SATURDAY OF ADVENT

197

0 mystic valley, ever verdant and lovely in thy flowers
of grace. We that, like high hills, are so proud and
such sinners, what shall we do? We must look on
this our God, who comes to us in infinite humility,
and then humble ourselves out of love and gratitude.
O blessed Mother ! obtain this grace for us. Pray
for us that henceforth we may submit ourselves to
the will of our Lord as thou didst, when thou didst
speak those admirable words: ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord : may it be done to me according to
thy word I
PROSE

IN

HONOUR

OF

THE

BLESSED

VIRGIN

(Taken from the Cluny missal of 1623)

Missus Gabriel de ccelis,
Verbi bajulus fidelis,
Sacris disserit loquelis
Cum beata Virgine.
Vorbum bonum et suave
Pandit intus in conclavo,
Et ex Fva format Ave,
Eva vorso nomine.
Consequenter justa paotum,
Adest Verbum caro factum ;
Semper tamen est intactum
Puellare gremium.
Patrem pariens ignorat,
Et quam homo non deflorat,
Non torquetur nec laborat
Quando parit filium.

lum, ot cst satis ;
Non est nostre facultatis
Solvere corrigiam.

Grande signum et insigne
Est in rubo et in igne :
Noe appropiet indigne
Calciatus quisquam.

Gabriel, sent from heaven,
faithful bearer of the word,
holds sacred converse with

tho holy Virgin.

In the inner chamber

he

disoloses the good and sweot

word;

name

and

inverting

tho

of Eve, Ewa becomes

Ave, his salutation Hail !
The covenant made, in-

stantly there was present tho

‘Word ‘made flesh; and yet

the pure Maid a Virgin still
for ever.

Parent

Mother,

like

yet ndt

no

other;

losing

the

prodigy!

’tis

treasuro ; giving birth to her
child, yet not in pain or travail.
Unheard-of

s0 indeed, and all

thou, my

soul, canst do is to believe it :

we have not power to loose
the latchet.
Tt s the great, the wondrous
portentof the burning bush;

ot him that would approach,
‘uh off the sandals
from his
foot.

198

ADVENT

Virga sicca sine rore,

Novo ritu, novo more,
Fructum protulit cum flore ;

Sicque Virgo peperit.

Benedictus talis fructus,

Fructus gaudii, non luctus ;

Adry branch, with not one

drop of dew, once yielded &
flower

and

fruit;

it was

a

forth her Son.
What a blessed

Fruit!

a

now law, & new way : so was
it when the Virgin brought
Fruit of joy, mot of woe.

Non erit Adam seductus,

There

Jesus noster, Jesus bonus,
Pim Matris pium onus,
Cujus est in ccelo thronus

He is our Jesus, the good
Jesus, lovely burden of a

8i de hoc gustaverit.

Nascitur in stabulo.

will be no

Adam

de-

ceived, if men but eat of this.

lovely Mother ! He who has
a throne in heaven, has a
stable for his birth-place !

May he, that for our sake
Qui sic est pro nobis natus
was thus born, wipe away all
Nostros deleat reatus ;
Quia noster incolatus
our guilt; for our sojourn
here is full of dangers.
Hic est in periculo.
Amen.
Amen.
PRAYER

FROM

THE

(For the Friday of the
Quis poterit, Deus Dei
Tilius, scrutari vias tuas ?
Vel quibus aditibus nasciturus ad Virginem veneris ?
Vel quibus semitis ad superna regressus es ? Et idoo,
uia tu solus cuncta consilerans es, cujus noren supra
terre terminos permanet ; da
nobis, illa do te semper consideraro et dicere, quw culpe
careant lege: ut, qui excelsus in fortitudine veniens humilia respicis, dignos facias
nos muneribus tuis. Amen.

MOZARABIC

BREVIARY

third week of Advent)

‘Who, O God, thou Son of

God, who can search into thy

ways ? and tell how thou wast
born of a Virgin, when thou

camest from

heaven, or by

‘what paths thou didst return
thither ? And therefore since

thou alone knowest all things,
thou whose name is beyond
the ends of the earth ; grant
us 50 to think and speak of
thee as to be guiltless of error :
that so thou, who, high in
power, dost come down to
lowly things and love them,
‘mayst make us worthy of thy
gifts. Amen.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
THE
To-paY,

THIRD

again,

SUNDAY

the Church

199

OF ADVENT

is full of joy,

and

the

joy is greater than it was. It is true that her Lord
as not come ; but she feels that He is nearer than
before, and therefore she thinks it just to lessen somewhat the austerity of this penitential season by the
innocent cheerfulness of her sacred rites. And firs,
this Sunday has had the name of Gaudete given to

it, from the first word of the Introit ; it also is honoured

with those impressive exceptions which belong to the
fourth Sunday of Lent, called Latare. The organ is
played at the Mass ; the vestments are rose-colour;
the deacon resumes the dalmatic, and the subdeacon
the tunic ; and in cathedral churches the bishop assists
with the precious mitre. How touching are all these

usages, and how admirable this condescension of the
Church, wherewith she so beautifully blends together

the unalterable strictness of the dogmas of faith and
the graceful poetry of the formula of her liturgy !

Let us enter into her spirit, and be glad on this third

Sunday

of her Advent,

because our Lord is now so

near untous. To-morrow we will resume our attitude
of servants mourning for the absence of their Lord
and waiting for Him ; for every delay, however short,
is painful and makes love sad.
The Station is kept in the basilica of St. Peter, at

the Vatican.

This august temple, which contains

the tomb of the prince of the apostles, is the home

and refuge of all the faithful of the world ; it is but

natural that it should be chosen to witness both the
joy and the sadness of the Church.
The night Office commences with a new Invitatory.

The voice of the Church no longer invites the faithful to come and adore in fear and trembling the King,
our Lord, who is to come. Her language assumes

200

ADVENT

another character ; her tone is one of gladness ; and
now, every day, until the vigil of Christmas, she

begins her nocturns with these grand words :

Propo ost jam Dominus : The Lord is now nigh;
come, let us adore.
venito adorenius.
Now let us take the book of the Prophet, and read

with the Church :

De Isais Propheta.

Cap. xxvi.

From the Prophot Issias.
Ch. xxvi.

In die illa cantabitur canticum istud in terra Juda:
Urbs
fortitudinis
nostre

ticle be sung in the land of
Juda. Sion the city of our

ea

and

Sion;

Salvator ponetur in

murus

Aperite

et

portas,

antemurale.

et ingredia-

tur gens justa, custodiens
veritatem.
Votus error abiit,
scrvabis pacem ; pacem, quia

In that day shall this can-

strength : a Saviour, & wall,
a bulwark

shall

be set

therein. Open ye the gates
and let the just nation, that
keepeth

the truth, enter in.

The old crror is passed away,
in to speravimus. Sporastis thou wilt keep peace : peace,
in Domino in seculis @ternis : because wo Eave hoped in
in Domino Deo forti in per- thee. You have hoped in tho
stuum. Quia
incurvabit Lord for evermore: in the
abitantes in cxcelso, civita- Lord God mighty for ever.
tem sublimem
humiliabit. For he shall bring down them
Humiliabit cam usquo ad that dwell on high, the high
terram, detrahet eam usque city he shall lay low. He
ad pulverem.
Conculcabit shall bring it down even to

eam pes; pedes pauperis, the ground, he shall pull it
gressus egenorum.
Semita down even to the dust. The
Justi recta cst, rectus callis foot shall tread it down ; the
justi ad smbulandum. Et in foet of the poor, the steps of
kemita judiciorum tuorum,
Domine,
sustinuimus ~ te:

the needy. The way of the
just is right, the path of the
nomen tuum, et memoriale just is right to walk in. And
tuum in desiderio anime.
in the way of thy judgements,
Anima mea desideravit to in O Lord, we have patiently
nocte: sed et spiritu meo in waited for thee: thy name
pracordiis meis, de mane and thy remembrance are tho
vigilabo ad te.
desire of the soul. My soul
hath desired thee in the night :
yea, and with my spirit within
me in the morning early I will

watch to thee.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

201

0 holy Roman Church, city of our strength ! behold
us thy children assembled within thy walls, around

the tomb of the fisherman, the prince of the apostles,

whose sacred relics protect thee from their earthly

shrine, and whose unchanging teaching enlightens
thee from heaven. Yet, O city of strength : it is by
the Saviour, who is coming, that thouart strong. He
is thy wall, for it is He that encircles, with His tender

mercy, all thy children ; He is thy bulwark, for it is
by Him that thou art invincible, and that all the
powers of hell are powerless to prevail against thee.

Open wide thy gates, that all nations may enter thee ;
for thou art mistress of holiness and the guardian of
truth.

May

the old error, which

sets itself against

the faith, soon disappear, and peace reign over the

whole fold! O holy Roman Church! thou hast for

ever put thy trust in the Lord ; and He, faithful to
His promise, has humbled before thee the haughty

ones that defied thee, and the proud cities that were

against thee. Where now are the Czesars, who boasted
that they had drowned thee in thine own blood ?
where the emperors, who would ravish the inviolate
virginity of thy faith ? where the heretics, who, during
the past centurics of thine existence, have assailed
every article of thy teaching, and den‘ed what they

listed ? where the ungrateful princes, who would fain
make a slave of thee, who hadst made them what they

were ? where that empire of Mahomet, which has so
many times raged against thee, for that thou, the
defenceless State, didst arrest the pride of its conquests ? where the reformers, who were bent on giving
the world a Christianity, in which thou wast to have
no part ? where the more modern sophists, in whose

philosophy thou wast set down as a system that had

been tried, and was a failure, and is now a ruin ? and

the tyrant over thee, and
those kings who are acting
those people that willnfiave liberty independently
and at the risk of truth, where will they be in another

202

ADVENT

hundred years? Gone and forgotten as the noisy
anger of a torrent; whilst thou, O holy Church of
Rome, built on the immovable rock, wilt be as calm,

as young, as unwrinkled as ever. Thy path through
all the ages of this world’s duration, will be right as
that

of the just man;

thou wilt ever

be the same

unchanging Church, as thou
eighteen hundred years past,
under the sun has been but
thy stability, but from Him
justice ? Glory be to Him

hast been during the
whilst everything else
change. Whence this
who is very truth and
in thee! Each year,

wherewith

happily

He visits thee ; each year, He brings thee new gifts,

thou

mayst

go

through

thy

pilgrimage ; and to the end of time, He will visit thee,
and renew thee, not only with the power of that look
wherewith Peter was renewed, but by filling thee with

Himself, as He did the ever glorious Virgin, who is

the object of thy most tender love, after that which
thou bearest to Jesus Himself. We pray with thee,
O Church, our mother, and here is our prayer : ¢ Come,
Lord Jesus! Thy name and Thy remembrance are

the desire of our souls : they have desired Thee in

the night, yea, and early in.the morning have they
watched for Thee.’

MASS
of the faithful is attentive;

The assembly
cantors intone the Gregorian
melody,
church echoes with these sweet words :

and

the
the

INTROIT

Gaudeto in Domino semr: iterum dico, gaudete.
odestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus : _Dominus
enim prope est. Nihil solTiciti sitis : sed in omni oratione petitiones vestre innotescant apud Doum.

Rejoice in the Lord
always: again I say, rejoice.

known

Let your modesty be
to all men:

for the

Lord is nigh. Bo nothing
solicitous: but in every

prayer let your petitions b
le known to God.

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT
Ps. Benedixisti

terram

tuam:

tivitatem Jacob.
tri.

~ Domine

avertisti ca-

Ps.

O

Lord

blessed thy land:

203
thou

hast

thou hast

V. Gloria turned away the captivity of
Jacob. V. Glory.

In the Collect, the Church asks for the grace of
that divine visit, which dispels darkness and brings
light. Darkness produces fear in the soul ; whereas,
light gives courage and joy to the heart.
COLLECT

Aurem tusm, quesumus,
Bend thine ear, O Lord,
Domine, precibus nostris ac- we besecch thee, to our
commodsa : et mentis nostrm prayers; and enlighten tho
tencbras gratia tum visita- darkness of our minds by
tionis illustra. Qui vivis.
the grace of thy visitation.
Who livest, &.
The other Collects of the blessed Virgin, against
the persecutors of the Church, and for the Pope, are
given in the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent,
page 128.
Lectio

Epistole

beati

EPISTLE

Pauli Lesson

Apostoli ad Philippenses.
Cap. iv.

Fratres, goudeto in Do-

mino semper: iterum dico,
gaudete.

Modestia

vestra

nota sit omnibus hominibus :

Dominus prope est.
solliciti
sitis;
oratione,
et

Nihil

sed in omni
obsecratione,

cum gratiarum actione, peti-

tiones _ vestra _innotescant
apud Deum. Et pax Dei,
que exsuperat omnem sensum, custodiat corda vestra,
et intelligentias vestras, in
Christo Jesu Domino nostro.

of

the

Epistle

of

St. Paul the Apostle to
the Phiippians.
h.
Brethren, rejoico in the
Lord always: again I say,
Tejoice. Let your modesty
bo known to all men: the
Lord is nigh. Be nothing
solicitous : but in everything,
by prayer and_supplication
with_thenksgiving, lot your
peitions bo mado known to
And the peace of God,
which surpasseth all understanding, kecp your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus
our Lord.

Nothing is more just than that we rejoice in the
Lord. Both the prophet and the apostle excite us

ADVENT

204

to desire the Saviour, both of them promise us peace.

Themfore, let us not be solicitous : the Lord is nigh ;

to His Church, and nigh to each of our souls.

‘io can be near so burning a fire, and yet be cold ?

Do we not feel that He is coming to us, in spite of all

obstacles ? He will let nothing be a barrier between
Himself and us, neither His own infinite high majesty,
nor our exceeding lowliness, nor our many sins. Yet
a little while, and He will be with us. Let us go out
to meet Him bi these prayers and supplications, and
thanksgiving which the apostle recommends to us.
Let our zeal to unite ourselves with our holy mother
the Church become more than ever fervent: now
every day her prayers will increase in intense earnestness, and her longings after Him, who is her light and
her love, will grow more ardent. First let us say
together with her :
GRADUAL

Qui_sedos, Domine, super
Cherubim, excita potentiam
tusm et veni.
V. Qui_regis Isracl, intendo: Qui deducis velut
ovem Joseph.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Excita Domine potentiam tuam, et veni, ut salvos
facias nos. Alleluia.

0 Lord, who sittest on tho
Cherubim, exert thy power
and come.
V. Thou who rulest Isracl,
hearken. Thou who leadest
Jnse h as a sheep.
‘Allluia, alcluta.
V. Exert, O Lord, thy
power, and come to save us.
Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Soquentia sancti Evangelii
secundum Joannem.

Sequel

In illo tempore : Miserunt
Judsi ab Jerosolymis sacer-

At

Cap. i.

dotes et levitas ad Joannem
ut_interrogarent

eum:

Tu

of

the

holy

lccordmngth.
Ch.i.

that time:

Gospel

the Jews

sent from Jerusalem priests

and levites to John, to ask
him: Who art thou ? And
he confessed, and did not

quises 7 Kt confessus est, et
non negavit, ot confessus cst : deny, and he confessed : I am
Quia non sum ogo Christus. not the Christ. And they
Et interrogaverunt eum: asked him : What then ? Arn

THIRD SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

205

Quidorgo ? Eliasestu? Et thou Elias ? And he said: T
dixit: Non sum. Propheta amnot. Artthoua prophet ?
s tu? Et respondit: Non. Ard he answered : No. - They
Diserunt crgo oi: Quis os, said therefore unto him:
ut responsum demus his qui Who art thou, that we may
Quid

dicis

deserto:

Diri-

miserunt

nos ?

clamantis

in

dn to ipso?

Ait: Ego vox

gito viem Domi
dixit Isnins propheta. Et
qui missi fuerant erant ex
Phariswis. Et interrogaverunt eum,
et dixcrunt ei:
Quid orgo baptizas, si tu
non os Christus, neque Elias,
neque propheta ? Respondit
eis Joannes, dicens: Ego
boptizo in aqua: medius
autom vestrum stotit, quem
vos nescitis. Ipso est, qui
post mo venturus est, qui
ante me factus est : cujus ogo

givo an answer to them that
sent us? What sayest thou
of thyself?

Ho said:

I am

the voice of one crying in the
wilderness: Make _straight

the way of the Lord, as said

the prophet Isaias. And they
that were sent were of the
Pharisees. And they asked
him and said to him: Why
then dost thou

baptize, if

thou be not Christ, nor Elias,

nor a prophet ? John an:
swered thom saying: I baptize with water; but thero
hath stood one in the midst
of you, whom you know not.
The same is
he that shall
come_after me, who is pre-

non sum dignus ut solvam
cjus corrigiam _calocamenti.
Hue in_Bothania facta sunt ferred before me : the latchet
trans Jordanem, ubi erat of whose shoe I am not
worthy to loose. These things
Joannes baptizans.
were done in Bethania, beyond the Jordan, where John
Was baptizing.

There hath stood One in the midst of you, whom

you

know not, says Saint John the Baptist to them that
were sent by the Jews. So that our Lord may be
near, He mey even have come, and yet by some be
not known ! This Lamb of God is the holy Precursor’s consolation : he considers it a singular privilege
to be but the voice, which cries out to men

to pre-

pare the way of the Redeemer. In this, St. John is
the type of the Church, and of all such as seek Jesus.
St. John is full of joy because the Saviour has come :
but the men around him are as indifferent as though
they neither expected nor wanted a Saviour. This
is the third week of Advent; and are all hearts

ADVENT

206

excited by the great tidings told them by the Church,
that the Messias is near at hand ? They that love
Him not as their Saviour, do they fear Him as their
Judge ? Are the crooked ways being made straight,
and the hills being. brought low ? Are Christians
seriously engaged in removing from their hearts the
love of riches and the love of sensual pleasures ?
There is no time to lose : the Lord is nigh! If these
lines should come under the eye of any of those
Christians who are in this state of sinful indifference,
we would conjure them

to shake off their lethargy,

and render themselves worthy of the visit of the divine

Infant: such a visit will bring them the greatest

consolation here, and give them confidence hereafter,

when

our Lord

will come

to

judge

all mankind.

Send Thy grace, O Jesus, still more plentifully into

their hearts ; ‘ compel them to go in,’ and permit not

that it be said of the children of the Church, as St.

John said of the Synagogue: There standeth in the
midst of you One, whom you know not.
During the Offertory the faithful should unite in
the prayer of the Church, and beg that the captivity
in which our sins hold us may be brought to an end,
and that the divine Deliverer may come.
OFFERTORY
Bonedixisti, Domine, terLord, thou hast blessed thy
ram tusm; avertisti capti- land ; thou hast turned away

vitatem Jacob, remisisti ini- the captivity of Jacob, thou
quitatem plebis tuz.
hast forgiven the iniquity of
thy people.
Devotionis

quasumus,

nostre

Domine,

SECRET
tibi,

hostia

May

we

always,

O

Lord,

offer thee this sacrifice of our

devotion ; both to offect that
sacri peragat instituta my- for which thou didst institute
sterii, et salutare tuum in this mystery, and wonderfully
nobis mirabiliter operetur. to procure ourselves that salPor Dominum.
vation which thou designest
us. Through, &e.
jugiter

immoletur:

quae

et

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

207

The other Secrets are given on page 132.
During the Communion, the Church chants the
words of the prophet Isaias, which bid the heart
of the sinner take courage. Fear not, Christian
people ! He that is coming is God ; but He comes to
save His creatures, and to give Himself to them.
COMMUNION
Dici
fortamini

Pusillanimes, conet nolite timere:

ecce Deus noster veniet, et
salvabit nos.

Say: Be comforted, O ye
timid of heart, and fear not;

behold our God will come,

and save us.

The Church asks of God, in the following prayer,
that the secret visit which she has just been receiving

from her divine Spouse, may fit her for that solemn
one which she is preparing to receive at the feast of
Christmas.

POSTCOMMUNION

Imploramus, Domine, cloWe implore, O Lord, thy
mentiam tuam : ut hee divina mercy: that ~these divino
subsidia,
a vitiis cxpiatos ad helps, having cleansed us
festa ventura nos praeparent. from sin, may prepare us for
Per Dominum.
tho ensuing solemnity.
Through, &e.
The other Postcommunions as on the first Sunday,

page 134.
1. AxT.

VESPERS
Veniet

Dominus,

et non tardabit, et illuminabit
abscondita

tenebrarum,

et

manifestabit se ad omnes
gentes, alleluia.

2. ANT. Jerusalem, gaude
gaudio magno, quia veniot
Salvator, alleluia.
3. Axt. Dabo in Sion salutem, ct in Jerusalem gloriam mear, alleluia.

1. Ast. The Lord will
come, and will not delsy, and
ho will reveal things hidden
in darkness, and will manifest
bimself to all nations, alleIuia.
2. Axt. Rejoice, O Jorusalom, with great joy, for thy
Saviour will come to thee,
alleluia.
3. Anr. I will sottle salvation in Sion, and my glory
in Jerusalom, alloluia.

ADVENT

203

4. AxT. Montes et omnes
colles
humiliabuntur:
et

4. ANr.
hills shall

Mountains
be brought

and
low:

erunt prava in_directa, ot tho crooked paths shall be
aspera in vias planas: veni, ‘made straight, and the rough
Domine, et noli tardaro, allo- ‘ways smooth : come, O Lord,
and delay not, alleluia.
luia.
5. Ant. Juste et pie viva-

mus,

exspectantes

spem, ot adventum
alleluia.

boatam

Domini,

%

AxT. Let us live justg{

and
piously, expecting t)
blosscd ho y, and the coming
of tho Lord, alleluia.

CAPITULUM

Fratres, gaudeto in Domino
somper : iterum dico, gaudote.
Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus : Dominus
enim prope est.

Brethren, rejoice in the
Lord always: sgoin I say
rojoice. Lot your modesty bo
known to all men: the
is nigh.

The hymn Creator alme siderum, and the canticle

Magnificat, ate given on pages 107 and 109.
ANTIPHON

OF THE MAGNIFICAT,

Boata es, Maria, qum oroBlossed art thou, O Mary,
didisti Domino ; perficientur who didst believe tho Lord ;
in te, que diota sunt tibi & what tho Lord said to thee
Domino, slleluia.
shall be fulfiled in theo,
alleluia.
But if the third Sunday of Advent fall on Decem- -

ber 17, then, instead

of the above, is said the first

of the Great Antiphons (0 Sapientia), which will be

found,

with

the other six, in the proper

from December 17 to 23 (page 484).

of saints,

ormMUS
LET US PRAY
Aurom tusm, quasumus,
Bond thino ear, O Lord,
Domine,
precibus nostris wo bosooch theo, to our
accommoda, ot montis nostrc prayers, and cnlighten tho
tonebras gratia tum visita- dorkness of our minds by
tho graco of thy visitation.
tionis illustra. Qui vivis.
Who livest, &o.

THIRD MONDAY

OF ADVENT

209

MONDAY
OF THE THIRD WEEK

Propo est jam Dominus:
venite, adoromus.
Do Isaia Prophota.
Cap. xxviii.
Hae dicit Dominus Deus :
Eoce ogo mittam in fundamentis Sion lapidem, lapi-

The

OF ADVENT
Lord

is mow

come, let us adoro.

nigh;

From the Prophet Isains.
Ch. xxviii.
Thus saith the Lord God :
Behold I will lay a stone in

the foundations

of Sion,

a

dem probatum, mg:lnrflm. tried stone, a corner-stone,
retiosum,
a procious stone, founded in
in
fundamento
Rt
Qui crediderit, the foundation. He that benon fostinet. Et ponam in lieveth, let him not hasten.
pondere judicium, et justi- And I will set judgement in
tiam in mensura, et subver- weight, and justice in meatot grando spem mendacii, et sure ; and hail shall overturn
rotectionem aqum inunda- the hope of falsehood, and
nt. Et delebitur fedus ratens shall overflow its pro-

vestrum cum morte, et pa-

ctum

vestrum

non stabit.

Heavenly

cum

inferno

tection. An
ur 1
0
with death nhallfi Abolm,

and your covenant with hell

shall not stand.

Father!

Thou

art preparing

to set in

the foundations of Sion & corner-stone, that is tried
and solid ; and this stone, which is to give firmness
to Sion Thy Church, is Thy Incarnate

Son.

It was

prefigured, as Thy apostle assures us,! by that rock
of the desert, which yielded the abundant and saving
stream that quenched the thirst of Thy people. But

now Thou

art about to give us the reality ; it has

already come down from heaven, and the hour is
fast approaching when Thou wilt lay it in the foundations, O sacred Stone, which makest all one, and
1 Cor. x. 4.

14

ADVENT

210

givest solidity to the whole structure ! By Thee it
will come to pass, that there shall be no longer Jew
or Gentile, but all nations shall become

one family.

Men shall no more build on sand, nor set up houses

which floods and storms may overturn. The Church
shall rise up from the stone which God now sets,

and, secure on the great foundation, her summit shall
touch the clouds. With all his weakness, and all
his fickleness, man will partake of Thy immutability,

O divine Stone, if he will but lean on Thee. Woe to
him that rejects Thee, for Thou hast said, and Thou
art the eternal Truth : ‘ Whosoever shall fall upon
that stone, shall be bruised ; and upon whomsoever

it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”*

From this

twofold evil, O Thou that art chief corner-stone,
deliver us, and never permit us to be of the number

of those blind men who rejected Thee. Give us grace
ever to honour and love Thee as the cause of our
strength, and the one sole origin of our solidity : and
since Thou hast communicated this Thy quality of
the rock to one of Thine apostles, and by him to his
successors unto the end of the world, grant us ever

to cling to this rock, the holy Roman Church, in
union with which all the faithful on the face of the
earth are preparixn(g to celebrate the glorious solemnity
of Thy coming, O precious and tried Stone! Thou
art coming, that Thou mayst destroy the kingdom

of falsehood, and break the league which mankind
had made with death and hell.
HYMN

FOR

ADVENT

(In the Mozarabic breviary, first Sunday of Advent)
Christi caterva clamitet,
Let all the sssembly of
Rerum parenti proximas
Christ's faithful ones laud
Quas esso sentit gratiss,
the graces that are nigh, and
Laudesque promat maximas. sing their highest praises to
their Croator.
1 St. Matt. xxi. 44.

THIRD MONDAY
poli oracula
Vatum
Perfecit olim tradita,
Cum nos redemit unicus
Factoris orbis Filius.

Verbum profectum, proditum,
Tulit reatum criminum,
Sumensque nostrum pulverom, *
Mortis peremit principem.
A matre natus tempore,
Sed sempiternus & Patre,
Duabus in substantiis,
Persona sola est Numinis.
Venit Deus factus homo,
-Nitescat ut cultu novo
Renatus in nato Deo,

Factus novus vetus homo.

Natalis hinc ob gaudium,
Ovans tropho, gentium
Renata plebs per gratiam
Hazc festa prabet annua.

Adventus hic solemnibus
Votis foratur omnibus,
Quos sustinere convenit,
Tanti diei gloriam.
Secundus ut cum ceeperit,

Orbemque terror presserit ;
Succurrat haee humillima
Suscoptionis dignitas.
Deo Patri sit gloria,

Ejusque soli Filio,
Cam Spiritu Paraclito,
In sempiterna swcula. Amen.

211

OF ADVENT

When his only
- begotten

Son, who created this world,
redeemed us, he fulfilled the

promises which the heavensent prophets spoke in the
t.
e Word having come
down from heaven, and shown

himself to men, took away
the punishment due to their
sins; and assuming our naturo, though but dust, he van-

quished the prince of death.

Born of a Mother in time,

but begotten eternally from

the Father, in the two

sub-

stances there is but one Per-

son,

that

is the

the Word.

Person

of

God has come into this
world made man, that our old

man being changed into the
new, we may put on new
besuty by being regenerated
in the new-born G
Let the Gentiles,
received this new

who have
birth of

grace, in gladness and exultation at the trophy won by
the

divine

Nativity,

keep

every year its feast.
Let this coming of Jesus

be celebrated with devout
solflmnig by all, who have so

just a

share in the glory of

this great day.
That so, when the second
coming shall burst upon the
world and fill it with fear,

this most humblo expression
of our devout celebration of
the first may give us confidence.

To God the Father, and to
his only Son, and to the holy
Spirit, be glory for ever and

ever.

Amen.

ADVENT
PRAVER

FROM

THE

AMBROSIAN

MISSAL

(In the Mass of the sixth Sunday of Advent, Prefaco).
It s truly meet and just,
Vere dignum et justum est,
mquum ot salutare, nos boatm right and available to salvasemper Virginis Mari solem- tion, that in this holy time wo
nia colebrare, qu® parvo utero should celebrate the memory
Dominum cceli_portavit ; et, of the ever blessed Virgin
angelo pranuntiante, Verbum Mary, who carried in the narcarne mortali cdidit Salva- row inclosuro of her womb tho
torem. Hic est mundi Re Lord of heaven, and who,
demptor, castis conceptus vis- according as the angel had
ceribus ; clausa ingredicns, ot foretold her, brought forth
the Word become our Saviour
clausa relinquens.
in our mortal flesh. This is
he who is the Redeemer of
the world, conceived in o
chaste womb, his Mother both
then and at his birth remaining inefiably the Virgin.
TUESDAY
OF THE

THIRD WEEK

Prope est jam Dominus ;
venite, adoromus.
Do Isaia Propheta.
Cap. xxx.
Exspectat Dominus ut misereatur vestri, ot ideo exaltabitur
parcens vobis; quis
Dous judicii Dominus, beati
omnes

Populus

qui exspectant eum.
enim

Sion

habitabit

in Jerusslom : plorans nequaquam plorabis : miserans misercbitur tui: ad vocem clamoris tui statim ut sudierit,
respondebit tibi. Et dabit vobis Dominus panem arctum,
et aquam

brevem:

et non

OF ADVENT

The Lord is now nigh;
come, lot us adore.
From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xxx.
The Lord waiteth that he
may have mercy on you, and
thereforo shall he be exalted
sparing _you: becauso the
Lord is the God of judgement,
blessed are all they that wait
for him. For the people of
Sion shall dwell in Jerusale:
weeping thou shalt not wee,
be will surely have pity on
thee : at the voice of thy cry,
as soon as he shall hear, ho
will answer thee. And th

THIRD TUESDAY
faciet avolare a te ultra do-

213

OF ADVENT

Lord will give you spare bread

otorem tuum, et erunt oculi
tui
vidontes
prmceptorem
tuum, Et dabitur pluvia
semini tuo, ubicumque seminaveris in terra: et panis frugum terrm erit uberrimus ot

and short water : and will not.

spatiose, et tauri tui, et pulli

shall be most plentiful and
fat. The lamb in that day

pinguis. Pascetur in possessione tus in die illo sgnus
asinorum,

qui operantur ter-

cause thy teacher to flee away

from thee any more, and thy
eyes shall sece thy teacher.
And rain shall be given to thy

seed, wheresoevor thou shalt
sow in the land: and the
bread of the corn of the land

ram, commixtum
migma
comedent sicut in area ventiIatum est. Et erunt super

shall feed at large in thydpo.-

ot percussuram plage ejus

the sun, and the light of the

session, and thy oxen,and

the

ass-colts, that till the ground,

shall eat mingled provender
6t super omnem collom ele- as it was winnowed in the
vatum rivi currentium aqua- floor. And there shall be
rum in die interfeotionis mul- upon every high mountain,
torum, cum ceciderint turres. and upon évery elavated hi
Et erit lux lune sicut lux rivers of running waters in
solis, et lux solis erit septem- the day of the slaughter of
pliciter sicut lux septem die- many, when the towers shall
rum, in die qua slligaverit fall. And the light of the
- Dominus vulnus populi sui, moon shall be as the light of
omnem

sanaverit.

montem

excelsum,

Ecce nomen

Do-

sun shall be sevenfold as the

mini venit de longinquo, light of seven days, in the
ardens furor ejus, et gravis ad day when the Lord shall bind
portandum : labia ejus re- up the wound of his people,
fleu sunt indignatione, et and shall heal the stroke of
ingua ejus qussi ignis de- their wound. Behold the
vorans. _ Spiritus ejus velut name of the Lord cometh

torrens inundans usque ad

from afar, his wrath burneth,

medium colli, ad perdendas and is heavy to bear : his lips
Gentes in nihilum, et frenum
are filled with indignation,
erroris quod erat in maxillis and his tongue as a devourpopulorum.
ing fire. His breath as a
torrent overflowing even to
the

midst

destroy

nothing,

error

of

the

and

the

neck,

the

bridle

nations

to

unto

of

that was in the jaws of

the people.

And are we then to wee

Happy we!

How could we

no more, O Jesus ?
sad now that Tho»

214

ADVENT

hast heard our prayers, and our eyes shall behold Thee,
our Master, and our Teacher ? If Thou yet delayest
some days longer, it is only that we may have more
time to receive what Thou hast made 1t Thy glory
to give—mercy and the pardon of our sins. Oh, the
happiness of Thy kingdom! Oh, the richness of our
lands, that is, of our souls, when Thy dew shall have
fallen upon them!

Oh, the sweetness of our Bread,

which is to be Thyself, O living Bread come down
from heaven! Oh, the brightness of the light which

Thou wilt give
wilt have bound
quickly ! And
ive her divine
Eo great is our

us, even on the very day when Thou
up our wounds ! Blessed day, come
thou, dear night, when Mary is to
Babe to us, when wilt thou come ?
hope in this Thy merciful coming,

that we listen with less dread to the awiul words of
Thy prophet, who, with a rapidity swift as Thine own

word,

passes

over

the

long ages between

the

two

events, and speaks to us of the approach of the terrible
day, when Thou wilt come suddenly in Thy burning

wrath, with Thy lips filled with indignation, and Thy

tongue as a devouring fire. Our present feeling is hope,
for we are looking forward to that coming, in which
Thou art the beautiful Prince of peace and love, and

we

cannot

but

hope.

When

that

last day

comes,

have mercy on us ! but on this day of Thine amiable
visit, permit us to say to Thee the words of one of
Thy servants : ¢ Yes, dear Jesus, come ; come to us!
but in swathing-bands, not with Thy hand raised to
punish us : in humility, not in Thy greatness : in the
crib, not in the clouds of heaven: in the arms of
Thy Mother, not on the throne of Thy Majesty : on
the colt of the ass, not on the Cherubim : to us, and
not against us: to save us, and not to judge: to

visit us in Thy peace, not to condemn us in Thy
anger. If Thou comest unto us thus, O Jesus! it is

not from Thee, but to Thee, that we will flee.” (The
venerable Peter of Celles, First sermon of Advent.)

THIRD TUESDAY OF ADVENT
HYMN

TAKEN

FROM

THE

ANTHOLOGY

215

OF THE

GREEKS

(December 20)
Be thou ready, O BethleBothlehem, prepararc, omnibus aperitur Eden ; letare, hem, for now Eden is open
Ephrata, quia arbor vite in unto all; rejoice, O Ephrata,
spelunca effforuit ex Virgine ; for the tree of life has blosejus enim venter paradisus somed in the cave from the
Virgin; for her womb has
in quo est divina planta,d become s mystic paradise,
qua manducantes vivimus ; wherein is the divine plant,

demonstratus

est

lgmtunhs.

noque enim smplius sicut of which if we eat we shall
Adam moriemur : nam Chri- live, and not, like Adem, die ;
stus nascitur, lapsam princi- for Christ is born, that he
may raise up his image
pio relovans imaginem.
which

had fallen in the

be-

has

the

ginning.
Christ comes willingly to
Ministraturus Christus liator
Denter progreditur, plasmatis minister to us; the
formam plastes accipit; qui puts on the creature’s form ;
locuples est divinitate, Adam he that is rich in the Godindigenti novam_reformatio- head, mercifully bestows on
nem atque nativitatem ut the needy Adam a new creation and birth.
commiserans elargitur.
Inclinans ceelos et in Vir-

He

bowed

down

gine habitans progreditur
camnaliter, Bethlehem in spelunca pariendus, ut scriptum
est, videndusque infantulus

heavens, and, taking up his
abode in the Virgin, ho

cat;

life to children in the womb
has himself become a child :

qui infantes in vulva

ipsi

vivifi-

gaudentes

nunc

obviemus omnes corde veloci.

comes in our flesh to be born
in Bethlehem’s cave, as it is

written ; and he that gives

let us all go forth to meet
him

Dominus

nascens

ut

ho-

with our

ardour and joy.
The

hearts

all-wise

Lord

full of

thus

born, comes among his own
nit: recipiamus eum, ut to receive hospitality from
hospites factos paradisi deli- his own_creatures ; let us respes, sapienter in propria ve-

ciarum iterum habitare faciat

natus in spelunca.

ceive

him,

that

this

divine

Babo of the eazehmpy"mku
us the guests of the
s0
of delights.
Now is the portal of tho
Jom_divinm Verbi Incarnationis omnibus aperitur divine Incarnation opened

216

ADVENT

propyleum ; oceli, gaudeto;
angoli, exsultate; lotetur
torra cum hominibus, una
cum pastoribus ot magis in
spiritu.
Fort sicut unguentum spi-

rituale non vaouum Virgo
alabastrum, et illud gostat
in spelunca in spirita ad
evacusndum sapienter illud,
ut bono odore repleat animas
nostras.
Angolice accurrite Virtutes; qui in Bethlohem estis,
preparate prasopium, Christus enim nasoitur ; Sapientia
progieditur. Accipe salutationem, Ecolesia ; in gaudium
Dei Matris dicamus, populi :
Benedictus qui venit,

noster.

to all: bo glad,ye heavens:
exult with joy, all ye angels!

let the earth

and

its

inhabitants rejoice in spirit
with the shepherds snd the
“"fl'
e Virgin, as a precious
vase of alabaster, bears the
divine perfume into the cave,
thero wisely and ineffably to
yield what she contains, that
she may fill our souls with

the delicious fragrance.
Yo angelic Powers : hasten
thither.

~ Ye

who

dwell

in

advances

to-

Bothlehem, prepare the crib,
for Christ is coming to be
born ; Wisdom

wards you.

Receive our

greotings, O thou Church of
Deus God! and let us, O ye
people, thus sing in honour
of the divine Mother's joy :
Blessod

Christus Deus noster manifeste gradiens veniet, et non
tardabit; ex nuptinescia
nympha vidobitur ; in spelunca autem requiescet; et tu,
prasepo
slogorum,
quem
ceelum non continet, accipe
fasciis in to involvendum, qui
uno verbo nostras alogias
solvit.
Chorum_age, Isais, Verbum Dei demonstra, prophetiza puells Mari@ rubum
incondiari et igne non_consumi.
Splendoro Deitatis,
Bothlehom, adornare; apori
janusm, O Eden ; atque iter
capito magi, Selutem visuri
in prasepio faseiatum ; quem
sidus dosignavit desuper spo-

cometh !

be

our

God,

that

Christ our God shall come

manifestly,

and

shall

not

delay ; he shall appesr born
of a spotless Virgin ; he shall

be 1.;5 in & cave ; and thou,

the crib of senscless beasts,

receive into thyself, wrapt in
swathing-bands, him, whom
the heavens cannot contain,
and whose single word ab.
solves our senseless sins.

Sing, O Isaias! show us
the
Word of God, predict the

bush that is to b on fire, yot
not consumed ; the Virgi
Mory. Put on thy splendour,
the rays roflected from the
Doity, O Bethlehem ! open
thy gates, O Eden! Set out
on' your journey, ye Magi,
to see

the

Saviour

laid

in

THIRD TUESDAY

217

OF ADVENT

luncam, vite datorem Domi- swaddling-clothes in & mannum salvantem genus no- ger, Him whom your star,
standing

strum.

over

the

cave,

pointed out to you the Lord

amd giver of lifo, the Saviour
of our race.

PRAYER FROM THE GALLICAN MISSAL
(In Adventu Domins, Immolatio)

Vere dignum et justum
est, nos tibi hic et ubique
somper gratias_agere, Domine

sancte,

Pater

omni-

potens, mterne Deus, cui
proprium est veniam delictis impendere, quam penaliter imminere.

Qui fabricam

Truly is it meet and just
that here and in all places
we should give thee thanks,
O holy
Lord, slmighty
Father,

oternal

God,

who

lovest rather to pardon than

to punish

sin.

Who

didst

mercifully use in the restora-

tui operis per eumdem rursus
Iapidem es dignatus erigere,

tion

nem tui facta fuerat vivens,

to thy likeness living, should,
dying, become unlike thee.

stone

of thy work
wherewith

the samo

thou

hadst

ne imago, que ad similitudi- made it, lost the image made
dissimilis haberetur ex morte.

Munus venislis indulgentie
preestitisti : ut unde mortem

peccato _contraxerat, inde
vitam pietas repararet immensa.

Hmc postquam pro-

ou

didst

bestow

on

man

the gift of an indulgent pardon ; that thence thy bound-

less mercy might restore life,
whence man by his sin had

phetica swpius vox preedixit ; wrought death. It is this
et Gabriel angelus Mariw jam that the voice of the propreesentia
nuntiavit, mox phets had often foretold ; it
uells _credentis in utero,
%delis Verbi mansit aspirata

18 this that the angel Gabriel

ocendi sub lege latuit, qum

The

cessit. Tumebatur

conceived in her womb the
I
ighed-for Word, ever
fai
to his promises. There
did her Child
lie concealed
until the law, which fixed

announced to Mary as then
conceptio ; et illa_proles nas- to bo groently socomplished:
cuncta

suo

nasci

nutu

con-

Virginis

sinus; et fecunditate guorum viscerum corpus mirahatur

intactum.

Grande

Virgin believed, and, in

that same

hour,

there was

mundo
spondebatur auxilium, femine psrtus sine the time of birth, had been
viro mysterium ; quando nul- observed, though it was he,
lius

macule

nebula

fuscata

whoso sovercign will granted

ADVENT

218
tenso nutriebat

ventre

all things

pra-

was

Virgin

cordia, mox futura sui geni-

to be born.

scen

to

Tho

be a

Mother ; it was the prodigy

trix genitoris.

of there being in the same
body an immense fruitfulness

and

an

angelic

purity.

Great was the help augured
to the world by this mystery
of & Virgin Mother, whereby the Mother of her own
Creator nourished him in her
womb, she whose purity was
undimmed by the least
shadow of a stain.

WEDNESDAY
IN

EMBER

Prope est jsm Dominus;

venite, adoremus.

WEEK
The

Lord

is now nigh;

come, let us adore.

To-day the Church begins the fast of Quatuor
Tempora, or, as we call it, of Ember days : it includes

also the Friday and Saturday of this same week.
This observance is not peculiar to the Advent liturgy ;
it is one which has been fixed for each of the four
seasons of the ecclesiastical year. We may consider
it as one of those practices which the Church took
from the Synagogue; for the prophet Zacharias
speaks

of the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and

tenth months! Its introduction into the Christian
Church would seem to have been made in the apostolic
times ; such, at least, is the opinion

of St. Leo,

of

St. Isidore of Seville, of Rabanus Maurus, and of
several other ancient Christian writers. It is remarkable,

on the other hand,

that the orientals do not

observe this fast.
From the first ages the Quatuor Tempora were kept,
1 Zach. viii. 19,

‘WEDNESDAY

IN EMBER

WEEK

219

in the Roman Church, at the same time of the year
as at present. As to the expression, which is not
nnirequenfly

used in the early writers,

of the three

times and not the four, we must remember that in the

spring, these days always come in the first week of
Lent,

a

rigorous

period

already

consecrated

fasting and abstinence, and

quently they could add nothing to
exercises of that portion of the year.
The intentions, which the Church
of the Ember dsys, are the same
Synagogue ; namely, to consecrate to
the four seasons of the year. The

to

the

most

that conse-

the penitential

has in the fast
as those of the
God by penance
Ember days of

Advent are known, in ecclesiastical anhqu)ty, as the
fast of the tenth month; and St. Leo, in one of

his sermons on this fast, of which the Church has
inserted a passage in the second nocturn of the third
Sunday

of Advent,

tells us that a special fast was

fixed for this time of the year, because the fruits of

the earth had then all been gathered in, and that it

behoved Christians to testify their gratitude to God
by a sacrifice of abstinence, thus rendering themselves
more worthy to approach to God, the more they were
detached from the love of created things.
*For
fasting,’ adds the holy doctor, ‘has ever been the
nourishment of virtue. Abstinence is the source of
chaste thoughts, of wise resolutions, and of salutary
counsel. By voluntary mortifications, the flesh dies
to its concupiscences, and the spirit is renewed in
virtue. But since fasting alone is not sufficient
whereby to secure the soul’s salvation, let us add to
it works of mercy towards the poor. Let us make
that which we retrench from indulgence, serve unto

the exercise of virtue.

Let the abstinence of him

that fasts, become the meal of the poor man.’

Let us, the children of the Church, practise what
is in our power of these admonitions ; and since the

actual discipline of Advent is so very mild, let us be

220

ADVENT

so much the more fervent in fulfilling the precept of
the fast of the Ember days. By these few exercises
which are now required of us, let us keep up within
ourselves the zeal of our forefathers for this holy
scason of Advent.
We must never forget that
although the interior preparation is what is absolutely
essential for our profiting by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, yet this preparation could scarcely be
real unless it manifested itself by the exterior practices
of religion and penance.
The fast of the Ember days has another object
besides that of consecrating the four seasons of the
year to God by an act of penance : it has also in view

the ordination of the ministers of the Church, which

takes place on the Saturday, and of which notice was
formerly given to the people during the Mass of the
Wednesday.
In the Roman Church, the ordination
held in the month of December was, for a long time,

the most solemn of all; and it would appear, from
the ancient chronicles of the Popes, that, ‘excepting

very extraordinary cases, the tenth month

several ages, the only time for conferring Holy
in Rome. The faithful should unite with the
in this her intention, and offer to God their
and abstinence for the purpose of obtaining

was, for

Ordérs
Church
fasting
worthy

ministers of the word and of the Sacraments, and
true pastors of the people.
The Church does not read anything, in the Matins

of to-day, from the prophet Isaias : she merely reads
a sentence from the chapter of St. Luke, which gives
our Lady’s Annunciation, to which she subjoins a
assage from St. Ambrose’s Homily on that Gospel.
'he fact of this Gospel having been chosen for the
Office and Mass of to-day, has made the Wednesday

of the third week of Advent a very marked day in
the calendar.
In several ancient Ordinaries, used by
many of the larger churches, both cathedral and
abbatial, we find it proscribed that feasts falling on

WEDNESDAY

IN EMBER WEEK

221

this Wednesday should be transferred : that the ferial

prayers should not be said kneeling on that day;
that the Gospel Missus est, that is, of the Annuncia-

tion, should be sung at Matins by the celebrant vested

in a white cope, with cross, lights, and incense, the

great bell tolling meanwhile ; that in abbeys, the
abbot should preach a homily to the monks, as on
solemn feasts. We are indebted to this custom for the
four magnificent sermons of St. Bernard on our blessed
Lady, which are entitled : Super Missus est.
As the Mass of the Ember days is seldom sung,
excepting in churches where the canonical Office 18
said, as also that we

might

not add

unnecessarily

to this volume, we have thought it advisable to omit

the Masses of Ember Wednesday, Friday, and Satur-

dayof Advent. The Staticn for the Wednesday is at St.
Mary Major, on account of the Gospel of the Annunciation, which, as we have just seen, has caused this day

to be looked upon as a real feast of the blessed Virgin.
Having to speak, later on, of this mystery, in the
proper of saints, we will conclude this Wednesday
with a prose of the middle ages, in honour of our
blessed Lady’s receiving the angel’s salutation, and
with a prayer taken from one of the ancient liturgies.
PROSE

IN

HONOUR

OF

THE

BLESSED

VIRGIN

(Taken from the missal of Cluny of 1523.)
Angelus ad Virginem
Tho angel, entering tho

Subintrans in conclavi,
Virginis formidinom
Demulcens, inquit ei :
Ave, Regina virginum,
Celi terreque Dominum
Concipics et paries,
Intacta,

Salutem hominum ;

Tu

porta cali facta,

Medela criminum

Virgin’s chamber, end gently
bidding her not {o fear, says
to her:
Hail, Queon of virgins!
thou_ shalt conceive in thy
womb the Lord of heaven

and earth; and still remain-

ing a Virgin, thou shalt bring

forth the salvation of man-

kind, O gate of heaven bring-

ing to the world the remedy
of its iniquitics !

222

ADVENT

Quomodo conciperem,
Qua virum non cognovi ?
Qualiter infringerem
Qua firma mente vovi ?
Spiritus sancti gratia
Perficiet hwec omnia :

How shall this be, replied
the Virgin, for I know not
man ?
How wouldst thou
have me break the vow which

I have sworn to keep

Tho grace of

Ghost

shall

?

the Holy

accomplish

all

Ne timeas, sed gaudcas,

these things, said the angel.

Quod castimonia
Manebit in te pura,
Dei potentia.

shall

Secura

Ad hac Virgo nobilis

Respondens inquit i :
Servula sum humilis

Omnipotentis Dei.

Tibi ceelesti nuncio,
Tanti secreti conscio,

Consentiens, et cupiens

Videre

Faotum quod sudio,
Parata sum parcre
Dei consilio.
Angelus disparuit,

Et statim puella
Uterus intumuit,
Vi partus virginalis.
Qui circumdatus utero,

Novem

mensium numero,

Hinc exiit et iniit
Conflictum,

Affigens humero crucem,
Que dedit ictum
Hosti mortifero.

Eia! Mater Domini,
Quae
pacem reddidisti
Angelo et bomini,
Quando Christum genuisti ;
Tuum exora Filium
Ut se nobis propitium
Exhibeat, et deleat
Peceata,
Prastans auxilium
Vita frui beata,
Post hoe exsilium. Amen.

Fear not, but rejoice.
I
assure thee thy virginity
be

left

intact:

the

power of God shall maintain
it.
To this the noble Virgin
answering, said to the angel :
I am the lowly handmaid of
the omnipotent God.
Consenting to thy word, O
heavenly messenger, bearer
of 80 great a_secret, and
desiring to see fulfilled what

thou announcest, I am ready
to obey the decree of God.

The angel loft her, and in
that moment her virginal
womb_conceived the Word
made flesh from hers.
This was his chosen enclosure for nine months: then
he loft it, and began the
great combat,
ing_tho
cross upon his shoulders,
wherewith ho struck the

enemy who brought death
into the world.
O dear Mother of Jesus, who
didst bring peace to angols
and to men by giving birth
to Christ,
Pray for us to this thy Son,
that be be merciful to us, and
forgive us our sins, and give
us “his assistance, whereby,
after this exile, we may possess the blessed joys of
eternal life. Amen.

WEDNESDAY
PRAYER

FROM

IN EMBER

THE

WEEK

MOZARABIC

223

MISSAL

(Second Sunday of Advent, Tatio)
It is mect and just, truly
Dignum et justum est;
vere mquum et salutare est, right and available to salvaDomini nostri_Jesu Christi tion that we should extol the
adventum in mirabilibus pree- coming of our Lord Jesus
dicare : quem inter homincs Christ as one of the highest
nasciturum_ccelestis nuntius of God’s wonderful works.
nunciavit. Virgo terrena dum A heavonly messenger ansalutaretur audivit : Spiritus nounced that he would be
A Virgin,
sanctus in utero, dum venirct born among men.
creavit, ut Gabricle dicente, dwelling on this earth, was
Maria credente, Dei Verbo saluted by the angel, and
Spiritu_co-operante, sequere- heard the great mystery.
tur salutationem angelicam The Holy Ghost produced it
securitas, promissionem per- in the Virgin’s womb, when
ficeret veritas; ut Altissimi he came to her. So that
virtute, didi; thus, Gabriel announcing,
obumbrante
cisset se esse fecundam vir- Mary believing, and the Spirit
ginitas. Ecce concipies in co-operating with the Word
utero, et paries filium, ange- of God, confidence followed
lus preedicavit ; et : Quomodo the angelical salutation, and
fiet istud, Maria respondit. the promise was fulfilled by
Sed quia hwmc credendo, non the reality that the Virgin
dubitando respondit, implevit should find herself to be made
Spiritus sanctus quod ange- a mother, by the power of
Virgo ante the Most High overshadowing
Ius spopondit.
Virgo semper her. Behold, said the angel,
conceptum,
futura post partum, Deum thou shalt conceive in thy
suum

prius

mente,

dehinc

ventre = concepit; salutem
mundi prima suscepit Virgo
lena gratia Dei, et ideo vera
ter

Filii Dei.

womb, and bring forth a Son.

How shall this be ? answered

Mary.

But because she said
it from faith, not from doubt,
the Holy Ghost accomplished
what the angel promised.
Virgin before the conception,
and Virgin after the birth of
her Son, she had received her
God in her soul, before possessing him in her womb.
Virgin full of the grace
God, she was the first

of
to

receive the salvation of the
world,

and

therefore

was

chosen to be the true Mother
of the Son of God,

ADVENT

THURSDAY
OF

THE

THIRD

Prope est jsm Dominus;
venite, adoromus.
Do Isaia Prophota.
Cap. xxxiii.
Domine,

nostri:

miserere

te enim exspectavimus : esto

brachium

nostrum

bruchus,

velut

in mane,

et salus nostra in tempore
tribulationis.
A voce angeli
fugerunt populi, et ab cxaltatione tus dispersm sunt
Et congregabuntur
Gentes.
spolia vestra sicut colligitur
cum

fossm

WEEK

The

OF

ADVENT

Lord

is

come, let us adoro.

now

nigh;

From the Prophet Isaios.
0 Lord, have mercy on us :

for we have waited for thoe :
be thou out arm in the

morning, and our salvation
in the timo of trouble. At
the voico of the angel the
people fled, and at the lifting
up thyself the nations aro
scattered. And your spoils
shall be gathored together as
the locusts are gathered, as
when the ditches are full of
them. The Lord is magnified,
for he hath dwelt on high:
he hath filled Sion with judgement and justice. And there

len fuerint de eo. MagniFoatas et Dominms, oo
niam habitavit in excelso :
implevit_Sion_ judicio et justitia. Et orit fides in temporibus tuis: diviti@ salutis
sapientia et scientia : timor shall be faith in thy times,
Domini_ipse est thessurus riches of salvation, wisdom
ejus. Conterriti sunt in Sion and_knowledge : the fear of
tores :
dit tromor the Lord is his treasure. Tho
ypocritas.
Quis poterit ha- sinners in Sion are afraid:
bitare do vobis cum igne trembling hath seized upon
dovorante ? quis habitabit ex the hypocrites. Which of you
vobis cum ardoribus_sempi- can dwell with devouring
ternis 7 Qui ambulat in ju- fire ? which of you shall dwell
stitiis, et loquitur veritatem, with ~everlasting burning ?
qui projicit avaritiam ex He that walketh in justices,
columnia, et excutit manus and speaketh truth, that
suas ab omni munere, qui casteth away avarice by
obturat aures suas ne audiat opprossion, and shaketh his
sanguinem, ot claudit oculos hands from all bribes, that
snos ne videat malum.
Iste stoppoth bis ears lest, he hear

in excelsis

habitabit,

muni-

blood, and shutteth his eyes

THIRD THURSDAY OF ADVENT

menta saxorum sublimitas
cjus: ponia ci datus est,
aque cjus fideles sunt. Regom in decoro suo vidobunt
ceuli ojus : cornent torram do
longo.

225

that ho may sco no cvil. He
shall dwell on high, tho fortifications of rocks shall bo his
highness : bread is given him,
his waters are suro. His oyes
shall sce the king in his
Deauty ; they shall seo the
land far off.

Happy he whose eyes shall thus contemplate the
new-born King in the sweet majesty of His love and
His humility ! He shall be so taken with this His
beauty,

that

the earth,

with

all its

magnificence,

shall appear as nothing in his eyes. The only thing
he will care to look upon, will be the Child laid in
a manger, and wrapped in swaddling clothes. But,
that we may have this happiness of closely contemplating the divine King who is coming to us, that
we may merit to enter His court, we must do as the

prophet bids us : we must walk in justice, and speak

truth. Let us listen to the pious Rabanus Maurus,
who expresses this, with much unction, in his first

sermon on preparation for the feast of Christmas :
“If at all times it behoves us to be adorned with the

comeliness of good works, we should be so, with an
especial care, on the day of our Saviour’s birth.

Consider within yourselves, my brethren, what you
would do, were a king,

or prince,

or

Show

to invite you

to

come to celebrate his birthday. Your garments
would be as new, as elegant, even as magnificent, as
ou could procure them, for you would think it an
mnsult to him who invited you, were you to appear
before him with anything upon you that was torn,
poor,

or

unclean.

a

like

solicitude

on

the occasion of the coming feast : and let your souls,
beautified with the several ornaments of virtue, go
forth to their King. He loves the pearls of simplicity,
and the flowers of chaste sobriety : wear them therefore. Let your consciences be composed in a holy
15

ADVENT

226

calm, now that the solemn feast of Jesus’ Nativity
is so close upon us. Assist at it lovely in your
chastity, gorgeous in your charity, beauteous by your

almsdeeds, brilliant with justice and humility, and,
If the Lord
above all, radiant in the }ove of God.

Jesus shall see you thus when you keep His feast,
believe me, He will do more than visit your souls ;
He will treat you with such familiarity, that He will
choose

them

for His favourite abode, and there He

will dwell for ever, as it is written : Behold ! T will
come, and I will dwell with them and they shall be
my people, and I will be their God.” Christians, you
have no time to lose: quickly prepare yourselves
for this great visit. Let sinners be converted and become just: let the just become more just; let the
holy become more holy, for He that is coming is the
Lord our God, and none else.

PROSE FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(Composed in the cleventh century, and taken from the
ancient Roman-French missals)
Jubilemus omnes una, Deo
Let us sing togother to our
nostro qui creavit omnia ;
God, who created all things ;
By whom all agos wore
Por quem condita sunt
made ;
swcula ;
Ceelum quod plurima luce
The firmament, which
coruseat, ot diversa sidera ; shines with much light, and
the countless stars ;
Sol mundi schema, noctium
Tho sun, the omament of
decus luns, cunctaque splen- the world ; the moon, which
dentia ;
is the night’s beauty ; and all
shining things ;
Maro, solum, alta, plana, et The ses, the land, the hills,
profunda flumina ;
the plains, and the deep
rivers ;
Acris ampla spatia: que
The wide space of the air,
discurrunt aves, venti atque through _which float birds,
pluvia.
and winds, and rain ;
Hc simul cuncta tibi soli
All these obey thee alone,
Deo Patri militant.
0 God, as their Maker and
King.

THIRD THURSDAY
Nunc et in @vum, sine fino

per szcula :

Laus eorum tua gloria :
Qui pro salute nostra Prolem unicam,
Pati in terra misisti sine
culpa, sed ob nostra delicta.
Te,

sancta

Trinitas,

pre-

camur, ut corpora nostra et
corda regas et protegas, et
dones peccatorum veniam.
Amen.
PRAYER

FROM

THE

OF ADVENT

227

Now and evermore, for
cndless ages
Their praise is thy glory ;
Who for our salvation didst
send thine only-begotten Son,
In whom could be no sin,
to suffer on carth for our
sins.
We bescech thee, O holy
Trinity, to govern and protect our souls and bodies, and
grant us forgivencss of our
sins.

Amen.

AMBROSIAN

MISSAL

(Second Sunday of Advent, Prafatio)

Vere dignum et justum est,
It is truly meet and just,
®quum ot salutare, nos tibi right and available to salva.
semper et ubique gratias tion, that we should always
agere, Domine sancte, Pater and in all places, give thanks
omnipotens, mterne Deus, to thee, O holy Lord, almight;
per Christum Dominum no- Father, eternal God, thmug{
strum: cujus Incarnatione Christ our Lord: by whose
salus facta est mundi, et Pas- Incarnation has been wrought
sione redemptio procurata est the salvation of the world,
‘hominis procreati. Ipse nos, and by whose Passion has
quasumus, ad @ternum_per- Deen purchased the redempducat premium, qui redemit tion of his creature man.
nos de tenebris infernorum: Grant, we beseech thee, that
justificetque in adventu so- he, who redeemed us from
cundo, qui nos redemit in the dark prison of hell, ma;
primo : quatenus illius nos a lead us to the rewards whicl
malis omnibus defendat sub- are etemnal; and justify us
limitas, cujus nos ad vitam in his second coming, Who
erexit humilitas.
redeemed us in the first : that
thus, he, whose humility exalted us unto life, may by his

most high majesty shield us

from all evil.

228

ADVENT

FRIDAY
IN EMBER WEEK
Prope

est

jam

venito, adoremus.

Dominus;

The

Lord

is

como, let us adore.

now

nigh;

The Church does not read anything from the
prophet Isaias to-day; she merely gives, in the
Office of Matins, a sentence of that chapter of St.
Luke’s Gospel, which relates the mystery of our
Lady’s Visitation : and to this she subjoins a fragment
of St. Ambrose’s homily upon that passage. The considerations and affections with which this important
event of our Lady’s life ought to inspire the faithful,
will be given further on in the proper of the saints.
The Station for to-day is in the church of the Holy
Apostles, which many suppose to have been first
built by Constantine. The glorious bodies of the
two holy apostles Philip and James the Less, lie
buried under the altar, awaiting the second coming of

Him who chose them as His co-operators in the work

of the first, and who will give them, on the last day,
to sit upon thrones near His own, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.t
That we may better conform to the intentions of
our holy mother

the Church, who offers to our con-

templation the Visitation of the blessed Virgin, let

us recite the following hymn, composed in honour
of this mystery during the ages of faith.

A PROSE IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
(Taken from the ancient

Ave, Verbi Dei parcns,
Virginis humilitas.

Avo, omni nodo carcns,

Ilumilis virginitas.

Roman-French

missals)

Hoil, Mother of the divino
Word ! Hail, most humble
and most spotless Virgin!

1 St Matt. xix. 28.

229

FRIDAY IN EMBER WEEK

Goude, qua sic gravidaris
Noo gravaris Tilio :
Gaudo que sic oncraris
Onore gratissimo.
Salve, Josso stirpe orta
Virgula fructifera.
Salvo, clausa tompli porta,
Soli Deo porvia.
Plaudo, vollus Gedeonis,
Rore madens Pnoumatis
Plaude, pollis Salomonis,
Pulchrior pra ceteris.
Vale, Jacob micans stolla,
Circumlustrans maria.
Valo consignata colla,
Rubus in vi flammea.
Euge, sole quod amiota
Solem gignis stellula.
Buge, quod sis pracloots,
Seala cceli fulgida.

Rejoice, thou Mother of a
Son who supports thoo ! Rejoico, thy burden is a burdon
most sweet to bear !
Hail, branch
of

Fruit-bearing branch !

Jesse,

Hail

gato of the temple, closed to
all but God !

Bo gled, thou fleece of

Gedeon,

full

of the

dew

of

the holy Spirit! Bo glad,
thou tent of Solomon, of all
the first in beauty !
‘Hail, shining star of Jacob,
lightng up the sea! Hail,
thou sealed-up sanctuary,
thou burning bush !
‘What

bliss is thine,

that

thou the Lumble star shouldst
be clad with tho Sun, and then
bring forth the Sun! What
bliss

is

thine.

that

thou

shouldst bo elected the bright

Pange, aurora consurgens
Luce novi sideris ;
Pange, atca trina forens
Charismata

miseris.

Eia ! magnificat tua
Jesum Christum anima ;
Eia ! tecum ut laudemus
Ora, duleis Maria. Amen.

ladder reaching up to heaven !
Sing to thy God, thouw
aurora rising in_tho light of
the newStar! Sing, thou ark
of the covenant, bearing unto
us sinners thy threo treasures.
Oh'! lot thy soul magnify
Jesus ! and oh ! sweet Mary,

pray that, with thee, we too
may magnify him. Amen.

PRAYER FROM THE GALLICAN SACRAMENTARY
(In Adventu Domsns, Collect)

Purifics, Domine Deus,
Pater omnipotens, pectorum
arcana
nostrorum,
cunctasque propitius maculas abluo
peccatorum : ac prasta, Domine, ut benedictione pietatis
tum o nostris criminibus
mundati, metuendum_terribilemque adventum Domini
noatri Josu Christi oxspectomus intorriti.

O Lord God, Father almighty, purify the recesscs of
our heart, and mercifully
wash away all the stains of
our sins; and grant, O Lord,
that, cloansed from our sins
by thy merciful blessing, wo
may swait in confidence tho
dread and terrible coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

230

ADVENT

SATURDAY
IN EMBER WEEK

Propo cst jam Dominus;
venite adoremus.

The Lord is now nigh:
come, let us adore.

The lessons from the prophet Isaias are interrupted

to-day

also;

and

a homily on the Gospel

of the

Mass is read in their place. As this Gospel is reated to-morrow, in the Mass of the fourth Sunday

of Advent, we will, for the present, omit it, and be

satisfied

with

mentioning

the

reason

Gospel being assigned to the two days.

The primitive custom, in the Roman

of the

same

Church, was

to hold ordinations in the night between Saturday
and Sunday, just as Baptism was administered to the
catechumens in the night between Holy Saturday
and Easter Sunday. The ceremony took place to-

wards midnight, and Sunday morning was always far
advanced before the termination ; so that the Mass

of ordination was considered as the Mass of Sunday

itself.

Later on, discipline relaxed, and these severe

vigils were given up ; the ordination Mass, like that
of Holy Saturday, was anticipated ; and, as the fourth
Sunday of Advent and the second of Lent had not
hitherto had a proper Gospel, since they had not had
a proper Mass, it was settled, about the tenth or
eleventh century, that the Gospel of the Mass of
ordinations should be repeated in the special Mass
of the two Sundays in question.
The Station is at St. Peter's on account of the
ordinations. This basilica was always one of the

largest of the city of Rome,

and was therefore the

best suited for the great concourse of people.

SATURDAY

Let
which
from
of the

IN EMBER

231

WEEK

us honour Mary upon this day of the week,
is consecrated to her ; let us borrow a canticle
the oriental Church, ever profuse in its praise
Mother of God.

HYMN TAKEN FROM THE ANTHOLOGY OF THE GREEKS

(December 15)
Ut thronus purpuriformis
As a royal throne, thou
Creatorem fers ; ut animatus, carriest the Creator; as a
thalamus regem circumdas, living_couch, thou encirclest
the King, O creature most
Deo gratissima.
dear to God :
Virga virtutis germinasti
Branch most vigorous,
Christum in quo stabilimur ; thou didst bud forth the
to enim figurabat virga Aaron, Christ on whom we lean and
olim germinans inculta ; casta. aro supported ; for Aaron’s
branch, which, of old, budcolumba, semper Virgo.
ded unplanted, was a type of
thee, thou chaste dove, and

ever a Virgin,
To sing the more than
Hymnificare modum superadmirabilem, et omnem wonderful manner of thy exsensum superantem extra- traordinary and incomproordinarie tue graviditatis hensible maternity, is above
the power of all the choirs
nesciunt omnium hominum
of men: for no mind, no
catervie ; omnem enim mentem et cogitationem preter- thought, no understanding,
greditur,

ac

intelligentias,

Miraculum

inenarrabile

omnium
tem.

¢t verborum

virtu-

conceptionis atque immemorandum gestationis tum

rodigium
videns Isaias,
ivina voce clamabat: Spiritus_sanctus supervenit in
te, Dei
servans

stum;

Mater!

ut

olim

rubum

to

incombu-

et ideo cum angelo

clamamus:

bernaculum.

Gaude,

Dei

ta-

no

words,

mystery.

can

reach

the

Tsains, sceing the unspeakable miracle, “the ineffablo
miracle of thy matemity,
spoko thus divinely: Tho
holy %;im hath come upon
thee, O Mother of God
! presorving thoe, as_heretofore
ho kept entire tho bumning
bush : and, therefore, wo cry
out with the angel : Rejoice,
0 thou tabernacle of God !

232

ADVENT
PRAYER

FROM

THE

MOZARABIC

MISSAL

(Fifth Sunday of Advent, llatio)
Dignum et justum est nos
tibi gratias agere, Domino
sancte, Pater amterne, omnitens Deus, per Jesum
‘hristum

Filium

tuum

Do-

1t is moot and just that we
ivo thee thanks, O holy

eternal
Father,
alhty God, through Jesus

Christ thy Son our Lord.

minum nostrum. Ejus in- His Incarnation was the salcarnatio
salus
facta
st vation of the world, and his
mundi, et passio oxstitit re- Passion the redemption of
demptio hominis procreati. his creature man.
Therefore
{’pse igitur nos, omnipotens we bescech thee, O almighty
ater, quasumus, perducat Fathor, may he lead us to
ad premium, qui redemit heaven, who purchased us
de tenebris infernorum. Ipse from dark hell. May he
carnem

nostram

a

delictis

emaculet, qui eam suscepit
ex Virgine. Ipse nos lasos
tum restituat majestati, qui
nos tibi per sanguinem suum
reconciliavit. Ipse nos secundi
adventus
examinatione justificet, qui in primo

cleanse

our

flesh

from

its

sins, who took to himself
that

flesh

from

who

reconciled

the

Virgin.

May he again bring us
from our treason to fidelity,
us

to

thee

by his Blood. May he make
and find us just in the judgecontulit donum
tie suw. ment, of his sccond coming,
Ipse ad judicandum veniat who conferred upon us the
mitis, qui olim Ap‘ogamit gift of his grace in the first.
humilis. Ipse in judicium May he come to judge us
ostendatur nobis mitissiaus, in meekness, who heretoforo
qui dudum venit occultus.
came in humility to dwell
with us. May he show himself in gentlest meekness
when he judges us, who
heretofore

hid

himself

decpest humility when

redecmed us.

in

ho

FOURTH SUNDAY

THE

OF ADVENT

233

OF ADVENT

FOURTH'SUNDAY

(If this Sunday fall on December 24, it is omitted,

and in its place is said the Office of Christmas Eve,

which is given in the proper of the saints, December 24,

page 506.)

‘We have now entered into the week which immediately precedes the birth of the Messias. That long-

desired coming might be even to-morrow; and at
furthest, that is, when Advent is as long as it can

be, the beautiful feast is only seven days from
So that the Church now counts the hours;
watches day and night, and since December 17
Offices have assumed an unusual solemnity.
Lauds,

Vespers,

she varies the antiphons

in order to express

each

day;

the impatience

and

us.
she
her
At

at

of her

desires for her Jesus, she makes use of the most
vehement exclamations to the Messias, in which she
each day gives Him a magnificent title, borrowed
from the language of the prophets.
To-day,! she makes a last effort to stir up the
devotion of her children. She leads them to the

desert ; she shows them John the Baptist, upon whose

mission she instructed them on the third Sunday.
The voice of the austere Precursor resounds through

the wilderness, and penetrates even into the cities.

It preaches penance, and the obligation men are
under of preparing by self-purification for the coming
of Christ. Let us retire from the world during these
next few days ; or if that may not be by reason of
our external duties, let us retire into the quiet of our
1 The

Introit;

fourth Sunday

of Advent

is called

Rorafe,

from the

but more frequently, Canite tuba, which are the first

words of tho first responsory of Matins, and of the first antiphon
of Lauds and Vespers.

234

ADVENT

own hearts and confess our iniquities, as did those

true

who

Israelites,

came,

full of compunction

and

of faith in the Messias, to the Baptist, there to make
perfect their preparation for worthily receiving the
Redeemer on the day of His appearing to the world.
See,

then,

with

what

redoubled

earnestness

the

Church, before opening the book of her great prophet,
repeats her invitatory :

The Lord is now nigh;
Prope est jam Dominus;
come, let us adore.
venite, adoremus.
De Isaia Propheta.
From the Prophot Isaias.
Cap. xxxv.
Ch. xxxv.
Latabitur deserta et invia, The land that was desolate
et oxsultabit solitudo, et and impassable shall be glad,
florebit quasi lilium. Germinans germinabit, et exsul-

tabit letabunda et laudans ;

doria Libani
lecor

Carmeli

data est ei,
et

Saron.

Ipsi videbunt gloriam Do-

mini, et decorem Dei nostri.

Confortate manus

et genua
Dicite

tamini,

debilia

dissolutas,

roborate.

pusillanimis : Confor-

et

nolite

timere.

Ecce Deus vester ultionem
adducet retributionis : Deus

i})se veniet et salvabit vos.
unc aperientur oculi cwcorum, et aures surdorum patebunt.

Tunc saliet sicut cer-

vus claudus, et aperta erit
lingua mutorum : quia scissa
sunt in deserto aque, et
torrentes in solitudine. Et

and the wilderncss shall rejoice, and shall flourish like
the lily. It shall bud forth
and blossom, and shall re-

joice with joy and praise ;
the glory of Libanus is given
to it, the beauty of Carmel
and Saron. They shall seo
the glory of the Lord, and
the beauty of our God.
Strengthen ye the feeble
hands, and confirm the weak
knees. Say to the fainthearted: Take courage, and
fear not. Behold your God
will bring the revenge of recompense : God

himself will

Then

eyes

como

and

will save

shall the

you.

of the

blind be opened, and the
ears of the deaf shall bo
que erat arida, erit in sta- unstopped. Then shall the
gnum, et sitiens in fontes lame man leap as a hart, and
aquarum. In cubilibus, in the tongue of the dumb shall
quibus prius dracones habita- be free : for waters are broken
bant, orietur viror calami et

out in the desert, and streams

non transibit per cam pollu-

come a pool, and the thirsty

junci. Et erit ibi semita ot in the wilderness. And that
Via, et via sancta vocabitur, which was dry land, shall be-

FOURTH

SUNDAY

tus ; et haec erit vobis directa

via, ita ut stulti non errent

per eam.
Non erit ibi leo,
et mala bestia non assendet

per eam, nec invenietur ibi:
et ambulabunt qui liberati
fuerint.

Et redempti a Do-

mino convertentur, et venient
in Sion cum lsude, et letitia
sempiterna _ super
caput
eorum ; gaudium et Letitiam
obtinebunt, et fugiet dolor
ot gemitus.

OF ADVENT

235

land springs of water. In the
dens where dragons dwelt
bofore shall rise up the verdure of the reed and the bulrush. And a path and a way
shall be thore, and it shall be
called the holy way : the unclean shall not pass over it ;
and this shall bo unto you a
straight way, so_that fools
shall not err therein. No lion
shall be there, nor shall any
mischievous beast go up by
it, nor_bo found there: but
they shall walk there, that
shall bo delivered. And the
redeemed of the Lord shall
return, and shall come into
Sion with praise, and everlasting joy shall be upon
their heads : thoy shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow
and mourning shall flee away.

Oh, the joy of Thy coming, dear Jesus! How
great it must needs be, when the prophecy says it
shall be like an everlasting crown upon our heads.
And could it be otherwise ? The very desert is to
flourish as a lily, and living waters are to gush forth
out of
Come,
water,
which
asked

the parched land, because their God is coming.
O Jesus, come quickly, and give us of that
which flows from Thy sacred Heart, and
the Samaritan woman, the type of us sinners,
of Thee with such earnest entreaty.
This

water is Thy grace ; let it rain upon our parched souls,

and they too will flourish; let it quench our thirst,

and we will run in the way of Thy precepts and
examples.
Thou, O Jesus, art our way, our path, to
God ; and Thou art Thyself God ; Thou art, there-

fore, both our way and the term to which our way
leads us.
We had lost our way ; we had gone astray

a3 lost sheep : how great Thy love to come thus in

236

ADVENT

search of us!

To teach us the way to heaven, Thou

hast deigned to come down from heaven,

and then

tread with us the road which leads to it. No'! there
shall be no more weak hands, nor feeble knees, nor
faint hearts; for we know that it is in love that
Thou art coming to us. There is but one thing which
makes us sad: our preparation is not complete.

We

have some ties still to break ; help us to do it,

O Saviour of mankind ! We desire to obey the voice
of Thy Precursor, and make plain those rugged paths,
which would prevent Thy coming into our hearts,
O divine Infant! Give us to be baptized in the
Baptism of the waters of penance ; Thou wilt soon
follow, baptizing us in the Holy Ghost and love.

MASS
The prophet has made us thirst for that clear cool
fountain, which he tells us is to spring up on the
coming of the Messias; let us ask, together with
the Church for the Dexw which will give new life to
our hearts, and for the Rain which will make them
fruitful.

INTROIT

Rorato ocli_desupo ot
nubes pluant Justu
riatur terra, ct germinet
vatorem.
Ps. Ceeli enarrant gloriam
Dei: ot opera manuum ejus
annuntiat firmamentum. V.
Gloria Patri. Rorate.

Drop down Dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the
clouds rain the Just One:
let the carth bo opened and
bud forth a Saviour.
Ps. Tho heavens show
forth the glory of God : and
the firmament declareth tho
works of his hands. V. Glory,
&c. Drop down, &.

In the Collect, the Church implores God to hasten
the time of His coming to her assistance ; she fears
lest her

sins might

keep her Spouse

fmm

visiting

her ; she, cheteiore, prays that this obstacle may be
removed by His mercy.

OF ADVENT

FOURTH SUNDAY
COLLECT

Excita, quesumus, Domine, potentiom tusm, et
veni, et magna nobis virtute
succurro: ut per suxilium
gratie tum quod nostra peccata prapediunt, indulgentia
tus propitiationis acceleret.
Qui vivis ot regnas.

237

Exert, wo beseech thee, O

Lord, thy power and come,

and succour us by thy great
might : that by the assistance
of thy grace, thy indulgent
mercy may hasten what is
delayed by our sins; who
livest and reignest God, world
without end.

The other Collects of the blessed Virgin, against
the persecutors of the Church, and for the Pope,

are given in the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent,

page 128.
Lectio

EPISTLE

Epistole

Apostoli ad

beati

Pauli

Corinthios.

1. Cap. iv.

Fratres, sic nos existimat

homo

ut

ministros

Christi,

et dispensatores mysteriorum
Dei. Itic jam queeritur inter dispensatores

ut

fidelis

quis inveniatur. Mihi autem
pro mmimo est ut a vobis
judicer, aut ab humano die :
sed neque meipsum judico.
Nihil

enim

mihi

conscius

sum sed non in hoo justi
catussum: qui autem judicat me Dominus est. Itague
nolite ente tempus_judicare,
quoadusque veniat Dominu
qui et illuminabit abscondita
tenebrarum, et manifestabit

consilia cordium : et tunc laus

crit unicuique & Deo.

Lesson of tho Epistle of
St. Paul the Apostlo to
the Corinthians.

1. Ch.

Brethren, let a man 5o ac-

count of us as of the ministers
of Christ, and the dispensers

of the mysteries of God.
Here now it is required
among tho dispensers that
a man
be found faithful.
But to me it is a very small
thing to be judged by you or
by man’s day: but neither
do I judge my own self. For
1 am not conscious to myself
of enything: yet I am’ not
hereby justified : but he that
judgeth me is the Lord.
Thoreforo judge not before
the timo, until the Lord come:

who both will bring to light
the

hidden

things

of dark-

ness, and will make manifest
the counsels

of the

heart:

and then shall every man
have praise from God.

238

ADVENT

The Church here reminds the people of the dignity
of the Christian priesthood.
The occasion is an
appropriate one, as the ordinations were held yesterday. She also brings before her sacred ministers the
obligation they have contracted of being

faithful to

the duties imposed upon them. But %et not the
flock judge their pastor; since all, both priest and
people, are living in expectation of the day of our

Saviour’s coming ; not only of that second one, for

which we are now preparing,

but also of that last

coming which will be as terrible as the other two
are dear to the hearts of men. After having spoken
these words of stern admonition, the Church resumes

the expressions of her hope and her entreaties for
the speedy coming of her Spouse.
GRADUAL

Prope est Dominus omnibus invocantibus eum, omnibus qui invocant eum in
veritate.
V. Laudem Domini loquotur os meum: ot benedicat
omnis cato nomen sanctum
ejus.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Veni, Domine, et noli
tardaro : relaxa facinora plobi
tus Loriel. Alleluia.

The Lord is nigh unto all
them that call upon him: to
oll that call upon him in
truth.
V. My mouth shall speak
the praiso of the Lord: and
lot all flosh bloss his holy
name.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Come, O Lord, and
delay not : release thy people
Tsracl from their sins. Allenia.

GOSPEL

Sequentia_sancti Evangelii Sequel of the
sccundum Lucam.
according
Cap. iii.
Ch.
Anno quintodecimo imperii
Now in the
Tiberii _Casaris, procurante of the reign

holy Gospel
to Luke.
iii.
fifteenth year
of Tiberius
Pontio Pilato Judwam, tetrar- Csar, Pontius Pilate being
cha autem Galilem Herode, governor of Judea, and

FOURTH

SUNDAY

239

OF ADVENT

Philippo autem fratre cjus Herod tetrorch of Galilee,
tetrarcha Iturce, et Tra- and Philip his brother techonitidis regionis, et Lysania trarch of Iturea and the
Abilinz tetrarcha, sub prin-

country of Trachonitis,

and

cipibus sacerdotam Anna et Lysanias tetrarch of Abilina,
Caipha: factum est verbum under the high priests Annas
Domini_super Joonnem Za- and Caiphas, the word of the
charie filium in deserto.

Et

Lord came to John, the son

venit in omncm regioncm of Zachary, in the desort.
Jordanis, pradicans baptis- And he came into all the
mum penitentim in remis- country about the Jordan,
peceatorum ; sicut preaching the baptism of
sionem
scriptum st in libro ser- pénance for the remission of
monum Isaie propheta : Vox sins: as it was written in
clamantis in desorto: Parate
viam

Domini:

rectas

facite

the

book

of

the

words

of

Tsaias the prophet: A voico

semitas ejus: omnis vallis of one crying in the wilderimplebitur, ot omnis mons ness : Prepare ye the way of
et the Lord: make straight his
et collis humiliabitur:
crunt prave in dirccta, ot gf,ths: every valley shall bo
aspore ‘in_vies plenaa; ot led, and ~every mountain
videbit

Dei.

omnis

caro

salutare

and hill shall be brought
low: and the crooked shall
be made straight, and the

rough ways plain: and all
flesh shall see
of God.

the salvation

Thou art nigh, O Lord, for the inheritance of Thy
people has passed into the hands of the Gentiles, and
the land which Thou didst promise to Abraham is now
but a province of that vast empire, to which Thine
own is to succeed. The oracles of the prophets are

being rapidly fulfilled, each in its turn ; the predic-

tion of Jacob himself has been accomplished : the
sceptre is taken from Juda. Everything is ready for
Thy coming, O Jesus! Thus it is that Thou renewest the face of the earth; deign also, I beseech

Thee, to renew my heart, and give me courage duri
these last few hours of my preparation for receiving
Thee. I feel the need I have of withdrawing into
solitude, of receiving the baptism of penance, of

making straight all my ways: O divine Saviour, let

ADVENT

240

all this be done in me, that so my joy may be full on

the day of Thy coming.
During the Offertory, the Church salutes the ever
glorious Virgin, in whose chaste womb is still con-.
cealed the Saviour of the world.

Give us, O Mary,

this God, who fills thee with Himself and His grace.

The Lord is with thee, O incomparable Mother ! but

the happy hour is rapidly advancing when He will
also be with us ; for His name is Emmanuel.
OFFERTORY

Avo, Maria, gratia plena:
Hail, Mary, full of
graco:
Dominus _tecum : benodicta tho Lord s with thoo:
tu in mulieribus, et bonedi- Blessed art thou among
ctus fructus ventris tui.
women, and blessed is the
fruit of thy womb.
SECRET

Hear us, O Lord, we
Sacrificiis_presentibus,
quasumus, Domine, placatus bescech theo, and _ boing
intendo: ut ot devotioni appeased by theso offerings,
nostra proficiant, et saluti. 5rant they ay increase our
Per Dominum.
ovotion, and_ advance our
salvation. Through, &o.
The other Secrets as on the first Sunday, page 132.
During

the Communion,

the Church,

now

filled

with the God who has just come into her, borrows
the words of Isaias, wherewith to celebrate the praise

of the Virgin Mother.

The same words apply also to

the Church herself, since that same God, who made

Mary His tabernacle, has this instant visited her.
COMMUNION

Eoco Virgo concipiot, ot
Behold a Virgin shall conpariet filium: et vocabitur ceive, and bear & Son: and
nomen ojus Emmanuel.
his name shall bo callod
Emmanucl.

FOURTH

SUNDAY

OF ADVENT

241

POSTCOMMUNION

Sumptis muneribus, quaHaving roccived what has
sumus, Domine : ut cum fre- been offered to thee, O Lord,
quentationo mysterii crescat grant, wo beseech thee, that
nostre salutis effcctus. Per the more frequently we partake of theso sacrod mysterics,
Dominum.
the more our devotion may
increase. Through, &o.
The other Postcommunions as on the first Sunday,

page 134.

VESPERS
(If this Sunday be Christmas Eve, the following
antiphons are not sung, as the Vespers are of Christmas,
which are given in the next volume.)

: ecco
salvandum nos, alleluia, alleluia.
2. Ant.

Ecce

venict

desi-

deratus cunctis Gentibus: et

replebitur gloria domus Domuni, alleluia.
3. Axt. Erunt prava in
directa, et aspera in vias pla-

nas: veni, Domine, et noli
tardare, allcluia,
4. ANT. Dominus veniet,
occurrite illi, dicentes: Ma-

gnum principium, ot regni
cjus non orit finis; Dous,
Fortis, Dominator, Princeps
pacis, alleluia, alleluia.
5. ANT.

Omnipotens sermo

tuus, Domine, & _regalibus
sedibus voniet, alloluia.

1. Axr. Sound the trumpet in Sion, for the day of
the Lord is nigh: Behold he
will como to save us, alleluis, alleluia.
5. Axt. Lo! the Desired
of all nations will come : and
tho house of the Lord shall
be filled with glory, alleluia.
3. Axr. The crooked ways
shall be mado straight, and
the rough smooth : come, O
Lord, and delay not, alleluia.
4. ANT. The
Lord will come,
g0, meet him and say : Great
is his cmpire, and his reign
shall have no end ; ho is God,
tho Mighty, the Ruler, and
Prince of peace, alloluin,
alleluia.
5, Axn. Thy almighty word,
0 Lord, shall come from thy
royal throne, alleluia.
16

242

ADVENT
CAPITULUM

Fratres, sio nos existimet
Brethren, let 8 man so achomo ut ministros Christi, count of us as of the ministers
et dispensatores mysterioram of Christ, and the dispensers
Dei. Hio jem queritur in- of the mysteries of God;
ter disponsatores ut fidelis here now it is required
quis inveniatur.
amongst the dispensers, that
a man

be found faithful.

The hymn Creator alme siderum, the verse Rorate
and the canticle Magnificat, are given on pages 107
and 109.
The Great Antiphon which is marked for the day
of December on whwh this Sunday falls, is sung at the
Magnificat. The Great Antiphons are given in the
proper of the saints (pages 483-504).

OREMUS
LET US PRAY
Excita, quesumus, DoExert, wo beseech thee, O
mine, potentiam tuam, et Lord, thy power and come,
veni, ot magna nobis virtute and succour us by thy great
sucourre: ut per suxilium might : that by the assistance
gratim tus quod nostra pec- of thy grace, thy indulgent
cata prepediunt, indulgentia mercy may hasten what is
tum propitiationis acceleret. delayed by our sins; who
Qui vivis et regnas.
livest and reignest, &o.

FOURTH

MONDAY

OF ADVENT

243

MONDAY
OF THE FOURTH WEEK
Prope

est jam

venite adoremus.

Dominus:

De Issia Propheta.
Cap. xli.

Et tu Israél, serve meus,

OF ADVENT

The Lord s now nigh:
come, let us adore.
From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xli.

But thou, Israel, art my

Jacob quem elegi, semen servant, Jacob whom I have
‘Abraham amici mei; in quo chosen, the seed of Abraham
apprehendi te ab extremis :{ friend ; in whom I have
terrm, et » longinguis ejus
en thee from the ends of
vocavi te, et dixi tibi: Ser- the earth, and from the revus meus es tu, elegi te, et mote parts thereof have called
non abjeci te. Ne timeas, thee, and said to thee: Thou
uia ego tecum sum: ne art my servant, I have chosen
leclines, quia ego Deus tuus : thee, and have not cast thee
confortavi te, et auxiliatus away. Fear not, for I am
sum tibi, et l\uues'c te dex- with thee; tum not_aside,
tera Justi mei.
con- for I am thy God: I have
erubescent s
fundentur
et
ened thee, and have
theo, and the right
omnes qui pugnant adver- helped
sum te : erunt quasi non sint, hand of my just One hath
Behold all that
et peribunt viri qui contra- upheld thee.
ageinst thee shall bo
dicunt tibi. Queres eos, et fight
non invenies, viros rebelles confounded and ashamed :
tuos ; erunt quasi non sint, they shall be as nothing, and
perish that
et veluti consumptio homines the men shall
ainst thee.
bellantes adversum te: quia strive
Thou
ego Dominus Deus tuus ap- shalt seck them, and shalt
rehendens manum
tuam, not find the men that resist
icensque tibi: Ne timeas, thee : they shall be as nothing,
ego adjuvi te. Noli timere, and as a thing consumed the
vermis

Jacob,

qui

mortui

men _that war against thee:

for I am the Lord thy God,
who take thee by the hand,
redemptor tuus
Sanctus and say to thee: Fear not, I
Isracl. Ego posui te quasi have helped thee. Fear not,
lsustrum triturans novum, thou worm of Jacob, you that
abens rostrs serrantia: tri- aro dead of Isracl: I have
estis ex Israel :
sum tibi, dicit

ego auxiliatus
Dominus, et

244

ADVENT

turabis montes, et comminues, et colles quasi pulverem
pones. Ventilabis cos, et
ventus tollet, et turbo di©0s : ot tu cxsultabis
sperget
in Domino, in Sancto Israel
lmtaberis.

helped

thee, saith the Lord,

and thy Redeemer, the holy
One of Isracl. I have mado
theo as & new thrashing wain
with teeth like a saw: thou
shalt_thrash the mountains,

and break them in piccos:
and shalt make the hills ss
chaff. Thou shalt fon them,
and the wind shall oar
them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them : and
thou shalt rejoice in the Lord,
in the holy Ono of Lsrasl thou
shalt be joyful.

It is thus Thou raisest us up from our abject lowli-

ness, O eternal Son of the Father!

It is thus Thou

consolest us under the fear we so justly feel by reason
of our sins. Thou sayest to us : Israel, my servant/
Jacob, whom I have chosen ! seed of Abraham, in whom

I have called thee from the remote parts of the earth !
fear not, for I am wnth thee.

But, O divine Word,

how low Thou hast had to come, that Thou mightest

be thus with us!

We could never have come to

Thee, for between us and Thee there was fixed an
immense chaos.
Nay, we had not so much as the
desire to see Thee, so dull of heart had sin made us:
and had we desired it, our eyes could never have

borne the splendour of Thy majesty. Then it was,
that Thou ('Edsb descend to us in person, yet so that
our weakness could look fixedly upon Thee, because
veiled under the cloud of Thy Humanity.
¢Who
could doubt,’ says St. Bernard,* ‘ of there being some

gmat cause pending, seeing that so great a Majesty
eigned to come

down, from so far off, into so un-

worthy a place ? Oh yes, there is some great thing
at stake, for the mercy is great, and the oom-

miseration is extreme,

and the charity is abundant.

And why, think you, did He come ?

1 First sermon of Advent.

He came from

FOURTH

245

OF ADVENT

MONDAY

the mountain to seek the hundredth sheep that was
lost. O wonderful condescension, & God seeking!
O
wonderful worth of man, that he should be sought by

God!

If man should therefore boast, he is surely

not unwise ; for he boasts not for aught that he sees

in himself as of himself, but for his very Maker
making such account of him. All the riches and all
the glory of the world, and all that men covet in it,
all is less than his glory, nay, is nothing, when com-

pared to it.

What is man,

O Lord,

that Thou

shouldst magnify him ? or why dost Thou set Thy
Heart upon him ?”*
Delay not, then, good Shepherd !
show Thyself to Thy sheep. Thou knowest them ;
not only hast Thou

seen

them from heaven,

Thou

also lookest on them with love, from the womb of
Mary where Thou still art concealed. They also wish
to know Thee ; they are impatient to behold Thy
divine features, to hear Thy voice and to follow Thee
to the pastures that Thou hast promised them.
HYMN

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(Composed by St. Ambrose. It is in the Ambrosian breviary
for the sizth Sunday of Advent)
Mysterium Ecclesiz,
It is s mystery of tho
Hymnum Christo referimus, ~ Church, it is & hymn that
Quem genuit Puerpera
we sing to Christ, the Word
Verbum Patris in filio.
of tho Father, becomo the
Son of a Virgin.
Sola in sexu femina
Among women, thou slone,
Electa es in smoulo :
O Mary ! wast chosen in this
Et meruisti Dominum
world, and wast mede worth
Sanoto portare in utero.
to sarry in thy holy womh
him who is thy Lord.
Mysterium hoo mognum
This is a great mystery,
est;
that is given to Mary: that
Mari® quod concessum est,
she should seo the God, who
Ut Deum per quem omnia
created all things, become
her own Child 1
Ex se videret prodire.
1 Job vii. 17.

246

ADVENT

Vere gratis plena es,
Et glorioss permanes,
Quia ex te natus est Christus
Per quem facta sunt omnia.
Rogemus ergo, populi,
Dei Matrem et Virginem,
Ut ipsa nobis impetret,
Pacem et indulgentiam.
Gloria tibi, Domine,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et sancto Spiritu,
In sempiterna swcula.
Amen.
PRAYER

FROM

THE

How truly art thou full of

grace, ever glorious Virgin !
for of thee is born the Chriat,

by whom all things were
made.
Come then, T2, B0 le, let
us pray to the Virgin Mother
of God, that she would obtain for us peace and indulgent mercy.
Glory be to thee, O Lord,
who wast born of the Virgin |
and to the Father and the
Holy Ghost, for everlasting
ages.
Amen.
AMBROSIAN

MISSAL

(In the Mass of the fifth Sunday of Advent)
Deus, qui hominem dela0 God, who, seeing man
psum in mortem conspiciens, fallen @ prey to death, didst
unigeniti Filii tui adventu resolve to redeem him by the
redimere voluisti; prasta, coming of thine only-begotquesumus, ut, qui ejus glo- ten Son; grant, we beseech
riosam Incarnationem faten- thee, that they who confess
tur, ipsius etiam Redemptoris his glorioun Resurrection,
consortia mereantur. ~ Qui may deserve to be for ever
tecum vivit ct regnat in with their Redeemer. Who,
with thee, liveth and reigneth
smcula seculorum.
Amen.
for ever. Amen.

FOURTH

247

TUESDAY OF ADVENT

TUESDAY
OF THE FOURTH WEEK

Prope est jam Dominus:
venite, adoremus.
De Isaia Prophets.
Cap. xlil.
Ecoe

servus

meus,

Susci-

OF ADVENT

The Lord is now nigh;

come, letus adore.

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xlii.
Behold my servant, I will
uphold him; my eleot, m;
soul delighteth in him; b
have given my spirit uj

piam eum, electus meus, complacuit sibi in illo anima
mea: dedi spiritum meum
super eum, judicium Gen- bim, he shall bring forth
Gentiles.
tibus proferef. Non clama- judgement to the
bit, neque accipiet personam, He shall not cry, nor have
to person, neither
neo audietur vox ejus foris. res,
Calamum quassatum non con-

teret, et linum fumigans non

exstinguet : in veritate educet
Non erit tristis,
judicium.
neque turbulentus, _donec
ponat in terra judicium:
et legem ejus insulm exspectabunt. Hao dicit Dominus
et

Deus

extendens

creans
eos:

ccelos,

firmans

terram, et qu germinant ex

shall his voice be heard
abroad.
The bruised reed
he shall not break, and the

smoking flax he shall not
quench: he shall bring forth
judgement unto truth. He
shall not be sad, nor trouble-

some, till he set judgement in

the earth: and the islands
shall wait for his law. Thus
saith the Lord God that

ea: dans flatum populo qui created the heavens, and
est super esm, et spiritum stretched them out: that
calcantibus eam. Ego Do- e:hb}l;ishai hflle earth, Am}
thingsthat spring outof
minus vocavi te in justitia, the
et approhendi manum tusm, it: nlm giveth ‘m-eae to the
e upon
it, and spirit to
et servavi te. Et dedi te in
feedus populi, in lucem Gen- Hhom that tread thereon. T
oculos the Lord have called thee in
ut aperires
tium:
cacorum, et educeres de con- justice, and taken thee by the
clusione vinctum, de domo hand, and preserved thee.
And T have given thee for &
carceris sedentes in tenebris.
covenant of the
people, for
a light ofhthe Gentiles : that
thou
mightest o
:fh theml;find, and

the
bring f%

o prisoner out of

prison,

and them that sit il.lPdll‘k~

ness out of the prison-house.

ADVENT

248

How sweet and peaceful is Thy entrance into this
world, O Jesus! Thy voice is not heard giving its

commands ; and Thy hands, the hands of a yet unborn
Babe, seem too weak to break the reed, so frail, that

a breath would break it. What is it Thou hast come
to do in this first coming? Thy heavenly Father
tells us by the prophet. Thou art coming that Thou
mayst be the pledge of a covenant between heaven
and earth. O divine Infant! Son of God, and yet
Son of man, blessed be Thy coming among us! Thy

crib will be the ark which will save us; and when
Thou walkest on our earth, it will be to give us light,
and set us free from our prison-house of darkness.
It is just, therefore, that we should rise and meet
Thee on Thy approach, seeing that Thou hast come
all this way to us. “If the sick man cannot go out
some distance to meet so great a Physician,” says
St. Bernard, * let him, at least, make an effort to raise

his head and turn towards Him as He enters. It is
not required of thee, O man! to pass the seas, or
ascend the clouds, or cross the Alps. The way that
is shown unto thee is not a long one; go as far as
thine own self, and there meet thy God : for the word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart.!

Meet Him at least at thy heart’s compunction, and
thy mouth’s confession, that thou mayst at least go
out of the filth of thy guilty conscience, for into that
thou surely never wouldst make the author of purity
Glory, then, be to Thee, O Jesus, for
enter 2
sparing the broken reed, that so it may regain its

verdure and strength on the banks of the stream of

Glory be to Thee, for
which Thou art the source!
having checked the breath of Thy almighty justice,
and so cherishing the last spark left in the smoking
flax, that it mxghc burn up again, and give light at the

Bridegroom’s feast.
1 Rom. x. 8

3 First sermon for Adveat.

249

FOURTH TUESDAY OF ADVENT

AYMN IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
(Coinposed by St. Peter Damian)

May all carth and heaven

Terrena cuncta jubilent,
Astra laudibus intonent,
Virginis onte thalamum,

be glad and resound with the

Laudes alternent dramatum.

Heo Virgo Verbo gravida,
Fit paradisi janus ;
Que Deum mundo reddidit,
Caelum nobis aperuit.
Felix ista Puerpers,
Eve lege liberrima,
Coneepit sine masculo,
Peperit absque gemitu.

Jesus conceived him without
humiliation, and bore him

without o moan;

Qui natus cs ex Virgine ;
8it honor ineffabilis
Patri, sanctoquo Flamini.

a

the law put on Eve.
O that rich treasury of
Mary’s womb! it held the
price which purchased our
redemption, setting us frec
from the yoko of our debt.

The Son of the eternal
Father dwelt within her ; the

Holy Ghost overshadowed
her; what is such a Virgin's

womb
but
heaven ?

a

new-made

To thee, Most High, who
wast born of the Virgin, be
praise | Honour ineffable be
to the Father, and to the Holy
Spirit.
Amen.

Amen.
PRAYER

such

Mother could not be under

Dives Marie gremium !
Mundi gestavit pretium,
Quo glorismur redimi
Soluti jugo debiti.
Quam Patris implet Filius,
Sanctus obumbrat Spiritus
Ceelum fiunt castissima
Sacr puell viscera.
Sit tibi laus, Altissime,

praises which, in this double
choir, are sung to the maternity of the Virgin.
Yea, this
Virgin, Mother
of the Word, is made the
gate of heaven; she gave
God to the world, and, by
this, opened heaven to us.
This happy Mother of

FROM

THE

GALLICAN

SACRAMENTARY

(In Adventu Domini, Oratio post Prophetiam)
Opifex lucis alme, plebis
Benign
Creator
of the
visitator immerite, qui illa light, visiting an unworthy
prophetalium v iniorum people ! the oracles of the
oraculs, que swculis fuerunt prophetio prediotions, which

250

ADVENT

nuntiats, beati Joannis ore
exples, opere perficis, professione_peragis; concede
plebi
supplici
sine formidine
famulari ; ut per viscera misericordim _repleti scientia,
veritate dirigi mereamur.

were announced in the past

ages, thou didst fulfil by the
mouth of John, thou didst

perfect by his works, thou
didst accomplish by his mission. Grant to thy people,
making supplication to thee,
to serso thoe without fesr
that, through

the bowels of

thy mercy, we, being filled
with knowledge, may deserve
to be directed by truth.

WEDNESDAY
OF THE

FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT

Prope est jam Dominus :
venite, adoremus.
De Issia Propheta.
Cap. li.
Audite me, qui sequimini
uod justum est, et queeritis
ominum : sttendite ad petram unde excisi estis, et ad
cavernam laci, de qua preecisi
estis.
Attendite
ad
Abraham patrem vestrum,
et ad Saram, que peperit
vos : quis unum vocavi eum,
et benedixi i, et multiplicavi
eum. Consolabitur ergo Dominus Sion, et_consolabitur
omnes ruinas ejus, et ponet
desertum ejus quasi deliciss,
et solitudinem ejus
quasi
bortum Domini. ~Gaudium
et lmtitia invenietur in es,
tiarum actio, et vox laudis.
ttendite ad me, popule
meus, et tribus mea, me
sudite: quis lox a me exiot,
et judicium meum in lucem

populorum requiescet. Prope

Tho Lord is now nigh:

come, let us adore.

From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. i

Give ear to me, you that
follow that which is just, and
ou

ook

that

unto

seek
the

the

Lord:

rock whence

you are hewn, and to the hole

of the pit from which you
sro dug out. Look unto
Abraham your father and to

Sara that bore you; for T
called him alone, and blessed

him,

snd

multiplied him.

The Lord therefore will comfort Sion, and will comfort
all the ruins thereof, and he
will make her desert as a

place of pleasure, and her
wilderness as the garden of
the Lord. Joy and gladness

shall

be

thanksgiving

of praise.

me, O my

found

therein,

and the voice

Hearken

unto

people, and give

ear to me, O my tribes: for

FOURTH

WEDNESDAY

est Justus meus, egressus est
Salvator meus, et brachia

mea populos judicabunt : me
insul expectabunt, et brachium meum sustinebunt.
Levate

in

ccelum

oculos

OF ADVENT

251

8 law shall go forth from me,

and my judgement shall rest

to be a light of the nations.
My just Ono is near at hand,
my "Saviour is gone_ forth,
and my arms shall judge the

vestros, et videte sub terra people: the islands _shall
deorsum: quia ceeli sicut look for me, and shall
fumus liquescent, et terra
tiently wait for my srm.
ift up your eyes to heaven,
sicut vestimentum atteretur,
et habitatores ejus sicut hazo and look down to the earth
beneath: for the heavens
interibunt : salus autem mea
in sempiternum erit, et ju- shall vanish like smoke, and
the earth shall be worn away
stitia mea non deficiet.

like & garment, and the inhabitants thereof shall perish
in like menner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and
my justico shall not fail.

0 Jesus,

Thou Flower of the field, Thou Lily of the

valley, Thy visit is to change our barren parched
earth into a garden of delights! We had lost Eden
and all its lovely magnificence, by our sins ; and lo !
Eden is restored to us ; Thou art coming, that Thou

mayst set it in our hearts.

O heavenly plant, tree

of life, transplanted from heaven to earth, Thou first
takest root in Mary, that fruitful soil ; and thence
Thou wilt come to us, and we must be to Thee a

grateful land, cherishing the divine seed and making
1t fructify.

didst
dener.
being
break,
hearts
them
of all
for a

Let it be so, O divine Husbandman ! who

appear to Magdalene under the form of a garThou knowest how far are our hearts from
ready for Thy working in them. Move, and
and water this land ; the season is come ; our
long to be fertile, and to have
growing within
that exquisite Flower which mfls the besuty
heaven, and comes down to hide its splendour
time here below. O Jesus! let our souls be

fertile ; let them be crowned with the flowers of
virtue ; let them become flowers growing around

252

ADVENT

Thee, O divine Flower, and forming to the hcavenly

Father a garden, which He may unite with that
which He formed from all eternity. O Flower of

heaven, Jesus!
Thou

Thou art also the Dew, refresh us;

art the Sun, warm us ; Thou art the fragrant

Perfume, impart to us Thy sweetness ; Thou art the
sovereign Beauty, give us of Thy fair and ruddy
bloom, and make us cluster round Thee in eternity.
as a crown Thou hast wreathed to Thyself.
HYMN

OF PREPARATION

FOR CHRISTMAS

(Composed by St. Ambrose. It is in the Ambrosian breviary
for first Vespers of Christmas, and in the ancient RomanFrench breviaries)

Veni, Rodemptor gentium,
Ostende partum Virginis ;
Miretur omne szculum,
Talis deoet partus Deum.

Non ox virili semino,
Sed mystico spiramine,
Verbum Doi factum cst caro
Fructusque ventris floruit.
Alvus tumescit Virginis,
Claustra pudoris permanent,
Voxilla virtutum micant,
Vorsatur in tomplo Deus.
Procedit o thalamo suo,
Pudoris aula regia,
Gemine gigas substantie,
Alscris ut currat viam.

us ejus a Patre,
Regressus jus ad Patrom ;
Excursus usque ad inferos,
Rooursus ad sedem Dei.

Come, O Redeomer of
mankind ! reveal to us the
Virgin's delivery : let all ages
bo in admiration: for what
other birth would have been
worthy of God 7
Not of man, but_of the
Holy Ghost, was tho Word of
God made flesh, and the fruit
of the womb ripened.
Tho Virgin has become
Mother, and yot the Mother
is still's Virgin. It is the
banner of omnipotence which
bero shines; God has come
into his temple.
He comes forth from the
royal palace of virginity, as
from his bride-chamber, that
ho may exultingly run_ the
way, 83 & giant, who is both
God ‘and Man.
He comes forth from the
Father; ho returns to the
Father; he descends into
hell; he asoends to the
throofno
God.

FOURTHI

WEDNESDAY

253

OF ADVENT

Coequal Son of the eternal
Tather, gird thee with tho
Carnis trophzo cingere ;
Infirma nostri corporis
trophy of tho flesh ; strengthening the weaknesscs of our
Virtute firmans perpeti.
flesh by thy unfailing power.
Thy crib is already rePrasope jam fulget tuum,
Lumenque nox spirat novum, splendent, and the night
breathes forth & new light,
Quod nulls nox intorpolet,
the light of faith; let no
Fideque jugi luceat.
ZAqualis 2terno Patri,

night

Gloria tibi, Domine,

Qui natus es de Virgine,

Cum Patre et sancto Spiritu,

In sempiterna sxcula.

interrupt

it,

let

its

and

tho

brightness be incessant.
Glory be to thee, O Lord,
who wast born of the Virgin !
and

to the Father

Holy Ghost, for evorlasting
agos.
Amen.

Amen.
PRAYER

FROM

THE

MOZARABIC

(Second Sunday of Advent)

MISSAL

Domine Deus omnipotens,
qui pro humani generis
demptione cozternum ti
comqualemque
Filium angeli annuntiatione per Marim Virginis uterum usque

Lord God omnipotent !
who, for the redemption of
the human race, didst deign

sum fidoi socios numerandos,

and number us among those

to send even unto us, by the

mossage of an angel and by
the Virgin Mary’s womb, thy
ad nos voluisti transmittero ; coeternal and coequal Son;
ds nobis hoc tempore ad- grant us, in this timo of the
ventus tui Unigeniti eamdem advent of thy only Son, that
pacis gratism, quam in pree- same grace of peace Which
terits largiri dignatus es thou hast mercifully beswcul, et illi nos in occur- stowed upon the past agos,
uos in fidei primordia & who, at the first beginning
oanne
peenitenti® undis of the faith, were acceptable
aquarum sblutos, a te pos- to him by ombracing tho
tremo per Filium in Spiritu faith ; and who, being washed
sancto et igni cognoscimus in the water of penance by
baptizatos.
John, wero afterwards baptized by thee, through thy
m, inthe Holy Ghost and

ADVENT

254

THURSDAY
OF THE FOURTH

Prope est jam Dominus:

venite, adoremus.

De Isaia Propheta.
Cap. Ixiv.

Utinam diramperes ccelos,

ot descenderes; a facie tua
sicut
defluerent;
montes

exustio _ignis _tabescerent :
aquo arderent igni, ut notum
fieret nomen tuum inimicis
tuis; a facie tua Gentes turbarentur.
Quum
feceris
mirabilia, non sustinebimus :
descendisti, et a facie tua
montes defluxerunt.
A s®culo non audierunt, ns‘flue

WEEK OF ADVENT

The Lord js now nigh;
come, let us adore.
From the Prophet Isaiss.
Ch. Ixiv.

O that thou wouldst rend
the heavens, and wouldst

come down ; the mountains
preswould melt away at thy
ence; they would melt as
at the burning of fire; the
waters would burn with fire ;
that thy name might be
made known to thy enemies :
that the nations might
tremble at thy presence.
When thou shalt do wonderful things, we shall not bear
them : thou didst come down,

auribus_perceperunt: oculus
non vidit, Deus, absque te,
qua praparasti exspectanti. and

at thy presence the
mountsins
melted
away.
bus te. Occurristi lotan
et facienti justitiam : in viis From the beginning of the
tuis recordabuntur tui: ecce world they have not heard,
tu iratus es, et peccavimus ; nor perceived with the ears :
in ipsis fuimus semper, et the eye hath not seen, O
thee,
what
salvabimur.
Et facti sumus God, " besides
thou hast pi
ut immundus omnes nos, et things
quasi pannus
menstruate for them that wait for thee.
univers® justitie nostre: et Thou hast met him that rececidimus quasi folium uni- joiceth, and doth justice: in
versi, et iniquitates nostrm thy ways they shall rememuasi ventus abstulerunt nos. ber thee: behold thou art
fon est qui invocet momert angry, and we have sinned ;
tuum; qui consurgat, et in them we have been alwaye,
teneat te : abscondisti faciem
tuam a nobis, et allisisti nos

snd we shall be saved. And
we are all become as one

in manu iniquitatis nostre. unclean, and all our justices
Et nuno, Domine, Pater no- as the rag of a menstruous
ster es tu, nos vero lutum : et woman: and we have all

FOURTH THURSDAY

fictor noster tu, et opera
Mmanuum tuarum omnes nos.
Ne irascaris, Domine, satis,
et ne ultra memineris iniquitatis nostra : ecce, respice,
pulus tuus omnes nos.
ivitas sancti tui facts est
deserta, Sion deserta facta est,
Jerusalem desolata est. Domus_sanctificationis nostre,
et glorie nostre, ubi lauda:
verunt te patres nostri, facta
est in cxustionem ignis: et
omnia desiderabilia nostra
versa sunt
in ruines.

OF ADVENT

255

fallen_as a leaf, and our
iniquities, like the wind, have
taken us away. There is
none that calleth upon thy
name, that riscth up snd
taketh hold of thee: thou
hast hid thy faco from us,
and hast crushed us in the
hand of our iniquity. And
now, O Lord, thou art our
Father, and we are clay:
and thou art our maker, and
e all are the works of thy
ands.

Be

not

ve

0 Lord, and remeaberno

longer our inilfuit

3

: behold,

see, we are all thy people.

The city of thy sanctuary is

become a desert, Sion is
made a desert, Jerusalem is
desolate. The house of our
holiness, and of our glory,

where

our

fathers

praised

thee, is burnt with fire, and

all our lovely things are
turned into ruins.

0 God of our fathers ! delay not, but show Thyself
unto us. The city which Thou lovest is desolate ;
come and raise up Jerusalem ; avenge the glory of
her temple. This was the cry of the prophet ; Thou
hast heard it, and hast come to deliver Sion from her
captivity, giving her a new era of glory and holiness.
Thou hast come, not to destroy but to fulfil the law ;
and, by Thy visit, Sion has been changed into the
Church, Thy bride. But why, O Thou her beloved
Saviour ! why hast Thou turned away Thy face ?
Why is this Church of Thy love left in the wilderness,
weeping like Jeremias over the ruins of the sanctuary, and as Rachel over her children that had been
taken from her ¢ Why has her inheritance been
delivered to the stranger ? By Thy power, she had
become the mother of countless children ; she had

ADVENT

256

nourished them ; she had taught them, in Thy name,
the things that pertain to the present and the future
life ; and these ungrateful children have turned against

her. She has been driven from nation to nation,
bearing away with her the heavenly treasure of
faith ; her mysteries have ceased to be celebrated
where once they were the glory and happiness of the

people ; and from Thy throne above, O divine Word,

Creator of the universe, Thou scest everywhere,
throughout the earth, altars overturned and temples

profaned.

Oh!

come,

then,

smouldering fire of faith.
Remember Thy apostles and

and

rekindle

the

Thy

martyrs;

re-

member Thy saints who have founded Churches, and

honoured them by their virtues and miracles ; remem-

ber Thy bride the Church, and support her during

her earthly pilgrimage, until the number of Thy elect
is filled up. She longs to possess Thee in the eternal
light of the vision ; but Thou hast given her a heart
with such mother’s love, that she will not leave her

children as long as there is one to save, nor cease to

save until that day come when there shall no more be
a militant Church, but the one sole triumphant

Church, inebriated with the enjoyment of the sight
and embraces of her God.
yet come,

O Jesus!

But that last day has not

there is yet time for Thee

to

descend from heaven and visit Thy vineyard. Restore to the branches of the tree the leaves which have
fallen in the storm of iniquity. Let this tree of Thy

predilection bud forth new branches ; and the old ones,

which have separated from it, and have seemed to
force Thy justice to cast them in the fire, let them be
once more grafted on the parent trunk, so torn by
their rupture from her.
Come, O Jesus, for the sake
of Thy Church ; she is dearer to Thee than was the

Jerusalem of old.

FOURTH THURSDAY

OF ADVENT

257

HYMN TAKEN FROM THE ANTHOLOGY OF THE GREEKS

(December 21)
Thy womb, O Mother of
Acervus arem uterus tuus, Dei Mater, dignoscitur ; God, is the heap of wheat of
spicam inexcultam, omnem the Canticlo;
carrying, in an
sensum superantem, Ver- ineffable manner, ‘the ear of
bum ferens ineffabiliter, quod com, which, like no other,
in spolunca Bethlchem parics, grew without being sown ;
eum qui omnem cresturam thy Child is the Word, and
divina agnitiono aliturus est thou wilt give him birth in
in charitate, ot & fame lethi- Bethlchem's cavo: ho it is
fera humanum genus libera- will lovingl
every
creaturus.
turo with: tho knowledgs of
God, and freo the human race
from deadly hunger.
Whenoe ~comest thou, O
Innupte Virgo, unde venis?
Quis te genuit ! Quam pure Virgin 7 Thy father and
mater tua ? Quomodo Crea‘mother, who aro they ? How
torem fers in brachiis 7 Quo- dost_thou carry thy Crestor
modo non corrupts fuisti in thy arms ? Mother, and
utero ? Magnas
in te gratias, yet s Virgin! Theso are
in torra stupenda adimpleta great graces, and stupendous
cernimus_mysteria, o omni- mysteries, which have been
rancta. Prout deoet spelun- done in thee, all-holy creacom adornamus, fil s oclo ture} We adorn the cave as
petimus sidus;
Magi pro- it behoves us, and we look
grodiunitur ab_oriente orbis for the star in the heavens :
ad usque occidentem, salu- the Magi are coming from the
tem visuri mortalium, tuis in east to our western world, to
brachiis siout facom praelu- 560 tho Saviourof men shini
in thy arms as a bright torch,
oentem.
Lucidum Magistri _palaO Mary! foir palace of
tium, quomodo venis in our Master, how is it thou
exiguissimam
speluncam, comest into 80 poor a cave,
Regem paritura Dominum, thero to give birth to the
omnisancta, Virgo Dei spon- King our Lord, O all-holy
sa.
Virgin, bride of God 1
Eva quidem per inoboEve, indeed, by the crime
dientize nocumcntum
exseof disobedicnco ~brought a
crationem subintroduxit; tu curse into the world: but
autem, Virgo Dei Mater, per thou, Virgin-Mother of God,
tum gestationis germinatio- by the flower thou bearest,
nom mundo florere fecisti hast made blessing bloom in
17

ADVENT

258

benedictionem ; unde omnes

te magnificamus.
Ne contristeris, Joseph,
meum intuens_uterum; videbis enim qui ex me nasciturus est_atque gaudebis,
cumque sicut Deum adorabis, aicbat Dei Mater suo
sponso, dum Christum paritura veniret. Illam commemoremus dicentes: Gaudc, gratia plena, Dominus
tecum, et per te nobiscum.

PRAYER

FROM

THE

the

world ; thercfore

do

we

all magnify thee.
The Mother of God, when
the birth of Christ was near,
spoke thus to her spouse:
Be not sad, Joscph, finding
that I am Mother;
shalt sce him who

for thou
is to be

bomn of me, and thou shalt
rejoice and adore him as thy
God.

't us

commemorate

this divine Mother, saying :
Be glad, O full of grace!
the Lord is with thee, and
with us by thee.
AMBROSIAN

MISSAL

(In the Mass of the first Sunday of Advent)

Deus, qui Unigenito tuo
novam creaturam nos tibi
case fecisti, respice propitius
in opera misericordiz tu,
et in ejus adventu ab om:
nibus nos maculis vetustatis
emunda. Per eumdem Chri
stum
Dominum
nostrum.
Amen.

0 God, who, by thine only-

begotten Son, hast made us
to be a new creature unto
thyself, mercifully look on
the works which thy mercy
has produced, and cleansc us,
in the coming

of thy

Son,

from all the stains of our old
habits. Through the same
Jesus
Amen.

Christ

our

Lord.

FOURTH

FRIDAY OF ADVENT

259

FRIDAY
OF

THE

FOURTH

Propo est jam Dominus;
venite, adoremus.
De Isais Propheta.
Cap. Ixvi.
Audite verbum Domini,
ui tremitis ad verbum ejus.
ixerunt fratres vestri odientes vos, et abjicientes
propter nomen meum: Glorificetur Dominus, et videbimus in Letitia vestra : ipsi
sutem confundentur. Vox
populi de civitate, vox de
templo, vox Domini_reddentis retributionem inimicis suis. Antequam parturiret, poperit; antequam veniret partus ejus, peperit
masculum.
Quis
audivit
unquam tale ?_Et quis vidit
huio simile ? Numquid parturiet torra in die una ? sut
parietur _gens simul, quia
parturivit et peperit Sion
filios suos?
Numquid ego
qui slios parerc facio, ipse
non pariam, dicit Dominus ?
Si ego, qui generationem
cwteris tribuo, _sterilis ero,
ait Dominus Deus taus?
Luetamini cum Jerusslem, et
exsultate in ea omnes qui
diligitis eam: gaudete cum
ca gaudio universi, qui lugotis super eam: ut sugatis
et repleamini ab ubere consolationis cjus: ut mulgeatis, ot deliciis affluatis ab

WEEK

OF

ADVENT

The Lord is now nigh;
come, let us adore.
From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. Ixvi.
Hear the word of the Lord,
gou that tremblo at his word.
our brethren that hate you,
and cast you out for my
name’s sake, have said : Let
the Lord be glorified, and
we shall see in your joy : but
they shall be confounded. A
voice of the people from the
city, & voice fFo ths tes le,
that
the voice of the Lord
rendercth recompense to his
enemies. Beforo she was in
Iabour, she brought forth;
before her timo came to be
delivered, she brought forth
o man-child. Who hath ever
heard such a thing ? And
who hath seen the like of
this 7 Shall the earth bring
forth in one day ? or shall a
nation be brought forth at
once, because Sion hath been
in labour, and hath brought
Shall
children?
forth her
not I that make others to

bring forth children, myself
bring forth, saith the Lord 1
Shall I, that give generation
to others, be barren, saith
the Lord thy God ? Rejoico
with Jerusalem, and be glad
with her, all you that lovo
her : rejoice fof joy with her,

ADVENT

260

omnimoda gloria cjus. Quia
bze dicit Dominus: Ecce
cgo declinabo super cam
quasi fuvium pacis, ot quasi
torrentem _inundsntem ~glorism Gentium, quam sugetis :

ad ubera

portabimineti,

_blandientur vobis.
enua
uomodo si cui mater blandiatur, ita ego consolabor vos,

super

et in Jerusalem consolabimini. Videbitis, et gaudobit

cor vestrum, ct ossa vestra

quasi herba germinabunt : et

cognoscetur

manus

Domini

servis_ejus, et indignabitur
inimicis suis. Quia_ ccce
Dominus in igne venict, et
quasi turbo_quadrige ejus:
reddere in indignatione furorem suum, et increpati
nem suam in flamma jgnis :
quia in igne Dominus dijudicabit: et in gladio suo ad
omnem carnem ; et multiplicabuntur interfecti & Domino.

all you that mourn for her:
that you may suck and bo
filled with the breasts of her
consolations : that you may
milk out and flow with delights, from the abundence of
her glory. For thus aith the
Lord: Behold I will bring
upon her as it were & river of
peace, and as sn overflowing
torrent the glory of the Gen:
tiles, which you shall suck :
you shall b¢ carricd at the
breasts and upon the knecs
they shall caress you. As
one whom the mother caressoth, o will I comfort you,
ond you shall be comforted
in Jerusalem. You shall sca
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your bones shall flourish
like an herb, and the hand of
the Lord shall be known to
his servants, and he shall be
angry with his enemics. For
behold the Lord will come
with fire, and his chariots are
like o whirlwind : to render
his wrath in indignation, and
his rebuke with flames of
fire : for the Lord shall judge
by fire: and by his sword
unto all flesh ; and the slain
of the Lord shall b many.

Thy. presence, O Jesus, will give fruitfulness to her
that was barren, and the despised Sion shall suddenly
bring forth a people which the world is too small to
hold.
But all the glory of this fruitfulness belongs to
Thee, O divine Word ! The psalmist had foretold it
when, speaking to Jerusalem as to a queen, he said to
her : “ Instead of thy fathers, sons are born to thee ;
thou shalt meke them princes over all the earth :
they shall remember thy name throughout all gene-

FOURTH

rations ; therefore

FRIDAY OF ADVENT

261

shall people praise thee for ever

and ever, yea for ever and ever.”*

But for thisend it

was necessary that God Himself should come down in
person. He alone could make a Virgin-Mother ; He

alone could raise up children to Abraham out of the
very stones. °Yet one little while,” as He says by
one of His prophets, ‘and I will move heaven and

earth, and I will move all nations.”>

And by another :

“ From the rising of the sun even to the going down,
My name is great among the Gentiles ; and in every
place there is sacrifice, and there is offcred to My
name

a clean oblation.®

There will soon

be, then,

but one sacrifice ; for the Lamb, who is to be offered

therein,

will be born a few hours hence ; and since

sacrifice is the bond of union among men, when there
shall be but one sacrifice there will be but one people.

Come then quickly, O Church of God, that art to
unite us all into one; come and be born into our

world.
And since for us thy children thou art
already born, may the Lamb, thy Spouse, pour out
upon thee the river of peace announced by the prophet :
may He open out upon thee the glory of the Gentiles,
as an overflowing torrent ; may the nations cluster
round thee as their common mother, and be filled
with the abundcnce of thy glory, with the breasts of thy
consolations ; and thou carry them on thy heart and
caress them in thy tender love. O Jesus! it is Thou

that hast inspired our mother with this wonderful

love ; it is Thou that consolest us, and enlightenest
us, by her. Come to her and visit her ; come, and, by

the new birth Thou art about to take among us,
renew her life within her. Give her, during this year

also, firmness of faith, the grace of the Sacraments,

the efficacy of prayer, the gift of miracles, the succession of her hierarchy, power of government, fortitude

against the princes of the world, love of the cross,
victory over satan, and the crown of martyrdom.

1 P, xliv.

2 Agg.ii. 7.8

3 Malach. i. 11.

ADVENT

262

During this new year make her, as ever, Thy beautiful
bride ; make her faithful to Thy love, and more than
ever successful in the great work Thou hast entrusted
to her ; for each year brings us nearer to the day when
Thou wilt come for the last time, not in the swathing
bands of infancy, but on a cloud with great majesty, to
render Thy rebuke with flames of fire, and destroy those
that have despised or have not loved Thy Church,
which Thou wilt then raise up and admit into Thy
eternal kingdom.
HYMN

OF

THE

BIRTH

OF

CHRIST

(Taken from the poet Prudentius. VIIL KAL. JANUARIAS)

Emerge, dulcis Pusio,
Quem Mater edit castitas,
Parens of expers conjugis,

Mediator, et duplex genus.
Ex ore quamlibet Patris
Sis ortus, et verbo editus,
Tamen paterno in pectore
Sophis callebas prius.

Come forth, sweet

Babe !

Child of chastity, Child of a

Virgin Mother! Come, O
thou, our Mediator, Man and
God.
Though thou didst come,
in time, from the mouth of
the most high Father, and
becamest incarate at the
angel’s word ; yet hadst thou,
0 eternal Wisdom, dwelt for
ever in the bosom of thy
Father.
This eternal Wisdom manifested itself when it made
heaven, light, and the other
creatures ; by the power of
the Word were all these made,

Quz prompta celum condidit,
Ceelum, diemque et caters,
Virtute Verbi effecta sunt
Hemo_cuncts: nam Verbum
Deus.
for the Word is God.
But having thus created
Sed ordinatis swculis,
the world, and fixed the laws
Rerumque digesto statu,
Fundator ipse et artifex
of the universe, this creator
and maker still left not his
Permansit in Patris sinu.
Donec rotata annalium

Trans volverentur millia,
Atque ipso peccantem diu

Dignatus orbem viseret.
am caca vis mortalium

Venerans inanes nwnias,

Father's bosom.
Until at length thousands
of years rolled on, and then
he deigned to visit the world
grown old in sin.
)
For man, blinded with
passion,

paid

adoration

to

FOURTH

FRIDAY

Vel ra, vel saxa algida,
Vel ligna credebat Deum.

263

OF ADVENT

empty vanities, and believed

that brass, or stiff blocks of

stone and wood, were God.
Abandoned
to
idolatry,

Hexe dum sequuntur, perthey became the slaves of
fidi
Pradonis in jus venerant,
the treacherous enemy, and
Et mancipatam fumido
plunged their enslaved souls
Vitam barathro immerscrant. into the dark abyss.
Stragemsed istam non tulit

Christus cadentum gentium
Tmpune ; ne forsan sui
Patris periret fabrica.

0 quanta rerum gaudia
Alvus pudica continet ;
Ex qua novellum seculum
Procedit et lux aurea.

PRAYER

FROM

com-

passionated this destruction

of his fallen creatures ; for it

was the ruin of his Father's

Mortale corpus induit,
Ut, excitato corpore,
Mortis catenam frangerct,
Hominemque portaret Patri.

Sentisne, Virgo nobilis,
Matura per fastidia,
Pudoris intactum decus
Honore partus crescere ?

But the Son of God

image.

He took to himself a mor-

tal body, that by the resurrection of that body he might

break the chain of death,
and raise up man to his
Father.
Thou

forebodest

his

suf-

ferings, O noble Virgin ! and
yet to give birth to this thy
Son is an honour which adds

fresh lustre to thy spotless
purity.
Oh that Virgin Mother,
what joy for the world does
she contain within her! A
new age, & golden light, will

come by her.
THE

GALLICAN

SACRAMENTARY

(In Adventu Domini, Contestatio)
Vere dignum et justum est,
It is truly meet and just
nos tibi hic et ubique semper that we should here and in ail
atias agere, omnipotens places ever give thee thanks,
us, per Christum
Domi- O almighty God, through
num nostrum, quem Joannes Christ our Lord, of whom
fidelis amicus, praccessit nas- John, the faithful friend, was
cendo, pracessit in desertis the precursor in birth, the preeremi pradicando, pracessit cursor in preaching in the
baptizando, vism quoque wilderness, the precursor in
praparans Judici ac Re- baptism, preparing thus the
lemptori.
Convocavit pec- way to the Judge and Recatores ad peenitentiam; et deemer. He called sinners to

264

ADVENT

pepulum Salvatori acquirens,
aptizavit in Jordano peccata
propria confitentes ; non hominis innovandi plenam cor
forens gratiam, sod piissi
Salvatoris admonens cxspectare prasentiam : non remittens ipse pecoata ad se venientibus, sed remissionem
catorum ad futurum policens esse credentibus: ut
descendentes in aquam peenitentiz ab illo sperarent remedium indulgenti, quem vennudiebant plenum
turum
dono_ veritatis et gratie,
Dominum nostrum Jesum
Christum.

repentance ; and purchasing
a people for the Saviour, he
baptized in the Jordan them
that confessed their sins. He
conferred not the full grace
which regenerates man, but
taught him to look for the
coming of the most merciful
Saviour. He remitted not
the sins of them that came
unto him, but he promised
the future remission of sins
to believers; that thus they
who went down into the
waters of penance, might
hope for & merciful cure and
forgiveness from him, who,
they were told, was to come
full of the gift of truth and
grace, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Vigil of Christmas 1s given below in the proper of
saints, December 24, p. 506.

PROPER OF THE SAINTS

PROPER

265

OF THE SAINTS

‘WE give the title of Proper of Saints to that portion
of our work which contains the feasts of saints, and

all such parts of the Advent proper Office as have a

fixed

day;

for example,

the great Antiphons,

the

Vigil of Christmas, &. This division into Proper of
the Time and Proper of Saints is that which is adopted
by the breviary and missal, and is familiar to all
those who frequent Divine Service.
Our readers will have observed in the Proper of the

Time of Advent, how intent the holy Church is on

preparing for the great feast of the Nativity of our

Lord; in the Proper of Saints, they will find her
celebrating, with all possible devotion, the feasts of
the friends of God, the saints, which come during that

time. Our separated brethren accuse the Catholic
Church of giving a place in the liturgy to the cultus

of the saints, which belongs to God alone.

They are

led to make this accusation, which involves a very
serious error, from having never considered, firstly,

that the homage paid to God in His saints redounds
to His glory who made them saints; and secondly,
that, at the same time that the Church honours the
suints by keeping their feasts, she pays to the sovereign and incommunicable majesty of God more acts

of religion, in one short week,

could possibly do in a whole year.

than

Protestantism

Let us, children of the Church, love and practise

devotion to the saints, and remember how God, who
demands our homage, requires us to pay that portion

266

ADVENT

of it which consists in honouring Him in those whom
He has crowned. Now, the first homage which we
ought to pay to God in His saints is, to study to
know

them.

One of the evils of our times is, that

the saints are not sufficiently
rationalism,

under

known.

the false name

Protestant

of criticism, has

done its utmost, during the last two hundred years, to

lessen the devotion of the faithful towards the saints ;

and one is often surprised and shocked to meet with
persons, otherwise well instructed, and attached to
the faith, who know little about the saints, and have

imbibed most uncatholic prejudices regarding them.
But, if we may judge from the interest with which
some very full and well-written lives have been recently received, these prejudices are fast disappearing,
and the time is come when hagiography will become
once more a serious study amongst our people, and
the ancient devotion to the saints will be revived.
To further this happy tendency, we have resolved
to imitate the Church herself, by giving the greatest
development, in these pages, to all that regards the
honour due to the saints. Firstly, the faithful must
be brought to know them. No method, it seemed to
us, could be more effectual to this end than the one

adopted by the Church.

She is most desirous that

her children should know the heroes of sanctity whom

God has given to her, and in whom, together with the
incomparable Mother of God and the holy angels, she
puts her greatest hope, after that which she places

1n her Saviour Jesus Christ, the King and Master and
Head of all the saints.
The faithful should, therefore, understand that the Church keeps an official

register of the actions, and maxims, and virtues of
the saints, who are her glory ; there she has chronicled,
through all these eighteen ] undred years, the wonders
which

God has wrought in them and by them, and

the blessings she has received through their intercession. This admirable history of the saints is

PROPER OF THE SAINTS

267

known under the name of the Legends of the Breviary ;
8 history which the Church is ever writing, for God
is ever adding to the number of His saints : a history
which the learned admire for its great beauty of
style, and in which the children of the Church find
that unction which has such power over the heart,

and which the Catholic Church alone can put into
human language. This is not the place to notice the
objections which some critics have made to certain
passages of some of the legends, of which they contest
the historical exactitude : besides, they are very few
and of little importance.
We therefore give, in this work, the Roman legends,
just as they are in the breviary. By this means, we
shall be giving a general idea of the life and actions
of the saints to those who are completely ignorant of
them. Even those who have grown familiar with
the lives of the saints by having read such as are in

general use, will sometimes find, in these legends of

the Church, a very different, if not contrary, apprecia-

tion of the conduct of the saints from that which has

been put upon it by modern writers. They will find
that, notwithstanding their brevity, the legends of
the breviary are often more complete and explicit
than some

of the lives they have read, which con-

sisted of twenty or more pa%;s. As to the doctrinal
and moral appreciations, which almost necessarily
accompany the written lives of the saints, a Catholic
should
remember that, when they come from the

Church, they have for their guarantee the authority
of God Himself.
After having received from the Church herself the
knowledge we ought to have of the saints, we ought
also to learn from her how we are to honour them.
For this reason, we shall first insert the prayers, which.
the usage of the Church consecrated to them in
ancient

times;

and

then,

posed at a later period.

those

which

were

com-

Our work will thus become

ADVENT

268

a complete manual of Catholic devotion to the saints,

giving, first, the formula used in the universal Church;

secondly, those which were composed during the first
and middle ages of the Latin Churches ; and thirdly,
those which were in use in the several Churches of
the east.
In order to give unity to these various liturgies,
we shall continue the method we adopted in the
Proper of the Time. A simple and concise commentary shall be given throughout the entire course of
our work,

explaining

the

several

intentions

of

the

Church in the prayers and usages, which we shall
have to give. But with regard to everything which

is strictly of the province of science and archzology,
we shall use a prudent reserve, as such details will
come better in a special treatise.
To derive solid advantages from the devotion we
pay to the saints in the various seasons of the year,
1t 13 important that we should not disjoin the honour
we give to them from that which we have to pay to

the mysteries of our redemption, which the Christian

year gradually brings before us, and which form the
basis of the Proper of the Time, throughout the entire
cycle. It will not be difficult to do this ; for if we
read over the Catholic calendar with an eye of faith,
we shall not fail to see the secret relation, which
unites the feasts of the saints with the various
mystical seasons, in which they, as it were, bloom.
A saint’s feast is, generally, kept on the very day of

his death ; in other words, on the day of his entrance
into heaven.
That infinite Wisdom, which has

revealed to us that not even a hair of our head shall
perish without our heavenly Father's will, may
surely be supposed to have selected a particular day
for each saint’s death, such as would be in keeping
with the supernatural harmony of the Church’s year.

It should, therefore, be our duty to study, during the

whole of the liturgical yesr, the relation which the

PROPER OF THE SAINTS

269

saints, whose feasts are being kept, have with the
season in which the Church celebrates their memory.
As the Office of the Church, in Advent,

does not

assign a saint’s feast for each day, we have thought
it advisable to fill up the vacant days by giving for
each day, from December 1 to Christmas eve, reflec-

tions upon

the events

which

preceded

the

divine

mystery of the birth of Jesus. Our object is to aid
the picty of the faithful, by offering them meditations, both upon the facts related in the sacred Serip-

tures, and upon the pious conjectures which almost
irresistibly suggest themselves.
Lastly, in order to impress the spirit of this holy
time more deeply on the mind, we have, on each day
of this second part of our volume, given a liturgical
prayer, taken from the Advent Offices of the various
Churches : and thus we shall be saying, each day, an
additional prayer for the Messias to come : a prayer,
too, which must be efficacious, because offered to the

divine Majesty in the words of our holy mother the
Church.

270

ADVENT

Novemser 30
SAINT
WE

open

our

ANDREW,

Proper

APOSTLE

of Saints

for

Advent

with

St. Andrew, because, although his feast frequently
occurs before this holy season has begun, it sometimes happens that we have entered Advent when
the memory of this great apostle has to be celebrated
by the Church. This feast is therefore destined to
terminate with solemnity the cycle which is at its
close, or to add lustre to the new one which has just
begun. It seems, indeed, fitting that the Christian
year should begin and end with the cross, which
has merited for us each of the years that it has
pleased the divine goodness

to grant us, and which

18 to appear, on the last day, in the clouds of heaven,
as the seal put on time.
We. should remember that Saint Andrew is the

apostle of the cross.
To Peter, Jesus has given
firmness of faith; to John, warmth of love; the
mission of Andrew is to represent the cross of his

divine Master.

Now it is by these three, faith, love,

and the cross, that the Church renders herself worthyof

her Spouse. Everything she has oris, bears this threefold character. Hence 1t is that after the two apostles

just named, there is none who holds such a prominent

place in the universal liturgy as Saint Andrew.
But let us read the life of this glorious fisherman
of the lake of Genesareth, who was afterwards to be
the successor of Christ Himself, and the companion of

Peter,

on

the

tree

of the cross.

The

Church

hag

compiled it from the ancient Acts of the martyrdom
of the holy apostle, drawn up by the priests of the
Church of Patras, which was founded by the saint.
The authenticity of this venerable piece has been
contested by Protestents, inasmuch as it makes

Nov. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

271

APOSTLE

mention of several things which would militate
against them. Their sentiment has been adopted by
several critics of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,. On the other hand, these Acts have been
received by a far greater number of Catholic writers of
eminence ; amongst whom may be mentioned the great,

Baronius, Labbe,
Natalis Alexander, Gallandus,
Lumper, Morcelli, &c. The Churches, too, of both
east and west, which have inserted these Acts in their

respective Offices of St. Andrew, are of some authority,
as1s also St. Bernard, who has made them the ground-

work of his three admirable sermons on St. Andrew.
Andreas apostolus BethAndrew, the apostle, born
saide natus, qui est Gali- at Bethsaida, a town of
lz

vicus,

frater Petri, dis-

cipulus Joannis Baptistse,
quum eum de Christo dicentem audisset, Ecce Agnus
Dei, secutus Jesum,

fratrem

Galilee, was brother of Peter,
and disciple of John the
Baptist. Having heard his

master

say,

speaking

of

Christ : Behold
the Lamb of
God ! he followed Jesus, and

quoque suum sd eumdem
perduxit. Quum postea una
cum fratre piscaretur in mari
Galile, ambo a pratercunto

also.
When, afterwards, he
was fishing with his brother

et relictis retibus secuti sunt

will make you to be fishers

brought to him his brother

in the sea of Galilee, they
were both called, before any
‘enite post me, faciam vos of the other apostles, by our
fieri piscatores hominum : Lord, who, passing by, said
nullam interponentes moram, to them: Come after me; I

Christo Domino ante alios
apostolos vocati illis verbis:

eum.
et

Post cujus Passionem

Resurrectionem

Andreas

cum in Scythiam Europm,
que ei provincia ad Christi

fidem

disseminandsm

ob-

tigerat,
venisset, deinde
Epirum ac Thraciam peragrasset, doctrina et miraculis
innumerabiles

Christum

homines

_convertit.

ad

Post

Patras Achaim profectus, et
in ea urbe plurimis ad veritatem Evangelicam perductis,
Zgeam
proconsulem
pre-

of men.

Without delay, they

left their nets and followed
him.
After the Passion and
Resurrection, Andrew went
to spread the faith of Christ

in

Scythis in Europe, which

was the province assigned to
him; then ho travelled
through
Epirus
and Thrace,
and by his teaching
and

St
iy B
ablo souls to Christ. After.
wards, having reached Patras

in Achais, he persuaded many

272

ADVENT

dicationi
Evangclicm
rosistentom, liborrime incropavit quod qui judex hominum haberi vellet, Christum
Deum omnium Judicem a
diemonibus clusus non agnosoeret.
Tunc Egeas iratus: Desine, inquit, Christum jactare, cui similia verba nihil
rofuerunt, _ quominus
&
Sadais orucifigorotar. . Andream vero do Christo nihilominus libere _pradicantem,
quod pro salute humani generis se_crucifigendum obtulisset, impia oratione intorpellat; ac demum hortatur,
ut sibi consulens, diis velit
immolare.
Cui Andress:
Ego omnipotenti Deo, qui
unus et verus est, immolo
quotidie, non
taurorum
carnes, nec_hircorum sanguinem, sed immaculatum Aguum in altari, cujus carnem
posteaquam omnis populus
credentium
manducaverit,
Agnus, qui sacrificatus_est,
integer_perseverat et vivus.
Quamobrem ira accensus
¥geas jubet eum in carcerem detrudi: unde populus
Andream facile liberasset, nisi
ipse sedasset multitudinem ;
vehementius rogans, ne se ad
optatissimam martyrii_coronam properantem impedirent.

in that city to embraco the

truth of the Gospel. Finding that the proconsul Kgoas
rosisted the preaching of the
Gospel, ho most frecly up-

braided him for that he, who
desired to be considered as a

judge of men, should be so
far deceived by devils as not.
to acknowledge Christ to bo
God, the Judgo of all.
Then Zgeas being angry,

said : Cease to boast of this
Christ, whom such words as

these kept not from being
crucified by the Jews. But
that Andrew confinding
tinued boldly preaching that

Christ had offered himself to
be crucified for the salvation

of mankind, he interrupts
him by sn impious spoech,
and at longth exhorts him to
look to his own interest and

sacrifice to the gods. Andrew
answered him: I offer u,
ovory day to slmighty God,

who is one and true, not the

flesh of oxen, nor tho blood
of goats, but the spotless
Lamb upon the altar; of

whose flesh the whole multitude of the faithful eat, and
the Lamb that is sacrificed,

remains whole and living,
Whereupon Zgeas being ex.
ceedingly angry, orders him
to be thrust into prison,
whence the people would

easily have freed Andrew, had

ho not himself appeased the
multitude, begging of them,
with most earnest entreaty,
that thoy would not keep hirg
from the long-desired crown
of martyrdom, to which he
was hastening.

Nov. 30.
Igitur

bunal
Egeas

paulo

post

ST. ANDREW,
in tri-

productum,
cum
crucis extollentem

mysteris, sibique suam im-

273

APOSTLE

Not long after this, ho was

brought bofore the tribunal ;

where ho began to extol the
m{lwry

of

the

cross,

and

pietaten exprobrantem diu- rebuke tho judge for his imtius . ferre non posset, in piety. Ageas, no longer able
crucem

tolli,

et

Christi

mortem imitari jussit. Adductus Andreas ad locum

martyrii, cum crucem vidisset
longe, exclamare caepit: O
bona crux, qua decorem ex

membris Domini_suscepisti,

diu desiderata, sollicite ama-

ta, sine intermissione queasita, et aliquando cupienti
animo preeparata
: accipe me

to contain himself on hearing

these words, ordered him to
be hoisted on a cross, and so

to die like Christ. Andrew,
having been brought to the
place of execution, seeing the
cross at somo distance, began
to cry out: O good cross,
made beautiful by the body

of my Lord ! so long desired,
80 anxiously loved, 80 unceasab hominibus, et redde me ingly sought after, and now
magistro meo ; ut per te me st last ready for my soul to
recipiat, qui per to me re- enjoy ! take mo from amidst
domit. Itaquo cruci affixus men, and restore me to my
est: in qua biduum vivus Master ; that by thee he may
pendens, et Christi fidem recoive me, who by thee ropredicare numquam _inter- deemed me. He was theremittens, ad eum migravit, fore fastened to the cross, on
cujus mortis similitudinem which he hung alive two days,
concupierat.
Qua
omnia preaching without cessation
presbyteri et diaconi Achaim the faith of Christ: after
qui ejus passionem scri- which he passed to him,
pserunt, se ita ut commemo- whose death he had so covetrata sunt audisse et vidisse ed. The priests and deacons
testantur. Ejus ossa primum of Achais, who wrote his pasConstantio_imperatore Con- sion, attest that all the things
stantinopolim, deinde Amal- which they have recorded
were heard and seen by
him translata sunt. Caput,
io secundo Pontifice,
Ro- them. His relics were first
mam
allatum,
in basilica translated to Constantinople
under the emperor Constansancti Potri collocatum est.
tius, and afterwards to
Amalfi. During tho Pontificato of PiusIL, the head was

taken to Rome, and placed in

the basilica of St. Poter.

Let us now listen to the several Churches on earth,
celebrating the grand triumph of our apostle. Let
18

ADVENT

274

us begin with Rome, the mother and mistress of all
Ch n:ies. Nothing could be more expressive than
the language she uses in praise of the apostle of the
cross. First, she employs the words of the Gospel,
which

record

the

circumstances

of

his

vocation ;

then, she selects the most touching passages from the
Acts of his martyrdom, drawn up by the priests of
Patras; and both are intermingled with appropriate
sentiments of her own. Our first selection shall be
from the responsories of Matins.

R. Cum perambularet Dominus juxts mare Galilewm,
vidit Potrum et Andream
retia mittentes in mare: et
vocavit eos, dicens: * Venite post me, faciam vos
fieri piscatores hominum.
V. Erant enim piscatores, ot
ait illis: * Venite post me,
faciam vos fieri piscatores
hominum.
R. Mox ut vocem Domini
predicantis sudivit beatus
Andreas, reliotis retibus,
quorum usu actuque vivebat,
* Eternm vite secutus est
preemis largientem. V. Hic
est qui pro smore Christi
popendit in cruce, et pro lege
ejus sustinuit ~passionem.
* XKternm vite secutus est
premis largientem.

R. Dootor bonus, et amicus
Dei Andreas ducitur ad cru-

cem ; quam
& longe aspiciens
dixit : Salve, crux! * Sf:lur
discipulum ejus, qui pependit
in te, magister meus
Christus.
V. Salve, crux, que in corpore Christi dedicata es; ot
ex membris cjus tamquam
‘margaritis ornata. * Suscipe

R. When the Lord was
walking by the sea of Galilee,
ho saw
Peter and Andrew
casting nets into the sea, and
ho called them, saying: *
Come after me, I will make
ou to be fishers of men.
. For they were fishers,
and he saith
to them : * Come
after me, I will make you to
be fishers of men.
R. As soon as blessed
Andrew_heard the voice of
the Lord calling him, leaving
his nets, by the use and workin,
ing of which he lived, * He
followed him who _gives
the reward of eternal life.
V. This is he who, for the
love of Christ, hung upon a
cross, and for his law endured
a passion. * He followed
him who gives the reward
of eternal life.
R. Andrew, the
good
teacher, and the friend of
God, is led to the cross;
which seeing afar off, he
says: Hail, O cross! * Receive the disciple of him who
hung upon thee, Christ, my
Master. V. Hail, O cross,
which art consecrated by the
body of Christ, and art

Nov. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

APOSTLE

275

discipulum ejus qui pependit adorned by his members, as
pearls. * Receive the
in te, magister meus Christus. with
disciplo of him who hung
upon thee, Christ, my Master.
R. Andrew secing the
R. Videns crucem Andreas
exclamavit, dicens: O crux cross, cried out, saying: O
admirabilis! O crux desi- admirable cross; O desirablo
O crux qua per cross ! 0 cross which shinest
derabilis!
totum mundum rutilas ! * throughout the whole world |
Suscipe discipulum _Christi, * Receive the disciple of
ac per to me recipiat, qui Christ, and by thee may he
per te moriens me redemit. receive me, who dying by
5 8
V. O bona crux, quae de- thee redeemed me.
cross, which art made
corem et pulchritudinem de
Domini suscepisti. air and beautiful by the
membris
* Suscipe discipulum Christi, body of the Lord. * Receive
ac per te me recipiat, qui per the disciple of Christ, and by
thee may he receive me, who
te moriens me redomit.
dying by thee redeemed me.
R. Oravit sanctus Andreas,
R. Saint Andrew prayed,
dum respiceret in ccelum, et as he looked up to heaven,
and with a loud voice, cried
voce magna clamavit et dixi
out and said : Thou art my
Tu es Dous meus, quem vid
God, whom I have seen:
no mo patiaris &b impio j
dico doponi: * Quia virtu- suffer me not to be detached
tem sanct@ crucis agnovi. by the impious judgo: * For
V. Tu os megister meus 1 have leamnt the power of
Christus, quem dilexi, quem the holy cross. V. Thou art
confessus the Christ my master, whom
cognovi, quom
sum: tentummodo in ista 1 have loved,
whom T have
voco, cxaudi me. * Quis known, whom I have convirtutem sanctm crucis a- fessed : graciously hear me
in this one prayer. * For
gnovi.
I have learnt the power of
the holy cross.
The antiphons of Vespers are full of a lyric gracefulness and unction,
ANTIPHONS

Salvo crux pretiosa ! suscipe discipulum cjus qui pependit in te, magister meus
Christus.
Beatus
Andreas orabat,
dicens : Domine, Rex @terne

Hail, O
receive the

precious cross!
disciple of him

who hung upon thee, Christ
my master.

The blessed Andrew prayed

saying: O Lord,

King' of

ADVENT

glorix, suscipo mo ponden- otornal glory,
tom in patibulo.
Andreas

Christi

famulus,

dignus Dei apostolus, germanus Potri, ct in passione
socius.
Maximilla Christo amabilis, tulit corpus spostoli,
optimo loco cum aromatibus

hanging on this gibbot.
Andrew,

Christ,

the

the

mo

-2

276

servant

worthy

of God, the bmthcr of

of

apostle

Peter,

and his companion in the
cross.
Maximilla, a woman dear
to Christ, took the body of
tho apostle, and embalming
it, buried it in a most hosepelivit.
noured place.
Qui porsoquobantur ju- Thou, O Lord, didst plunge
stum,
demersisti cos, Do- into hell them that porsemine, in inferno, et in ligno cuted thy just one, and wast

crucis dux justi fuisti.

‘I'ne following hymn

his gmdo and helper on the
wood of the cross.

was composed in honour of

the holy apostle, by Pope St. Damasus, the friend of
St. Jerome. There is an allusion in it to the name
Andrew, which amongst its many meanings has that
of beauty.
HYMN

Decus sacrati nominis,
Vitamque nomen cxprimens,
Haoc to decorum praedicat
Crucis beatee gloria.
Andren, Chrsti apostole,
Hoc ipso jam vocabulo
Signaris, isto nomine
Decorus idem mystice.
Quom_crux ad alta provehit,
Crux quem boata diligit,
Cui crux amara preparat
Lucis future gaudia.
In to crucis mysterium
Cluit gomello stigmnte,
Dum probra vincis per crucom,
Crucisque pandis sanguinom.

Tho beauty of thy sacrod
namo, oxprossive of thy lifo,
doclaros how boautiful thou
ort in tho glory of thy blessed
cross.
Androw, apostlo of Christ,
thy very name points 1o the
mystic beauty of thy soul.
The cross exalts theo, tho
blessed cross loves thee, tho
bitter cross prepares for thee
tho Joys of tho light to sormo,
The mystery of tho cross
shines in theo with o twofold bosuty: for by tho
cross thou dost vanquish
insults, and thou preachest
to men the divine blood
sbod on the oross.

NOV. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

APOSTLE

211

Then warm up our languid
hearts, and take us under
thy care; that so, by tho
victory of tho cross, wo may
roach our heavenly country.
Amen.

Cueli potamus patriam.

Amen.

The two following sequences, in honour of the
apostle of the cross, were written in the middle ages.

The first belongs to the eleventh century.

the

sequences

thythm,

of that

period,

SEQUENCE
Sacrosancta hodierna festi-

vitatis preeconia,
Digna laudo universa ca-

tey

rizet Ecclesia.
itissimi sanctorum

san-

ctissima extollenda merita,

Apostoli Andres, randa prafulgentis gratis.
Hic accepto a Joanne Bap-

tista quod venisset qui tolleret peccata:

Mox ojus intrans habitacula, audiebat eloquis.
Inventoque fratre suo Barjona: Invenimus, ait ovans,
lessiam.

Et duxit eum ad duleifluam
Salvatoris presentism.
Hun perscrutantem maria, Christi vocavit clementis.
Artom
di commutans dignitate apostolica.
Hujus animam
post olars
fosti Paschalia gaudin,

it has

ro

Like all
regular

Tho most holy praises of
this day’s solemnity,
Lot the universal Church
sing in worthy strains.
The most holy merit of the
moekest of saints is to bo
extolled,
Of the apostlo Andrew,
80 bright in his admirable
Having learned from John
the Baptist, that he had
come who would take sin
away,
He straightway entered
his dwelling, and listened to
his words ;
And
finding his own
brother, Barjona, he said to
him with great joy: We
have found the Messias.
And he led him to the loved
presence of the Saviour.
As Andrew was fishing in
the sea, the mercy of Christ
called him,
Giving him, in exchange
for his art of fishing, the dignig':f an apostle.
is soul, after the grand
joys of the Paschal feast,

278

ADVENT

Sancti Spiritus preclara
Was visited by the glorious
perlustravit potentia ;
power of the Holy Ghost,
Ad pradicandum _populis
That he might go and
penitentiom, ot Dei Pa- preach penance to the world,
tris por Filium clomentism.
and tell it of the mercy of
the Father by the Son.
Gratulare ergo tanto patre, Rejoice, then, O Achaia !
Achais ;
that thou hast such
an
Illustrata

ejus

salutari

doctrina ;
Honorata
multimoda
signorum frequentia.
Et tu gemens plora, trux
carnifex Egea.
To lues inferna ot mors
tenet mterna.
Sed Andresm felicia per
crucem manent gaudia.
Jam Regem tuum spectas,
jom in ejus conspectu, Andrea, stas.
Odorem suavitatls jam
adspiras, quem divini amoris
aroma dat.

apostle,
‘Who enlightened thee with
his saving doctrine,

And honoured thee with his

many and manifold miracles.
But thou fierce torturer,
Egoas, cry and weep :

The pains of hell and eternal death are thine :
‘Whilst Andrew has won

happiness and joy by his
cross.
O Andrew ! now thou seest

thy King: now thou art in

his

presence;

ow thou art breathing

the odour of sweetness, which
comes from the aroma of

divine love.

Sis ergo nobis inclyta
Be, then, unto us a deliduloedo, spirans intima cce- cious sweetness, giving out
lestis vite

the hidden balsam of the ce-

balsama.

lestial life.
Amen.

Amen.

The second sequence, written in thythm and correct

metre, is the composition of the pious Adam of Saint
Victor, the greatest lyric poet of the middle ages.
SEQUENCE

Exsultemus et letemur :
Et Andrew deleotomur
Laudibus apostoli.
Hujus fidem, dogma, moTes,
Et pro Christo tot labores,
Digne decet recoli.

Lot us_exult and rejoice,
and be delighted in the praises
sung to Andrew the apostle.
His faith and teachings,

and

actions,

and

all his la-

bours for Christ, deserve
worthy celebration.

Nov.

30.

ST. ANDREW,

279

APOSTLE

"Twas he led Peter to the
Hic ad fdem Petrum
duxit,
faith.
'Twas
he on whom the
light first shone ; the Baptist
Tui primum lux illuxit,
Joannis indicio.
showed it him.
Secus mare Galilew,
Near the sea of Galiles, our
Petri simul ot Andres
Lord called Peter and Andrew by the one same elecSequitur electio.
tion.
Ambo prius piseatores,
They who were once fisherVerbi fiunt assertores,
men, are become heralds of
Et forma justitie.
the Word, and models of
every virtue.
Rete laxant in capturam ;
They lot down their nets
Vigilemque gerunt curam
for & draught of men; and
carefully watch over the inNascentis Ecclesie.
fant Church.
A fratre dividitur,
Andrew is separated from
Et in partes mittitur
his brother, and sent into the
Andreas Achaie.
country about Achaia.
In Andrew retis
A great portion of that
Currit, Dei gratia,
province enters, by the grace
Magna pars provincie.
of CGod, into Andrew’s net.
Fide, vita, verbo, signis,
The holy and learned docDootor pius et insignis
tor forms the hearts of his
Cor informat populi.
people by his faith, life,

Ut
Zgeas comperit
Quid A‘:;%em. ugell):t,
Irs surgunt stimuli.
‘Mens secura, mens virilis,

Cui praesens vita vilis,

Viget patientia.

preaching, and miracles.
When

what

Zgeas

Andrew

had

discovered

done, he

was oxcited to great anger.
But Andrew’s mind, ever

calm and manly, set little

value on this life, and srmed
itself with patience.
The senseless judge offers
him his favour, or threatens
him with tortures, but cannot

Blandimentis sut tormentis
Non enervat robur mentis
Judicis insania.
shake his constant soul.
Crucem videns praparari,
Seeing the cross being preSuo gestit conformari
s:md, Andrew, as a true
Magistro discipulus.
isciple, is proud to be thus
made like his Master.
Mors pro morte solvitur,
He ropays the death of
Et crucis appetitur
Jesus by his own, ambitious
Triumphalis titulus.
to have the trophy of trium]gh, the oross.
In cruce vixit biduum,
e lived two days hanging
Victurus in perpetuum :
on that cross, which was to

280

ADVENT

Neo vult, volento populo
Doponi de patibulo.

Hora fere dimidia,
Luce perfusus nimia,
Cum luce, cum lwtitia,
Porgit ad lucis atria.
0O Andrea gloriose,
Cujus preces pretioss,
Cujus mortis luminosie
Dulcis est memoria,
Ab hac valle lacrymarum,
Nos ad illud lumen clarum,
Pie pastor animarum,
Tua transfer gratia.
Amen.

make him live for ever; the
people_rosolvo to loose him
from it: but he would not
bavo it 80; and clings to his
cross.
An exceoding bright light
surrounds him for nearly halt
an bour; and then, in this
light, snd in this joy, he
Ihounta to the realme bf ight,
0 glorious Andrew, whose
prayers are 8o precious, and
whose

bright death

is so

sweet to think on,

Tako us, by 'thy loving
prayers, from this vale o

tears, and transfer us to that

fair land of light, O thou good

shephord of souls.
Amen.

The pieces so far given belong to the Roman
liturgy, being taken from the books of this mother
of Churches, or from those of the different Churches

of the west, which follow the form of her Offices.

We will now give, in honour of our holy sposde
some of the formulee which the other ancient lit:
used for his feast ; we will begin with the Ambroslnn
rite, from which we take the following beautiful
preface.
PREFACE

Vere dignum et justum
est, mquum et salutare, nos
tibi semper et ubiquo gratiss
agere, Domine sancte, Pater
omnipotens, wterne Deus.
Adest enim nobis dies sacri
votiva mysterii: qua beatus
Andress gormanum se Petri
stoli tem predicatione
Christi tui, quam confessione monstravit; et apostolice numorum = dignitatis

It is truly meet and just,
right and available to salva.
tion, that we should always,
and in all places, give thanks
to

thee,

holy

Lord,

al-

mighty Father, eternal God

for we are kwpmg the feast

of & sacred my

, & day

on which the bl
Andrew
showed himself to be indeed

the

brother

of

Peter

the

apostle, both by his presch-

NOV. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

281

APOSTLE

simul passiono supplovit ot ing and his confossion of thy
gloria; ut id, quod libera Christ: and filled up tho
prodicaverat, voco, noc pen- moasuro of the apostolic
lens taceret in cruco : aucto-

remque vitm perennis tam in
vita scqui, quam in mor-

ia genero moruit imitari
cujus pracepto terrena in
sometipso crucifixerat dosidoris, ejus exemplo ipse
bulo ‘figeretur. Utrique i
tur gormani piscatores, am
cruce elevantur ad ccelum ;
ut, quos in hujus vitw cursu
tua gratia tot vinculis piotatis constrinxerat, hos similis
in regno celorum_necterot
ot corona: ct quibus erat
una_causa cortaminis, una
rotributio cssot ot preemii.

dignity by his passion and
his glory ; for what

ho had

loudly gnd boldly preachod,
he would not ceaso to proclaim even on his cross : and
he doserved to follow, durin

ife,

the author

of eternal

life, and to imitate him in
the manner of his death;
that thus having, in obe-

dience to his procept, crucified in himsclf all earthly
desires, he might, in accordance with his example, be
fastcned to a cross.

The two

brothers, the two fishermen,

are both, therefore, raised up
to heaven by a cross; that
so, having been, by thy
grace, bound togother by so
many tics during this life,
they might also be like each
other by the crown they
‘wear in

heaven ; and as their

combat was the same, their
roward might be the same.
The Gallican liturgy also celebrated the glories
of St. Andrew. Amongst the few fragments which

have been handed down

is not a single

to us of this

piece in poetry.

liturgy, there

The following

preface,

or, as it was t{en called, Contestation, will show that

the Church of Gaul, from the fourth to the eighth
century, shared the enthusiasm of the Roman and
Ambrosian Churches for the glorious apostle of the

cross.

CONTESTATION
Dignum

et

justum

est;

It is moot and just; it is

®quum et justum est: pio- right ond just, that we
tati tum ineflabiles gratias should give ineffablo thanks

282

ADVENT

nm&i-‘:‘ to thy mercy, O almighty
terne Deus; et inwmstimabili and eternal God ! and celegaudio passionom tuorum brate with incomparable joy
redicare sanctorum, per the sufferings of thy saints,

referre, omnipotens
istum

strum.

Dominum

no-

Qui beato Andrem in

prima vocatione dedit fidem ;
et in passione donavit victoriam. Acoeperat hwmc utraque beatus Andreas; ideo
habebat et in praedicatione
constantiam, et in passione
tolorantism. Qui post iniqua
:lal::en. post c;:eeris septa,
igatus suspendio se purum
obm].itp Deo.
sacrificium
Extendit mitissimus brachia
ad ccelos ; amplectitur crucis

vexillum ; defigit in osculis
ora: Agni cognoscit arcana.
Denique dum ad patibulum
duceretur, in cruce suspenderetur, carne patiebatur, et
ObliSpiritu loquebatur.
crucis tormenta ;
viscitur
dum de cruce Christam preeconat. Quantum enim_corpus ejus in ligno extendebatur: tantum in lingua ejus
Christus exaltabatur: quia
dens in ligno, sociari so
ei gratulabatur. = Absolvi se
non pstitur & ocruce, ne temflfi cortamen in tempore.
ba circumspicit, et lamentat: demitti a vinculo
reparatorem
tit, quem
Deatis intefligit.pmhnri
postulst justum, ne pereat
pulus hoo delicto. Interea
posFondit martyr spiritum,
sessurus sempiterni Tadiols
regnum: pro cujus meritis
concede nobis, omnipotens
Dous, ut s malis omnibus
tuti atque defensi,
mino nostro,

tibi Do-

Deo martyrum

through

Who

Christ

our

Lord.

gave to the blessed

Andrew, at his first callin
him, the gift of faith; an

in his martyrdom, victory.
Both

had

the

blessed

An-

drew received ; therefore had

he constancy in his preaching, and patience in his passion. After being unjustly
scourged, and thrust into
prison, he was tied to & gibbet, and on it offered himself a pure sacrifice to thee

his God. Most gentle saint,

ho lifts up his hands to
heaven; he embraces the
standard of the cross; ho
kisses it; he understands
the secrets of the Lamb.

When, at last, he was led to

the cross, and fastened to it,
his flesh suffered, but he

spoke by the holy Spirit. He
forgot the torture of the cross
whilst he preached Christ

from the cross ; for the more

his body was being strotohed

on the wood, the more did his

tongue extol Christ, seeing

that by thus hanging on the

cross he was honoured with

being made & companion of
Christ. He suffers not himself to be loosened from the

cross, lest the combat should
lose intensity

by the delay.

The crowd looks upon him,
and is in lamentation; it
knows him to be tho physician of the soul, and demands that he be freed from

his chains.

It demands that

Nov.

30

ST. ANDREW,

283

APOSTLE

et Principi apostolorum, the just man be liberated,
laudes semper et gratias re- lest ‘this crime should deferamus.
stroy the people. Meanwhilo the martyr breathes
forth his soul, and goes to
take poesession of the kingdom of the eternal Judge.
Grant us, O almighty God,
by his merits, that we, being
safo and protected from all
evils, may for ever give

praise and thanks to
thee,
our Lord, the God of the
martyrs, and the Prince of

the apostles.

The Mozarabic liturgy is extremely rich in its
praises of St. Andrew, both in the missal and the
breviary : we must limit ourselves to the following
beautiful prayer.
CAPITULUM

Christe Dominus noster,
qui beatissimum Andream,
ot apostolatus gratia, et
martyrii decorasti corona;
hoo illi specialiter in munere
preestans, ut_crucis_preedicando mysterium, ad crucis
mererotur pervenire patibulum: da nobis, ut sancte
crucis tum verissimi amatores effecti, abnegantes nosmetipsos tollamus crucem
nostram, et sequamur te : ut
passionibus tuis in hac vita
communicantes, ad mternam
vitam perveniro mereamur
felices.

O

Christ,

our

Lord,

who

didst beautify the most
blessed Andrew with the
grace of apostleship, end

the crown of martyrdom, by

anting to him this_special
§§u, that by grenchinfihe
mystery
of t the cross, he
shold’ merit tho doath of
the cross: grant us to
become

most

true

lovers

of

thy holy cross, and, denying
ourselves,

to

take

up

our

cross and follow thee; that
by thus sharing thy sufferings in this life, we may deservo the happiness of obtaining life everlasting.

The Greek Church is as fervent as any of the
Churches of the west in celebrating the prerogatives

and merits of St. Andrew. He is the more dear to it,
because Constantinople considers him as her patron

284

ADVENT

apostle.

It

would,

enjoyed,

for many

perhaps,

be

centurics,

the

difficult

for

the

Greeks -to give any solid proofs of St. Andrew’s
having founded, as they pretend, the Church of
Byzantium ; but this is certain, that Constantinople
possession of the

precious treasure of the saint’s relics.

They were

translated to that city in the year 357, through the
interest of the emperor Constantius, who placed

them in the basilica of the apostles built by Constantine,

Later

on, that is, about the middle

of

the sixth century, Justinian caused them to be trans-

lated a second time, but only from one part of that
same basilica to another.
We borrow the two
following beautiful hymns from the Menwa of the
Greeks ; the first is sung in the evening Office, the

second in the morning Office.

IN THE SOLEMN EVENING OFFICE
Luci

antelucans

assimi-

latus, quem splendorem hytatioum Paternm glorim
icimus, hominum genus per
suam magnam misericordiam salvare cum voluisset,
tunc primus, gloriose illi
ocourristi, illustratus interius
porfectissima_ojus Deitatis
olaritato : unde et
przco et
apostolus vocaris Christi Dei
nostri; quem deprecare salvore ot illuminaro snimas

nostras.

Pracurrenti voce insonans,
quando omnisanctum
Verbum caro factum est, quando
nobis vitam donavit, salutemque in terris evangelizavit, tunc, sanctissime, istud
secutus es, ot teipsum primi-

When

he, who

is likened

to the star of early mom,

whom we call the hypostatic

lendour

of

the

~Kather's

O

lorious

glory, willed in his great
mercy to save the human

raco:

Andrew,

thou,

wast

the

first to

meet him, being enlightened
interiorly with the most
fect brightness of his

nity; hence thou art called
tho herald and apostle of
Christ our Lord. Pray to
him for us, that he may save
and enlighten our souls.
When

he, whom

the

Pre-

cursor’s
5
voice had
claimed, the all-holy Word,
os mado fesh, and gavo us
ifo, and gave the good
tidings of salvation to the
carth ; then didst thou, most

Nov.

30.

ST. ANDREW,

APOSTLE

285

holy Androw, follow him, and
mam ipsi oblationem conati- make thyself his first-fruits,
tuisti: quem cognoscero fo- and sacrifice, and as it were
cisti, fratrique tuo monstra- tho first oblation of men:
sti Deum nostrum ; hunc de- thou didst make him known
precaro salvare enimas no- to thy brother, telling_him
that this was our God. Pray
stras.
to Jesus for us, that he save

tias et sacrificium quasi pri-

our souls.

Qui carnem o sterili floresWhen he appeared who
centi induit, quando Virgi- clothed himself with our flesh
nalis Filius apparuit, preece- in s virginal yet fruitful
ptor

pietatis puritatem

de-

monstrans, tuno tu, ardentis-

sime virtutis amator, Andres,

beatus effectus es; ascensi-

ones in tuo corde disponens,

a gloria in gloriam sublimatus es inauditam Domini Dei

nostri: quem deprecare salvaro

et

nostras.

illuminare

animas

Pisoium piscationem derelinquens, homines carpis
calamo predicationis, mittons hamum pietatis, ot oxtrahens e profundo erroris
omnes Gentes, Andres apostolo, coryphai frater, ot terrm
dux coloberrime, excellens et
non deficiens; tenobrosos
homines illustra tua venoranda memoria.

womb, and was thus the Son
of a Virgin, the teacher of
piety, giving us this model of
purity; then wast tho happy,
Andrew, most ardent lovor
of virtue ; disposing in thy
heart
to ascend step by step,
and wast raised up
from glory
to the unspoakablo glory of
the Tord our God. Beseoch
him, that he save and en-

lighten our souls.
Leaving thy fishing of fish,
thou catchest men by the rod

of thy gmmhing, throwing to
them the bait of virtue, and

dragging all nations from tho
depths of error. O Andrew,
the apostle, brother of the
leader, most honoured prince
of the earth, excelling and unfailing! may the venerable
of thee enromembrance
lighten them that are in
darkness.
Primovocatus discipulus et - Aadrow, the apostlo, the
initator possonis tuz, oes- first-called of thy disciples,
milatus tibi, Domine, Andreas O Lord, and the imitator of
apostolus in abysso dogentes thy Passion, and made liko
ignorantiz olimque errantes, to thee, drew out with the
hamo tum crucis cum ab- hook of thy cross them that
straxissot, tibimetipsi _ad lived and wandered in the
duxit : ot ideo salvati fidelos ses of ignorance, and then
ad te clamamus _precibus brought - thom unto thee:
illius, optime, Domine, vitam therefore do we thy faithfal,

ADVENT

286

nostram pacifics,et salva animas nostras.

who have becn saved, cry to

thee by his prayers, O infnitely good Lord : grant us

paaceful lives, and save our
souls.
The apostle, disciple of
Ignis illuminans mentes et
comburens peccata, in corde Christ, is a fire which inflames
interius _arripicns, apostolus men’s minds and burns out
Christi discipulus fulget my- their sins, penctrating into
sticis
the very depth of their
radiis
instructionum
in Gentium tencbrosis cordihearts: and by the mystic
bus. Urit autem iterum sur- rays of his instructions he
culosas impiorum fabulas; shines in the dark hearts of

ignis

Spiritus

enim

tantas

habet energiam ! O mirabil
ter terribile ! Ceenosa lingua,
fictilis natura, corpus pulv

rinum,

intellectualem

et im-

the Gentiles. Then, too, he
burns the wild brambles of

pagan fables, for the fire of
the Spirit has such energy !
And is it not a wonder to be

materialem pracbuit Gnosim.

trembled at, that a tongue of

contemplator

of dust, should make known
the intellectual and the immaterial Knowledge ? Do thou,

Sed tu, O initiate rerum inef-

fabilium,

6t

ceelestium, deprecare illumi-

nari animas nostras.

slime, a nature of clay, a body

the initiated into unspeakablo

things, the contemplator of
heavenly truths, pray that

Gaudeas, disertum ccelum,
gloriam Dei passim enarrans.
Primus Domino obedicns ardenter offectus, ipsi immediate adhwrens, ab ipso accensus, lumen apparuisti
alterum, et degentes in tencbris, tuis illuminasti radis,
hane Domini benignitatem
imitatus : unde tuam omnisanctam _perficimus lsudem
et reliquisrum thecam cum
gaudio magno_deosculamur,
ex qua scaturit salus petentibus ot magna misericordia.

our minds be illumined.

Be glad, O thou heaven of
eloquence, everywhere telling
the glory of God ! The first
to obey our Lord with ardour,
immediately uniting thyself
to him, thou wast set on fire
by him, and didst appear as
a sccond light, enlightening
with thy rays them that sat
in darkness, thus imitating
the mercy of Jesus for man.
Thorefore do we celebrate thy
most holy memory, and kiss
with great joy the shrine of
thy relics, from which flows
health and every sort of boon
to thy clients.
By the nets of thy oracles

Gentes nescientes Doum
quasi ex sbysso ignorantie thou didst draw from the
vivas carpsisti sagona tuorum abyss of ignorance the nations

Nov. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

oraculorum, salsaque commoves mquora_sapienter,
equus optimus visus Domina.
toris maris, colebrande; qui
siccasti putredinem impietatis, sal honorandum, spar-

gens sapientiam tuam : quam
stupentes
sunt,
admirati

apostolo gloriose, qui malosapientiam inflati
sanam
smplexi orant, ignorantes
Dominum donsntem mundo
magnam misericordiam.

APOSTLE

287

that knew not Cod, and
gavest them life. Like tho
splendid courser of the Ruler
of the sea, thou, O worthy of
all praise, didst stir up_the
bitter waves by thy wisdom.
Thou, the venerable salt of
earth, didst season with thy
penctrating
wisdom what
ungodliness was corrupting.
This thy wisdom, O glorious
spostls, struck dumb with
iration those who had
becomo imbued and puffed
up with an unsound wisdom,
and ignored the Lord that
showed his great mercy to
the world.

IN THE MORNING OFFICE

Accurristi siti non vocatus,
Not by thirst but by love
Andrea, sed voluntarie, sicut wast thou urged, O Andrew,
cervus ad fontem vitw. Fide when thou didst run, as &
innixus, de incorruptionis stag, to the fountsin of life.
fontibus siti fatigatas extre- Leaning: on faith, thou didst
mas usque regiones potasti.
give to drink of the fountains
of incorruption to the distant
nations
that were parched
with thirst.
Cognovisti natura leges,
Thou didst feel the law of
Andrea admirande, et com- nature, O. admirable Andrew,
participem accepisti fratrem, and thou didst take thy broclamans : Invenimus Deside- ther into partnership, cryi
ratum; atque ei qui iter out to hi p: ‘We hnl\‘re fm:g
fecerat sccundum carnis gene- the Desired One !’ and thus
rationem, accersisti Spiritus he who was walking in tho
cognitionem.
'ways of the flesh, was brought
by thee to the knowledge of
Verbum cum dixisset : ¢ Hic

the Spirit.

mei,’ Christum_alacer

When
the
Word
said:
* Now, follow me,’ Cephas also

Cephas, genitori valedicentes,

Andrew, and bidding farewell

retro

sccutus est oum Andrea ot joyfully followed Christ with
ot naviculz, et rotibus, tanquam fidei propugnacula.

to father, boat, and nots, they

‘bscamp
aith.

the

citadels

of the

288

ADVENT

Deifica inexhaustaque potentis omnifactoris _ atque
flammantis Spiritus virtus in
to, Andrea divine, inhabitans
in ignow lingum forma, ineffabilium te indicavit praconem.
Non

arma ad dofensionem

attulit carnes, et ad destructionem

terribilium

inimici

ropugnaculorum,
Andreas
Ronoratissimus ; sod ad Christum loricatus, quas captivitate rodogerat Gentes, adduxit submissas.

Tuam ineffabilem_pulchritudinem Andreas videns primus, Josu, fratrem clara voce
vocavit: Petre ardenter dosiderans, invenimus Messiam,
qui in Lego et in Prophetis
roclamatus est; veni, verm
Vite agglutinemur.
Hunc pro merceds recuporasti quem desiderabas,
Andrea apostole, ligatis cum
0 laborum manipulis, tuisque
digne cum eo collectis : unde
te hymnis glorificamus.
Magistrum desiderasti, et
illum insocutus os, qui illius
vestigiis ad vitam ambulasti,
et illius passiones, vero honorande Andres, usque ad mortem imitatus.
Spiritualom vitm tranquille
navigatus abyssum, apostole,
perambulasti cum velo Spiritus, fide Christi: ideoque ad

The deifying and oxhaust-

less virtuo of tho mighty
Creator of all things, and of
the burning Spirit, dwelt in
theo in the form of & fiery
tongue ; showing that thou,
O divine Andrew, wast &
berald of unspeskablo things.
Most honoured Andrew !
ho bore not weapons of the
flosh for his defence, or for
the destruction of the formidsblo ramparts of the
enemy; but with a breast
plate on him, be led subject
%o Christ the nations which
had boen redcomed by Christ
from captivity.
Thy imofisble beauty, O
Jesus, was first seen_by Andrew, who then called out
with ‘a loud voico to his brothor : * Potor, ho said, * thou
man of ardent dosires! we
have found the Messios,
whom the Law and tho Prophetshave forstald. O come,
ot us cling to this true
life.
As thy reward, O.apostle
Andrew, thou hast, rogained
him whom thou desiredst:
him with whom thou didst
bind up and worthily garner
tho sheaves of thy labours.
Therefore do we sing to thee
our hymns of praise.
Thou desiredst the Mastor,
and thou hast followed him,
walking unto life in his footsteps, and imitating, even
unto’ death, his passion, O
verily venerablo Andrew {
Calmly sailing the sea of
the spiritul life, O apostle,
thou didst cross it with the
sails of the Spirit and tho

Nov. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

vitm portum pervenisti gaudens in cuncta sxcula.

Spiritali Sole in cruce occidente, voluntato propria,
solis jubar cum illo quercns
dissolvi et occidero in Christum, in ligno suspensus est
Audreas, fox mogna ot fulgida Ecclesie.

faith

289

APOSTLE
of

Christ.

Thereforo

didst thou enter with joy into

the port of lifo for ever.
Tho spiritusl Sun having,
by his own will, sunk on the
cross, Andrew, that Sun’s reLoction, the great and bright
light of the Church,

also to

be

dissolved

wishing
and

to

set with him, was hung upon

a cross.

Velut discipulus omnium
As tho best of all tho disoptimus, illius qui voluntario ciples of him, who, of his
aflixus est cruci, magistrum own will, was fastencd to the
tuum usquo ad mortem sccu- cross, thou, O blessed apostlo,
tus, cum gaudio in altitudig thy Master even
nem ascendisti crucis, viam unto death, didst ascend
instruens ad ccelos, beate with joy to the summit of
apostolo.
the cross, showing us tho
way that leads to heaven.

Gaudo nunc, Bothsaida;
in te enim florucrunt e matorno_fonte nimis_odorifera
lilia, Petrus et Andreas, universo mundo fidei preedicationis odorem ferentes gratia
Christi, cujus passionibus
communicaverunt.

To patrum civitas pastorem
possidet, et divinum prae.’
sidem, et periculorum omnium liberatorem, et custodem te, Andrea -sapicns ;
gratantor honoravit to: sed
tu doprecare incessanter pro
ea, ut sorvetur ab omni perditione.

Rejoice now, O Bethsaida !

for in theo and thy maternal

fount bloomed tho two most

fragrant lilics, Poter and Androw, bearing by the graco
of Christ, whom they resem-

bled in his passion, tho odour

of the preaching of tho faith
to the wholo world.

The city of tho fathers pos-

sesses theo as its pastor, and

its divine chief, and its libe-

rator in all dangers, and ita
keeper,

O

Andrew,

full

of

- wisdom ! Gratefully hes it
kept thy feast ; but do thou
unceasingly pray for it, that
it may be preserved from all
danger.

The Church of Constantinople, so devoted, as we
have seen, to the glory of St. Andrew, was at length
deprived of the precious treasure of his relics. This
happened in the year 1210, when the city was taken
by the crusaders. Cardinal Peter of Capua, the
legate of the holy Sce, trenslated the body of St.
19

290

ADVENT

Andrew into the cathedral of Amalfi, a town in the

kingdom of Naples, where it remains to this day,
the glorious instrument of numberless miracles, and
the object of the devout veneration of the people.
It is well known how, at the same period, the most

precious relics of the Greek Church came, by a
visible judgement of God, into the possession of the

Latins.

warnings,

Byzantium refused to accept those terrible
and

continued

obstinate

in her

schism.

She was still in possession of the head of the holy

apostle, owing, no doubt, to this circumstance, that

in the several translations which had been made, it
had been kept in a separate reliquary by itself.
‘When the Byzantine empire was destroyed by the

Turks, divine Providence so arranged events, as that

the Church of Rome should be enriched with this
magnificent relic. In 1462, the head of St. Andrew
was, therefore, brought thither by the celebrated
Cardinal Bessarion; and on Palm Sunday, the

twelfth of April, the heroic Pope Pius II. went in
great pomp to meet it as far as the Milvian bridge
(Ponte Molle), and then placed it in the basilica of
St. Peter, on the Vatican, where it is at present, near

the confession of the prince of the apostles. At the
sight of this venerable head, Pius II. was transported
with a religious enthusiasm, and before taking up the
glorious relic in order to carry it into Rome, he pronounced the following magnificent address, which we
give as a conclusion to the liturgical praises given by
the several Churches to St. Andrew.

At length thou hast arrived, O most holy and
venerable head of the saintly apostle! The fury of
the Turks has driven thee from thy resting-place,

and thou art come as an exile to thy brother, the
prince of the apostles. Thy brother will not fail thee ;

and by the will of God, the day will come when men
shall say in thy praise : O happy banishment, which

30.

NOV.

291

APOSTLE

ST. ANDREW,

caused thee to receive such a welcome!
Meanwhile,
here shalt thou dwell with thy brother, and share in
his honours.
“This is Rome,

dedicated

by

thy

the

venerable

brother’s

city,

precious

which

blood.

was

The

people thou seest, are they whom the blessed apostle,

thy most loving brother, and St. Paul, the vessel of
election, regenerated unto Christ our Lord. Thus
the Romans

are thy kinsmen.

They venerate,

and

honour, and love thee as their father’s brother ; nay,

as their second father; and are confident of thy
patronage in the presence of the great God.
O most blessed apostle Andrew ! thou preacher of
the truth, and

defender of the dogma

of the most

holy Trinity ! with what joy dost thou fill us on this
day, whereon it is given us to behold thy sacred and
venerable head, which deserved that, on the day of
Pentecost, the holy Paraclete should rest upon 1t in
the form of fire !
0 ye Christians that visit Jerusalem out of reverence for your Saviour, that there ye may see the
places where His feet have stood; lo! here is the
throne of the Holy Ghost. Here sat the Spirit of
the Lord. Here was seen the Third Person of the
Trinity. Here were the eyes that so often saw Jesus
in the flesh.

This was the mouth that so often spake

to Jesus; and on these cheeks did that same Lord

doubtless impress His sacred kisses.

¢ 0 wondrous sanctuary, wherein dwelt charity, and

kindness, and gentleness, and spiritual consolation.
Who could look upon such venerable and precious

relics of the apostle of Christ, and not be moved ?

and not be filled with tender devotion ? and not shed
teers for very joy ? Yea, O most admirable apostle
Andrew! we rejoice, and are glad, and exult, at this
thy coming, for we doubt not that thou thyself art
present here, and bearest us company as we enter
with thy head into the holy city.

292

ADVENT

‘ The Turks are indeed our enemics, as being the
encmies of the Christian religion : but in that they
have been the occasion of thy coming amongst us, we
are grateful to them. For what greater blessing
could have befallen us than that we should be permitted to see thy most sacred head, and that our
Rome should be filled with its fragrance 2 Oh ! that
we could welcome thee with the honours which are
due to thee, and receive thee in a way becoming thy
exceeding holiness! But accept our good will, and
our sincere desires to honour tgee, and suffer us now
to touch thy relics with our unworthy hands, and,

though sinners, to accompany thee within the walls
of the city.

‘ Enter, then, the holy city, and show thy love to

her people. May thy coming be a boon to Christendom. May thy entrance be peaceful, and thy abode
amongst us bring happiness and prosperity. Be thou

our advocate in heaven, and, together with the
blessed apostles Peter and Paul, defend this city, and

protect, with thy love, all Christian people ; that, by
thy intercession, the mercy of God may be upon us;
and if His indignation be enkindled against us by
reason of our manifold sins, let it fall upon the im-

pious Turks and the pagan nations that blaspheme
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.’
Thus has

the glory of St. Andrew

in Rome, with that of St. Peter.

been blended,

But the apostle of

the cross, whose feast was heretofore kept in many
Churches with an octave, has also been chosen as

patron of one of the kingdoms of the west.

Scotland,

when she was a Catholic country, had put herself
under his protection. May he still exercise his protection over her, and, by his prayers, hasten her
return to the true faith !
Let us now, in union with the Church, pray to this
holy apostle, for this is the glorious day of his feast :

NOV. 30.

ST. ANDREW,

APOSTLE

293

let us pay him that honour which is due to him, and

ask him for the help of which we stand in need.
We have scarce begun our mystic journcy of
Advent, secking our divine Saviour Jesus, when lo !
God grants us to meet thee, O blessed Andrew, at
our very first step. When Jesus, our Messias, began

His pubhc life, thou hadst already Become
disciple of His Precursor, who preached
thou wast among the first of them who
Son of Mary as the Messias foretold in
the Prophets. But thou couldst not keep

the obedient
His coming :
received the
the Law and
the heavenly

secret from him who was so dear to thee ; to Peter,
then, thou didst bear the good tidings, and didst

lead him to Jesus.
O blessed apostle! we also are longing for the

Messias, the Saviour of our souls;
found Him, lead us also unto Him.

since thou hast
We place under

thy protection this holy period ot expectation and
preparation, which is to bring us to the day of our
Saviour’s Nativity, that divine mystery in which He
will manifest Hnnself to the world. Assist us to
render ourselves worthy of seeing Him on that great
night. The baptism of Penance prepared thee for
receiving the grace of knowing the Word of life;
pray for us that we may become truly penitent and
may purify our hearts, during this holy time, and
thus be able to behold Him, who has said : ¢ Blessed
are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”
Thou hast a special power of leading souls to Jesus,
O glorious saint ! for even he, who was to be made

the pastor of the whole flock, was presented to the

Messias by thee. By calling thee to Himself on this
day, our Loxd has given thee as the patron of Christians who, each year at this season, are seeking that
God in whom thou art now living : they must begxn
it with praying to thee to show them the way which
leads to Jesus.
Thou teachest us this way ; it isthat of fidelity, of

294

ADVENT

fidelity even to the cross. In that way thou didst
courageously walk: and because the cross leads to

Jesus Christ, thou didst passionately love the cross.

Pray for us, O holy apostle ! that we may begin to
understand this love of the cross; and that, having
understood it, we may put itin practice. Thy brother
says to us in his Epistle : ¢ Christ having suffered in
the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought.*

Thy feast, O blessed Andrew ! shows us thee as the

living commentary of

this doctrine.

Because

thy

Master was crucified, thou wouldst also be crucified.
From the high throne to which thou hast been raised
by the cross, pray for us, that the cross may be unto

us the expiation of the sins which are upon us, the
uenching of the passions which burn within us, and
315 means of uniting us by love to Him, who, through
love alone for us, was nailed to the cross.
Important, indeed, and precious are these lessons
of the cross : but the cross, O blessed apostle, is the
perfection and the consummation, and not the first
commencement.
It is the Infant God, it is the God
of the crib that we must first know and love ; it was

the Lamb of God that St. John pointed out to thee ;
and it is that Lamb whom we so ardently desire to
contemplate. The austere and awful time of Jesus’
Passion has not come ; we are now in Advent. Fortify
us for the day of combat ; but the grace we now most

need is compunction and tender love.
We put under
thy patronage this great work of our preparation for
the coming of Jesus into our hearts.

Remember also, O blessed Andrew, the holy
Church, of which thou wast the pillar, and which

thou hast beautified by the shedding of thy blood :
lift up thy hands for her to Him, whose battle she is
for ever fighting. Pray that the cross she has to
bear in this her pilgrimage may be lightened ; that
she may love this cross, and that it may be the
11 8t. Peteriv. 1.

NOV.

30.

ST. ANDREW,

APOSTLE

295

source of her power and her glory. Remember with
especial love the holy Roman Church, the mother
and mistress of all Churches ; and by reason of that
fervent love she has for thee, obtain for her victory
and peace by the cross. Visit anew, in thy apostolic
zeal, the Church of Constantinople, which has forfeited true light and unity, because she would not
render homage to Peter, thy brother, whom thou
honouredst as thy chief, out of love to Him who is
the common Master of both him and thee. And
lastly, pray for Scotland, that has dishonoured thy
protection for these three past ages; obtain for her
that the days of her rebellion from the faith may be
shortened,

and, with the rest of our isle of saints,

she may soon return to the fold of the one Shepherd.

‘We will close this day with a prayer to the Saviour,

whom we are expecting; and celebrate, by this
ancient and venerable hymn, the mystery of His
coming.
HYMN

FOR

THE

TIME

OF

ADVENT

(In the Mozarabic breviary ; in the hymnarium)
Gandote, fores martyrum !~ Rojoics, yo flowors of the
Salvete, plobes gentium,
martyrs ! Hail, all yo people
Visum per astra mittite,
and nations! lift up your
Sporate sigaum glori.
eyes to heaven, and await the
sign of glory.
The voice of the prophets
Vooes prophetarum sonant,
is beard, announcing the
Venire Jesum nuntisnt,
coming of Jesus; it is the
Redemptionis pravia
harbinger of our redempQuee nos redemit gratia.
tion, of the graco which
saved us.
How bright is our morn,
Hic mane nostrum proand how do our hearts swell
micat,
with joy, when the faithfal
Et corda leta exestuant,
Cum vox fidelis personat
voice comes heralding in our
Prenuntiatrix gloriam.
glory !
Tonte salutis gaudium,
May the joy of so great a
Quo est redemptum smcu- salvation, whereby tho world
is redeemed, inspire us with
Tum,

296

ADVENT

Excoptionis inclytum
Abhinc ciamus canticum.
Adventus hic primus fuit,
Puniro quo non saeuli
Venit, sed ulcus torgere,
Salvando quod periorat.
At hunc secundus preemonot
Adesso Christum januis,
Sanctis coronas reddere,
Ceelique regna pandcre.
Zterna lux promittitur,

Sidusquo salvans promitur ;
Jam nos jubar prefulgidum
Ad jus vocat ccelestium.
Te, Christe, solum querimus

'Videre sicut es Deus,

Ut leeta nos hec visio

Evellat omni tartaro.

& solemn canticle in praiso of
Jesus’ coming.
It was his first: and ho
came not to punish, but to
heal the sores and sins of the
world, saving his creaturo
that was lost.
But

when

Advent

comes,

the

second

it

will

tell

the world that Christ is at
its very doors, to give the

saints

their

crowns,

and

throw open the kingdom of
heaven.
We bhave

eternal light:

a

promiso

of

the star of

our salvation is rising ; and

even now its splendid rays
are calling us to our right to
heaven.
Thee alone,
we

thee

seek,

as

and

thou

O

Jesus,

wish

art,

to

do

see

God.

Happy vision, which will
ut us out of all reach of

ell !
That
comest,

Quo dum Redemptor vothus, when
thou
O Redeemer, surneris,
Cum candidato martyrum
rounded by the white-robed
Globo, adunes ccelibi
army of martyrs, thou mayst
admit us also into their pure
Nos tunc beato catui.
company.
Deo Patri sit gloris,
To God the Father, and
Eljusque soli Filio,
to his only Son, and to tho
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
holy Paraclete, be glory
Et nunc et in perpetuum.
both mow and for over.
Amen.
Amen.

DECEMBER FIRST

FIRST DAY

297

OF DECEMBER

Tue Church of Rome does not keep this day

as a

feast of any saint; she simply recites the Office of
the feria, unless it happen that the first Sunday of
Advent fall on this first day of the month, in wiich
case the Office of that Sunday is celebrated, as given

above in the Proper of the Time.

But should this first day of December be a simple

feria of Advent, we shall do well to begin at once our

considerations upon the preparations which were
made for the merciful coming of the Saviour of the
world.
Four thousand years of expectation preceded that
coming, and they are expressed by the four weeks

of Advent, which we must spend before we come to

the glorious festivity of our Lord’s Nativity. Let us
reflect upon the holy impatience of the saints of the
old Testament,

and

how

they handed

down,

from

age to age, the grand hope, which was to be but
hope to them, since they were not to see it realized.
Let us follow, in thought, the long succession of the

witnesses of the promise : Adam, and the first patri-

archs, who lived before the deluge; then, Noah,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve patriarchs of
the Hebrew people ; then Moses, Samuel, David, and
Solomon ; then, the prophets' and the Machabees ;
and, at last, John the Baptist and his disciples.

These are the holy ancestors, of whom the Book of
Ecclesiasticus speaks, where it says: ‘ Let us praise

men of renown, and our fathers in their generation ’;

and of whom the apostle thus speaks to the Hebrews :
“ All these being approved by the testimony of faith,
received not the promise ; God providing some better

* Eeclus. xliv. 1.

298

ADVENT

thing for us, that they should not be perfected with-

out us’: their faith was tried and approved,
they received not the object of the promises
them. It is for us that God had reserved the
dous gift, and therefore He did not permit
attain the object of their desires.

and yet
made to
stupenthem to

Let us honour them for their faith ; let us honour
them as our veritable fathers, since it is in reward

of their faith, that our Lord remembered and fulfilled
His merciful promise ; let us honour them,

too, as

the ancestors of the Messias in the flesh. We may
imagine each of them saying, as he lay on his dying
bed, this solemn prayer to Him who alone could
conquer
Lord
"

death: ‘T will look for Thy Salvation, O
It was the exclamation of Jacob, at his last

hour, when he was pronouncing his prophetic blessings

on his children: ‘and then,’ says the Scripture, ‘ he
drew up his feet upon his bed, and died, and he was

gathered unto his people.”

Thus did all these holy men, on quitting this life,
go to await, far from the abode of eternal light, Him

who was to come in due time and reopen the gate
of heaven. Let us contemplate them in this place
of exE:ccation, and give our grateful thanks to God,

who
has brought us to His admirable light, without
requiring us to pass through a limbo of darkness.
It is our duty to pray ardently for the coming of the
Deliverer,

who

will break down,

by

His cross,

the

gates of the prison, and will fill it with the brightness

of His glory. During this holy season, the Church
is continually borrowing the fervent expressions of
these fathers of the Christian people, making them
her own prayer for the Messias to come. Let us
turn to those great saints, and beg of them to pray,
that our work of preparation for Jesus’ coming to
our hearts may be blessed by God.
We will make use, for this end,
1 Heb. xi. 39, 40.

of the beautiful

2 Gen. xlix. 32.

DECEMBER

FIRST

299

hymn wherein the Greek Church celebrates the
memo:
of all the saints of the old Testament, on
the Sunday immediately preceding the feast of
Christmas.
HYMN

FOR

THE

FEAST

OF

THE

HOLY

FATHERS

(Taken from the Menaa of the Greeks)
Avorum
Celebrating, O yo faithful,
hodie, _fideles,
rficientes memorias, ro- on this day, the memory of the
ymnificemus Christum Re ancient fathers, let us sing
demptorem, qui illos magni- a new hymn to our Redecmer
fieavit in omnibus_gentibus, Christ, who magnified them
ot qui incredibilia in eis per in all nations, and worked
fidem operatus est; Domi- incrediblo things in them by
num, utpote fortem ct po- faith, for he is the strong
tentem ; et ex illis manife- and mighty Lord. By them
stavit virgam potenti@ nobis, did he manifest to us the
unicam virum nescientem ef sceptre of his power, the unDeiparam, Marism castam, aralleled Virgin-Mother of
ex qua flos prodiit, Christus od, the chaste Mary, from
germinans omnibus vitam, et ‘whom came Christ, the Flower
salutem mternam.

Tu es qui sanctos pueros
ex igne liberasti, Domine,
ot ex ore leonum_ Danicl;
qui Abrahsm benedixisti, et
Isaac servum tuum, et fillum
ejus Jacob; qui dignatus os
ex illorum semine nasei apud
nos, ut prius lapsos salvares
proavos nostros, crucifigi
sutem ot sepeliri ; ot rupisti
mortis vincula, ot consurgere facis omnes qui a seculo

that buds forth life
eternal salvation to all.

and

didst

deliver

the

holy

chil-

Daniel

from

the

mouth

1t is thou, O Lord, that

dren from the furnace, and

of

the lions; that didst bless
Abraham, and [sasc thy servant, and Jacob his son : that
didst

vouchsafe

to

be

born

among us from their seed,
50 to save our first parents

inter mortuos erant, adoran-

who had fallen, and to be
crucified and buried ; that
didst break the bonds of

®ternum.

tion to all them who had died

tes tuum,

Christe,

regnum

death, and gavest resurrecfrom the beginning, and who

adored, O Christ, thy eternal

kingdom.

Adam primum veneremur,
And first let us venorate
manu honoratum Creatoris Adam, who was honoured by

et omnium

nostrum proa-

the Creator’s hand, and was

300

ADVENT

vum, jam nuno habitantem
in ccolestibus tabornaculis,
intor sanctos electos quioscentem.
Abel dona proforentem
mento geneross, admisit omnium
Deus ot Dominus;
eumque homicida olim manu
peremptum, in altum recepit
ad lumen, ut divinum martyrem.
Canitur in mundo Seth
ro suo erga Creatorem
Sore nam n irropreheni
vite ratione et animm
positiono illum vere sanavit
ot in regione vivorum cla.
mat : Sanctus os, Domine.

the first fathor of us all : who
now dwells in tho heavenly
tabornaclos, and rests amidst
tho holy elect.
The God and the Lord of
all thin s roceived Abel, who
offered his gifts with & generous heart; and took him
into the heavenly light as &
divine martyr, when he was
slain by the murdorer’s hand.
Seth is colebrated throughout the world for his ardour
towards the Creator: who
saved him for his irreproachable life and this holy dissition of mind; and now,
in the region of the living,
he sings: Holy art thou, O
Lord !
Enos, prophetically callod
the admirable, for his words
and voico and heart, hoped
in spirit in_the Lord of all,
and after a lifo spent on earth
in excoeding goodness, ho
doparted a:
full of glory.

Oro ot lingua et corde Enos
admirabilis
cognominatus
prophetice, in omnium Dominum speravit in spiritu, et
optime vita in_terris acts,
gloriosus docseait.
Sacris oloquiis ot orationiLot ve praise, in our eacred
bus Henoch beatum preedico- canticles and prayers, the
mus; qui, cum Deo _placu- blessed Henoch ; who, when
issot, translatus est in glo- he had pleased God, was
riam, visus, ut fortur, mor- translated 0 glory, and, as
tem superasse, sicut Dei tecamo so faithful & servant
sorvus fidelissimus.
of God, without being over-

come by death, 8s it is Written of him.
Laudom proferamus Deo,
Let us give praiso to
honorsntes melodiis Noe, God by celebrating, with our
qui fuit justus: in omnibus hymns, Noah, who was just :
onim divinis mandatis orna- in all things, God honoured

tus, visus est Christo beno- him with his divine complacitus ; cui esnamus oum mands, and he was well
do: Gloria virtuti tus, Do- Flcnsing to Christ, to whom
lot us sing with faith : Glory
mine.
Videns tuam Deus nobilem indolem et mentis tus

be to thy power, O Lord !
God, secing thy noblo heart,
and the sincerity of thy mind,

DECEMBER

sincoritatem, ot te in omnibus, Noo, porfectum, sezundi
mundi ducem to signat, salvantom ex omai genere contra diluvium, sensibilo semen, ut ipse mandaverat.
Noe, Dei legem incorruptam sorvantem, justumque
inventum in generatione sua,
ot qui lignea salvavit olim in
atea irrationabilia genera, ordinationo omnimoda, beatum
pis predicomus hymnis.
Vinum compunctionis nobis
scaturire facit honorantibus
te, Noe beate, memoria tua,
lwtificans et animas et corda
undique beatificantium sincere mores tuos honestos, et
divinam agendi rationem.
Laudibus honoretur Sem,
qui fructificaro fecit paternam benedictionem, et ante
Deum placidus demonstratus, et proavorum choris adsoriptus, et in regione vivorum Letantissime requicscons.
Vidore moruit, tamquam
Dei amicus, Abraham dicm
Creatoris sui, plenus factus
Intitie patorn@: huno orgo
rocto corde honorantes, beatum dicamus omnes, ut Dei
fidelom servum.
Vidisti, ut homini videre
fas ost, Trinitatom, et illam
hospitatus os: undo morcedom recopisti hospitalitatis,
factus immensarum gentium
in fide pater.

301

FIRST

and how in all_things thou
wast perfoct, O Noah, makes
thee the father of the second
world,

and

bids

FnGu

Noah,

thee

save

from the deluge & romnant
of every specics of animal.
Let us in our holy hymns
who

kept the

aw of God without reproof,
and was found just in his
generation, and who, by
an admirable arrangoment,

saved, in the wooden ark, all

the brute creation.

Thy memory, O blessed
Noabh, fills us with the wine
of compunction, which gladdens

our

souls

and

hearts,

whilst we devoutly extol thy
holy life and thy divine manner of acting.
Sem is worthy of our
praise, who brought forth
lentiful

fruit

from

ather’s blossing, and

his

by his

meokness found favour with

God, and was numbered in
the choir of the fathers, and

now rests in perfect joy in
the land of the living.

Abraham merited, as the
friend of God, to see the day
of his Creator, and was filled

with the joy promised to the

fathers:
us honour
tion, and
him the

him, therefore, lot
with sincere devolet us all proclaim
blessed Abraham,

God’s faithful servant.

Thou didst sce, as far as it

is permitted man to seo, the
Trinity, and thou didst mako
it thy guest : wherefore thou
rocoivedst tho reward of thy
hospitality, and wast mado
the father, in the
countless nations.

faith,

of

302

ADVENT

Most blessed TIsaac, the
Typus Christi passionis
factus es sapionter, Isaac divine wisdom made thee
beatissime, potris bona fide the typo of Jesus in his Pasad immolandum adducte : sion, when thy father’s subideoque beatus effectus os et lime faith led thee to the
amicus Dei visus cs fidelissi- sacrifice : therefore art thou
mus, et cum omnibus justis blest, and loved of God 8s &
sedem consecutus es.
most faithful friend, and
seated on a throne

the just.

with all

Visus est Jacob omnium
Dei servorum fidelissimus :
ideoque pugnavit cum angelo, in mente videns Deum,
ot nomen mutavit, dormiensque divinam contemplatus
est scalam, cui insidobat
Dous, comni in bonitate sua
adherens.
Patris obedientiam cum
amoro amplectens Joseph in
puteum demissus, tamquam
illius prototypus venditur
qui immolatus est, et in putoum demissus est Christus ;
et Egypto frumenta distri-

on which God was leaning ; it
was God, assuming to himself,
in his mercy, human flesh.
Joseph, when he lovingly

tamini tentationum luctatus,

combat of ceaseless tempta-

Benedictus es, Deus.

upright, perfect, without re-

Of all the servants of God
Jacob wae the most faithful :
therefore is it that he wrestled
with the angel, seeing God

in spirit, and his name was
changed ; and ss ho slept,
he beheld the divine ladder,

obe;
down

his father, was let
into a well and sold,

and was the prototype
of
him that was sacrificed, and
thrown down into a pit. He
gave corn to Egypt and saved
buens
monstratus
est,
sait ; he was wise and just, and
piens et justus effectus, rex- a most true king over his
quo concupiscentiarum ve- passions.
rissimus.
Legitime incessantium cerJob lawfully endured the

celebratus est Job Dei servus tions, and deserves to bo
verissimus, mitis, vir sine praised; he was God’s most
malitia, Tectus, = perfectus, true servant, he was meek,
irroprohensibilis, clamans : and a men without guile,

In_fide Moysen Aaronque
ot Hor
honoremus,
adhuc
colebrantes Josuo ot Levi
sanctissimum, Gedeonque et
Samson, et clamemus : Deus
patrum, benedictus cs.

proof, ever saying: Blessod
art thou, O God !
Let us faithfully honour
Mosos, and Aaron, and Hor :
lot us commemorate Josue,
and the most holy Levi, and
Gedeon, and Samson; and
let us sing : Blessed art thou,
0 God of our fathers |

DECEMBER

303

FIRST

Phalangem Deo gratam diLetuscelebrate thememory
vinorum patrum colobremus, of that group of fathers so
Baruch et Nathan, ot Eleaza- loved of God, Baruch and
rum, Josiam ot David, Jephte, Nathan and Eleazar ; Josias,
Samuel qui anteacta vidobat, David, Jephte, and Samuel
who had the vision of what
et clamabat : Benedicat omhad passed, and cried out:
nis creatura Dominum.
Let every creature bless the
Lord !

Laudom melodiw Dei prohetis foramus, colebrantes
500, Michwam, Sophoniam
ot Habacuc, Zachariam,
Jonam, Aggmum et Amos,
ot cum Abdia, Malachia,
Nahum, Isaiam, ot Jorcmism,
ot Ezechiol, ot simul Daniel,
Eliam et Eliszum.
Fortitudine tus, Domine,
virtutes operata sunt sorores
nostr® Anna, Judith et Dobbora, Olda, Jahelque, ct
Esther, Sara, Maria Moysis,
et Rachel, ot Roboces, of

Lot our melodies praiso
God’s ix[opheu, celobrating
Oseo,
Micheas, Sophonias,
Habaoue, Zacharias, Jonas,
Aggeus, Amos, Abdias, Malachias, Nahum, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Elias,

Venite omnes, cum fide
tmegyrim dicamus _patrius ante Legem: Abraha,
ot eorum qui cum illo sunt
festivam memoriam celobre-

Come, all ye poople, let us,
with faith, give praiso to the

Ruth, magnanimes.

mus; Jude
honoremus;
Babylone

By thy powor, O Lord,
virtuous
_exploits
were
achieved by those magnanimous women, our sisters,
Anna, Judith, Debbora, Olda,
Jahel, Esther, Sara, Mary,
sister of Moses, Rachel,
becca and Ruth.

fathers who were

Law;

Re-

before the

let us celebrate

the

fostive memory of Abraham

tribum digne and them that are with him ;
juvencs
in let us give due honour to the

qui flammam

in

camino exstinxerunt, ut Tri-

nitatis typum,

Eliseus.

cum Danicle

tribe of Juda ; let us celebrate
the children who "quenched

the fiery furnace in
Babylon,
the blessed three, the type

colebremus;
prophetarum
vaticinia tuto servantes, cum of the Trinity, and with them
Isaia magna voce clamemus : Daniel ; let us hold fast to
Ecce Virgo in utero concipiot the oracles of the prophets,

ot pariet Filium, Emmanuel,

quod est, Nobiscum Deus.

and with Isaias sing with a

loud voice: Lo! a Virgin
shall conceive in her womb
and shall bring forth a Son,
Emmanuel, that is, God with

us.

A

RESPONSORY

OF

ADVENT

(The Roman breviary, first Sunday of Advent, at Matina)
R. Looking sfar off, lo! I
R. Adspiciens a longe, ecce
video potentism Dei venien- 800 the power of God coming
tem et nebulam totam ter- and a cloud that covereth the
ram
tegentem: * Ite obviam whole earth : * Go yo out to
o, ot dicite : * Nuncia nobis meot him and say: Tell us,
si tu es ipse, * Qui rognatu- if thou be he, * Who art to
rus es in populo Israel.
rulo over the
le of Tsrael.
V. Allyo that are earthV. Quique terrigenm et
flii hominum, simul in unum born and children of men,
dives et pauper,
both rich and poor together,
* Tte obviam ei et dicite,
* Go ye out to meet him,
and say:
V. Give ear, O thou that
V. Qui regis Israel intendo,
ui doducis velut ovem rulest Israel, thou that leadosegh,
est Joseph like & sheep,
* Nuncia nobis si tu es
* Tell us if thoube ho.
ipse.
V. Tollito portas, princiV. Liftup your gates, O
pos, vestras, et elovamini, yo princes ; and be yo lifted
gfln wmternales, et introibit up. O cternal gates and tho
x glorie.
ing of glory shall enter in.
- g\li regnaturus es in
* Who art to rule over tho
populo Israel.
pooplo of Isracl.

DEC. 2.

ST. BIBIANA

305

DECEMBER 2

SAINT BIBIANA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
Or the saints whose feasts are kept during Advent,

five are virgins. The first, St. Bibiana, whom we
honour to-day, is a- daughter of Rome ; the second,

St. Barbara,

is the glory

of the eastern Churches;

the third, St. Eulalia of Merida, is one of Spain’s
richest treasures ; the fourth, St. Lucy, belongs to

beautiful Sicily ; the fifth, St. Odilia, 1s claimed by

France. These five wise virgins lighted their lamps
and watched, waiting for the coming of the Spouse.
Such was their constancy

and fidelity, that four of

them shed their blood for the love of Him, after
whom they longed. Let us take courage by this

noble example ; and since we have
expresses it, as yet resisted unto
think it hard if we suffer fatigue
holy exercises of this
penitential

He, for whom

not, as the apostle
blood, let us not
and trouble in the
season of Advent :

we do them all, will soon be with us

and repay us. To-day, it is the chaste and courageous Bibiana, who instructs us by her glorious
example.

Bibisns, virgo Romens,
nobili _genero nata, Christiana fido nobilior fuit. Ejus
enim pater Flavianus sub
Juliano apostata impiissimo
tyranno oxprefectus, servilibusque notis compunctus, ad Aquas Teurinas deportatus, martyr occubuit.
ater Dafrosa, ot filim primum concluse domi, ~ut

Bibiana was s Roman virgin, noblo
by birth, but more
moble by her profession of
tho Christian faith. For
under tho most wicked tyrant Julian the apostate,
Flavian, her father, was doprived of his dignity of profoct, and being branded with
the mark of slavery, ho was
banishedto Aqua Taurinm,
20

ADVENT

306

and there died & martyr. Her
relegata mater extra urbem mother, Dafrosa, was first
capite plexa est. Mortuisau- shut up in her own house
tem piis parentibus, Bibiana with her daughters, that she
cum
sorore sua Demetria might die by starvation ; but
spoliatur. shortly afterwards was banomnibus
bonis
Apronianus, urbis prator, ished from Rome and bepecuniis
inhians, _sorores headed. The virtuous parents
persequitur, quss humana thus put to death, Bibiana
prorsus ope destitutas, Deo was deprived of all her possesmirabiliter, qui dat escam sions, as also was her sister,
esurientibus,
enutriente, Demetria.
Apronianus, the
quum vivaciores vegetiores- city pretor, thirsting after
que conspexisset, vehementer their wealth, persecutes the
two sisters. They are bereaved
est admiratus.
of every human help. But
inedia

conficerentur;

mox

God, who gives food to them

that are in hunger, wonderfully

nourishes

them;

and

the prator is exceedingly astonished on finding them in
better health and strength

Suadet nihilominus Apronianus, ut venerentur deos
Gentium ; amissas ideo opes,
imperatoris gratiam, pre.
clarissimas_ nuptias _ consecuture. Si seous fecerint,
minatur carceres, virgas,
securcs. At illw neque blan.
ditiis neque minis & reots
fido doclinantes, parate potius mori, quam feedari moribus ethnicorum, ~pratoris
impietatem
constantissime
dotestantur. Qusre Demetria ob oculos Bibisn
pente corruens, obdormivit
in Domino : et Bibiana Rufine mulieri_vaforrime soducends traditur: que ab
incunabulis odocta Christianos leges, et illibatum sorvare
virginitatis florem,
seipsa fortior, femin super-

than before.

Apronianus, notwithstanding, endeavours to induco
them to venerate the gods of
the Gentiles. If they consent, ho promises them the
recovery of all their wealth,
the emperor’s favour, and
marriage to the noblest in
the empire : but should they

refuse, he threatens
them with

prison and scourgings, and
the sword. But neither pro-

mises nor threats can make
them abandon the true faith ;

they would rather die than
be defiled by the idolatrous

practices of paganism; and
they rosolutely resist the imE)i:us

prator.

Whereupon,

metria was struck down in

the presence of Bibiana, and
slept in the Lord. Bibiana

was delivered over to a woman

DEC.

avit insidiss,
astus delusit.

ot

2.

307

ST. BIBIANA

pratoris

by name Rufina, who was
most skilled in the art of
seduction.

But

the

virgin,

taught from her infancy to
observe

the

Christian

law,

and to preserve with the utmost jealousy the flower of
her virginity, rose above nature, defeated all the artifices
of the wretched Rufina, and
foiled the
craft
of the

praetor.
Finding,

_therefore, that
Nihil autem proficiente
Rufina, qua prater dolosa Rufina could in no wise shake
verba, illam quotidie verbe- the virgin's holy resolution,
ribus affligebat, ut do sancto and that both her wicked
proposito
dimoveret, spo words and frequent blows
sua frustratus prator, ac- ‘were of no avail ; and seein
census ira, quod in Bibiana his hopes disappointed an
pordidisset operam, a licto- his labour thrown away ; the
ribus eam denudari,
vin- pretor became violently enotisque manibus columna Taged, and ordered Bibiana
alligari, eamque plumbatis to be stripped by the lictors,
cmdi jubet doneo efflaret to bo fastened to & pillar
animam.

Cujus sacrum cor-

pus objectum canibus biduo

Jjacuit in foro Tauri, illesum

tamen, et divinitus_servatum: quod doinde Josnnes
presbyter _sopelivit noctu
juxta sepulchrum sororis et
matris ad palatium Licinianum, ubi usque in prascns
extat ecclesia Deo, sanctem
Bibian® nomine ~ dicata ;
qusm Urbanus octavus instauravit, sanctarum Bibiana,
Demetriw et Dafross corporibus in ea repertis, et sub ara
maxima collocatis.

with

her hands

bound,

and

to be beaten to death with
leaded

whips.

Her

sacred

body was left for two days in
the Bull-Forum,

as food for

dogs; but received no in-

jury,

being

served. A
then buried

divinely

priest called
it during

pre-

John
the

night, close to the grave of
her sister and mother, near
the palace of Licinius, where
there stands st this day a
church consecrated to God
under the title of St. Bibiana.
Urban VIIL. restored this

church,

having

there

dis.

covered the bodies of saints
Bibiana, Demetria, and Da-

frosa, which he placed under
the high altar.

ADVENT

308

Holy Bibiana, most wise virgin! thou hast gone

through the long unbroken watch of this life ; and
when, suddenly, the Spouse came, thy lamp was

bright and richly fed with oil.
in the

of the eternal

abode

Now thou art dwelling
marriage-feast,

where

the Beloved feeds among the lilies. Remember us
who are still living in the expectation of that same
whose eternal embrace

divine Spouse,

is secured to

thee for ever. We are awaiting the birth of the
Saviour of the world, which is to be the end of sin

and the beginning of justice; we are awaiting the

of Em Saviour into our souls, that He may
coming
them life and union with Himself by love ; we
give
are awaiting our Judge, the Judge of the living and
the dead. Most wise virgin! intercede for us, by
thy fervent prayers, with this our Saviour, our
Spouse,

and

our

Judge;

pray

that

each

of these

visits may work and perfect in us that divine
union, for which we have all been created. Pray
also, O faithful virgin, for the Church on earth,

which gave thee to the
so devoutly watches
Obtain

for her

Church in heaven, and which
over thy precious remains.

that strict fidelity, which

will ever

render her worthy of Him, who is her Spouse
He is thine. Though He has enriched her with
most magnificent gifts, and given her confidence
His promises which cannot fail, yet does He wish
to ask, and us to ask for her,

the

lead her to the glorious destiny which

as
the
by
her

graces which will

awaits her.

We will to-day consider the state of nature at this
season of the year. The earth is stripped of her

wonted verdure, the flowers are gone, the fruits are
fallen, the leaves are torn from the trees and scattered

by the wind, and every living thing stiffens with the
cold. It seems as though the hand of death had
touched creation. We see the sun rise after the long

night of his absence; and scarcely have we felt his

DEC. 2.

ST. BIBIANA

309

warmth at noon, than he sets again, and leaves us in

the chilly darkness. Each day he shortens his visit. Is
the world to become sunless, and are men to live out

the rest of life in gloom ? The old pagans, who witnessed this struggle between light and darkness, and
feared the sun was going to leave them, dedicated the
twenty-fifth day of December, the winter solstice, to
the worship of the sun. After this day their hopes
revived on seeing the floriaus luminary again mounting up in the sky, and gradually regaining his triumphant position.
‘We Christians can have no such feelings as these ;
our light is the true faith, which tells us that there
is a Sun to be sought for which never sets, and is
never eclipsed. Having Him, we care little for the
absence of any other brightness ; nay, all other light,

without Him, can only lead us astray. O Jesus!
Thou true light, that enlightenest every man coming
into this world ! Thou

didst choose, for Thy

birth

among us, a time of the year which forces us to
reflect upon the miserable state of the world when
Thou didst come to save it. ‘The evening was
coming

on,

and

the

day

was

far spent,’

says

St.

Bernard : ‘ the Sun of justice had all but set, so that
exceeding scanty was His light or warmth on earth :
for the light of divine knowledge was very faint, and,

sin abounding, the heat of charity had grown cold.

There was neither angel to visit men, nor prophet to

speak to them ; both seemed in despair, for the hard-

ness and obstinacy of man had made every effort
useless : then I said
— they are the words of our
Redeemer—then I said, lo! I come ! O Jesus!
O Sun of justice ! give us a clear knowledge of what
the world is without Thee ; what our understanding
is without Thy light ; and what our heart, without

Thy divine heat.

Open Thou the eyes of our faith ;

that whilst seeing with the eyes of the body

1 First Sermon of Advent.

the

310

ADVENT

gradual decrease of the material light, we may think
at has
of that other darkness, which is in the soul
not Thee. Then, indeed, will the cry which comes
from the depths of our mise? make its way to Thee,
and Thou wilt come on the ay Thou hast fixed disgel.lmg every shadow of daxkness by Thy irresistible
rightness.
PRAYER

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, Wednesday of the second week of
Advent, Capitula)
Domine, Jesu Christe, qui
0 Lord Jesus Christ, who
sssumpto homine, hominum having
assumed human
susceptor effectus, in lucem nature, and becoming the
gentium datus es; aperi Saviour of the human race,
oculos cordium in te creden- wast given as a light to tho
tium populorum, atque abs- nations ; open the eyes of
trahe misericors de conclu- the hearts of them that
sione_religatos adhuc vinou- believe in thee, and mercilis difidentim: ot quos in fully set free from _their
domo carceris detineri con- rison them that are bound
spicis in tenebris ignoranti, in the fetters of unbelief;
tue, qumsumus, scientie ir- and whom thou seest captives in prison in the darkradios splondore.
ness of ignorance, enlighten
them, we beseech thee, by
the splendour of the knowledge of thee.

DEC. 3.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

311

DECEMBER 3

SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, CONFESSOR
APOSTLE OF THE INDIES
THE apostles being the heralds of the coming of the
Messias, it was fitting that Advent should
have in
its calendar the name of some one among them.
Divine Providence has provided for this ; for, to say
nothing of St. Andrew, whose feast is oftentimes
past

before

St. Thomas’s

before

the

season

of Advent

has

commenced,

day is unfailingly kept immediately

Christmas.

We

will explain,

later on,

why

St. Thomas holds that position rather than any other
apostle ; at present, we simply assert the fitness of
there being at least one of the apostolic college,
who should announce to us, in this period of the
Catholic cycle, the coming of the Redeemer.
But

God has not wished that the first apostolate should
be the only one to appear on the first page of the
liturgical calendar; great also, though in a lower
degree, is the glory of that second apostolate, whereby
the

bride

of Jesus

Christ

multiplies

her

children,

even in her fruitful old age, as the psalmist expresses it.! There are Gentiles who have still to be
evangelized ; the coming of the Messias is far from

having been announced to all nations.

Now of all

the valiant messengers of the divine Word who have,
during the last few hundred years,
proclaimed the

good tidings among infidel nations,
1 Ps. xci. 15.

there is not one

312

ADVENT

whose glory is greater, who has worked greater
wonders, or who has shown himself a closer imitator
of the first apostles, than the modern apostle of the
Indies; St. Francis Xavier.
The life and apostolate of this wonderful man were
a great triumph for our mother the holy Catholic
Church ; for St. Francis came just at a period when

heresy, encouraged by false learning, by political
intrigues, by covetousness, and by all the
wicked
passions of the human heart, scemed on the eve of
victory. Emboldened by all these, this enemy of
God spoke, with the
deepest contempt, of that
ancient Church which rested on the promises of
Jesus Christ ; it declared that she was unworthy of
the confidence of men, and dared even to call her
the harlot of Babylon, as though the vices of her
children could taint the purity of the mother. God’s
time came at last, and He showed Himself in His
power : the garden of the Church suddenly appeared
rich in the most admirable fruits of sanctity. Heroes

and heroines issued from that apparent barrenness ;
and whilst the pretended reformers showed themselves to be the most wicked of men, two countries,
Italy and Spain, gave to the world the most magnificent saints.
One of these is brought before us to-day, claiming
our love and our praise.
The calendar of the
liturgical year will present to us, from time to
time, his contemporaries and his companions in
divine grace and heroic sanctity. The sixteenth
century 1s, therefore, worthy of comparison with any
other age of the Church. The so-called reformers

of those times gave little proof of their desire to
convert infidel countries, when their only zeal was to
bury Christianity beneath the ruin of her churches.
But at that very time, a society of apostles was
offering itself to the Roman Pontiff, that he might
send them to plant the true faith among people who

DEC. 3.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

313

were sitting in the thickest shades of death. But,
we repeat, not one of these holy men so closel

imitated the first apostles as did Francis, the disciple
of Ignatius. He had all the marks and labours of an
apostle : an immense world of people evangelized by

his zeal, hundreds of thousands of infidels baptized

by his indefatigable

every

mu:{ed

ministration, and

miracles of

kind, which proved him, to the infidel, to be

with the sign which they received who,

living in the flesh, planted the Church, as the Church
speaks in her liturgy. So that, in the sixteenth

century, the east received from the ever holy cit;
of Rome an apostle, who, by his character and his
works, resembled those earlier ones sent her by

Jesus

Himself.

May

our Lord

Jesus

be for ever

praised for having vindicated the honour of the
Church, His bride, by raising up Francis Xavier,

and giving to men, in this His servant, a representation of what the first apostles were, whom He sent
to preach the Gospel when the whole world was

pagan.

Let us now read the short account given us, in the

words of the Church, of this new apostle.

Franciscus in Xaverio di
cosis Pampelonensis nob
bus parentibus natus, Parisiis
sancto Ignatio sese comitem
et discipulum junxit. Ipso
magistro, co brevi devenit,
ut in rerum divinarum con:
templatione dofixus a torra
aliquando _sublimis elovaroquod
sacrifioanti
coram _ populi multitudine
aliquotios ovenit. Has animi
delicias magnis sui corporis
oruciatibus merebatur. Nam,
interdicto sibi, non carnis
solum ot vini, sed panis quo-

Francis was born of noble
patents, at Xavior, in_the
diocese of Pampelona. Having gone to Paris, he there
became the companion and
disciple of Saint Ignatius.
Under such & master, ho
arrived at 5o high a contem.
plation of divine things, as
to be sometimes raised abovo
tho ground: which occasionally happened to him
whilst * saying Mass before
crowds of people. Ho had
merited theso spiritual de.
lights by his severv mortifi.

314

ADVENT

que triticei usu, vilibus cibis

vesci solitus, per biduum subinde triduumque omni prorsus alimento abstinuit.

Fer-

reis in s flagellis ita swviit,
ut s@po copioso cruore difflueret :

somnum

brevissi-

mum humi jacens capiebat.

cations of the body; for he

never allowed himself either
flesh meat, or wine, or even

wheaten bread, and ate only
the coarsest food ; he not unfrequently abstained, for the

space of two or three days,
from every sort of nourishment. He scourged himself
80 severely with disciplines,
to which were fastened pieces
of iron, 8s to bo frequently
covered

with

blood.

His

sleep, which he took on
the ground, was extremely
Vit

austeritate,

ac

san-

ctitate apostolico muneri jam
maturus, quum Joannes tertius Lusitanie rex aliquot
nascentis Societatis viros &
Paulo tertio pro_ Indiis postulasset, Sancti Ignatii hortatu ab eodem Pontifice ad
tantum opus cum apostolici
nuncii
potestate deligitur.
Eo appulsus, illico variarum
tium difficillimis et variis
inguis _divinitus instructus
apparuit. Quin eum quandoque unico idiomate sd
diversas gentes concionantem, unaqueque sua lingus
loquentem sudivit. Provincias innumeras pedibus semper, et szpe nudis, peragravit. Fidem Japonim et sex
aliis
regionibus invexit.
Mults centena hominum millia ad Chbristum in Indiis
convertit : magnosque principes, regesque complures
sacro fonte expiavit. Et
quum tam magna pro Deo
ageret, ea erat hunu‘.Enm, ut
sancto Ignatio, tunc pree-

short.

Such susterity and holiness
of life had fitted him for
the labours of an apostle ; so
that when John IIL., king of
Portugal, asked of Paul IIL.
that some of the newlyfounded Socicty might be sent
to

the Indies,

that

Pontiff,

by the advice of St. Ignatius,

selected Francis for so important & work, and gave
him

the powers of apostolic nuncio. Having reached those
parts, he was found to be, on
& sudden, divinely gifted with
the knowledge of the exceedingly difficult and varied languages of the several countries.

It

sometimes

even

happened, that whilst he was
preaching in one language to
the people of several nations,
each heard him spesking in
their own tongue. He travelled over innumerable provinces, always on foot, and
not unfrequently bare-footed.
He

carried

the

faith

into

Japan, and six other countries. He converted to Christ

DEC. 3.

315

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

posito suo, flexis genibus many hundred thousands in
the Indies, and baptized sevsoriberet.
eral

princes

And

yet,

and

though

kings.

he

was

doing ‘such great things for
God, he was so humble,
that he never wrote

Ignatius, then

of the Society,

Huno dilatandi Evangelii

ardorem multitudine,
cellentia miraculorum
nus roboravit.
Caco
reddidit.
Tantum

et exDomivisum
marin®

knees.
the

God

to St.

General

but on his

blessed this zeal for

diffusion

of the

Gospel

by many and extraordinary

miracles.

The saint restored

sight to a blind
man. By the
aquee signo crucis convertit in sign of the cross he changed
dulcem, quantum quingentis sea-water into fresh, suffivectoribus, qui siti adigeban- cient for many days, for a
tur ad mortem, diu suffecit.

Qua in varias quoque regiones asportata, wgri pluri-

mi subito curati sunt. Pluros mortuos revocavit ad vi-

tam, inter quos pridie sepultum erui jussum e tumulo
suscitavit, duosque alios dum

efferebantur, apprehensa corum manu, parentibus e
feretro vivos restituit. Propheti@ spiritu passim safilatus, plurima et loco et temre Temotissima enuntiavit.
mum in Sanciano Sinarum

insula,

die

secunda

Decembris_obiit plenus moritis laboribusque confectus.
Demortui cadaver viva calce

per multos menses bis obrutum,

sed

penitus

ptum, odore et

incorru-

ine ma-

navit,
et
ubi
Malacam
delatum est, pestem swvis-

simam confestim exstinxit.
Denique ubique terrarum
novis maximisque fulgentem
miraculis,
Gregorius
de-

crew

of five

This

water

hundred

men,

who were dying from thirst.
was

afterwards

taken into several countries,
and being given to sick
people, they were instantly

cured.
He
raised
several
dead men to life ; one of these

had been buried on the previous day, 8o that the corpse
had to ge taken

out of the

most

parts.

grave ; two others were being
carricd to the grave, when
the saint_took them by the
hand, and, raising them from
the bier, restored them to
their parents. Being continually ~gifted with _the
spirit of prophecy, he foretold many future events, or
such as were happening in
length,

distant
full

of

merit,

At

and

worn out by his labours, he

died on the second day of

December, in Sancian, an
island off the coast of China.

‘His corpso was twice buried in

316

ADVENT

cimus

quintus sanctis ad- unslaked lime, but was found,

ipsum

sodnlitati

soripsit.

Pius autem decimus

Propagande

tempatronum

conatituit.

Fidei

et

elcgit

operi

after several months, to bo in-

corrupt: blood flowed from it,

coolos- and it exhaled
atque

ploasing frag-

rance: when it was broughtto

Malacca, it instantly arrested
& raging pestilence. At length,

frosh and extraordinary
miracles being everywhero
wrought through the intorocession of the man of God,
ho was enrolled among tho
saints by Gregory XV; and
Pope Pius X doclared him
heavenly
patron of the Society for the Propagation of

the Faith and its work.

Glorious uPostle of Jesus Christ, who didst impart

His divine light to the nations that were sitting in
the shadows of death ! we, though unworthy of the
name of Christians, address our prayers to thee, that
by the charity which led thee to sacrifice everything
for the conversion of souls, thou wouldst deign to
prepare us for the visit of the Saviour, whom our
faith and our love desire. Thou wast the father of
infidel nations; be the protector, during this holy
season, of them that believe in Christ. Before thy
eyes had contemplated the Lord Jesus, thou didst
make Him known to countless people; now that thou
seest Him face to face, obtain for us that, when He is

come, we may see Him with that simple and ardent
faith of the Magi, those glorious first-fruits of the
nations to which thou didst bear the admirable light.*
Remember also, O great apostle, those nations
which thou didst evangelize, and where now, by a
terrible judgement of God, the word of life has ceased
to bring forth fruit. Pray for the vast empire of

China,

on

which

thou

didst look when

dying,

but

which was not blessed with thy preaching. ~ Pray for
Japan, thy dear garden which has been laid waste by
the savage wild beast, of which the psalmist speaks.
1 8t. Peter ii. 9.

DEC. 3.

ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

317

May the blood of the martyrs, which was poured out
on that land like water, bring it the long-expected
fertility. Bless, too, all the missions which our holy
mother the Church has undertaken in those lands
where the cross has not yet triumphed. May the
heart of the infidel be opened to the grand simplicity
and light of faith ; may the seed bring forth fruit a
hundred-fold ; may the number of thy successors in
the new apostolate ever increase ; may their zeal and
charity fail not ; may their toil receive its reward of
abundant fruit ; and may the crown of martyrdom,
which they receive, be not only the recompense but
the perfection and the triumph of their apostolic
ministry. Recommend to our Lord the innumerable
members of that Association, which is the means of
the faith being propagated through the world, and
which has thee for its patron. Pray, with a filial
affection and earnestness, for that holy Society, of
which thou art so bright an ornament, and which
reposes on thee its firmest confidence. May it more
and more flourish under the storm of trial which

never leaves it at rest ; may it be multiplied, that so
the children of God may be multiplied by its labours ;
may it ever have ready, for the service of the Chris-

tian world, zealous apostles and doctors ; may it not

be in vain that it bears the name of Jesus.
Let us consider the wretched condition of the
human race, at the time of Christ’s coming into the
world. The diminution of truths' is emphatically
expressed by the little light which the earth enjoys
at this season of the year. The ancient traditions
are gradually becoming extinct ; the Creator is not
acknowledged, even in the very

work of His hands ;

everything has been made God, except the God who

made all things. This frightful pantheism produces
the vilest immorality, both in society at large, and in
individuals. There are no rights Minowle
ed, save
that of might. Lust, avarice, and theft, are honoured
4 Ps.

xi. 2.

318

ADVENT

by men in the gods of their altars.

There is no such

thing as family, for divorce and infanticide are legalized ; mankind is degraded by a general system of
slavery ; nations are being exterminated by endless
wars.

The

human

race 1s in the last extreme

of

misery ; and unless the hand that created it reform
it, it must needs sink a prey to crime and bloodshed.
There are indeed some few just men still left upon
the earth, and they struggle against the torrent of
universal degradation; but they cannot save the
world ; the world despises them, and God will not
accept their merits as a palliation of the hideous
leprosy which covers the earth. All flesh has corrupted its way, and is more guilty than even in the

days of the deluge : and yet, a second destruction of

the universe would but manifest anew the justice of
God ; it is time that a deluge of His divine mercy
should flood the universe, and that He who made

man, should come down and heal him.

Come

then,

O eternal Son of God ! give life again to this dead

body ; heal all its wounds ; purify it ; let grace superabound, where sin before abounded ; and having con-

verted the world to Thy holy law, Thou wilt have

proved to all ages that Thou, who camest, wast in
very truth the Word of the Father ; for as none but

a God could create the world, so none but the same

omnipotent

God

could save it from satan and sin,

and restore it to justice and holiness.
A

RESPONSORY

OF

ADVENT

(The Roman breviary, fourth Sunday of Advent)
R. Intuemini quantus sit
R. Behold ! how great is
iste, qui ingreditur ad salvan- he that comoth in to save the
das gentes : ipse est Rex justi- nations; he is the King of
tiw, * Cujus generatio non justice, * Whose generation
habet finem.
hath no end.
V. Pracursor pro nobis inV. He comes in as our prefl-editux. secundum_ordinem cursor, made Priest for ever
elchisedech Pontifex factus according to the order of
in wternum; * Cujus gene- Melchisedech ; * Whose genratio non habet finem.
eration hath 5o end.

DEC. 4.

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS

319

DECEMBER 4

SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS
BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF 1HE CHURCH
THE same divine Providence, which would not that

the Church should be deprived of the consolation of
keeping, during Advent, the feast of scme of the
apostles, who announced to the Gentiles the coming
of the Messias, has also willed that the holy doctors,

who defended the true faith against heretics, should
be represented in this important season of the Ca holic
year.

Two of them, Saint Ambrose and Saint Peter

Chrysologus, shine as two brilliant stars in the firma-

ment of the Church during Advent. It is worthy of
note, that both of them were the zealous avengers of

that Son of God whom we are preparing to receive.

The first was the valiant opponent of the Arians,
whose impious doctrine taught that Jesus, the object
of our hopes, is merely a creature and not God ; the

second was the adversary of Eutyches, whose sacrilegious system robs the Incarnation of the Son of God
of all its glory, by asserting that, in this mystery, the
human nature was absorbed by the Divinity.
It is this second doctor, the holy bishop of Ravenna,

that we are to honour to-day. His pastoral elcquence
gained for him a great reputation, and a great number
of his sermons have been handed down o us. In
almost every page we find passages of the most
exquisite_beauty, though we also occasionally meet
with indications of the decay of literature, which
began in the fifth century. The mystery of the Incarnation is a frequent subject of the saint’s sermons,

and he always speaks upon it with a precision and
enthusiasm, which show his learning and piety.

His

ADVENT

320
veneration

and

love

towards

Mary,

the Mother of

God, who, in that very age, had triumphed over her

enemics by the decree of the
inspire him with thoughts and
extremely fine. Let us take
sermon on the Annunciation.
Virgin an angelic messenger,

Council of Ephesus,
language which are
a passage from the
‘God sends to the

who, whilst he brings

graces, gives her the entrusted pledge, and receives
hers. Then does Gabriel return with Mary’s plighted
troth.

But,

before

ascending

to

heaven,

there

to

tell the consent promised him by the Virgin, he
delivers to her the gifts due to her virtues. Swiftly
does this ambassador fly to the bride, that he may

assert God’s claim to her as His own.

Gabriel takes

her not from Joseph, but he restores her to Christ, to

whom she was espoused when she was first formed in
the womb.! Chnist, therefore, did but take His own,

when He thus made Mary His bride. Itis nota separa.

tion that He thus produces, but a union with Himself of
His own creature by becoming Incarnate in her womb.

“But let us hearken to the angel’s words. Being

come

tn, he said unto

Lord is with thee !

her : Hail, full of grace!

the

These words are not a mere salu-

tation ; they convey the heavenly gift. Hail/ that
is, Take, O Mary, the grace I bring thee ; fear not;
this is not the work of nature. Full of grace ! that

is, thou art not in grace as others are ; thou art to be

filled with it.

The Lord is with thee!

this, but that He

What means

is coming to thee not merely to

visit thee, but to enter within thee by the new
mystery of becoming thy Child ? Blessed art thou
among women. How fittingly does he add these words!
They imply, that they who heretofore were mothers
with the curse of Eve upon them, now have the blessed

Mary as their joy, and

honour, and type: and whereas

1 §t. Peter Chrysologus hero asserts the mystery of the Tmmaculate Conception. _If Mary was espoused to the Son of God from
the first moment of her existence, how could original sin ever havo
been upon her ?

DEC. 4.

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS

321

Eve was by nature the mother of children of death,
Mary is by grace the mother of children of life.”?
In the following passage from another sermon, the
holy doctor teaches us with what profound veneration we ought to contemplate Mary during these
days when God is still residing in her womb.
‘ What
reverence and awe are shown to that inner chamber
of a king, where he sits in all the majesty of his
power!
Therein no man may enter that is a
stranger, or unclean, or unfaithful. The usages of
courts require, that when men come to pay their
homage, everything must be the best, and fairest,
and most loyal. Who would go to the palace-gate
in rags ?

ho would go, that knew he was odious

to the prince ? So it is with the sanctuary of the
divine Spouse. No one is permitted to come nigh,
but he that is of God’s family, and is intimate, and

has a good conscience, and has a fair name, and leads
a holy life. Within the holy place itself God receives
but the Virgin, and spotless virginity. Hence learn,
O man, to examine thyself : who thou art, and what
thou art, and what merits thou hast. Ask thysclf,

after this, if thou mayst dare to penetrate into the

mystery of the birth of thy Lord, or canst be worthy
to approach that living sanctuary, wherein reposes

the wfiole majesty of thy King, and thy God.’?

Let us now listen to our holy mother the Church,

who thus speaks of our saint :

Potrus, qui ob auream ojus
cloquentiam Chrysologi_cognomen_adeptus _est, ForoCornelii in ZEmilia honestis
parentibus natus, a prima
wtato animam ad religionem
adjiciens, Cornclio Romano,
tunc ejusdem urbis Corneli’
ensis opiscopo, operam dedit :
a quo ctiam scientia ct vitm
sanctitate quum brevi pro"1 Sormon 140.

Poter, surnamed, for his
golden ’ eloquenco,’ Clrysologus, was born at Forum
Cornelii (Imola) in Zmilia,
of respectable parents. Turning his mind to religion from
his childhood, he put himsclf
under Cornelius, tho bishop
of that city, who was a Roman.
Ina short while he
mado such progross in learn3 Sermon 141. 21

322

ADVENT

focisset, diaconus creatus est.
Postmodum contigit, ut Ravennates ob mortem archipreesulis sui, alium, ut moris
erat, ab eis eloctum, Romam
ad sanctum Sixtum Papam
tertium pro confirmatione
miserint uns cum legatis
suis, et cum pradicto Cornelio, qui eumdem levitam
secum
perduxit. Interim
sanctus Petrus apostolus, et
martyr Apollinaris summo
Pontifici in_ somnis_apparuerunt, mediumque habentes
hunc juvenem, jusserunt, ut
illum et non alium, in archiepiscopum Ravenni crearet.
Hine pontifex, mox ut vidit
Potrum, cognovit eum a
Domino Deo praeeleotum :
propterea rejecto illo quem
ipsi offerebant, hunc solum
anno Christi quadringentesimo trigesimo tertio, illi
‘metropolitane preefecit Ecclesiz. Quod quum legati
Ravennatenses mgro ferrent,
audita visione, divin® volun:
tati libenter ~acquiescentes,
novumarchiepiscopum ma.
xima cum roverentia susceperunt.

ing and holiness of life, that,

in due time, tho bishop ordained

him

deacon.

Not

long after, it happened that

the

archbishop

of

Ravenna

having died, the inhabitants
of that city sent, as usual, to
Rome the successor they had
elected,

that

this

election

might be confirmed by the

holy Pope Sixtus IIL~

Cor-

nelius, who was also sent in

company with the deputies of

Ravenna, took with him the
youn%dea.con. Meanwhile, the

apostle Saint Peter, and the
holy martyr Apollinaris, apeared to the Roman Pontiff in
issleep. They stood with the
young levite between them,
and ordered the Pontiff to
create him, and none other,
archbishop
of Ravenna.
The Pontiff, therefore, no
sooner saw Peter than he
recognized him as the ono
chosen by God ; and rejecting the one presented to him,
he appointed Peter to the
metropolitan Church of that
city, in the year of our Lord
433. Atfirst, thedeputies from

Ravenna

were dissatisfied at

this. decision of the Pope;
but, having.been told of the
vision, they readilyacquiesced
in the divine will, and received

the new archbishop with the
greatest reverence.
Petrus igitur, licet invitus,
Poter, _therefore, being,
in archiprmsulem consecra- though reluctant, consecrated
tus Ravennam deducitur : archbishop, was conducted

ubi a Valentiniano impera- to Ravenna, where he was
tore, et a Galla Placidia ejus received with the greatest joy
matre, et ab universo populo by the emperor Valentinian,
‘maxima, letitia exceptus est. and Galla Placidia the emEt ille ab eis id unum petcre peror’s mother, and the whole

DEC. 4.

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS

dixit, ut quando tantum
oncris pro ipsorum salute
subiro non recusaret, studerent ipsi monitis suis obtemperare, divinisque praceptis non obsistere. Duorum sanctorum tunc ibi_defunctorum corpora _optimis
unguentis_condita sepelivit ;
Barbatiani videlicet presby.
teri, et Germani Antissiodorensis episcopi, cujus etiam
cucullam et cilicium sibi
vindicavit in hxreditatem.
Projectum ot _Marcellinum
cpiscopos
ordinavit. - In
Classo_fontem exstruxit magoitudinis vero admirabilis,
ot templa, quedam magnifica
adificavit, tum beato Androw
apostolo, tum aliis sanctis.
Ludos ab hominibus personatis cum variis saltationibus,
Kalendis Januarii fieri solitos,
concione cohibuit _acerrima,
ubi inter alia illud praclare
dixit: Qui jocari voluerit
cum diabolo, non poterit
gauderc cum Christo. - Jussu
sancti Leonis Pape primi
seripsit ad Chalcedonense
Concilium adversus hwresim
Eutychetis. Respondit preterea ad Eutychen ipsum et
alia _epistola, que eidem
Concilio in novis editionibus
profixa, et in annales ecclesiasticos relata fuit.

323

people.
On hrs
part, ho told
them that he asked of them

but this, that since he had not
refused this great burden for
their salvation’s

sake,

they

would make it their study to
follow his counsels, and to
obey the commandments of
God. He then buried in the
city the bodies of two saints,
after having embalmed them
with tho most precious perfumes; Barbatian, a priest,
was one; and the other, Ger-

manus, bishop of Auxerre,
whose cowl and hair-shirt he
claimedashisown inheritance.
He ordained Projectus and

Marcellinus bishops.
In the
town of Classis he erected a

fountain of an incredible size,
and built some magnificent
churches in honour of several
saints,
of Saint
Andrew

among the rest. The peoplo
had a custom of assisting at
certain games, on the first
day of January, which consisted of theatrical performances and dances ; the saint
repressed these by the severity with which he preached
against them. One of his
expressions deserves to be
handed down : He that would
play with the devil, can never
enjoy the company of Jesus.
At the command of Pope
St. Leo L, he wrote to the
Council of Chalcedon against
tho heresy of Eutyches. He
answered Eutyches himself
by another epistle, which has
been

added

to

the

acts

of

that same Council in the new

editions, and has been inserted
in the ecclesiastical annals.

324

ADVENT

Dum publice sermones haberet ad populum, adeo vehemens erat in dicendo, ut
pro nimio ardore vox illi
interdum defecerit: sicut
contigit in concione mulieris
hemorrhoisse. Unde Ravennates commoti, tot lacrymis,
clamoribus et orationibus locum repleverunt, ut postea
ipse gratias ageret Deo, quod
in lucrum amoris verterit
damnum ejusdem scrmonis.
Cum tandem annos circiter
decem et octo eam Ecolesiam
sanctissime rexisset, laborum
suorum finem adesso dividitus praenoscens, in patriam
so contulit; ubi sancti Castemplum ingressus,
siani
magnum _diadema aureum,
gemmis distinctum pretiosissimis offerens, super altare
majus posuit; necnon aureum craterom et patenam
argenteam, quam tum rabidi
canis morsus, tum febres sanare expertum est, aqua inde
demissa. Ex tunc Ravennates qui eumdem secuti
fuerant ~ dimisit, admonens,
ut in cligendo optimo pastore _invigilarent attente.
Mox Deum humiliter precatus, et sanctum Cassianum
patronum, ut benigne animam ejus exciperet, tertio
Nonas Decembris, placide ox
hac vita migravit, anno
Domini circiter quadringentesimo_quinquagesimo. Sacrum illius corpus communi
totius civitatis fletu ac pietate
rope corpus ejusdem sancti
Eieriant honorifice conditum,
nostris etiam temporibus
ose colitur: cujus ta-

In

his

sermons

to

the

peoplo ho was so earncst, that
at times his voico completely
failed him, as in his sermon
on the woman healed by our
Lord, as mentioned in the
ninth chapter of St. Matthew ;
on which occasion his peoplo
of Ravenna were so affected,

and 50 moved to tears, that

the whole

church rang with

their sobbings and prayers,
and the saint afterwards

thanked God that
turned the failure

he had
of his

speech into the gain of so
much love. After having
governed that Church, in a
most

holy

manner,

about

eighteen years, and having
received a divine warning

that his labours were soon to
end, he withdrew to his
native town. There he visited
the church of St. Cassian,

and presented an offering of
a largo golden diadem, set
with ‘most precious stones,
which he placed upon the
high altar: he also gave a
golden cup, and a silver paten,
which imparts to water
poured on it the virtue of
healing the bites of mad dogs,
and of assuaging fevers, as
frequent _instances have at.
tested. Heo then took leave
of those who had accom-

panied him from Ravenna,
admonishing them to spare
no pains in electing for their
pastor him who was the most.
worthy. Immediately after
this he turned in humble
prayer to God, that, through
the intercession of his patron

St. Cassian, he would merci-

DEC. 4.

ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS

325

men brachium, auro et gem- fully receive_ his soul; and
mis ornatum, Ravennam de- calmly passed out of this life,
latum in Ursicana ade veno- on the third of the Nones of
ratur.
December (Dec. 3), about the
year450. His holy body was
buried, amidst the toars and
prayers of the whole city,
near the body of the samo St.
Cassian : there it is vencrated
even at this day; though
Ravenna possesses and venerates one of the arms, which
was enshrined in_gold and
gems and placed in the
basilica Ursicana.
Holy pontiff, who didst open thy lips and pour out

on the assembly of the faithful, in the streams of thy
golden eloquence,

the knowledge of Jesus, cast an

eye of compassion on the Christians throughout the

world, who are watching in expectation of that same
God-Man, whose two Natures thou didst so courageously confess. Obtain for us grace to receive Him
with the sovereign respect which is due to a God
who comes down to His creatures, and with the loving
confidence which is due to a Brother who comes
to offer Himself in sacrifice for His most unworthy
brethren. Strengthen our faith, most holy doctor!
for the love we stand in need of comes from faith,
Destroy the heresies which lay waste the vineyard
of our Father; and uproot that frightful pantheism,

which is the form under which the heresy thow

didst combat is still among us.

May the numerous

Churches of the East abjure that heresy of Eutyches
which reigns so supreme amongst them, and gives
them the knowledge of the ineffable mystery of the
Incarnation only to blaspheme it. Pray that the
children of the Church may show to the judgements
of the apostolic See that perfect obedience, to which
thou didst so eloquently urge the heresiarch Eutyches,
in the epistle thou didst address to him, and ‘which

ADVENT

328

will ever be precious to the world : ¢ We exhort thee

above

receive
by the
blessed
shows

all things,

most honoured brother, that thou

with obedience whatsoever has been written
most blessed Pope of the city of Rome : for,
Peter, who lives and presides in his own See,
the truth of faith to all them that seek it.’

(Letter 25.)

THE SAME DAY
SAINT

BARBARA,

VIRGIN

AND

MARTYR

AvtHOUGH, in the Roman liturgy, St. Barbara is
merely commemorated in the Office of St. Peter
Chrysologus, yet the Church has approved an entire
Office for the use of those Churches which honour
the memory of this illustrious virgin in a special

manner.

The legend which follows, although of con-

siderable weight, has not, consequently, the authority
of those which are promulgated for the use of the
whole Church, in the Roman breviary. Let us not,
on this account, be less fervent in honouring this
glorious martyr, so celebrated in the east, and whose
feast has been for so many ages admitted, with more
or less solemnity, into the Roman Church. The acts
of her martyrdom, though not of the highest antiquity,
contain nothing in them but what redounds to the
glory of God and the honour of the saint. We have
already shown the liturgical importance which attaches to St. Barbara in this season of Advent. Let
us admire the constancy wherewith this virgin waited
for her Lord, who came at the appointed hour, and
was for her, as the Scripture speaks, a Spouse of
blood, because He put the strength of her love of
Him to the severest of all tests.

DEC. 4.

ST. BARBARA

327

Barbara, a virgin of NicoBarbara, virgo Nicomediensis, Dioscori nobilis sed media, the daughter of Diossuperstitiosi hominis ~filia, corus, o nobleman but a
per ca que visibilia facta superstitions pagan, came
sunt ad invisibilia, divina readily, by the assistance of
opitulante gratia, facile per- divine grace, from the convenit.

Quapropter

soli Deo

nobilium

connubia

vacare
divinis
rebusque
ceepit. Eam pater, utpote
forma venustiori nitentem,
a quocumque virorum occursu_tutari cupiens, turri
inclusit : ubi pia virgo meditationibus et precibus addicta, soli Deo, quem sibi in
sponsum elegerat, placere
studebat. Oblata & patre
luries

ortiter sprevit. Pater vero
per sui absentiam fili® animum_posse facilius emolliri
confidens, jussit primo balneum extrui, ne quid ei
deesset

ad

commoditatem ;

deinde peregre in exteras
regiones profectus cst.

Absente patre, jussit Barbara duabus fenestris quw in
turri erant, tertiom addi in
honorem divin Trinitatis,
Iabiumque balnei sac
sanct crucis signo_muniri :
quod ubi rediens Dioscorus
inspexit, audita novitatis
ocsusa, adeo in filiam excanduit ut stricto ense eam

templation of the visible
things of creation to the
knowledge of the invisible.
Wherefore, she devoted her.
self to God alone and to the
things of God. Her father,
desirous to preserve her from
all danger of insult, to which
he feared her great beauty
might expose her, shut her
up in a tower. There the
pious virgin passed her days
in meditation and prayer,
studying to please God
alone, whom she had chosen
as her Spouse. She courageously rejected several
offers of marriage, which
were made to her, through
her father, by rich nobles.
But her father hoped that,
by separating_himself by a
Iong absence from his child,
her intentions would easily
change. He first ordered
that @ bath should be built
for her in the tower, so that
she might want for nothing ;
and then he set out on &
journey into distant countries.
During her father's absence, Barbara ordered that
to the two windows already
in the tower a third should
be added, in honour of the
blessed Trinity; and that
on the edge of the bath the
sign of the most holy cross
should be drawn. = When
Dioscorus returned homo,

328

ADVENT

appetens, parum abfuerit ut and saw those changes, and
eam dire confoderet;
;)ruw
adfuit Deus;

sed
nam

ugienti
Barbare saxum
ingens se patefaciens viam
aperuit, per quam montis
fastigium peterc, et sic in
specu latere potuit; scd
paulo post quum a nequissimo genitore reperta fuisset,
ejus latera
ibus dorsumque pugnis immaniter
percussit, et crinibus per loca
aspera difficilesque vias raptatam Marciano presidi puniendam tradidit. Itaque
ab ipso omnibus modis, sed
nudam
_tentata
incassum
norvis cedi et inflicta vulnera
testulis
confricari,

deinde

in

carcerem

trahi

preccepit: ubi jmmensa luce
circumdatus ei Christus apparens, mirifice confortatam
in passionum tolerantis confirmavit: quod animadvertens Julisna matrona,
ad
fidem conversa
ojusdem
palme particops effecta cst.

Barbarm demum ferreis
unguibus membra laniantur,
facibus latera incenduntar, of
‘malleolis caput contunditur :

was told their meaning, he
Dbecame 8o incensed against
his daughter, that he wont in
search of her with & naked
sword in his hand, and, but
for the protection of God,
he would have cruelly murdered her. Borbara had
taken to flight : an immense
rook opened before her, and
she found & path by which
she reached tho top of a
mountain, and thero she hid
herself in s cave. Not long
aiter, however, she was discovered by her unnatural
father, who savagely kicked
and struck her, and dregging
her by the hair over the
sharp rocks, and rugged
ways, he handed her over to
the governor Marcian, that
he might punish her. He,
thercfore, having used overy
means to shake her constancy, and finding that, all
was in vain, gave orders
for her to bo stripped and
scourged with thongs, to
have her wounds scraped with
tsherds, and then to bo
ragged to prison. Thero
Christ, surrounded by an
immense light, appearing to
her, strengthened her in a
divine manner for the sufferings she was yet to endure,
A matron, named Juliana,
Who witnessed this, wes con.
verted to the faith, and
became her companion in
martyrdom.
At length Barbara had her
body torn with iron hooks,
her sides burnt with torches,
and her head bruised with

DEC.

4.

quibus in_cruciatibus concortem solabtur, ot hortabatur ut ad finom usquo conPraccisis
certaret.
stanter
tandem utrique uberibus,
nude per loca publica
tractm, filieque cervicom
ipse scelostissimus pater,
humanitatis expers, propriis
manibus amputavit; cujus
fera crudelitas non diu inulta
remansit;
nam
statim
eo
ipso in loco fulmine percussus interiit. Corpus hujus
beatissim® virginis Justinus
Imperator Nicomedia suferons, Constantinopolim_primum transportavit. Illud
idem, oum in progressu
temporis ab Imperatoribus
Constantino et Basilio impetrassent Veneti, Constantinopoli deductum in- sancii
Marci basilica fuit deindo
solemniter collocatum. Postremo ot ultimo, supplicantibus Torcellano episcopo
cjusque sorore abbatissa, ad
ceclesiam monialium Sancti
Joannis _Evangeliste Torcellane dicecesis, anno salutis millesimo nono defertur :
ubi ct honorifice conditum,
perpetuo cultu ad preesens
usque

tempus

veneratur.

summoperc

329

ST. BARBARA

mallets.

During_these tor-

tures she consoled her com-

panion, and exhorted her to
fight manfully to the last.
Both of them
had
breasts cut off, were ds

their

naked through the streets,
and beheaded.

The head of

Barbara was cut off by her

own father, who in his excessive wickedness had hardened
his heart thus far. But his

forocious cruelty was not
long left unpunished, for
instantly, and on_ the very
spot, he was struck dead by
lightning.
The
emperor

Justinus

had

the

body

of

this most holy virgin_ translated

from

Nicomedia

to

Constantinople. It was afterwards obtained by tho Venotians from the emperors
Constantine and Basil; and
having been translated from
Constantinoplo to Venice,
was deposited with great soJemnity in the basilica of St.

Mark. Lastly, at the earnest
request of the bishop of
Torcello and his sister, who
was abbess, it was translated

in the year of grace 1009, to

the nuns' church
of St.
John the Evangelist, in the
diocese of Torcello ; where it

was placed in a worthy se-

Ell]c]lre, and from that time

as never ceased to be the

object of most fervent veneration.

Such is the account of the life and martyrdom of
the courageous virgin of Nicomedia. She is invoked
in the Church against lightning, on account of the
punishment inflicted by divine justice on her execrable

330

ADVENT

father. This same incident of the saint’s history has
suggested several Catholic customs : thus her name
is sometimes given to the hold of men-of war where
the ammunition is stowed ; she is the patroness of

men, miners, etc. ; and she is invoked by the
artillery
faithful against the danger of a sudden death.
Of the Liturgical pieces, used in our western Churches
in honour of St. Barbara, we will content ourselves
with the following beautiful antiphon, composed in
the days of chivalry.
ANTIPHON
O

divine

bonitatis

im-

mensa clementia, qua Barbaram illustravit vero claritatis
lumine, ut terrene
dignitatis _contempto splendore, divinitatis conscia effici mereretur: hzc velut
lilium inter spinis enituit,
et lux in tencbris eluxit.
Alleluia.

O

immeasurable

mercy

of

divine goodness, which™ did
enlighten Barbara with tho
brightness of the true light,
making her worthy, by her
contempt for what was dazzling in earthly grandeur, to
be admitted to a union with
God! As the lily among
thorns, as light in darkness,
80 shone Barbara. Alleluia.

The Greek Church is profuse in its praises of St.
Barbara. We will take from the Menaa a few out of
the many strophes which are sung in honour of the
holy martyr:
HYMN

OF THE GREEK

Quando coram te, veneranda martyr Barbara, dulcis mors apparuit, gaudens
ot festinans cursum complevisti, impiique genitoris
injustis manibus sacrificata

es, et Deo oblata es victima :

unde vere prudentium virginum conjuncta choris, tui
Sponsi contemplaris splendorem.

CHURCH

‘When welcome death came

before thee, O venerable martyr Barbara! joyously and

nimbly didst thou run thy

course, and being immolated
by the wicked hands of an
impious parent, thou wast

oficred a victim to God.
Now, thercfore, art thou in

the choir of the truly wise
virgins, and contemplatest
the beauty of thy Spousc.

DEC. 4.

Agna

tua, Jesu,

ST. BARBARA

magna

This

331

lamb

of

thine,

O

Jesus, cries to thee with a
loud voice: Thee, O my
gno, et confixa sum et con- Spouse, do I desire, thee do
sepulta tuo baptismati, et I seek by my combat; I am
patior propter te, ut Te- immolated and buried in thy
gnem tecum ; et morior pro baptism; I suffer for thee,
te, ut et vivam in te : igitur that
I may reign with thee;
ut sacrificium irreprehensibile 1 die for theo, that T may live
suscipe amanter sacrificatam in thee; receive me, theretibi. Illius precibus, ut mi- fore, as an unreserved sacrisericors, salva animas nostras. fice lovingly sacrificed to
voce clamat: Te, Sponse mi,
desidero, et quarens te pu-

tlixlee].J Save I?“rh souls, O mer-

E spinosa exorta radice,
rosa sacratissima, Ecclesiam
suaviter inodorans, te rubore
prelii per sanguinem purpuratam, gloriosa Barbara,
nunc dignissime beatam celebramus.
Non deliciarum _jucunditas, non_pulchritudinis flos,
neque _divitie, neque juventutis voluptates te mulsorunt, Barbara gloriosa,
Christo desponsata, pulcherrima virgo.
In certamine tuo omnes
obstupefecisti; nam _tolerasti tyrannorum cruciatus,
vincula, tormenta, Barbara
celeberrima; quapropter et
corona Deus te donavit quam
desiderasti: cum animo cucurristi, et illo sanam te fecit.
Sponsum tuum Christum
adamata, lampadis tum fulgore preparato, virtutibus
refulsisti, laude digna: unde ingressa cs cum co ad
nuptias, ab eo recipiens
certaminis coronam: sed a
periculis libera nos cele-

ciful

Jesus, by her prayers.

Glorious

bara | most

sacred rose grown out of a
thorny stem, sweetly

ing the Church, and

m-

ruddy

by the blood of thy battle !

we this day most fervently
proclaim thee blessed.
Neither

the

sweetness

of

luxury, nor the flower of
beauty, nor riches, nor the
pleasures of youth, could rob
thee of thy energy, O glorious
Barbara, most_fair virgin,
espoused to Christ.

All stood in amazement at

witnessing thy combat; for
thou didst endure the tortures, and chains, and cruel-

ties,

of thy

persecutors,

O

Barbara, of wide-world fame !
Therefore, did God give thee
the crown thou didst covet ;

thou didst run thy course
with courage, and he healed
thee.

Full of love for Jesus thy
Spouse, thy bright lamp was
well trimmed, and

thy

vir-

tues shed forth their splendour, O virgin worthy of
praise ! Therefore didst thou
enter in with
Christ to

the marriage-feast, and he

332

ADVENT

brantes, Barbara,
riam.

Tribus

illustrari

ostiolis

_jubens

tui memo-

lavacrum

mystice

wreathed.thoe with the crown
of thy combat. We celcbrate
thy ‘memory, O Barbara!
Deliver us from danger.
By

those three aperturcs,

which thou wouldst have to
indicasti Baptisma, O Bar- thy bath, thou didst symbara, Trinitatis lumine ani- bolize, O Barbara, the mysmabus splendidam suppetens tery of Baptism, which, by
purgationem.
the light of the Trinity, imparts to our souls a cleansing
that illuminates.
Fleeing the terrible vioFurore terribili patris declinato, Barbaram statim lence of her father, & rock im80 scindens mons recepit, mediately opened a reception
ut olim illustrem protomar- of safety to Barbara, as haptyrem Theclam, miraculum pened herctofore to the illustrious protomartyr of her
operante Christo.
sex, Thecla, for whom Christ
worked a like miracle.
Gladio te, martyr Barbara,
O martyr Barbara! thou

immolans pater, Abraham
alter, sed diabolo favit.

Apparuit Christus in lumine inaccessibili tibi incluswe, O Barbara, in carcere,

ut confidentem te incitans et
vibices sanans et lwtitiam

prbens: undo alas acepit
ponsi tui amore.

Angelus_ fulgidus te, propter Christum denudatam
veneranda Barbara, vestivit,
ut sponsam, veste splendida
que vulnera texit; stolam
enim induisti divinam afferentem mutationem.
Demonstrata est evidenter,
Christe, prophetia tua adim:
plota: pater namque filiam
ad omdem tradit, ipse artifex
jugulationis; qui improbus

wast sacrificed with a sword,

by thy father ; like in this to
Abraham, but his_devotedness was to the devil.
Jesus appeared to thee, O
Barbara, in thy prison: ho
was surrounded by light inaccessible, but he came to
animate thy confidence, heal
t?ydw:;lmds and make thec
glad : this gave wings to th
Tove of thygLord.
%
When for Christ’s sake thou
wast stripped of thy garments, O vencrable Barbara !
a bright angel clothed thee,
as a bride, with a splendid
robe, which covered thy
wounds; for thou hast put
on the stole which gives creatures a divine transformation.
Thy prophecy, O Christ,
has been evidently fulfilled :
for the father delivers his
daughter up to death, nay
himsclf becomes her mur-

DEC.

4.

333

ST. BARBARA

genitor tux martyris stu- derer ; but this crucl parent of
pendo modo e ceelo igne con- thy martyr is, in a wonderful manncr, consumed by fire
sumitur.
from heaven.
Thou, most honoured virAthleticam ingressa viam,
paternam
renuisti
voluntagin, having entered the path
tem, tota honorabilis, et virgo of combatants, didst resist
uidem sapiens lampadem thy father's demands, and,
erens, egressa es ad man- a8 a wise virgin bearing her
siones Domini tui; et ut lamp, thou didst go into the
martyr gencrosa, gratiam ac- mansions of thy Lord; he
cepisti sanandi carnis puti- gave thee, O generous mardam pestilentiam: et nos tyr, the power to drive away
hymnificantes te spirituali- pestilence ; pray to God for
bus doloribus libera, tuis ad us who hymn thy praises, and
Deum precibus.
deliver us from our spiritual
diseases.
To this the voice of so many Churches we join ours,

O faithful virgin ! and though we are unworthy, yet
do we offer thee our praise and our prayers. Behold !

our Lord cometh, and the darkness of the night is
upon us ; give to our lamp both the light which will

guide us, and the oil which will keep in the light.
Thou

knowest

that He

came

who

for love of thee,

and with whom thou art now united for all eternity,
is coming to visit us tco ; pray for us that nothing may

keep us from receiving Him.

May we go towards

Him courageously and swiftly as thou didst; and
being once with Him, may we never be separated
from

Him

again,

for

He

is the

centre

where

we

creatures find our only rest. Pray also, O glorious
martyr, that the faith in the blessed Trinity may be
ever increasing in this world. May our enemy, satan,
be confounded by every tongue confessing the three-

fold light, and the triumphant cross which sanctifics

the waters of Baptism. Remember, O blessed Barbara, thou bride of Jesus, that He has put in thy
gentle hands the power not of hurling, but of staying
and averting, the thunderbolt. Protect our ships
against the fires of heaven and of war. Shield by thy

334

ADVENT

protection the arsenals where are placed the defences
of our country. Hear the prayers of them that
invoke thee, whether in the fierceness of the storm,

or in the dark depths of the earth ; and save us all
from the awful chastisement of a sudden death.

Let us consider how the various nations on the
face of the earth, though differing in customs, and
speech, and interests, are all united in the expectation of a Deliverer soon to come. Neither the frightful corruption of morals, nor the long ages which
have passed since the promises were given, have been
able to efface the tradition, or the hope it inspired.
At the very time when the world seems crumbling
into dissolution, a strong symptom of vigour is
evinced, and from one end of the earth to the other

there is heard this cry : The King of the universe is
soon to appear ; a new empire, holy and everlasting,
is to bring all peoples into one. It is thus, O Jesus!

that Jacob prophesied on his dying bed, when he

said, speaking of Thee : * He shall be the expectation

of nations.”> Men have, indeed, searched after, and
found, the way to the lowest degradation ; but they

could not prevent the fulfilment of this prophecy :
and by their expectation of a happier state of things,
they themselves fulfil it ; and by fulfilling it, are confessing that their misery has no remedy save Thyself.
Come,

then, O Son of God! and cherish this ray of

hope of the ancient world, which renders Thee this

its only homage, even whilst falling under the weight
of its own wretchedness.
The expectation of a Deliverer is the bond of union between the two great
divisions of the human race, those who preceded and

those who have lived since Thy Nativity.

But if the

pagan world, from the depth of its vices and errors,
could sigh after Thee, O Jesus ! what shall we not do,

who have inherited what was promised, now that
1 Gen. xlix. 10.

DEC. 4.

ST. BARBARA

335

Thou art preparing to come and take possession of
our souls ? We

already know

Thee, for Thou

hast

initiated us into Thy mysteries ; we cannot do less,

dear Jesus! we are longing for Thee during these
days of Advent. When the beautiful day of Thy
visit comes, mayst Thou find that Thy love is already
in our hearts. Make our expectation more fervid,

increase our faith, and come !
A

RESPONSORY

OF

ADVENT

(The Roman breviary, Matins of the first Sunday)
R. Salvatorem_ exspectaR. Welook for the Saviour,
mus Dominum Jesum_Chri- our Lord Jesus Christ ; * Who
stum ; * Qui reformabit cor- will reform the body of our
pus humilitatis nostre con- lowliness made like to the
figuratum_corpori claritatis body of his glory. V. Let us
sum. V. Sobrie, juste, et pie, live soberly, and justly, and
vivamus in hoo swculo, ex- piously in this world, looki
spectantes beatam spem, et for the blessed hope an
adventum glorim magni Dei, coming of the glory of the
* Qui reformabit corpus hu- great God, * Who will reform
militatis nostr® configura- the body of our lowliness
made liko to the body of his
tum corpori claritatis su.
glory.

336

ADVENT

DECEMBER

COMMEMORATION

5

OF ST. SABAS, ABBOT

TrE Roman Church confines herself to-day to the

Office of the feria : but to that she joins a commemoration of St. Sabas, abbot of the celebrated laura of
Palestine which still exists under his name. This

saint, who died in 533, is the only one of the monastic

Order of whom the Church makes any mention in
her liturgy during the whole period of Advent ; we
might even say
that he is the only simple confessor
whose name occurs in the calendar of this part of
the year: for, as regards St. Francis Xavier, the
glorious title of apostle of the Indies puts him in a
distinct class of saints. Here, again, we should recog-

nize divine Providence, which has selected for these
days of preparation for Christmas, those saints whose

characteristic virtues would make them our fittest
models in this work of preparation. We have the
feasts of apostles,

pontiffs,

doctors,

virgins : Jesus,

the Man-God, the King and Spouse of men, is preceded by this magnificent procession of the noblest
of His servants : simple confession has but a single
representative, the anchoret and cenobite Sabas, who,

by his profession of the monastic life, is of that family
o{ holy solitaries, which began with the prophet Elias

under the old Testament, and continued up to the

time of St. John the Precursor, who was one of its
members,

and

will

continue

on,

during

Covenant, until the last coming of Jesus.
then,

honour

this

holy

abbot,

towards

the

new

whom

the

Let us,

Greek Church professes a filial veneration, and under
whose invocation Rome has consecrated one of her

DEC. 5.

COMMEMORATION

OF ST. 8ABAS

337

churches. Let us beg his prayers by this Collect of
the holy liturgy COLLECT

Intercessio nos, quesumus,
Domine, beati Sabb abbatis
commendet, ut quod nostris
meritis non valemus, cjus
patrocinio_assequamur. Per
Christum Dominum nostrum.
Amen,

May tho intercession, wo
beseech theo, O Lord, of the
blessed abbot Sabas recommend us to thee; that what
wo cannot hope for through
our own merits, we may obtain by his prayers. Through
Christ our Lord. Amen.

O Sabas, thou man of desires ! in thy expectation

of that Lord, who has bidden His servants watch until
He come, thou didst withdraw into the desert, fearing

lest the turmoil of this world might distract thy mind
from its God. Have pity on us who are living in the
world, and are so occupied in the affairs of that world,

and yet who have received the commandment, which
thou didst so take to heart, of keeping ourselves in
readiness for the coming of our Saviour and our
Judge. Pray for us, that when He comes we may be
worthy to go out to meet Him. Remember also the
monastic state, of which thou art one of the brightest

ornaments ; raise it up again from its ruins; let its
children be men of prayer and faith, as of old ; let
thy spirit be among them, and the Church thus
regain, by thy intercession, all the glory which is
reflected on her from the sublime perfection of this
holy state.
Let us look again at the prophecy of Jacob.

The

holy patriarch not only foretells that the Messias
will be

the Expectation

of nations;

he adds

that,

when this promised Deliverer comes, the sceptre will

have been taken away from Juda.! * This oracle is now

fulfilled.

ramparts

The flag of Ceesar Augustus floats on the

of Jerusalem.

The

1 Gen. xlix. 10

temple

is still un22

338

ADVENT

touched ; the abomination of desolation stands not

yet in the holy place ; sacrifices are there still offered
up to God;

but then,

the true temple of God,

the

Incarnate Word, has not yet been built; the Syna-

gogue has not denied Him, who was her expectation ;
the Victim, that was to supersede all others, has not
been immolated. Yet, Juda has no chief of her own
race ; Casar’s coin is current throughout all Palestine ; and the day is not far off when the leaders of
the Jewish people will own, in the presence of the
Roman governor, that they have not the power to put
any man to death.! So that there is now no king
upon the throne of David and Solomon, that throne
which was to abide for ever. O Jesus ! Son of David,
and King of
peace, now is the time when Thou must

show Thyself
and take possession of the sceptre
which has been taken in battle from the hand of
Juda, and put, for a time, into that of an emperor.
Come ! for Thou art King, and the psalmist, Thy
ancestor, thus sang of Thee : ‘ Gird Thy sword upon

Thy thigh, O Thou Most Mighty ! With Thy comeliness and Thy beauty set out, proceed prosperously,

and reign, because of truth and meekness and justice,

and Thy right hand shall conduct Thee wonderfully.
Thy arrows are sharp : under Thee shall people fall :
Thy arrows shall go into the hearts of the King’s
enemies. Thy throne is for ever and ever; the
sceptre of Thy kingdom is a sceptre of uprightness.

... God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee, O Christ !
who takest thence Thy name, with the oil of gladness
above Thy

fellows, who have been honoured with the

name of king’? When Thou hast come, O Messias !
men will be no more as sheep going astray without a
shepherd ; there will be but one fold, in which Thou
wilt reign by love and justice, for all power will be
given unto Thee in heaven and on earth. When, in
the hour of Thy Passion, Thy enemies shall ask Thee :
1 St. Jobn xviii. 31,

2 k.. xliv.

DEC. 5.

“Art Thou
truth:

COMMEMORATION

King ?” Thou

¢ Verily,

I am.’!

OF ST. SABAS

339

wilt answer them in all

Come,

reign over our hearts; come,

world, which is Thine because

dearest

King,

and

and reign over this

Thou didst create.it,

and will soon be Thine because Thou wilt have redeemed

it.

Reign, then, over this world, and delay

not the manifestation of Thy royal power until
day of which it is written: H}; will break kings in
day of His wrath’;? reign from this very
hour,
let all people fall at Thy feet and adore Thee in
grand homage of love and obedience.
SEQUENCE

FOR THE TIME

the
the
and
one

OF ADVENT

(Composed in the eleventh century, and taken from the ancient
Roman-French missals)

Qui regis sceptra forti dex-

O thou that, in the might
of thy right hand, alone
tra solus cuncta ;
rulest over all sceptres,
Tu plebi tusm ostende
Raise up thy great power,
magnam _excitando poten- and show it to the people,
tiam ;
To whom grant the gifts of
Prasta illi dona salutaria.
salvation.
Jesus whom the oracles of
Quem praedixerunt prophetica vaticinia,
the prophets foretold,
Send him from the bright
A clara poli regia,
palace of heaven,
Send him, O Lord, into our
In nostra Jesum mitte,
Domine, arva.
land.
Amen.
Amen,
1 St. John xviii. 37.

2 Ps. cix. b,

DEcEMBER

6

ST. NICHOLAS, BISHOP OF MYRA
AND CONFESSOR
Divine Wisdom has willed that on the way which
leads to the Messias, our great High Priest, there
should be many pontifis to pay Him the honour due
to Him.

two

holy

Two Popes, St. Melchiades and St. Damasus :

doctors,

St.

Peter Chrysologus

and

St.

Ambrose ; two bishops, St. Nicholas and St. Eusebius ;

these are the glorious pontiffs who have been entrusted with the charge of preparing, by their prayers,
the way of the Christian people towards Him, who
is the sovereign Priest according to the order of

Melchisedech. As each of their feasts comes we
will show their right to have been thus admitted
into the court of Jesus. To-day the Church celebrates with joy the feast of the great thaumaturgus

Nicholas, who is to the Greek Church what St.
Martin is to us. The Church of Rome has honoured
the name of Nicholas for nearly a thousand years.
Let us admire the wonderful power which God gave
him over creation ; but let us offer him our most
fervent congratulations for that he was permitted to
be one of the three hundred and eighteen bishops, who
proclaimed, at Nicea, that the Word is consubstantial
with the Father. The humiliations of the Son of
God did not scandalize him. Neither the lowliness
of the flesh, which the sovereign Lord of all things
assumed

to Himself in the womb of the Virgin, nor

the poverty of the crib, hindered him from confessin,
the Son of Maryto be Son of God, equal to God ; an
for this reason, God has glorified this His servant,

and

the

given him

the

children of the

power to obtain, each year, for

Church, the grace of receiving this

same Jesus, the Word, with simple faith and fervent

DEC.

6.

8T. NICHOLAS

341

love. Let us now listen to the eulogy of St. Nicholas,
which the Roman Church has inserted in her liturgy.
Nicolaum, illustri loco PaNicholas was born of a
tarm in Lycia natum, paren- noble family at Patara, in
us impetrathe province of Lycia. His
tes & Deo pr
runt.
Cujus viri sanctitas, birth was the fruit of his
quanta futura esset, jam ab parents’ prayers. Evidences
incunabulis apparuit. Nam of his great future holiness
infans, quum reliquos dies wero given from his very

lac nutricis frequens sugeret,
uarta

et sexta

feria semel

cradle.
infant,

For when he was an
he would take his

umtaxat, idque vesperi, su- food only once on Wednesgebat: quam jejunii consue- days and Fridays, and then
tudinem in reliqua vita sem- not till evening ; whilst on all
per tenuit. Adolescens pa- other days he frequently took
rentibus orbatus, facultates the breast: he kept up this
suas pauperibus_ distribuit. custom of fasting during the
Cujus illud insigne est Chri- rest of his life. Having lost
stiane benignitatis exem- his parents when ho was a
plum, quod quum ejus civis boy, he gave all his goods to
egens tres filias jam nubiles
in matrimonio collocare non

posset, earumquo pudicitiam
prostitucre
cogitaret:
e
cognita, Nicolaus noctu per
fenestram tantum _pecunia
in ejus domum injecit, quantum unius virginis doti satis
esset: quod quum iterum et
tertio fecisset,

tres ille vir-

gines honestis viris in matrimonium date sunt.

the
poor.
Of his Christian
kindheartedness there is the

following noble _examplo.
One of his fellow-citizens hnd
three daughters; but being
too poor to obtain them an
honourable marriage, he was

minded to abandon them to

a life of prostitution.

Nicho-

las having come to know the
case, went to the house during
the night, and threw in by the
window & sum of money sufficient for the dower of one
of the daughters ; he did the

Quum vero se totum Deo
dedisset, in Palwstinam prout

loca

sancta

fectus

est,

retur.

Qua in peregrinatione

viseret, et prmsens veneranavem

conscendens

sereno

ccelo et tranquillo mari, horribilem nautis tempestatem

same o second and a third
time; and thus the three were
married to respectable men,
Having
given
himself
wholly to the service of God,

he set out for Palestine, that

he might visit and venerate
the holy places. During this
plerinago, which he made

y scs, he foretold to the
mariners
on
embarking,

342

ADVENT
ortam,

though the heavens were then

sericulo. orans mirabiliter se-

that they would be overtaken
by a frightful storm. In a

predixit:

moxque

quum essent omnes in summo

serene and

the sea tranquil,

avit. Unde quum domum
reversus singularis sanctitatis very short time the storm
omnibus documenta
prabe- arose. All were in the most
rot, Dei admonitu
Myram, imminent danger, when he
que Lycie metropolis erat, quelled it by his prayers.
venit : quo tempore ejus urbis His pilgrimage ended, he reepiscopo mortuo, provinciales turned home, giving to all
episcopi de_successore deli- men example of the greatest
do consultabant. _Itaque sanctity. He went, by an inin ea deliberatione divinitus spiration from God, to Myra,
admoniti sunt, ut eum elige- the metropolis of Lycia, which
rent, qui postridie mane pri- had just lost its bishop by
mus in ecclesiam ingredere- death, and the bishops of the
tur, Nicolaus nomine. Qua province had come together
observatione adhibita,
in for the purpose of electing a
eoclesim janua deprehensus successor. Whilst they were
est Nicolaus, et summo omholding council for the elecnium consensu_Myr® epi- tion, they were told by a rescopus creatur. In episcopatu velation from heaven, that
castitatem, quam semper co- they should choose him who,
Iuerat, gravitatem, orationis on the morrow, should be the
assiduitatem, vigilias, absti- first to enter the church, his
nentiam,
liberalitatem
et name being Nicholas. Accord
hospitalitatem, in adhortan- ingly, the requisite observado mansuetudinem, in repre- tions were made, when they
hendendo severitatem, perpe- found Nicholas to be waiting
tuo adhibuit.
at the church door: they
took him, and, to the incredible delight of all, made him

the bishop of Myra. During his episcopate, he never
flagged in the virtues looked
for in a bishop; chastity,
which indeed he had always

preserved, gravity, assiduity

in prayer, watchings, absti
nence, generosity, and hospitality, meekness in exhortaViduis et orphanis pecunis, consilio, opere non de-

fuit : oppressos adeo subleva-

vit, ut etiam tres tribunos,

per calumniam a Constantino
Augusto condemnatos, qui se

tion, severity in reproving.

He befriended widows and

orphans by money, by advice,
and by every service in his
power. So zealous a defender was he of all who suffered oppression, that, on

DEC.

6.

propter famam miraculorum
ejus orationibus, longissime
absenti,

commendarant,

ad-

huc vivens, quum imperatori,
minaciter eum terrens, apparuisset, liberaverit.
Quum
vero contra edictum Diocle-

tiani et Maximiani Christian® fidei veritatem Myra
pradicaret, ab imperatorum
satellitibus comprehensus, et
longissime abductus in_ocarcerem conjectus est ; ubi fuit
usque ad Constantinum imperatorem: cujus jussu ex

custodia _ ereptus,
Myram
rediif
Moxpnd Nicenum
Concilium se contulit: ubi
cum trecentis illis decem et

octo patribus Arianam heresim

condemnavit.

Inde

re-

versus ad_episcopatum, non
ita multo post instante morte,
suspiciens

in ceelum,

343

ST. NICHOLAS

quum

angelos sibi occurrentes intueretur, illo
psalmo pronunciato
: In te, Domine, speravi,
usque ad eum locum: In
manus tuas commendo spiritum meum : in ccelestem patriam migravit. Ejus. corP\u Barium in Apulia transatum, ibidem summa cele-

one occasion, three tribuncs
having

been

condemncd

by

the emperor Comtamme,
who had been deceived by
calumny, and having heard
of the miracles wrought by
Nicholas, they recommended
themselves to his prayers,

though he was living at &
vory groat distanoo from that
gl;oe the nmt a) pe

nsmnuno,

ku;s

angrily upon iy s
from the terrified emperor
their deliverance. Having,
contrary to the edict of
Diocletian and Maximian,
preached in Myra the truth
of the Christian faith, he was
taken up by the servants of
the two emperors. He was
taken off to a great distance
and thrown into prison, where
he remained until Constantine, having become emperor,
ordered his release, and the
saint returned to Myra.
Shortly afterwards, he repaired to the Council Which was
being held at Niceea; there ho

took part with the threo bun.
dred and eighteen fathers in

condemning the Arian heresy.
britate ac veneratione colitur. Scarcely had he returned to
his see, than he was taken
with the sickness of which he

soon died. Looking up to

heaven, and semniu:ngeln
coming to meet
the psalm, In thos. 9
Lord, have I hoped;’
having come to those woxds.
“Into thy hands I commend
my spirit,’ his soul took ite
fllghtwthnheuven!yw\lntry
His body,ha
Iated to Bari iniyu.lu,
is the
object of universal veneration.

344
to

ADVENT

Almost

the

all the breviaries of the Latin Church, up

seventcenth

century,

contain

most

fervent

praiscs of the virtues and miracles of St. Nicholas, and

give the beautiful Office of the holy bishop, whicll was
mposed about the twelfth century. We have
spoken elsewhere of this Office as regards the music ;
at present we will only mention its being drawn up
exclusively on the Acts of St. Nicholas, and its being
more explicit on some circumstances ‘of the saint's
life than is the legend of the Roman breviary. The
following portlons of this Office dwell with complacency on a fact which is not mentioned in our

liturgy : we mean the miraculous
almosc eight hundred years, has

oil, which, for
flowed without

ceasing from the tomb of the holy bishop, and by
means oi which God has frequently wrought miracles.
The responsory and antiphon which we give are upon
the miraclé of the oil itself. They were formerly so

familiar to the faithful, that in the thmeenth century

their music was sung to the responsory Unus Panis,
and to the antiphon O guam suavis est, of the Office of
Corpus Christi.
RESPONSORY

R. Ex ejus tumba marmorca sacrum resudat oleum,
quo_liniti sanantur caci:
* Surdis suditus redditur
ot debilis quisque sospes reCatervatim rugreditur. V.
unt populi cernere cupientes,
qua per cum fiunt mirabilia.
* Surdis auditus redditur;
ot debilis quisque sospes rogreditur.

R. From his marblo tomb
there flows a holy oil, wherewith the blind aro anointed
and healed : * The deaf recover their hearing : and tho
weak return home strong.
V. The people rush in crowds,
desiring to witness the wonderful works which are
done by him. * The deaf
recover their hearing: and
the weak return home strong.

ANTIPHON

O Christi pictas omni proOh! the meroy of Christ,
sequenda laude ! Quw sui worthy of all our praise !
famuli Nicolai merita longe which makes known, through

DEC. 6.

BT. NICHOLAS

345

latequo declarat: nam ex the length and breadth of the
tumba cjus olum manat, world, the merits of his sercunctosque languidos sanat. vant Nicholas: for from his
tomb there flows an oil, and
it heals all that are infirm.
Pange lingua Nicolai
Prasulis praconium
Ut nos summus Adonai,

HYMN

Rex et Pater omnium,

Ad salutis portum trahi
Faciat per Filium.

Dum penderet ad mamillam
Matris, ab infantia,
Quarta semel bibit illam,
Atque sexta feria ;
Ne per lactis pucr stillam
Solverct jejunia,
‘Sublimatus ad honorem
Nicolaus prasulis,
Pietatis ita rorem
Cunctis pluit populis,
Ut vix parem aut majorem
Habeat in swculis.
Auro dato, violari
Virgines prohibuit ;
Far in fame, vas in mari,
Servat et distribuit ;
Qui timebant naufragari,
Nautis opem tribuit.

A defunctis suscitatur
Furtem qui commiserat ;

Et Judeus baptizatur,
Furtumque recuperat ;
Tili vita restauratur ;
Hic ad fidem properat.

Nicolae, sacerdotum
Decus, honor, gloria,
Plebem omnem, clerum
tum,

I

Tell, O my tongue, the
praise of the pontif Nicholas ;
that so the sovercign Adonai,
the King and Father of all
creatures, may
grant us to
be brought by his Son, to
the port of salvation.
When yet o babe at his
mother's ‘breast, he took it
but once on each fourth and
sixth feria, nor would the
child break his fast by onc
drop of milk.
Elevated to the dignity of
pontiff, Nicholas so abundantly gave to all men the
dew of piety, that scarce
could any age find a better
or 50 good a pastor.
He gives his gold to secure
virgins their treasure; he
distributes corn to the people
in a famine; he brings up
from the depths of the sea a
vase

that had fallen in; he

brings help to mariners who
were well nigh to shipwreck.

He brings
man who

to life a dead
committed a

theft; the Jew is baptized

and recovers what had been
stolen from him; the one is

restored to life ; the other is

brought to the faith.
Nicholas ! thou fair gem,
and honour, and glory of the
to- pricsthood ! help by thy
gracious intercession
the

346

ADVENT

Mentes, manus, labia,
Ad reddendum Deo votum,
Tua juvet gratia.

Sit laus summz Trinitati,
Virtus et victoria,
Qui det nobis ut beati
Nicolai gaudia.
Assequamur laureati,
Post vitam in patria.
Amen.

whole people, the wholo
clergy ; that their minds, and
hands, and lips, may pay
their tribute to our Gof{

Praise,

umph,

to

power,
the

and

most

_tri-

high

Trinity ! May it give us to
come, after this life, with our

laurel wreaths upon us, to
the joys which Nicholas the
blessed possesses in our
country of heaven. Amen.

HYMN I

Cleri patrem et patronum
Nicolaum preedicet,
Laete promens vocis sonum
Clerus, et magnificet :
Se cor promptum, se cor
pronum
Sono vocis ampliet.
Grezcus omnis et Latinus,
Lingus, tribus, natio :
Orbis terre, maris sinus,
Sexus et conditio ;
Hospes, cives, peregrinus,
Pari psallat studio.
Semper dedit, dat et dabit

Let the clergy joyfully
raise their voice in song, and
magnify Nicholas the father
and patron of the clergy ; and
let their chants give fresh
devotion to their already
fervent and docile heart.

Let the Greeks, and Latins,

and every tongue and tribe
and nation; let the sea, and
land ; let all, whatever their

sex or condition, guest or
citizen or stranger, sing
raises of Nicholas with
ike enthusiasm.

This pontiff, whose

the
one

name

Cunctis beneficia
Prasul, cujus nomen abit
Numquam e memoria ;
Quisque meestus germina-

is immortal in the memory
of men, ever gave, gives,
and will give fayours to all ;
ho will make him, who was

Florens sicut lilia.
Hi
carne constituims

Tandem scandit @thera.

in joy asa lily.
Whilst living in the flesh
he spurned the deeds of the
flesh; he did nothing and
spoke nothing but what was
unto salvation: and now,
having been loosed from the

Qua sit virtus charitatis
Hoo praesenti szculo,

mounted to the starry realms.
How great is the power of
his charity, even in this very

bit,

Carnis spernens opera,

Nihil !:{,mm aut locutus,

Nisi

salutifera ;

Vinclis carnis absolutus,

pining away in grief, bloom

bonds

of the flesh,

he

has

DEC. 6.

347

ST. NICHOLAS

Oleum declarat satis,

age, is plainly enough mani-

Et dat munus sanitatis

from his tomb, giving to all
people, that ask it, the boon

Quod manat de tumulo ;

Imploranti populo.
Sit laus summe Trinitati,
Virtus et victoria,

Que det nobis ut beati

Nicolai gaudia
Assequamaur laureati,
Post vitam in patria.
Amen.

fested by the oil which flows
of health.

Praise, power, and triumph
to the most high Trinity.
May it give us to come, after
this life, with our laurel

wreaths upon us, to the joys
which

Nicholas

the

blessed

posesses in our country of
eaven. Amen.

It was impossible for Adam of Saint-Victor to
remain silent in the praise of St. Nicholas. The
Churches, in the middle ages, received from him

following beautiful sequence.

the

SEQUENCE
Congaudentes exsultemus
With our hearts and songs
Vocali concordis,
in unison, let us exult on this

Ad beati Nicolai
Festiva solemnia.
Qui in cunis adhuc jacens,
Servando jejunia ;
A papillis ceopit summa
Promereri gaudia.
Adolescens amplexatur
Litterarum studia,
Alienus et immunis
Ab omni lascivia.
Felix Confessor,
Cujus fuit dignitatis
Vox de ocelo nuntia.
Per quam provectus,
Prasulatus sublimatur
Ad summea fastigia.
Erat in cjus animo
Pietas eximia,
Et oppressis impendebat
Multa benchciar

festive solemnity

of blessed

Nicholas.
‘When a babe in his cradle,

he

began to fast,
And thus deserved, before

weaned from the breast, the

joys of heaven.
He enters, when a boy,
upon a course of studies,
Yet follows not, yet knows
not, impurity.
Blessed confessor indeed,
whose worth was known by
& message from heaven,
At whose

bidding

he was

promoted and exalted to the
supreme dignity of pontiff.
There was in his soul the
most tender _compassion,
which prompted him to bestow continual benefits on
those who suffered oppression.

348

ADVENT

He averted infamy from
virgins by the gold he gave ;
and by the same he relioved
their father’s poverty.
Some mariners had set
sail; when a furious storm
attacked them, and their
bark was well-nigh wrecked :
Despairing of life, and in
this extreme danger, they cry
Periculo: clamantes
out with one voice, Saying :
Vooe dicunt omnes una :
O beate Nicolae,
‘O holy Nicholas! help
Nos ad maris portum trahe
us out of theso straits of
death, and lead us into harDe mortis angustia.
bour !
Trahe nos ad portum “Yea, lead us into harbour, thou whose kind heart
maris :
Tu qui tot suxiliaris
is ever ready to help them
that are in affliction.’
Pietatis gratia.
They prayed; nor was it
Dum
clamarent,
nec inin vain : for lo ! a voice was
cassum,
Ecce quidam, dicens: Ad- heard saying: ‘I am here to
help you.’
sum
Ad vestra prasidia.
Auro per eum virginum
Tollitur infamia,
Atque patris earumdem
Levatur inopia.
Quidam nautx navigantes
Et contra fluctuum
Savitiam luctantes,
Navi pene dissoluta ;
Jam de vita desperantes,
In tanto positi

Statim aura datur grata :
Et tempestas fit sedata,
Quieverunt maria.

Ex ipsius tumba manat
Unctionis copia :
Qua infirmos omnes sanat
Per ojus suffragia.
Nos qui sumus in hoo
mundo
Vitiorum in profundo
Jam passi naufragis,
Glarioso Nicolas,
Ad salutis portum trahe,
Ubi pax et gloria.
Ipsam nobis unctionem
Tmpetres & Domino,
Prece pia :
Qua sanavit lesionom
Multorum peccaminum
In Maris.

Btiaightway -acose ® far

vourable
wind:
the storm
was lulled : the sea was calm.
From his tomb there flows
an abundant

It heals

oil :

all kinds

of sick-

ness, through the intercession
of the saint.
We who are now living in
this world, have already sufferod shipwreck in tho sea of

Py

Ah!
glorious
Nicholas,
lead us into the harbour of
salvation,
where
there
is

peace and glory.
There ll;“:n unction, which
thy merciful
prayers must get

us from the Lo
It
is that

unction

o

which

healed_the wound of Mag.
dalene's many sins,

DEC.

6.

349

ST. NICHOLAS

Hujus festum celebrantes

Gaudeant per szcula ;

May they that keep this

feast

joys;

And

Et coronet eos Christus

come

to the

eternal

Jesus

crown

may

them after this life is run.
Amen.

Post vite curricula.

Amen.

But none of the sequences of St. Nicholas was so
popular as the one we now give. Itis to be found in
a great many processionals up to the seventeenth century, and on its model were composed. innumerable

others, which, though drawn up in praise of various

patrons, not only kept the measure and the melody,
but the very expressions,

ingeniously

and there, of the sequence of St. Nicholas.

Sospitati dedit mgros
Olei perfusio.
Nicolaus naufragantum
Adfuit praesidio.

turned

hem

SEQUENCE

Relevavit a defunctis
Defunctum in bivio.

Baptizatur suri viso
Judwmus indicio.
Vas in mari mersum, patri
Redditur cum filio.

The sick are restored to
health hy the miraculous

oil.

They who are in danger of
shipwreck are delivered by
Nicholas’ prayers.
Ho raised from amongst
the dead a corpse which lay
on the road.
A Jew asks for baptism, on
witnessing the miraculous recovery of his money.

A vase that had
sunk in
the deep sea, and a child that

was lost to his father, are
both recovered.

Oh how great a saint did he
O quam probat ssnctum
appear by multiplying corn
Dei
Farris sugmentatio.
in a famine !
Let, then,
this congreErgo landes Nicolao
Concinat hwc concio.
g[a.tlon sing the hymns of
Nam qui corde poscit illum

Propulsato vitio,

‘Sospes regreditur.
Amen.

icholas’ praise ;
For all who pray to him
with earnest hearts, will go

back cured of their spiritual
ailments.
Amen.

350

ADVENT

But no Church has evinced such enthusiasm for
St. Nicholas as the Greek Church in its Menza. The
illustrious thaumaturgus was evidently one of the
firmest hopes of the Byzantine empire, and Constantinople transmitted the same confidence to
Russia, which even to this dey professes great devotion to St. Nicholas. We extract, as usual, a few
stanzas from the sacred chants which the Church of
St. Sophia anciently sang in the Greek language,

and which the gilded domes of Moscow re-echo still,

every year, in Sclavonic.
HYMN

TO

ST.

NICHOLAS

(Taken from the Mencea of the Greeks)
Myre quidem habitasti,
Thou didst dwell in Myet myrrham sen unguentum ra, and being spiritually
vere demonstrasti, unguento anointed, thou didst show
unotus spirituali, sancte Ni- thyself to be truly a mystic
colae, summe Christi archie- myrth, O saintly Nicholas,
rarcha, et ungis facies illorum great high priest of Christ !
qui_cum fide et smore tui Thou anointest them that
celebrandam memoriam sem- ever come with faith and
per perficiunt;_solvens eos love to celebrate thy meab omni necessitate, et peri- mory ; for, by thy prayers to
culo, et tribulatione, pater, God, O father, thou deliverin tuis ad Dominum preci- est them from every necesbus.
sity, and peril, and tribulation.
How
well
indeed
Viotoria populi vere nohast
mine proprio demonstratus thou fulfilled thy name, The
es in tentationibus potens, people’s victory / for, saintly
sancte Nicolse, summe Chri- Nicholas, and high priest of
sti sacerdos; nam passim Christ, thou art the powerful
invocatus, velociter prevenis helper of them that are in
eos qui cum amore ad tuum temptation.
Wheresoever
presidium confugiunt; tu thou art invoked, thou swiftly
enim die ac nocte cum fido art with those that lovingly
visus, salvas eos u tentationi- have recourse to thy protection, for day and night thou
bus et necossitatibus.
showest thysclf to the eye of

faith, and savest them from
temptations and necessitics.

DEC.

6.

ST. NICHOLAS.

Constantino imperatori ot
Ablavio in somnis apparuisti,
illisque terrorem injiciens, ad
illos ut liberarent festinanter: Quos in carcerc, aichas,
habotis_vinctos, innocentes
sunt ab illegitima jugulatione: quod si me audire
neglexcris, precem contra te,
princeps, ad Dominum obsecrans intentabo.
Defixis acriter oculis, inspexisti in Gnoseos altitudines, et caliginosum inspexisti
Sapienti abyssum: tu qui
tuis documentis ditasti mundum, pater, pro nobis Christum deprecare, summe sacerdos Nicolae.
Regulam fidei et dulcedinis
imaginem monstravit te gregi
tuo Christus Deus, summe
sacerdos, hierarcha Nicolae :
in Myra namque unguentum
spargis, illucesount tua preeclara facta orphanorum ac
viduarum proteotor: ideoque
deprecari ne cesses salvari
animas

nostras.

Gaude, sacratissima_mens,
Trinitatis mansio purissima,
Ecclesi@ columna, fidelium
stabilimentum, ~fatigatorum
auxilium, stella qu beno
acceptarum _precum fulgoribus tentationum tenebras
undique
depellis,
sancte
sacerdos Nicolae; portus
placidissimus,

in quo fugien-

351

Thou didst appear to the
emperor Constantine and to
Ablavius in their sleep, terrifying them, and thus bidding them speedily set their
prisoners frec: * These men,
whom ye keep bound in
prison, deserve not tho death
to which ye have unjustly
sentenced them: and if thou,
O prince, settest my word st
nought, 1 will beseechingly
bear a_petition against thee
to the Lord.”
Thou didst fix thy keen
vision on the heights of the
mystery, and didst look down
into the cloud-covered abyss
of Wisdom. O father, who
didst enrich the world by thy
doctrines, pray for us to
Christ, O high priest Nicholas't
Christ_our God showed
thee to thy flock as the rule
of faith and the model of
meckness, thou high priest,
thou
sainted
hierarch
Nij
cholas! for thou pourest
forth in Myra a delicious
fragrance, and thy splendid
deeds give out their bright
light, thou the protector of
the orphan and the widow :
therefore, cease not to pray
for the salvation of our
souls.
Rejoice, most holy soul,
most pure abode of the
Trinity, pillar of the Church,
support of the faithful, help
of the wearied, star, which
by the vivid rays of thy
most efficacious prayers, dost
dispel the darkness of every
temptation, holy priest Nicholas ! most tranquil port,

ADVENT

352

tes

venti

tempestatibus
salvantur,

_circum-

Christum

deprecaro dari animabus
nostris magnsm misericordiam.
Gaude, O divino zelo accense, qui tun terribili animadversione et in somnis
allocutione liberasti injuste
cmdendos. Fons fluens in
Myra unguenta _ditissima,
animas irrigans, fetida c
piditatum expurgans, gladio
zizanin erroris _smputans ;
expurgans ventilabro, dissipa.
Arii acerosa documenta; et
Christum deprecaro dari a
mabus nostris magnam misericordiam.
Altissime
Rex
regum,
magnipotens, precibus sancti
pastoris, vitam, O Verbum,
pacifica, _quesumus, cunctorum christianorum; donans contra barbaros pio regi
victoriam et fortitudinem,
ut omnes semper hymnificemus potentiam tuam, et extollamus usque ad omnia
swcula.

into which the tempest-tossed

run and find safety, beseech

Jesus to show unto our souls
his great mercy.
Rejoice, O thou that burnest, with divine zeal, who, by
thy terrible threat spoken to
men in_their dream, didst
rosouo them that were unjustly condemned to death.
0 fount of Myra overflowing
with sweetness, that refresh.
est souls, that cleansest what
passion defiles! Sword that
cuttest down tho tares of
error! Ok come and winnow
away the chaffy dootrines of
Arius; and beseech Jesus to
grant unto our souls his great
mercy.
0 thou tho most high Kiny
of kings, almighty Lord, &
divine Word, we bescech
thee hear the prayer of this
thy holy pastor, and give to
all’ Christians to pass their
days in peace: grant to our
good king victory and energy
against the barbarians: that
thus wo may all and in all
times hymn thy power, and
extol theo for over and
ever.

Holy pontiff Nicholas, how great is thy glory in
God’s ch Church ! Thou didst confess the name of
Jesus before the proconsuls of the world’s empire
and

suffer persecution

for His name’s

sake ; after-

wards thou wast witness to the wonderful workings
of God, when He restored peace to His Church ; and
a short time after this again, thou didst open thy
lips, in the assembly of the threc hundred and
eighteen fathers, to confess with supreme authority
the Divinity of our Saviour Jesus Christ, for whose

DEC. 6.

ST. NICHOLAS

353

sake 5o many millions of martyrs had already shed
their blood. ~Receive tho devout felicitations of the
Christian people thmuihout the universe, who thrill
with joy when they think of thy glorious merits.
Help us by thy prayers during these days when wo
aro preparing for the coming of Him, whom thou
didst proclaim to be consubstantial with the Father.
Vouchsafe to assist our faith and to obtain fresh
fervour to our love. Thou now beholdest face to
face that Word by whom all things were made and
redeemed ; beseech Him to permit our unworthiness
to approach Him. Be thou our intercessor with Him.
Thou hast taught us to know Him as the sovereign

and eternal God ; teach us also to love Him as the
supreme benefactor of the children of Adam.
It was

from Him, O charitable pontiff, that thou didst learn

that

tender compassion

for the sufferings

of thy

fellow-men, which made all thy miracles to be so

many acts of kindness : ccase not, now that thou art

in the company of the angels, to have pity on us and
to succour our miseries.
Stir up and increase the faith of mankind in tho
Saviour whom the Lord hath sent them. May this
be one of the fruits of thy prayer, that the divino
Word may be no longer unknown and forgotten in

this world, which He

has redeemed with His Blood.

Ask for the pastors of the Church that spirit of
charity, which shone so brilliantly in thee; that

spirit which

makes

them

like

their divine

and wins them the hearts of their people.

Master,

Remember, too, O holy pontiff, that Church of the

east which still loves thee so fervently. When thou
wast on this earth, God gave thee power to raise the
dead to lifc ; pray now,

that the true life, which con-

sists in faith and unity, may return once more and
animate that body which schism has robbed of its
soul. By thy supplications, obtain of God that the
sacrifice of the Lamb, who is so soon to visit us, may
23

ADVENT

354

be again and soon celebrated under the cupolas of

St. Sophia. May the sanctuaries of Kiew and
Moscow become resanctified by the return of the
people to unity. May the pride of the crescent be

humbled

into

submission

to

the

cross,

and

the

schismatic be brought to acknowledge the power of
the keys of St. Peter; that thus there may be henceforth neither Scythian, nor barbarian, but one fold
under one Shepherd.
Let us resume our considerations upon the state of
the world at the time immediately preceding the
coming of the Messias. Everything proves that the
prophecies which foretold the great event have now
been fulfilled. Not only has the sceptre been taken
from Juda ; the weeks of Dantel also are almost expired. The other scriptural predictions relative to
the great revolutions, which were to take place in
the world, have been successively fulfilled. The
empires of the Assyrians, the Medes, the Persians,
and the Greeks, have fallen one after the other ; that

of the Romans is now at the zenith of its greatness ;

in its turn, it must yield to the eternal empire of the
Messias.

This succession of empires, which

was to

result in a perfect kingdom, was foretold ; and all is
now ready for its final accomplishment. God has
also said, by one of His prophets: Yet one little
while, and I will move heaven and earth . . . and
1 will move all nations, and the Desired of all nations

shall come.”

Word!

Descend,

therefore,

All is consummated.

The

O Thou

eternal

misery of the

world is extreme ; the crimes of men cry to heaven

for vengeance ; the whole human race is threatened

with self-destruction, and without knowing what it
does, it calls for Thee as its only resource. Then
come ! All the predictions which were to designate
the Redsemer have been spoken and promulgated.
1 Aggousii. 7.8.

DEC. 6.

ST.

NICHOLAS

356

‘There is no longer a prophet in Israel, and the oracles
of the Gentile world have ceased to sj ak. Come,

Lord Jesus, and fulfil all things, for the fulness of

time has come.

PRAYER

FOR

THE

TIME

OF

ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, first Sunday of Advent, Capitulum)
Preces nostras ne despexeDespise not our prayers, O
ris, Domino : intende jam ot Lord ook down. mom a8
exaudi clementer: ut qui and mercifully hear us : that
voce inimici turbati dejici- we who are in trouble and
mur, Unigeniti tui adventu cast down at the voice of our
sacratissimo consolemur: et enemy, may be comforted by
fide pennigerati, velut colum- the most sacred coming of
bs, ad superna tendamus. thine _only - begotten
Son.
Elonga nos, Domine, o sa- Moy faith give us wings,
culo maligno, et a laqueo that, like the dove, we may
inimici custodi.
Per Chri- take our flight to the things
stum
Dominum
nostrum. that aro above. Separate us,
0 Lord, from the wicked
Amen.
world, and keep us from the
snare of the enemy. Through
Christ
our Lord. ~ Amen.

ADVENT

356

DECEMBER

7

ST. AMBROSE
BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH
Tars illustrious pontifi was deservedly placed in
the calendar of the Church side by side with the
glorious bishop of Myra. Nicholas confessed, at
Niceea, the divinity of the Redeemer;

Ambrose,

in

his city of Milan, was the object of the hatred of the

Arians, and, by his invincible courage, triumphed
over the enemies of Christ. Let Ambrose, then,
unite his voice, as doctor of the Church, with that
of St. Peter Chrysologus, and preach to the world

the glories and the humiliations of the Messias.
But, as doctor of the Church, he has a special claim
to our veneration: it is, that among the bright
luminaries of the Latin Church, four great masters
head the list of sacred interpreters of the faith :
Gregory, Augustine, Jerome ; and then our glorious
Ambrose,

number.
Ambrose

bishop

of

Milan,

makes

up

the

mystic

owes his noble position in the calendar

to the ancient custom of the Church, whereby, in the

early ages, no saint’s feast was allowed to be kept in
Lent. The day of his departure from this world and

of his entrance into heaven was the fourth of April,

which, more frequently than not, comes during Lent ;
so that it was requisite that the memory of his
sacred death should be solemnized on some other
day, and the seventh of December naturally presented itself for such a feast. inasmuch es it was the
anniversary-day of Ambrose’s consecration as bishop.

DEC. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

357

But, independently of these considerations, the
road which leads us to Bethlehem could be perfumed
by nothing so fragrant as this feast of St. Ambrose.
Does not the thought of this saintly and amiable
bishop impress us “with the image of dignity and
sweetness combined ? of the strength of the lion
united with the gentleness of the dove ? Time removes the deepest human impressions; but the
memory of Ambrose is as vivid and dear in men’s
minds as though he were still among us. Who can
ever fotget the young, yet staid and learned governor
of Liguria and Emilia, who comes to Milan as a
simple catechumen, and finds himself forced, by the

acclamations of the people, to ascend the eufioopal
throne of this great city ? And how indelibly
pressed upon us are certain touthing incidents nf hls
early life! For instance, that beautiful presage of
his irresistible eloquence—the swarm of bees coming
round him as he was sleeping one day in his father’s
garden, and entering into his mouth, as though they
would tell us how sweet that babe’s words would be'!

And the prophetic gravity with which Ambrose, when

quite a boy, would hold out his hand to his mother
and sister, bidding them kiss it, for that onc day it

would be the hand of a bishop *
But what hard work awaited

the ncophyte

of

Milan, who was no sooner regencrated in the waters

of

Baptism,

bishop !

than

he

was

consccrated

priest

and

He had to apply himself, there and then,

to close study of the sacred Scriptures, that so he

might prepare hm\self to become the defender of the
Church, which was attacked, in the fundamental
dogma of the Incarnation, by the false science of the
Arians. In a short time he attained such proficiency
in the sacred sciences, as to become, like the prophet,
a wall of brass, which checked the further progress
of

Arianism:

moreover,

the

works

written

by

Ambrose possess such plenitude and surety of doc-

ADVENT

358

trine, as to be numbered

by the Church among

the

most faithful and authoritative interpretations of her

teaching.
But Ambrose had other and fiercer contests than
those of religious controversy to encounter : his very
life was more than once threatened by the heretics
whom he had silenced. What a sublime spectacle
that of a bishop blockaded in his church by the
troops of the empress Justina, and defended within

by
his people, day and night! Pastor and flock,
both are admirable. How had Ambrose merited such
fidelity and confidence on the part of his people ?
By a whole life spent for the welfare of his city and
his country. He had never ceased to preach Jesus

to all men; and now, the people see their bishop
become, by his zeal, his devotedness, and his self-

sacrificing conduct, a living image of Jesus.
In the midst of these dangers which threatened
his person, Lis great soul was calm and seemingly
unconscious of the fury of his enemies. It was on
that very occasion

that he instituted, at Milan, the

choral singing of the psalms. Up to that time, the
holy canticles had been given from the ambo by
the single voice of a lector; but Ambrose, shut up
in his basilica with his people, takes the opportunity,
and forms two choirs, bidding them respond to each
other the verses of the psalms. The people forgot
their trouble in the delight of this heavenly music ;
nay, the very howling of the tempest, and the fierce-

ness of the siege they were sustaining, added enthusiasm to this first exercise of their new privilege.
Such was the chivalrous origin of alternate psalmody

in the western Church.

Rome adopted the practice,

which Ambrose was the first to introduce, and which
will continue to be observed to the end of time.
During these hours of struggle with his enemies
the glorious bishop has another gift wherewith to

enrich the faithful people who are defending him

DEC. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

at the risk of their own

lives.

359

Ambrose

is a poet,

and he has frequently sung, in verses full of sweet-

ness and sublimity, the greatness of the God of the

Christians,

and

the

mysteries

of man’s

salvation.

He now gives to his devoted people these hymns,

which he had composed only for his own private de-

votion. The basilicas of Milan soon echoed these
accents of the sublime soul which first uttered them.
Later on, the whole Latin Church adopted them;
and in honour of the holy bishop who had thus
opened one of the richest sources of the sacred
liturgy, a hymn was, for a long time, called after
his name,

an

Ambrosian.

The

Divine

Office

thus

received a new mode of celebrating the divine praise,
and the Church,

the bride of Christ,

possessed one

means more of giving expression to the sentiments
which animate her.
Thus our hymns, and the alternate singing of the
Esalms, are trophies of Ambrose’s victory. Hehad
een raised up by God not for his own age alone, but
also for those which were to follow. Hence, the Holy
Ghost infused into him the knowledge of Christian
jurisprudence, that he mvht be the defender of the
rights of the Church at a period when paganism still
lived, though defeated ; and imperialism, or czsarism,
had still the instinct, though not the uncontrolled
power, to exercise its tyranny. Ambrose’s law was
the Gospel, and he would acknowledge no law which

was in opposition to that. He could not understand
such imperial policy as that of ordering a basilica to
be given up to the Arians, for quietness’ sake ! He
would defend the inheritance of the Church ; and in
that defence, would shed the last drop of his blood.

Certain courtiers dared to accuse him of tyranny :
‘No,” answered the saint, ¢ bishops are not tyrants,
but have often to suffer from tyranny.’ The eunuch
Calligonus, high chamberlain of the Emperor Valentinian

II,

had

said

to Ambrose:

‘What!

darest

360

ADVENT

thou, in my presence, to caro so little for Valentinian !

T will cut off thy head.”

answered

Ambrose,

‘I would it might be so,

‘ I should then die as a bishop,

and thou wouldst have done what eunuchs are wont
todo.”
This noble courage in the defence of the rights of
the Church showed itself even more clearly on another
occasion. The Roman senate, or rather that portion

of

the senate

which,

though

a minority,

was

still

pagan, was instigated by Symmachus, the prefect of

Rome,

to ask the emperor for the re-erection of the

altar of victory in the Capitol, under the pretext of
averting the ~misfortunes which threatened the
empire. Ambrose, who had said to these politicians,
‘1 hate the religion of the Neros,’ vehemently
opposed this last effort of idolatry. He presented
most cloquent petitions to Valentinian, in which he
protested against an attempt which aimed at bringing a Christian prince to recognize that false doctrines
have rights, and which would, if permitted to be

tried, rob the one only Master of nations of the victories

which He had won.

earnest

remonstrances,

Valentinian yielded to these
which

taught

him

‘that

a

Christian emperor can honour only one altar—the
altar of Christ ’; and when the senators had to receive

their answer, the prince told them that Romo was

his mother, and he loved her : but that God was his

Saviour, and he would obey Him.
If the empire of Rome had not been irrevocably
condemned by God to destruction, the influence which
St. Ambrose had over such well-intentioned princes
as Valentinian would probably have saved it. The
saint’s maxim was a strong one; but it was not to
be realized until new kingdoms, springing up out of
the ruins of the Roman empire, should be organized
by the Christian Church. ‘An emperor’s grandest

title,” said Ambrose, ‘is to be a son of the Church.
An emperor is in the Church, he is not over her.’

DEC.

7.

BT. AMBROSE

361

It is beautiful to see the affectionate solicitude of
8t. Ambrose for the young emperor Gratian, at whose
death he shed floods of tears. How tenderly, too,
did he love Theodosius, that model Christian prince,

for whose sake God retarded the fall of the empire,

by the uninterrupted victory over all its enemies !
On one occasion, indeed, this son of the Church
showed in himself the pagan Cesar; -but his holy
father Ambrose, by a severity which was inflexible
because his affection for the culprit was great, brought
him back to his duty and his God. ‘I loved,’ says
the holy bishop, in the funeral oration which he

preached over Theodosius, ‘I loved this prince, who
preferred correction to flattery.

He stripped himself

of his royal robes and publicly wept in the Church

for the sin he had committed, and into which he had

been led by evil counsel.

In sighs and tears he

sought to be forgiven. He, an emperor, did what
common men would be ashamed to do, he did public

penance ; and for the rest of his life, he passed not a
day without bewailing his sin.”
But we should have a very false idea of St. Ambrose
if we thought that he turned his attention only to
affairs of importance like these, which brought him

before the notice of the world. No pastor could be
more solicitous than he about the slightest detail
which affected the interests of his flock. We have
his life written by his deacon, Paulinus, who

knew

secrets which intimacy alone can know, and these
fortunately he has revealed to us. Among other
things, he tells us that when Ambrose heard confessions, he shed so many tears that the sinner was
forced to weep: ‘You would have thought,’ says
Paulinus, ‘ that they were his own sins that he was

listening to.’ We
interest he felt for
to error and to his
faithful portrait of

“all know the tender paternal
Augustine, when he was a slave
passions ; and if we would have a
Ambrose, we must read in the

ADVENT

362

Confessions of the bishop of Hippo the fine passage
where he expresses his admiration and gratitude for

his spiritual father.

Ambrose had told Monica that

her son Augustine, who gave her so much anxiety,
would be converted. That happy day at last came ;
it was Ambrose’s hand which immersed in the
cleansing waters of Baptism him who was to be the
prince of the Doctors of the Church.
A heart thus loyal in its friendship could not but
be aflectionate to those who were related by ties of
blood. He tenderly loved his brother Satyrus, as we
may see from the two funeral orations which he has

left us upon this brother, wherein he speaks his
praises with all the warmth of enthusiastic admiration.

He

had

a sister, too, named

Marcellina, who

was equally dear to her saintly brother. From her
earliest years, she had spurned theworld and its

pomps, and the position which she might expect to

enjoy in it, being a patrician’s daughter. She had
eceived the veil of virginity from the hands of Pope

Liberius, but lived in her father’s house at Rome.
Her brother Ambrose was separated from her, but he
seemed to love her the more for that; and he com-

municated with her in her holy retirement by frequent letters, several of which are still extant.

She

deserved all the esteem which Ambrose had for her;

she had a great love for the Church of God, and she
was heart and soul in all the great undertakings of
her brother the bishop. The very heading of these
letters shows the affection of the saint : * The brother
to the sister;’ or, ‘To

my sister Marcellina, dearer

to me than mine own eyes and life.”

Then follows

the letter, in an energetic and animated style, well

suited to the soul-stirring communications he had to
make to her about his struggles. One of them was
written in the midst of the storm, when the courageous pontiff was besieged in his basilica by Justina’s
soldiers. His discourses to the people of Milan, his

DEC. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

363

consolations and his trials, the heroic sentiments of
his great soul, all is told in these despatches to his
sister, where every line shows how strong and holy

was the attachment between Ambrose and Marcellina. The great basilica of Milan still contains the
tombs of the brother and sister: and over them
both is daily offered the divine sacrifice.
Such was Ambrose, of whom

day heard to say: ‘ There is
world” Let us glorify the
vouchsafed to produce this
Church, and let us beg of the
for us, by his prayers, a share
ardent

love

which

Theodosius was one

but one bishop in the
holy Spirit, who has
sublime model in the
holy pontiff to obtain
in that lively faith and

he himself had,

and

which

he

evinces in the delicious and eloquent writings he
has left us on the mystery of the Incarnation. During
these days, which are preparing us for the birth of
our

Incarnate

Lord,

Ambrose

is one of our

most

powerful patrons.
His love towards the blessed Mother of God
teaches us what admiration and love we ought to
have for Mary. St. Ephrem and St. Ambrose are
the two fathers of the fourth century who are the

most explicit upon the glories of the office and the

person of the Mother of Jesus. To confine ourselves
to St. Ambrose, he has completely mastered this
mystery, which he understood, and appreciated, and
defined in his writings. Mary’s exemption from
every stain of sin; Mary’s uniting herself, at the
foot of the cross, with her divine Son for the salvation
of the world ; Jesus’ appearing, after His resurrection,
to Mary first of all—on these and so many other points
St. Ambrose has spoken so clearly as to deserve to
be considered one of the most prominent witnesses
of the primitive traditions respecting the privileges
and dignity of the holy Mother of God.
This his devotion to Mary explains St. Ambrose’s
enthusiastic admiration for the holy state of Chris-

364

ADVENT

tian virginity, of which he might justly be called the
doctor. He surpasses all the fathers in the beattiful
and eloquent manner in which he speaks of the dignity and happincss of virginity. Four of his writings
ate devoted to the praises of this sublime state.
The pagans would fain have an imitation of it by
instituting seven Vestal virgins, whom they loaded
with honours and riches, and to whom they in due

time restored liberty. St. Ambrose shows how con-

temptible these were, compared with the innumerable virgins of the Christian Church, who fillsd the

whole world with the fragrance of their humility,
constancy,

and disinterestedness.

But on this mag-

nificent subject, his words were even more telling
than his writings ; and we learn ftom his contemporaries,

that when

he went to preach

in any town,

mothers would not allow their daughters to be present

at his sermon; lest this irresistible panegyrist of the
eternal nuptials with the Lamb should convince them
that that was the better part, and persuade them to
make it the object of their desires.
But our partiality and devotion to the great saint

of Milan have made us exceed our usual limits : it is
time to read the accountof his virtues given us by
the Church,

Ambrosius episcopus Modiolatiensis, Ambrosii _civis
Romani filius, patre Gallie
praefecto natus cst. In hujus
infantis oro_examen apum
consedisse dicitur: qua res
divinam viri eloquentiam
preemonstrabat. Rome liberalibus disciplinis ~cruditus
est. Post a Probo prafecto
Ligurie et Emilie prapositus: unde postea ejusdem
Probi_jussu cum potestate
Mediolanum
venit: ubi
mortuo Auxzentio, ~Ariano

Ambrose,

bishop of Milan,

was the son of a Roman

citizen, whose name was also
Ambrose, and who held the

office of prefect of Cisalpine

Gaul.
It is related
that
when
the
saint was
an
infant, a swarm of bees

rested on his lips; it was a
presage of his future extraordinary eloquence. He ro-

ceived a liberal education at
Rome; and not long
after

was appointed, by the prefect Probus, to be governot

DEC. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

episcopo, populus de succes- of
sore

deligendo

dissideb:

Quare Ambrosius, pro off
sui munere ecclesiam i
gressus ut commotam seditionem scdaret, quum multa
de quiete et tranquillitato
reipublice praeclare dixisset,
derepente puero Ambrosium
episcopum exclamante, universi populi vox erupit,
Ambrosium episcopum deposcentis.

Recusante illo, et eorum
precibus _ resistento, _ardens
populi studium ad’ Valentinianum imperatorem delatum est, cui gratissimum fuit
a se delectos judices ad
sacerdotium postulari. Fuit
id etiam Probo prafecto jucundum, qui Ambrosio_proficisconti _ quasi
divinans
dixerat: Vade, age, non ut
judex, sed ut episcopus.
Ttaque quum ad populi desiderium imperatoris voluntas
accederet, Ambrosius baptizatus (erat enim catechumenus) sacrisque initiatus, ac
servatis omnibus ex instituto Ecclesiz Ordinum gradibus, ootavo dic, qui fuit
septimo Idus Decembris,
episcopale onus suscepit.
Factus episcopus, Catholi-

365

Liguwis and Emilia,
whence, later on, he was
sent, by order of the same
Probus, to Milan, with
power of judge; for the
people of ‘that city wera
themamong
quarrelling
selves about the successor of
the Arian bishop, Auxentius, who had died. Wherefore, Ambrose, having entered the church that he
might fulfil the duty that
Bad been imposed on_him,
and quell the disturbanco
that had arisen, delivered an
eloquent discourse on the
advantages of peace and
tranquillity in “a State.
Scarcely had he finished
speaking, than a boy exclaimed : ¢ Ambroso, bishop 1"
The whole multitude shouted : * Ambrose, bishop I
On_his refusing to accedo
to their entreatics, the
earnest request of the peoplo
was presented to the emperor Valentinian, who was
gratified that they whom ho
selected as judges wero thus
sought after to be made
priests. It was also pleasing to the prefect Probus,
who, as though he foresaw
the event, said to Ambroso
on his setting out: * Go, act
not as judge, but as bishop.”
Tho desire of tho peoplo
being thus seconded by the
will of tho emporor, Ambrose was baptized (for he
was only a catcchumen), and
was admitted to sacred
Orders, ascending by all the
degrees of Ordors s proscribed by the Church ; and

ADVENT

366

cam

fidem

ccelesiasticam

et disciplinam
acerrime

de-

on the cighth day, which
was the seventh of the Ides

fondit: multosque Arianos, of December (December 7),
et alios hereticos, ad fidei he received the burden of
veritatem convertit, in qui- the episcopacy. Being made
bus
clarissimum
Ecclesie bishop, he most strenuously
lumen sanctum Augustinum defended the Catholic faith,
Jesu Christo peperit.

and ecclesiastical discipline.
He converted to the true faith

many Arians, and other heretics, among whom was that
brightest luminary of the

Gratiano imperatore occiso, ad Maximum cjus interfectorem legatus iterum profoctus est; coque penitentiam agere recusante, se ab
ejus communione semovit.
imperatorem
Theodosium
propter cadem Thessalonicze
factam ingressu ecclesiwe proCui, quum illo
hibuit.
David quoque regem adulterum et homicidam fuisse dixisset, respondit Ambrosius:
Qui secutus cs crrantem, seQuare
quere panitentem.
Theodosius sibi ab eo impositam publicam peenitentiam
humiliter egit. Ergo sanctus
episcopus pro Ecclesia Dei
‘maximis laboribus curisquo
perfunctus, multis libris
otiam egregie conscriptis,
antequam in morbum inci.
deret, mortis sum diem
predixit. Ad quem mgrotum Honoratus Vercellensis
episcopus, Dei voce _ter
admonitus aceurrit, eique
sanctum Domini Corpus praebuit: quo ille sumpto, conformatis in crucis similitudinem manibus orans,

Church, St. Augustine, tho
spiritual child of Ambrose in
Christ Jesus.

When the emperor Gratian was killed by Maximus,
Ambrose was twice deputed
to go to the murderer,

and

insist on his doing penanco
for_his crime;

which

he re-

fusing to do, Ambrose refused
to hold communion with him.

The emperor Theodosius having made himself guilty of tho
massacro _at Thessalonica,
was forbidden by the saint
to enter the church.

On the

had also committed

murder

him.

bishop

emperor’s excusing himself
by saying that king David

and_adultery, Ambrose replied: ‘Thou hast imitated
his sin, now imitate his repentance.” Upon which, Theo.
dosius humbly performed
the public penance which
tho bishop ‘imposed upon
The

holy

having thus gone
the greatest labours
citudes for God's
and having written

admirable

~ books,

through
and soliChurch,
several
foretold

the day of his death, befora

he was taken with his last

sickness.

Honoratus,

tho

DEC.

ST. AMBROSE

T.

animam Deo reddidit, pridie
Nonas Aprilis, anno post
Christum natum ~ trecentesimo nonagesimo septimo.

267

bishop of Vercell, was
thrics admonished by tho
voice of God to go to the
dying saint: he went, and
administered to him the
sacred Body of our Lord.
‘Armbrose havying recsived ib,
and placing his hands in the
form of the oross, prayed, and
yielded his soul up to God,
T the ove of the Nomes of
April (April 4), in the .year
of our Lord 397.

Let us salute this great doctor in the words which the
holy Church addresses to him in the Office of Vespers.

0 most admirable doctor,
0 doctor optime, Ecelesie
sanota lumen, beate Ambrosi, light of Holy Church, blessed
divine legis_smator, depre- Ambrose, lover of tho divine
law, pray for us to the Son
care pro nobis Filium Dei.
of God.

The Ambrosian liturgy is not so rich in its praises
of St. Ambrose as we might naturally expect it to be.
Even the Preface of the Mass is so short and so
wanting in any special allusion to the saint, that
we think it useless to insert it. We will content
ourselves with gi
two of the responsories of the
night Office, the hymn, and the collect, which strikes

us as being the finest.

With regard to the hymn,

it

is well to mention that almost the whole of it is a

modern composition, having been, like a great many
other hymns of the Ambrosian breviary, subjected to
very considerable corrections. The ancient hymn
began with the verse Miraculum laudabile,; but is
extremely poor both in sentiment and expre.ssion.
RESPONSORY

R. Super quem requiescam,
R. Upon whom shall I
dicit Dominus, nisi super rest, saith
the Lord, but upon
humilem et ~mansuctum, him that is humble and meek.
* Trementem verba mea? * Who trembleth at my

368

ADVENT

V. Inveni David servum meum, olco sancto meo unxi
eum. * Trementem verba
mea ?
R. Directus cst_vir inclytus. ut Arium destruerct:
splondor _Ecclesiz, claritas
vatu 1; * Infulas dum gerit
swoul, acquisivit paradisi.
V. Dictum enim fucrat proficiscenti: Vade, ago non ut
judex sed ut episcopus.
* Infulas dum gerit seculi,
acquisivit paradisi.

words? V. Thave found David
my servant, and with my holy
oil have I anointed him. *
Who trembleth at my words ?
R. This _illustrious man
was sent that he might destroy Arius : he was the glory
of the Church, the ornament
of pontifis; * Whilst wearing an_carthly mitre, he
gained that of heaven. V. It
was said to him as he set out :
Go, act not as judge, but as
bishop. * Whilst wearing
an carthly mitre, ho gained
that of heaven.

HYMN

Nostrum parentem maximum
Canamus omnes, turbidas
Qui fluctuantis swculi
Terris procellas expulit.
Puer quiescit : floreis
Apes labellis insident ;
Mellis magistrm, melloum
Signant ducem facundie.
Parvam, futuri preescius,
Dextram coli vult osculis ;
Vixdum solutus fasciis,
Querit tiar tenias.

Let us all sing the praise
of our august father; who
drove from the land the turbid storms of a tempestuous
age.
A babe, ho slecps; when
1o ! a swarm of bees lights on
his flowery lips ; these honeymakers thus telling us that
hero was ono who would
captivate men by the sweetness of his eloquence.
Prescient of the future, he
must have his infant hand
honoured with kisses; and
he who has scarce been freed

from swathing bands, plays
with tho fillets of a mitre.

Infans locutus, Insubrum
A boy crics out, and Milan
Ambrosio fert infulam ;
would have Ambroso receive
Hane fugit : at semper fugam the mitre: Ambrose flees from
Honos fefellit obvius.
it, but honours ever pursue
those who run from them.
At last_the sacred mitre
Velat sacrata deniquo
Doctum tiara verticem :
crowns this head where wisdomsits; the helmet once on,
Ceu tectus ora casside,
Bellum minatur Ario.
our warrior gives Arius battle,

DEO. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

369

Non soeptra concussus tiUnflinching,
he
fears
neither scoptres, nor &
met,
haughty empress; and when
Non imperantem feeminam,
Temploque, clausis postibus, a blood-stained Camsar atArcet cruentum Casarem.
tempts to enter the church,
ho closes the doors against
him and repels him from the
holy spot.
Sordes fluentis abluit
Ho washes away the sins
Aurelii-ccelestibus :
of Augustine in the heavenly
Fide cozquans martyres,
laver of baptism ; companion
Invenit artus martyrum.
Jam

nunc

furentem

tari
Lupum flagello submove ;
Quem Pastor olim rexeris,
Gregem tuere jugiter.

Deo Patri
Ejusque soli
Cum Spiritu
Nun et per
Amen.

to the martyrs by his faith,
he discovers the relics of

tar-

martyrs.
Holy pontiff, now with thy
scourge drive away far from
us the furious wolf of hell
that flock which thou once

didst govern, let it for ever
enjoy thy protection.

sit gloria,
Filio,
Paraclito,
omne seculum.

0 God the Father, and to

_his only Son, and'to the
holy Paraclete, be glory now
and for all ages.
Amen.

PRAYER

ZEterne omnipotens Deus,
qui beatum Ambrosium, tui
nominis _Confessorem, ~non
solum huic Ecclesiz, séd omnibus per mundum diffusi
Eeclesiis Dootorem dedisti :
prasta ut, quod ille divino
afflatus Spiritu_docuit, nostris jugiter stabiliatur in cordibus, ot quem patronum, te
donante, amplectimur, eum
apud tuam misericordiam
defensorem
Christum

strum.

habeamus.
Dominum

Amen.

Per

no-

O almighty and eternal
God, who hast given the
blessed Ambrose, the Confessor of thy holy name, to
bea Doctor of heavenly truth,
not to this Church (of Milan)
alone, but to all the Churches

throughout the world: grant,
that the doctrine he taught
by the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, may be ever firmly

fixed in our hearts, and that

he whom we tenderly lovo as
the patron thou hast given
to us, may be to us a defender, powerful to obtain us
thy mercy. Through Christ
our Lord.

Amen.

24

370

ADVENT

The Mozarabic liturgy has nothing proper on St.

Ambrose.

The Greeks, on the contrary, honour the

memory of the great bishop of Milan by hymns
replete with the most magnificent praises. We give
a few of the most striking passages.
HYMN

TO

ST.

(Taken from the Mencea of
Prafecturse thronum exornans virtute duplici, divina
inspiratione hierarchis
thronum utiliter implevisti : ideo
fidelis ceconomus principatus
in utroque factus, duplicem
coronam hereditasti.

AMBROSE

the Greeks. December 7)

Thou that didst adorn with
twofold virtue the throne of

the prefecture, didst meritoriously fill the throne of the
hierarchy on which divine
inspiration placed thee : faith-

ful

steward,

therefore,

in

both dignities, thou hast inherited a double crown.

Thou didst purify thy soul
and body by continency, and
precibus intensis animam labours, and much watching,
corpusque purificasti, Dei and intense prayer, O divinely
sapiens, vas electionis Dei wise one, O vessel of election
nostri, apostolis similis de- of our God! thou wast like
to the apostles, thou didst
monstratus, accepisti dona.
receive, like them, the gifts
of the Holy Ghost.
As heretofore Nathan rePium
regem
post peccaIn
bus,

continentia, et laboriet vigilis
multis, et

tum, ut olim David Nathan, roved David, so didst thou
audacter animadvertens, Am- oldly chide the good embrosi beatissime, sapienter peror after his sin, O most
excommunicationi subjecisti, blessed Ambrose! Thou didst
et peenitentiam docens Deo wisely subject him to excomdigne, in gregem tuum revo- munication, and didst teach
him to do condign penance :
casti.
thus restoring
him to thy fold,
Sancte pater, sacratissime
Holy father, most saintly
Ambrosi, Iyra resonans, sa- Ambrose, sweet - soundin
lutare melos orthodoxorum
lute, refreshing melody o
dogmatum, ~attrahens fide- true dogmas, attracting the
lium animas, canora divini
souls of believers, sweet harp
Paracliti cithara: Dei maof the holy Spirit, organ of
goum organum, laudandissi God, incomparable trumpet
‘ma Ecclesi tuba, fons limpi- of the Church, most limpid
dissimus, fluentum eluens fountain which cleansest the

libidinam ; Christum ~ ora,
Christum = deprecaro dari
Ecclesi unanimem pacem ot
magnam misericordiam.
Eliam prophotam imitatus,
Baptistamque similiter, reges
inique agentes animadvertisti viriliter; hierarchim
thronum divinitus ornasti, et
miraculorum _ multitudine
mundum ditasti, ideoque divin® Scriptur® alimonia
fideles roborasti, ot infideles
immutasti. Sacerdos Ambrosi, Christum Deum doprecare dare peccatorum romissionem recolentibus cum
amore tuam sanctam memoTiam.

Ab omni noxa adversariorum
servasti gregem,
beate; et Arii errorem omnem delevisti splendore verborum tuorum.
In divioa tua memoria
sacerdotum ceetus oblectatur,
et fidelium chori cum ange”
lis_incorporati exsultant et
delectantur, nutriturque hodie_spiritualiter Ecclesia in
verbis tuis, Ambrosi pater.
Agricols videris suleans
fidei promptum agrum et
doctrinz ; inseminans, Deisapiens,

dogmata:

clesiw
panem.

calostem

multiplicata,

et

distribuis

371

ST. AMBROSE

DEC. 7.

spica

Ec-

Spiritus

turbid passions ! offer thy
prayers to Christ, and beseech him to bestow on his
Church unanimity and peace
and plentiful mercy.
Following the examples of
the prophet Elias and of the
Baptist, thou didst fearlessly
reprove kings for their evil
doings ; thou didst admirably
adorn the throne of the hierarchy ; thou didst enrich the
world with the multitude of
thy miracles; and therefore
thou didst strengthen the
faithful and convert the unbelievers, by the nourish‘ment of the divine Seriptures.
O Ambrose ! O holy priest !
pray
to Christ our Lord thathe
grant the forgiveness of their
sins to them that celebrate
with love thy holy memory.
Thou, O "blessed
pastor,
didst defend thy flock from
all their enemies ; and by the

splendour of thy teachings,
didst dissipate every error of
Arius.

The assembly of the priests

rejoices in colebrating thy
holy memory, and the choirs
of the faithful,

united

with

the angelic spirits, exult and
are glad; the Church to-day is
spiritually nourished by thy
words, O father Ambrose !

Thou art the husbandman,

that tillest the field, which is

open to all men, of faith and

doctrine ; thou there sowest

the dogmas of truth, for thou

art filled with heavenly wis-

dom; and the grain being
multiplied, thou distributest
to the Church the heavenly
bread of the holy Spirit.

372

ADVENT

Roma tua celebrat praclara
gesta ; fulgidus enim ut sidus
undique miraculorum magnas faces, sacerdos, cum fide
immisisti, vere mirande.
Mano accedens ad Christum, splendoribus_fulgebas
ditanter : ideo divinum nactus lumen, illuminas_honorantes
te ubique cum fide.

Rome celcbrates thy glorious deeds, for, bright as o
star, thou shootest forth
everywhere the great blazo
of thy miracles, O truly admirable pontiff.
From the earliest dawn
thou didst approach to Christ,
richly bright with his rays
upon thee : therefore, having
reached the divine light, thou

enlightenest

them

that,

throughout the world, honour

thee with faith.
Thou didst consecrate thy

Corpus tuum et animam
Deo conscerasti: et capax body and soul to God ; and
donorum, pater, cor tuum thy heart, O father, w}uch
conglutinasti dulci amori was mado for great gifts,
enixe inhrens.
thou didst fasten to his sweet
love, and there it clung intensely.
Accepto, sapiens, verbi
Entrusted with the talent
talento, ut servus fidelis ad of the word, thou didst, as a
mensam illud dedisti et mul- wise_and prudent servant,
tiplicasti, atque adsportasti put it out to usury and mulintegrum cum fructu Domino tiply it and bring it with
interest to thy Lord, O
tuo, Ambrosi.
Claram

fecisti

stolam

sa-

cram laboribus tuis, et visus
es pastor rationabilium alumnorum sapiens, quos baculo
tuo in dootrin® pascua antepellebas.

Ambrose !
The holy robe of the pon-

tiff thou didst adorn with thy
labours : thou wast the wise
shepherd of the intellectual
flock, and with thy pastoral
staff

thou

didst

lead

them

before thee into the pastures
of doctrine.

And we, too, O immortal Ambrose, unworthy
though we be to take part in such a choir, we, too,

will praise thee!

We will praise the magnificent
gifts which our Lord bestowed upon thee. Thou art
the light of the Church and the snlt of the earth by
thy heavenly teachings ; thou art the vigilant pastm',
the affectionate father, the unyielding pontiff; oh!
how must thy heart have loved that Jesus, for whom

DEC. 7.
we

are

now

ST. AMBROSE

preparing!

With

313

what

undaunted

courage thou didst, at the risk of thy life, resist them

that blasphemed this divine Word! Well indeed
hast thou thereby merited to be made one of the

patrons of the faithful, to lead them, each year, to
Him who is their Saviour, and their King!
Let,
then, a ray of the truth, which filled thy sublime

soul whilst here on earth, penetrate even into our
hearts ; give us a relish for thy sweet and eloquent
writings ; get us a sentiment of devoted love for the
Jesus who is 80 soon to be with us.

Obtain for us,

after thy example, to take up His cause with energy,
against the enemies of our holy faith, ugainstr&
spirits of darkness, and against ourselves. Let everything yield, let everything be annihilated, let every
knee bow, let every heart confess itself conquered, in
the presence of Jesus, the eternal Word of the Father,
the Son of God, and the Son of Mary, our Redeemer,
our Judge, our All
Glorious saint! humble us, as thou didst Theo-

dosius ; raise us up again contrite and converted, as

thou didst lovingly raise up this thy strayed sheep
and carry him back to thy fold.
Catholic hierarchy, of which

brightest ornaments.

Pray, too, for the

thou wast one of the

Ask of God,

for the

priests

and bishops of His Church, that humble yet inflexible
courage wherewith they should resist the powers
of the world, as often as these abuse the authority

which God has put into their hands. Let their face,
as our Lord Himself speaks, become hard as adamant*

against the enemies of the Church, and may they set
themselves as a wall for the house of Israel ;2 may
they consider it as the highest privilege, and the
greatest happiness, to be permitted to expose their
roperty, and peace, and life, for the liberty of this
oly bride of Christ.

Valiant champion of the truth ! arm thyself with
1 Lzech. iii. 9.

3 Ibid. xiii. 5.

374

ADVENT

thy scourge, which the Church has given thee as thy
emblem ; and drive far from the flock of Christ the
wolves of the Arian tribe, which, under various names,

are even now

prowling round the fold.

Let our ears

be no longer shocked with the blasphemies of these
proud teachers, who presume to scan, judge, approve,

and

blame,

by

the measure

of their vain conceits,

the great God who has given them everything they

are and have, and who, out of infinite love for His
creatures, has deigned to humble Himself and be-

come one of ourselves, although knowing that men
would make this very condescension an argument for
denying that He is God.
Remove our prejudices, O thou great lover of truth !
and crush within us those time-serving and unwise
theories, which tend to make us Chmstians forget
that Jesus is the King of this world, and look on
the law, which equally protects error and truth, as
the
perfection of modern systems. May we understamse that the rights of the Son of Go({ and of His
Church

do

not

cease

to exist,

because

the

world

ceases to acknowledge them ; that to give the same

protection to the true religion and to those false
doctrines which men have set up in opposition to
the teachings of the Church, is to deny that all power
hag been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth;
that those scourges which
periodically come upon the
world are the lessons which Jesus gives to those who
trample on the rights of His Church, rights which
He so justly acquired by dying on the cross for all
mankind ;

that, finally, t{ough 1t be out of our power

to restore those rights to people that have had the
misfortune to resign them, yet it is our duty, under
Eain of being accomplices with those who would not
ave

Jesus

reign

over

them,

to acknowledge

they are the rights of the Church.

that

And lastly, dear saint, in the midst of the dark
clouds which lower over the world, console our holy

DEC. 7.

ST. AMBROSE

375

mother the Church, who is now but a stranger and a

pilgrim amidst those nations which were her children,
but have now denied her; may she cull the flowers
of holy virginity among the faithful, and may that
holy state be the attraction of those fortunate souls
who understand how grand is the dignity of being a
bride of Christ.

If, at the very

commencement

of

her ministty, during the ages of persecution, the holy

Church could lead countless virgins to Jesus, may it

be so even now in our own age of crime and sensuality ; may those pure and generous hearts, formed
and consecrated to the Lamb by this holy mother,

become more and more numerous ; and so give to her

enemies this irresistible proof that she is not barren,
as they pretend, and that it is she that alone preserves
the world from universal corruption, by leavening it
with angelic purity.
Let us consider that last visible preparation for
the coming of the Messias : a universal peace. The
din of war is silenced, and the entire world is intent

in expectation.

*There are three silences to be con-

sidered,” says St. Bonaventure, in one of his sermons
for Advent ; the first in the days of Noah, after the
deluge

had

destroyed

all

sinners;

the

second,

in

the days of Camsar Augustus, when all nations were
subjected to the empire; the third will be at the
death

of Antichrist,

when

the Jews

shall

be

con-

verted.” O Jesus! Prince of peace, Thou willest
that the world shall be in peace, when Thou art
coming down to dwell in it. Thou didst foretell this
by the psalmist, Thy ancestor in the flesh, who,
speaking of Thee, said : * He shall make wars to cease
even to the end of the earth, He shall destroy the

bow, and break the weapons ; and the shield He shall

burn in the fire” And why is this, O Jesus? It
is, that hearts which Thou art to visit must be
1 Ps. xlv. 10.

376

ADVENT

silent and attentive.

It is that before Thou entercst

a soul, Thou troublest it in Thy great mercy, as the

world was troubled and agitated before the universal
ace ; then Thou bringest peace into that soul, and

hou takest possession of her.

dear Lord,

subdue

our

Oh! come quickly,

rebellious senses, bring low

the haughtiness of our spirit, crucify our flesh, rouse
our hearts from their sleep: and then may Thy
entrance into our souls be a feast-day of triumph,
8s when a conqueror enters a city which he has
taken after a long siege. Sweet Jesus, Prince of
peace ! give us peace ; fix Thy kingdom so firmly in
our hearts, that Thou mayst reign in us for ever.
RESPONSORY

R.

OF

ADVENT

(Roman breviary, Matins of the first Sunday)

Aspiciecbam

in

visu

noctis, ot ccco in nubibus
cceli Filius hominis veniebat :
ot datum est ei regnum et
honor. * Et omnis_populus,
tribus et lingue servient ei.
V. Potestas ejus potestas
mterna, que non suferetur,
et regnum ejus quod non cor.
rumpetur. * Et omnis populus, tribus et lingue servient
ei.

R.

I looked

in the

vision

of night, and lo ! in the clouds
of heaven there came the Son
of Man: and empire and honour was given unto him. *
And all peoples, and tribes,
and tongues, shall serve him.
V. His power is an everlasting power that shall not
bo taken away, and his kingdom that which shall not
destroyed. * And all peoples,
and tribes, and tongues, shall

sorve him.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

DEcEMBER

THE

377

8

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN

Ar length, on the distant horizon, rises, with a soft

and radiant light, the aurora of the Sun which has
been

so long

desired.

The

happy

Mother

of the

Messias was to bo born before the Messias Himself ;
and this is the day of the Conception of Mary. The
earth already possesses a first pledge of the divine

mercy ; the gon of Man is near at hand.
Two true
Israelites, Joachim and Anne, noble branches of the

family of David, find their union, after a long barrenness, made fruitful by the divine omnipotence. Glory

be to God, who has been mindful of His promises, and
who deigns to announce, from the high heavens, the

end of the deluge of iniquity, by sending upon the earth
the sweet white dove
that bears the tidings of peace !
The feast of the blessed Virgin’s Immaculate Conception is the most solemn of all those which the

Church celebrates during

the holy time of Advent;

and if the first part of the cycle had to offer us the

commemoration of some one of the mysteries of Mary,
there was none whose object could better harmonize
with the spirit of the Church in this mystic season of
expectation. Let us, then, celebrate this solemnity

with joy; for the Conception of Mary tells us that
the Birth of Jesus is not far off.
The intention of the Church, in this feast, is not

only to celebrate the anniversary of the happy
moment in which began, in the womb of the pious
Anne, the life of the ever-glorious Virgin Mary ; but
also to honour the sublime privilege, by which Mary
was preserved from the original stain, which, by a
sovereign and universal decree, is contracted by all

ADVENT

378

the children of Adam the very moment they are
conceived in their mother’s womb. The faith of the
Catholic Church on the subject of the Conception of
Mary is this: that at the very instant when God
united the soul of Mary, which He had created, to
the body

which it was to animate,

this ever-blessed

soul did not only not contract the stain, which at
that same instant defiles every human soul, but was
filled with an immeasurable grace which rendered

her, from that moment, the mirror of the sanctity of
God Himself, as far as this is possible to a creature.

The Church with her infallible authority, declared,

by the lips of Pius IX., that this article of her faith

had been revealed by God Himself. The Definition
was received with enthusiasm by the whole of Chris-

tendom, and the eighth of December of the year 1854
was thus made one of the most memorable days of
the Church’s history.
It was due to His own infinite sanctity that God
should

suspend, in this -instance, the law which

His

divine justice had passed upon all the children of
Adam. The relations which Mary was to bear to the
Divinity, could not be reconciled with her undergoing
the humiliation of this punishment. She was not
only daughter of the eternal Father; she was destined also to become the very Mother of the Son, and

the veritable

bride of the Holy Ghost.

Nothing

defiled could be permitted to enter, even for an instant
of time, into the creature that was thus predestined

to contract such close relations with the adorable
Trinity ; not a speck could be permitted to tarnish in
Mary that perfect purity which the infinitely holy God
requires even in those who are one day to be admitted
to enjoy the sight of His divine majesty in heaven ;
in a word, as the great Doctor St. Anselm says, ¢ it
was just that this holy Virgin should be adorned
with the greatest purity which can be conceived after

that of God Himself, since God the Father was to give

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION

379

to her, as her Child, that only-begotten Son, whom
He loved as Himself, as being begotten to Him from

His own bosom ; and this in such a manner, that the

selfsame Son of God was, by nature, the Son of both

God the Father and this blessed Virgin.

This same

Son chose her to be substantially His Mother;

and

the Holy Ghost willed that in her womb He would
operate the conception and birth of Him from whom

He Himself proceeded.”
Moreover,

the close ties which were

to unite the

Son of God with Mary, and which would elicit from

Him the tenderest love and the most filial reverence
for her, had been present to the divine thought from
all eternity : and the conclusion forces itself upon us
that therefore the divine Word had for this His
future Mother a love infinitely greater than that
which He bore to all His other creatures. Mary’s
honour was infinitely dear to Him, because she was

to be His Mother, chosen to be so by His eternal and

merciful decrees. The Son’s love protected the Mother.
She, indeed, in her sublime humility, willingly submitted to whatever the rest of God’s creatures had
brought on themselves, and obeyed every tittle of
those laws which were never meant for her : but that

humiliating barrier, which confronts every child of
Adam at the first moment of his existence, and keeps

him from light and grace until he shall have been
regenerated by a new birth—oh ! this could not be
permitted to stand in Mary’s way, her Son forbade it.
The eternal Father would not do less for the

second Eve than He had done for the first, who was
created, as was also the first Adam, in the state of

original justice, which she afterwards forfeited by
sin. The Son of God would not permit that the
woman,

from

whom

He was

to take

the nature

of

Man, should be deprived of that gift which He had
given even to her who was the mother of sin.

1 De conceptu virginali, cap. xvili.

The

380

ADVENT

Holy Ghost, who was to overshadow Mary and produce Jesus within her by His divine operation, would
not permit that foul stain, in which we are all conceived, to rest, even for an instant, on this His Bride.

All men were to contract the sin of Adam ; the sen-

tence was universal; but God’s own Mother is not included.
God who is the author of that law, God who
was free to make it as He willed, had power to exclude

from it her whom He had predestined to be His own
in

was

so

many

ways;

He

could

exempt her, and

it

just that He should exempt her; therefore, He

did it.
Was it not this grand exemption which God Him-

self foretold, when the guilty pair, whose children we

all are, appeared before Him in the garden of Eden ?
In the anathema which fell upon the serpent, there
was included a promise of mercy to us. ‘I will put

enmities,” said the Lord, ‘between thee and the
Woman, and thy sced and ler sced : she shall crush
thy head.”*

rece

under

Thus was salvation promised the human

the form

of a victory over satan;

and

this victory is to be gained by the Woman, and she
will gain it for us also. Even granting, as some read

this text, that it is the Son of the Woman that is
alone to gain this victory, the enmity between the
‘Woman and the serpent is clearly expressed, and she,

the Woman, with her own foot, is to crush the head of

the hated serpent.

The second Eve is to be worthy

of the second Adam, conquering and not to be con-

quered. The human race is one day to be avenged
not only by God made Man, but also by the Woman
miraculously exempted from every stain of sin, in
whom the primeval creation, which was in justice
and holiness,? will thus reappear, just as though the
original sin had never been committed.
Raise up your heads, then, ye children of Adam,
and shake off your chains ! This day the humiliation
which weighed you down is annihilated.
Behold !

* Gon. iii. 15.

2 Eph. iv. 24.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION

381

Mary, who is of the same flesh and blood as yourselves, has seen the torrent of sin, which swept along

all the generations of mankind, flow back at her
presence and not touch her : the infernal dragon has

turned away his head, not daring to breathe his
venom upon her ; the dignity of your origin is given
to her in all its primitive grandeur. This happy
day, then, on which the original purity of your race

is renewed, must be a feast to you.

e second Eve

is created ; and from her own blood (which, with the
exception of the element of sin, is the same as that
which makes you to be the children of Adam), she is

shortly to give you the God-Man, who proceeds from
her according to the flesh, as He proceeds from the
Father according to the eternal generation.
And how can we do less than admire and love the
incompareble purity of Mary in her Immaculate
Conception,

when

we

hear

even

God,

who

thus

prepared her to become His Mother, saying to her, in

the divine Canticle, these words of complacent love :
“Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a
spot in thee " It is the God of all holiness that

here speaks; that eye, which sees all things, finds
not a vestige, not a shadow of sin ; therefore does He

delight in her, and admire in her that gift of His own
condescending munificence. We cannot be surprised

after this, that Gabriel, when he came down from
heaven to announce the Incarnation to her, should be

full of admiration at the sight of that purity, whose
beginning was so glorious and whose progress was

immeasurable

; ang

that this blessed

spirit should

bow down profoundly befere this young Maid of
Nazareth, and sslute her with, ‘Hail, O full of
grace > And who is this Gabriel? An Archangel, that lives amidst the grandest magnificences

of God’s creation, amidst all the gorgeous riches of
heaven ; who is brother to the Cherubim and Sera-

phim, to the Thrones and Dominations ; whose eye

* Cant. iv. 7,

2 §t. Luko . 28,

382

ADVENT

is accustomed to gaze on those nine angelic choirs
with their dazzling brightness of countless degrees of
light and grace ; he has found on earth, in a creature
of a nature below that of angels, the fulness of grace,
of that grace which had been given to the angels
measuredly. This fulness of grace was in Mary from
the very first instant of her existence. She is the
future Mother of God,
pure, ever Immaculate.

and she was ever holy, ever

This truth of Mary’s Immaculate Conception—
which was revealed to the apostles by the divine Son

of Mary, inherited by the Church, taught by the holy
fathers, believed by each generation of the Christian

people with an ever increasing explicitness—was
implied in the very notion of a Mother of God. To

believe that Mary was Mother of God, was implicitly to believe that she, on whom this sublime
dignity was conferred, had never been defiled with
the slightest stain of sin, and that God had bestowed

n her an absolute exemption from sin. But now
the Immaculate Conception of Mary rests on an
explicit definition dictated by the Holy Ghost.

Peter has spoken by the mouth of Pius; and when
Peter has spoken, every Christian should believe ;
for the Son of God has said : * T have prayed for thee,
Peter, that thy faith fail not”? And again: *The
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name,
He will teach you all things, and bring all things to
your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.”*

The

Symbol

of our faith has therefore

received

day

infernal

not a new truth, but a new light on a truth which
was previously the object of the universal belicf.

On

that

great

of

the

definition,

the

serpent was again crushed beneath the victorious
foot of the Virgin-Mother, and the Lord graciously
gave us the strongest pledge of His mercy. He still
loves this guilty earth, since He has deigned to enlighten it with one of the brightest raysof His Mother’s
1 8t. Luke xxii. 32.

2 St. Jobn xiv. 26.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

383

glory. How this earth of ours exulted! The
present generation will never forget the enthusiasm
with which the entire universe received the tidings
of the definition. It was an event of mysterious

importance which thus marked this second half of
our century ; and we shall leok forward to the future
with renewed confidence ; for if the Holy Ghost bids
us tremble for the days when truths are diminished
among the children of men,! He would, consequently,

have us look on those times as blessed by God in
which we receive an increase of truth ; an increase

both in light and authority.

The Church, even before the solemn proclamation

of the grand dogma, kept the feast of this eighth day
of December ; which was, in reality, a profession of
her faith. It is true that the feast was not called the
Immaculate Conception, but simply the Conception of
Mary. But the fact of such a feast being instituted and kept, was an unmistakable expression of
the faith of Christendom in that truth. St. Bernard

and the angelical doctor, St. Thomas, both teach
that the Church cannot celebrate the feast of what

is not holy ; the Conception of Mary, therefore, was
holy and immaculate, since the Church has, for ages

past, honoured it with a special feast. The Nativity
of the same holy Virgin is kept as a solemnity in the
Church, because Mary was born full of grace'; therefore, had the first moment of Mary’s existence been

one of sin, as is that of all the other children of

Adam, it never could have been made the subject of
the reverence of the Church. Now, there are few
feasts so generally and so firmly established in the
Church as this which we are keeping to-day.
The Greek Church, which, more easily than the
Latin, could learn what were the pious traditions of

the east, kept this feast even in the sixth century, as
is evident

the Type,

from

the ceremonial

of St. Sabas.

or, as it is called,

In the west,

1 Pa. xi. 2

we

find it

384

ADVENT

cstablished in the Gothic Church of Spain as far
back as the eighth century. A celebrated calendar
which was engraved on marble, in the ninth century,
for the use of the Church of Naples, attests that it
had already been introduced there.

secretary

Paul the deacon,

to the emperor Charlemagne,

and

after-

wards monk at Monte-Cassino, composed a celebrated

hymn on the mgstcry of the Immaculate Conception ;
we will insert this piece later on, as it is given in the
manuscript copies of Monte-Cassino and Benevento.
In 1066, the feast was first established in England,
in consequence of the pious Abbot Helsyn’s! bcm«
miraculously preserved from shipwreck; and shortly
after that, was made general through the whole
island by the zcal of the great St. Anselm, monk of
the Order of St. Benedict, and archbishop of Canter-

bury.

From England it passed into Normandy, and

took root in France. We find it sanctioned in Germany,
in a council held in 1049, at which St. Leo IX. was
present ; in Navarre, 1090, at the abbey of Irach; in
Belgium, at Liége, in 1142. Thus did the Churches of
the west testify their faith in this mystery, by accepting its feast, which is the expression of

Lastly, it was adopted by Rome

faith.

herself, and her

doing so rendered the unmed testimony of her children, the other Churches, more imposing than ever.

1t was Pope Sixtus IV. who, in the year 1476, published the decree of the feast of our Lady’s Conception for the city of St. Peter. In the next century,

1568, St. Pius V. published the universal edition of
the Roman breviary, and in its calendar was inserted

this feast as one of those Christian solemnities which
the faithful are every year bound to observe. It was
not from Rome that the devotion of the Catholic world
to this mystery received its first impulse ; she sanctioned
it by her liturgical authority, just as she has confirmed
it by her doctrinal authority in these our own days.

1 Somo writers eall him EZsym, and others Elpyn. Soo Baronius
in his notes on tho Koman Martyrology, Dec. 8. [77.]

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

385

The three great Catholic nations of Europe, Ger-

many,

France,

and

Spain,

vied with each other in

their devotion to this mystery of Mary’s Immaculate
Conception. France, by her king Louis XIV.,

obtained from Clement IX. that this feast should be

kept with an octave throughout the kingdom ; which
favour was afterwards extended to the universal
Church by Innocent XII. For centuries previous

to this, the theological faculty of Paris had always

exacted from its professors the oath that they would
defend this privilege of Mary ; a pious practice which
continued as long as the umversity itself.
As regards Germany, the emperor Ferdinand IIL., in

1647, ordered a splendid monument to be erected in

the great square of Vienna. Itis covered with emblems
and figures symbolical of Mary’s victory over sin, and
on the top is the statue of the Immaculate Queen,
with this solemn and truly Catholic inscription :

TO GOD, INFINITE IN GOODNESS AND POWER,
KING OF TEAVEN AND EARTH,
BY WHOM KINGS REIGN;
TO THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
CONCEIVED WITHOUT SIN,
BY WHOM PRINCES COMMAND,
WHOM AUSTRIA, DEVOUTLY LOVING, HOLDS AS HER
QUEEN AND PATRON ;
FERDINAND IIL, EMPEROR,
CONFIDES, GIVES, CONSECRATES HIMSELF,
CHILDREN, PEOPLE, ARMIES, PROVINCES,
AND ALL THAT IS HIS,
AND EEECTS IN ACCOMPLISHMENT OF A VOW
THIS STATUE,
AS A PERPETUAL MEMORIAL.!

1D, 0. M. supremo cceli terreque imperatori, per quem regos
regnant ; Virgini Doipare Immaculate Conceptee, per quam principes imperant, in peculiarom Dominam, Austri@ Patronam, singulari pietate suscopt, se, liberos, populos, cxercitus, provi
omnia denique confidit, donat, consecrat, et in perpetuam rei momoriam statusm hanc ex voto ponit Ferdinandus III. Augustus.
25

386

ADVENT

But the zeal of Spain for the privilege of the holy
Mother of God surpassed that of all other nations.
In the year

1398,

John I, king of Arragon, issued

a chart in which he solemnly places his person and

kingdom under the protection of Mary Immaculate.

Later

on,

kings

Philip

III. and

Philip

IV.

sent

ambassadors to Rome, soliciting, in their names, the
solemn definiition, which heaven reserved, in its mercy,

for our days. King Charles IIL, in the eighteenth
century, obtained permission from Clement XIII.,
that the Immaculate Conception should be the
patronal feast of Spain. The
people of Spain, which
18 50 justly called the Catholic kingdom, put over the

door, or on the front of their houses, a tablet with

the words of Mary’s privilege written on it; and
when they meet, they greet each other with an expression 1n honour of the same dear mystery. It
was

a Spanish

nun,

Mary

of Jesus,

abbess

of the

convent of the Immaculate Conception of Agreda,
who wrote God’s Mystic City, which inspired Murillo

with his Immaculate Conception, the masterpiece of
the Spanish school.
But, whilst thus mentioning the different nations
which have been foremost in their zeal for this article
of our holy faith, the Immaculate Conception, it were

unjust to pass over the immense share which the
mn{hio

has

Order,

the Order of St. Francis of Assisi,

had in the earthly triumph of our blessed Mother,

the Queen of heaven and earth.
As often as this
feast comes round, is it not just that we should think

with reverence and gratitude on him, who was the
first theologian that showed how closely connected
with the divine mystery of the Incarnation is this
dogma of the Immaculate Conception ? First, then,
all honour to the name of the pious and learned John
Duns Scotus ! And when at length the great day of
the definition of the Immaculate Conception came,
how justly merited was that grand audience, which

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION

387

the Vicar of Christ granted to the Franciscan Order,
and with which closed the pageant of the glorious

solemnity ! Pius IX. received from the hands of

the children of St. Francis a tribute of homage and
thankfulness, which the Scotist school, after having
fought four hundred years in defence of Mary’s
Immaculate Conception, now presented to the Pontiff.
In the presence of the fifty-four Cardinals, fortytwo archbishops, and ninety-two bishops ; before an
immense concourse of people that filled St. Peter’s,
and had united in prayer, begging the assistance of
the Spirit of truth; the Vicar of Christ had just
ronounced the decision which so many ages had
oped to hear. The Pontiff had offered the holy
Sacrifice on the Confession of St. Peter.
He had
crowned the statueof the Immaculate Queen with
a splendid diadem. Carried on his lofty throne, and
wearing his triple crown, he had reached the portico

of the basilica ; there he is met by the two representatives of St. Francis: they prostrate before the
throne : the triumphal procession halts : and first, the
General of the Friars Minor Observantines advances,

and presents to the holy Father a branch of silver
lilies : he is followed by the General of the Conventual
Friars, holding in his hand a branch of silver roses.

The Pope graciously accepted both. The lilies and
the roses were symbolical of Mary’s purity and love ;
the whiteness of the silver was the emblem of the
lovely brightness of that orb, on which is reflected
the light of the Sun ; for, as the Canticle says of Mary,
“she is beautiful as the moon’! The Pontiff was
overcome with emotion at these gifts of the family
of the seraphic patriarch, to which we might justly
apply what was said of the banner of the Maid of

Orleans : ‘It had stood the brunt of the battle ; it
deserved to share in the glory of the victory.” And
thus ended the glories of that grand morning of the
1 Cant. vi. 9.

388
ci)ighth

ADVENT
of

December,

eighteen

hundred

and

fifty-

four.
1t is thus, O thou the humblest of creatures, that
thy Immaculate Conception has been glorified on
earth! And how could it be other than a great joy
to men, that thou art honoured by them, thou the

aurora of the Sun of justice ? Dost thou not bring
them the tidings of their salvation ? Art not thou,
O Mary, that bright ray of hope, which suddenly
bursts forth in the deep abyss of the world’s misery ?
‘What should we have been without Jesus ? And thou
art His dearest Mother, the holiest of God’s creatures,

the purest of virgins, and our own most loving
Mother !
How thy gentle light gladdens our wearied eyes,
sweet Mother ! Generation had followed generation
on this earth of ours. Men looked up to heaven
through their tears, hoping to see appear on the
horizon the star which they had been told should
disperse the gloomy horrors of the world’s darkness ;
but death came, and they sank into the tomb, with-

out seeing even the dawn of the light, for which
alone they cared to live. It is for us that God had
reserved the blessing of seeing thy lovely rising, O
thou fair morning star ! which sheddest thy blessed
rays on the sea, and bringest calm after the long
stormy night ! Oh ! prepare our eyes that they may
behold the divine Sun which will soon follow in thy
path, and give to the world His reign of light and
day. Prepare our hearts, for it is to our hearts that
this Jesus of thine wishes to show Himself. To see
Him, our hearts must be pure : purify them, O thou
Immaculate Mother! The divine wisdom has willed
that of the feasts which the Church dedicates to
thee, this of thy Immaculate Conception should be

celebrated during Advent ; that thus the children of
the Church, reflecting on the jealous care wherewith

God preserved thee from every stain of sin because

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

389

thou wast to be the Mother of His divine Son, might

prepare to receive this same Jesus by the most perfect renunciation of every sin and of every attachment to sin. This great change must be made ; and
thy prayers, O Mary ! will help us to make it. Pray—
we ask it of thee by the grace God gave thee in thy
Immaculate Conception—that our covetousness may
be destroyed, our concupiscence extinguished, and
our pride turned into humility. Despise not our
rayers, dear Mother of that Jesus who

chose thee

or
His dwelling-place, that He might afterwards find
one in each of us.
O Mary ! Ark of the covenant, built of an incor-

ruptible wood, and covered over with the purest gold !
help us to correspond with those wonderful designs
of our God, who, after having found His glory in
thine incomparable purity, wills now to seek His glory
in our unworthiness, by making us, from being slaves
of the devil, His temples and His abode, where He
may find His delight.
Help us to this, O thou that

by the mercy of
receive this day
ark of salvation
universal deluge

thy Son hast never known sin !
our devoutest praise. Thou art
; the one creature unwrecked in'
; the white fleece filled with the

and
the
the
dew

of heaven, whilst the earth around is parched ; the
flame which the many waters could not quench ;
the lily blooming amidst thorns; the garden shut
against the infernal serpent; the fountain sealed,
whose limpid water was never ruffled ; the house of
the Lord, whereon His eyes were ever fixed, and into

which nothing defiled could ever enter; the mystic
city, of which such glorious things
are said.!~ We
delight in telling all thy glorious titles, O Mary ! for
thou art our Mother, and we love thee, and the
Mother’s glory is the glory of her children. Cease
not to bless and protect all those that honour thy
immense privilege, O thou who wert conceived on
1 Pa. lxxxvi. 3.

390

ADVENT

this day ! May this feast fit us for that mystery, for
which thy Conception, thy Birth, and thy Annunciation, are all preparations—the Birth of thy Jesus in
Bethlehem : yea, dear Mother,

we desire thy Jesus,

give Him to us and satisfy the longings of our love.

FIRST VESPERS
The five psalms which are chanted by the Church
in this Office, are those which she always employs
on the feasts of our Lady.
The first celebrates the royalty, the priesthood,
and the supreme judgeship of Christ, the Son of
God and the Son of Mary ; it implies, therefore, the
great dignity and the incomparable purity of her
who was to give Him birth.

AxTreroNA. Tota pulohra
AxtiproN. Thou art all
es, Maria, et macula origi- fair, O Mary, and the stain
nalis
non est in te.
of original sin is not in thee.
PsaLy 109

The Lord said to my Lord,
meo : * Sede a dextris meis.
hia Son: Sit thou at my right
hand, and reign with me.
Donee ponam inimicos
Until I make thy enemies
tuos: * scabellum pedum thy footstool.
tuorum.
Virgam virtutis tuw emitO Christ! the Lord thy
tet Dominus ex Sion: * do- Father will send forth the
minare in medio inimicorum sceptre of fl:fl' power out of
Dixit

Dominus

Domino

tuorum.

Tecum principium in_die

virtutis tuz in splendoribus

sanctorum: * ex utero anto
Iuciferum genui te.

Juravit Dominus, et non
peenitebit cum : * Tu es Sa-

Sion:

from

thence rule thou

in the midst of thy enemies.
‘With

pality

in

thee

the

is the

day

princi-

of thy

strength, in the brightness of
the saints: for the Father
hath said to thee : From the

womb before the day-star I
begot thee.
The Lord hath sworn, and
be will not repent: he hath

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

cerdos in sternum secundum

ordinem Melchisedech.

Dominus a dextris tuis: *
confregit in dio ire sum regos.
Judicabit in nationibus,
implebit ruinas: * conquassabit capita in terra maultorum.
De torrente in via bibet : *
propterea exaltabit caput.

AT. Tota pulchra es, Maria, et macula originalis non
et in te.
Axt. Vestimentum tuum
candidum quasi nix, et facies
tua sicut sol.

391

said, speaking of thee, the GodMan : Thou art a Priest for
ever, according to the order
of Melchisedech.
Therefore, O Father, the
Lord thy Son, is at thy right
hand: he hath broken kings
in the day of his wrath.
Ho shall also judge among
nations: n _that terrible
coming, he shall ill the ruins
of the world : he shall crush
the headsin the land of many.
He cometh now in humility ;
he shall drink, in the way, of
the torrent of sufferings :
therefore shall he Lift up the
head.
ANT. Thou art all fair, O
Mary, and the stain of original
8in is not in thee.
ANT. Thy garmentis white
as snow, and thy face is as
the sun.

The second psalm celebrates the
yet shows Him to us as looking
placency on the humble of heart.
of Mary which made Him choose

greatness of God,
down with comIt is the humility
her for His own

Mother, and crown her as the Queen of the universe.

She ever remained a pure Virgin, and yet our Lord
made her to be Mother of all mankind,
psaLM 112

Laudate, pueri, Dominum : Praise the Lord, ye chil* laudate nomen Domini.
dren: praise ye the name of
the Lord.
Sit nomen Domini beneBlessed be the name of the
diotum: * ex hoo nuno et Lord: from henceforth now
and for ever.
usque in swculum.
From the rising
of the sun
A solis ortu usque ad occasum: * lsudabile nomen unto the going down of the
same, the name of the Lord
Domini,
is worthy of praise.

v

392

ADVENT

The Lord is high above all
nations : and his glory above
the heavens.
Who is as the Lord our
God, who dwelleth on high:
and looketh down on the low
things in heaven andonearth?
Raising up the needy from
the earth : and lifting up the
poor out of the dunghill.
That he may place him
with princes : with tho princes
of his people.
Who maketh & barren woman to dwell in & house, the
joyful mother of children.
'ANT. Thy garment
is white
85 snow, and thy face s as
the sun.
AxT. Thou art the glory of
Jerusalem, thou art the joy
of Tsracl, thou art the honour
of our people.

Excelsus _super omnes
gentes Dominus: * et super
ceelos gloria eju
Quis sicut Dominus Deus
noster qui in altis habitat: *
et humilia respicit in calo
et in terra 1
Suscitans a terra inopem : *
et de stercore erigens pauperem.
Ut collocet eum cum principibus: * cum principibus
populi sui.
ui habitare facit sterilem
in domo: * matrem filiorum
letantem.
Axt. Vestimentum tuum
candidum quasi nix, et facies
tua sicut sol.
ANr. Tu gloria Jerusalem,
tu letitia Tsrael, tu honorificentia populi nostri.

The third psalm sings the glory of Jerusalem, the

city of God.

Mary, who was the dwelling which the

Most High had chosen for Himself, was signified by

this blessed city. It is in her, in the admiration
which her dignity excites, and in the confidence

which

her exhaustless

love inspires,

dren of the Church are now assembled.

that

herself is also the city of God.

the

chil-

The Church

PsaLM 121

in his que

I rejoiced
at the things that
* In do- were said to me: We shall
mum Domini ibimus.
g0 into the house of the Lord.
Stantes erant pedes nostri :
Our feet were standing in
* in atriis tuis Jerusalem.
thy courts, O Jerusalem !
Our heart loves and confides

Jerusalem quie_ wdificatur

in thee, O Mary.

Mary is e b Ferasslom
ut civitas: * cujus partici- that is built as a city ; which
patio ejus in idipsum.
is compact together.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE

Iluc enim sscenderunt
tribus, tribus Domini : * testimonium Jsracl ad_confitendum nomini Domini.
Quia_illic sederunt sedes
in judicio: * sedes super
domum David.
Rogste qus ad pacem sunt
Jerusalom: * et abundantis

diligentibus te.

Fiat_pex in_virtute tus:
* ot abundantia in turribus
tuis.
Propter fratres meos et
proximos meos: * loquebar
pacem de te.
Propter domum _Domini
Dei nostri: * quwsivi bona
tibi.
Axt. Tu gloria Jerusalem,
tu ltitia Isracl, tu honorificentia populi nostri.
Axt. Benedicts es tu,
Virgo Maria, a Domino Deo
excolso, pra omnibus mulieribus super terram.

CONCEPTION

393

For thither did the tribes

T up, the tribes of the Lord :

the testimony of Isrsel, to
praise the name of the Lord.

Because seats sat there in

judgement; seats upon the
house of David; and Mary
is of a kingly race.
Pray ye, through Mary, for
the things that are for the

peace of Jerusalem: and
may sbundance be on them

that love thee, O Church of
our God /

The voice of Mary : Let
peaco be in thy strength, O
thou new Sion/ and abundance in thy towers.
1, a daughter of Israel, for
the sake of my

brethren and

Because of
the Lord our

the house of
God, I have

of my neighbours,
peace of thee.

spoke

sought good things for thee.
ANT. Thou art the glory
of Jerusalem, thou art the
joy of Israel, thou art the
onour of our people.
ANT. Blessed art thou, O
Virgin Mary, by the Lord

the most high God, above all

‘women upon the earth.

The following psalm is inserted in the Office of

our Lady on account of the allusion made in it to a
house which God Himself has built, and to a city

which He is the guardian.

of

Mary is this house, which

Gud built for Himself ; she is this city, which He has

protected from every insult and attack.

PsaLM 126

Nisi Dominus wdificaverit
Unless the Lord build the
domum : * in vanum labora- house, they labour in vain
verunt qui edificant eam.

that build it.

394

ADVENT

Unless the Lord keep the
Nisi Dominus custodierit
civitatem: * frustra vigilat city, he watcheth in vain
qui custodit eam.
that keepeth it.
It is vain for you to rise
Vanum est vobis ante lucem surgere : * surgite post- before light; rise ye after
quam sederitis, qui mandu- you have sitten, you that
catis panem doloris.
eat of the bread of sorrow.
Cum dederit dilectis suis
‘When he shall give sleep
somnum: * ecce hereditas to his beloved : behold the
Domini, filii: merces, fru- inheritance of the Lord are
children: the reward, the
ctus ventris.
fruit of the womb.
Sicut sagittm in manu poAs arrows in the hand of
tentis : * ita filii excussorum. the mighty, 8o the children

Beatus vir, qui implevit
desiderium _suum ex ipsi
* non confundetur cum loquetur inimicis suis in porta.
Axt. Benedicta es tu,
Virgo Maria, a Domino Deo
excelso, pre omnibus mulieribus super terram.
At. Trahe nos, Virgo immaculata: post te curremus
in odorem unguentorum tuorum.

of them that have
shaken.
Blessed is the man
hath filled his desire
them ; he shall not be

been

that
with
con-

founded when he shall lpuk

to his enemies at the
vAfl ll}leuedbm‘tt: oi.:oxg

irgin Mary, by the
the most high God, above all
women upon the earth.
AxT. Draw us, O Immaculate Virgin! we will run
after

thee

to the

thy ointments.

Again it is Mary, the mystic
Church has in view when she
the following beautiful psalm.
Conception, our Lord stre
beloved city ; the enemy could
this defence to her, by whom
His Word upon the earth.
psaLy 147

odour

of

city of God, that the
sings, on these feasts,
On this day of her
the ates of His
not enmx God owed
He intended to send

Lauda, Jerusslem, DomiPraise the Lord, 0 Mary,
num: * lauda Deum tuum, thou ftrue Jerusalem: O
Mary, O Sion ever holy,
Sion.
praise
thy God.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Quoniam confortavit seras

portarum tuarum: * benedixit filiis tuis in te.

Qui posuit fines tuos pacem: * et adipe frumenti
satiat te.

Qui emittit eloquium suum
terre: * velociter currit sermo ejus.
Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nebulam sicut cinerem spargit.
Mittit _ crystallum suam
sicut buccellas: * ante faciem frigoris ejus quis sustinobit 1
Emittet verbum suum, et
liquefaciet ea; * flabit spiritus ejus, et fluent aque.

Qui _ snnuntiat verbum
suum Jacob: * justitias, ot
judicia sua aracl.
Non fecit taliter omni
nationi : * et judicia sus non
‘manifestavit eis.
Axt. Trahe nos Virgo
immaculata: post te curremus in odorem unguentorum
tuorum.

395

Because he hath strengthened against sin the bolts
of thy gates: he hath
blessed thy children within
thee.
Who hath placed peace in
thy borders, and filleth thee
with the fat of comn, with
Jesus, who is the Bread of
life.
Who sendeth forth by thee
his Word to the carth; his
Word runneth swiftly.
Who giveth snow like
wool : scattereth mists like
ashes.
He sendeth his crystal
like morsels: who shall
stand before the face of his
cold 1
He shall send forth his
Word by Mary, and shall
melt them: his spirit shall
breathe, and the waters shall
run.
Who declareth his Word
to Jacob: his justices and
his judgements to Israel.
He hath not dono in like
‘manner to every nation; and
his judgements ho hath not
made manifest to them.
Axt. Draw us, O Immaculate Virgin! we will run
aiter thee
fo the odour of thy
ointments.

The capitulum is a passage from the Book of
Proverbs of Solomon, in which divine Wisdom, the
Son of God, publishes the eternity of the divine
decree of the Incarnation. The Church, on this day,
puts these same words in the mouth of Mary, inasmuch as this privileged creature was also decreed,
before all time, to be the Mother of the Man-

God.

ADVENT

39

CAPITULUM

(Prov. viii.)

Dominus possedit moe in
initio viarum suarum, antequam quidquam faceret &
principio: ab mterno ordinats sum, et ex entiquis
antequam terra fieret: nondum erant abyssi, et ego jam
concepta eram.

The Lord possessed me in
the beginning of his ways
before ho made anything
from the beginning: I was
set up from eternity, and of
old before the earth was
made: the depths were not
8s yet, and I was already
conceived.

The hymn is that venerable song of the Catholic

Church,

Lady.
which

which

is chanted on all the feasts of our

No heart can resist the confidence and love
this canticle inspires. How often soever

repeated, it seems ever fresh. The nun in her
aceful cloister, and the mariner in the hour of

storm, both love their Ave Maris Stella.
HYMN 1
Ave,

maris

stella!

Hail,

star

of

the

sea!

Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper Virgo,
Felix ceeli porta.

blessed Mother of God, yet
ever a Virgin ! O happy gate
of heaven !

Funda nos in pace,
Mutans Eva nomen,

firm us in peace, and 8o let
Fva be changed into an Ave
of blessing for us.

Sumens illud Ave
Gabrielis ore,

Solve vincla reis,
Profer lumen czcis,
Mala nostra pelle,

Thou that didst receive the
Ave from Gabriel's lips, con-

Loose the sinner’s chains,
bring light to the blind, drive
from us our evils, and ask all

Bona cunota posce.

good things for us.

Sumat per te preces,
Qui pro nobis natus,

and offer our prayers to him,
who would be born of thee,

Monstra te esse Matrem,

Tulit esse tuus.

Show

thyself

a

Mother,

when born for us.

1 In monastic churches it is precedod by this responsory :—
R. In hoo cognovi * Quoniam voluisti me. - Tn hoo. V. Quoinimicus meus super me. * Quoniam. Gloria.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

O incomparable Virgin,
and meckest of the meek, obin u the forgiveness of our

Virgo singularis,

Inter omnes mitis,

Nos culpis solutos

sins, ard make us meek and

Mites fac et castos.

chaste.

Obtain us Furity of life,
and s safe pilgrimago; that

Vitam prasta puram,
Tter para tutum ;
Tt videntes Jesum,
Semper colletemur.

we may be united with thee

in the blissful vision of Jesus.
Praise
be to God the Father,
&nd to the Lord Jesus, and to

Sit laus Deo Patri,

Summo Christo decus,
Spiritui sancto,
Tribus honor unus.

tho Holy Ghost : to the Three

Amen.
V. Immaculats Conceptio
est hodie sancte Mari»
Vir-

ginis.
R. Quas_serpentis caput
virgineo pede contrivit.
ANTIPHON

397

one selfsame praise.
Amen,

V. To-day is the Immaculate Conception of the blessed
Virgin Mary.
R. Who

with

virgin

foot

crushed the serpent’s head.

OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Beatam me dicent _omnes
All generations
shall call me
gencrationes, quin fecit mihi blessed, because he that is
megna qui potens est, al- mighty hath done great things
in me, alleluia.
leluis.
PRAYER

Deus, qui per immaculatem
Virginis _Conceptionem, _dignum Filio tuo habitaculum
preeparasti; quesumus, ut
qui ex morte cjusdem Filii
tui pravisa, eam ab omni
labe praeservasti, nos quoque
‘mundos ejus intercessiono ad
to perveniro concedas. Per
oumdem.

0 God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virigin didst proparo o worthy
welling-place for thy divine
Son ; grant, we bescech thee,
that, as by the foreseon merits
of the death of this thy Son,
thou didst preserve her from
every stain of sin, we also
‘may, through her intercession,
bo cleansed from our sins and
united with thee. Through
the same, &c.

A commemoration is here made of Advent, by the
antiphon, versicle, and prayer of the day,

398

ADVENT

MASS
The Introit is & song of thanksgiving, taken from
Isaias and the Psalms. Mary extols the wonderful

gifts of God to her, and the victory which He has

granted her over satan and sin.
INTROIT

Gaudens gaudebo in Domino, et exsultabit snima
mea in Deo meo : quis induit
me vestimentis_salutis; et
indumento justiti ciroumdedit me, quasi sponsam ornatam monilibus suis.
Ps. Exaltabo te, Domine,
quonism suscepisti me: neo
lelectasti inimicos meos surme. Gloria Patri. GauHona gandebo.

1 will rooios with exceeding joy in the
Lord, and m
soul shall exalt in my God»
for he hath olothed me with
the garments of salvation
and with the robo of justice
he hath covered me, as a bride
adorned with her jewels.
Pa. I will extol thee, O
Lord, for thou hast upheld
me: and hast not made my
enemies to rejoice over me.
Glory be to tho Father, &.
T wil rejoice, &o.

The Collect gives us the moral explanation of the
mystery. Mary was preserved from original sin because she was to be the dwelling-place of the Most
Holy : let this teach us to beg of this same God, that

He would purify our souls.

COLLECT

Deus, qui per immaculatam
Virginis Conceptionem _dignum Filio tuo habitaculum
rosti; quesumus, ut
i rox mocto. ejusdem Filii
tui preevisa, eam ab omni
Iabe preeservasti, nos quoque
mundos ejus intercessione ad
to pervenire concedas. Per
eumdem.

0 God, who by the Imma-

culate Conception of the Virgin didst prepare & worthy
dwelling-place for thy divine
Son ; grant, we beseech thee,
that, as by the foreseen merits
of the death of this thy Son,

thou didst preserve her from

every stain of sm, we also
may, through her infercession,
be cleansed from our sins and
united with thee. Through

the same, &c.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

DEOC. 8.

399

Here is made a commemoration of Advent, by the
Collect of the preceding Sunday.

Leotio libri Sapienti.
Prov.

EPISTLE

Cap.

Dominus possedit me in
initio viarum susrum, antequam quidguam faceret &
principio. Ab wterno_ordinata sum, et ex antiquis, antequam terra fierot. Nondum
erant abyssi, et ego jam concepta eram: necdum fontes
aquarum eruperant ; necdum
montes gravi mole constiterant: ante colles ego partu-

Lesson

from the Book of
Wisdom.

Prov.

Ch. viii.

The Lord possessed me in
the beginning of his ways,
before he made anything
from tho beginning. I was set
up from eternity, and of old
before

the earth

was

made.

The depths were not as yet,
and I was already conceived

neither had the fountains of

waters as yet sprung out ; the

mountaina with. their huge
riebar : adhuc terram non fe- bulk had not as yet been escerat, et flumina, et cardines

orbis terre. Quando praeparabat ccelos, aderam : quando
certa loge, et gyro vallabat
abyssos: quando wthera firmabat sursum, et librabat
fontes aquarum : quando circumdabat mari terminum
suum, et legem ponebat aquis,
ne

transirent

fines

suos:

quando appendebat fundamenta terre: cum eo eram
cuncta componens : et deloctabar per singulos dies, ludens coram eo omni tempore,
ludens in orbo terrarum : ot
delicie mesw, esse cum fliis
hominum.
Nunc ergo, fili,
audite me. Beati qui custodiunt vies meas. Audite disciplinam, et estote sapientes,
ot nolite abjicere cam. Beatus hom qui audit me, o qui
vigilatad fores meas quotidie,
et observatad postes ostii moi.

tablished: before the hills I

was

brought

forth:

he had

not yet made the earth, nor
the Tivers, nor the poles of
the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was pre-

sent:

when

with

a certain

law and compass he enclosed
the depths: when he established the sky sbove, and
poised the fountains of waters: when he compassed the

sea with its bounds, and set a

law to the waters, that they

should not pass their limits :

‘when he balanced the foundations of the earth : I was with

him forming all things: and
was delighted
every day, playing before him at all times,

playing in the world : and my

delights were to be with the

children of men. Now, therefore, ye children, hear me.

Blessed are they that keep

ADVENT

400

Qui me invencrit, inveniet my ways
vitam ; et haurict salutem a
Domino.

Hear instruction

and be wise, and rofuse it
not. Blessed is the man that

heareth me, and that watoheth daily at my gates, and
waiteth at the posts of my

doors. He that shall find
me, shall find life, and shall
have salvation from the Lord.

The apostle teaches us that Jesus, our Emmanuel,
is the firstborn of every creature.! These mysterious
words signify not only that He is, as God, eternally
begotten of the Father; but also that the divine
‘Word is, as Man, anterior to all created beings.

how is this?

Yet,

The world had been created, and the

human race had dwelt on this earth full four thousand
before

years,

nature of man.

the Son

of God

took to Himself

the

It is not in the order of time, but in

the eternal intention of God, that the Man-God pre-

ceded every creature. The eternal Father decreed first
to give to His eternal Son a created nature, namely,
the nature of man ; and, in consequence of this decree,
to create all beings, whether spiritual or material, as

a kingdom for this Man-God.
how

This explains to us

it is, that the divine Wisdom,

the Son of God,

of the sacred Scripture which forms
in the p:
the Epistle of this feast, proclaims His having existed
all the creatures

before

of the universe.

As

God,

He was begotten from all eternity in the bosom of
the Father ; as Man, He was, in the mind of God, the

type

made.

of all creatures, before those creatures were

But the Son of God could not be of our race,

as the divine will decreed He should be, unless He
were born in time, and born of a Mother as other

men ; and therefore she that was to be His Mothor

was eternally present to the thought of God, as the
means whereby the Word would assume the human

nature.

The Son and the Mother are therefore united
1 Col. i 15.

DEO. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

401

in the plan of the Incarnation: Mary, therefore,
existed, as did Jesus, in the divine decree, before
creation began. This i the reason of the Church’s
having, from the earliest ages of Christiamity, interpreted this sublime passage of the sacred volume of
Jesus and of Mary unitedly, and ordering it and analogous passages of the Scriptures to be read in the
assembly of the faithful on the solemnities or feasts of
the Mother of God. But if Mary be thus prominentin
the divine and eternal plan ; if, in the sense in which

these mysterious texts are understood by the Church,
she was, with Jesus, before every creature ; could God

permit her to be subjected to the original sin, which

was to fall on all the children of Adam ? She is, it
is true, to be a child of Adam like her divine Son

Himself, and to be born at the time fixed ; but that
torrent,

which

sweeps

all mankind

along,

shall be

turned away from her by God’s grace ; it shall not
come near to her ; and she shall transmit to her Son,
who is also the Son of God, the human nature in its
original perfection, created, as the apostle says, in
holiness and justice.!

The Gradual is the application to the Immaculate

Mother of God of those praises with which the ancients

of Bethulia greeted Judith, after she had elain the

enemy of God’s people. Judith is one of the types
of Mary, who crushed the head of the serpent.
The Alleluia verse applies to our blessed Lady
those words of the divine Canticle, which proclaim

the bride of God to be all fair and spotless.
GRADUAL

Bonedicta es tu, Virgo _ Blessed art thou, O Virgin
Maria, & Domino Deo excelso, Mary, by the Lord the most
pree omnibus mulieribus su- high God, above all women
per terram.

upon the earth.

1 Eph. iv. 24.

26

ADVENT

402

V. Thou art the glory of
V. Tugloria Jerusalem, tu
ltitia Terael, tu honorificen- Jerusalem, thou srt the joy
of Israel, thou art the honour
tia populi nostri.
of our people.
Alleluia, alleluia.
.
Alleluia, alleluia.
V. Thou art sall fair, O
V. Tota pulchra es, Maris,
et maculs originalis non est Mary, and the stain original
is not in thee. Alleluia.
in te. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
Sequentia sancti Evangelii
secundum

Lucam.

Cap. i.

In illo tempore : Missus est

angelus Gabriel a Deo in
civitatem Galile=, cui nomen
Nazareth, ad Virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen
erat Joseph, de domo David ;
et nomen Virginis, Maria.
Et ingressus angelus ad eam,
plena;
dixit: Ave, gratia
Dominus_tecum: benedicta
tu in mulieribus.

Sequel of the holy Gospel
‘accordingto Luke.
Ch. i.

At that time the angel
Gabriel was sent from God
into a city of Galilee, called
Nazareth, to s Virgin espoused t0 & man whose name
was Joseph, of the house of
David: and the Virgin's
name was Mary. And the
angel being come in, said
of grace;
unto her : Hail, full
the Lord is with thee;
blessed art thou among
women.

This is the salutation with which the Archangel

greets Mary.

It shows us what was his admiration

and his profound veneration for the Virgin of Nazareth.
The holy Cospel tells us that Mary was troubled at
these words, and thought within herself what such a
salutation as this could imply. The sacred Scriptures record many angelical salutations : but, as St.
Ambrose, St. Andrew of Crete, and, before them,

Origen had remarked, there is not one which contains
such praises as this does. The prudent Virgin was,
therefore, naturally surprised at the extraordina:
words of the angel, and, as the early

fathers observe,

they would remind her of that other interview between Eve and the serpent. She therefore remained

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

403

silent, and it was only after the Archangel had spoken
to her a second time, that she made him a reply.
And yet, Gabriel had spoken not only with all the
eloquence,

but with all-the profound

wisdom

of a

celestial spirit initiated into the divine mysteries ;
and, in his own superhuman language, he announced

that the moment had come when Eve was to be
transformed into Mary. There was present before
him a woman destined for the sublimest dignity, the
woman

that was to be the Mother of God;

yet, up

to this solemn moment, Mary was but a daughter of

the human race.

Think, then, taking Gabriel’s words

as your guide, what must have been the holiness of

Mary in this her first estate : is it not evident that
the prophecy, made in the earthly paradise, had
already been accomplished in her ?
The Archangel proclaims her full of grace. What

means this, but that the second woman possesses in

herself that element of which sin had deprived the
first 2 And observe, he does not say merely that

divine grace works in her, but that she is full of it.

“She is not merely in grace as others are,” as Saint
Peter Chrysologus told us on his feast, ‘but she is

filled with it

Everything in her is resplendent

with heavenly purity, and sin has never cast its
shadow on her beauty. To appreciate the full
import of Gabriel’s expression, we must consider what
is the force of the words in the language which the
sacred historian used. Grammarians tell us that the
single word which he employs is much more compre-

hensive than our expression ‘full of grace.” It
implies not only the present time, but the past as well,
an incorporation of grace from the very commencement, the full and complete affirmation of grace, the

total permanence of
avoidably weakened
the
The better to feel the
let us compare this with

e. Our translation has unterm.
full force of our translation,
an analogous text from the

ADVENT

404

Gospel of St. John. This evangelist, speaking of
the Humanity of the Incarnate Word, expresses all
by saying that Jesus is full of grace and truth?!

Now, would this fulness have been rcal, hed sin ever

been there, instead of grace, even for a single instant 2
Could we call him full of grace, who had once stood

in need of being cleansed ?

Undoubtedly,

we must

ever respectfully bear in mind the distance between
the Humanity of the Incarnate Word and the person

of Mary, from whose womb the Son of God assumed
that Humanity ; but the sacred text obliges us to

confess, that the fulness of grace was, proportionately,
in both Jesus and Mary.
Gabriel goes on still anumemting the supernatural
riches of Mary. He says to her: “The Lord is with
thee.”

What

means

this?

It

means,

that

even

possessed Him in her soul.

But,

before Mary had conceived our Lord in her chaste
womb, she already

would the words be true, if that union with God had
once not been, and had begun only when her disunion with Him by sin had been removed ? The
solemn

occasion, on which the angel uses this lan-

guage, forbids us to think that he conveyed by it any
other idea, than that she had always had the Lord

with her.

We feel the allusion to a contrast between

the first and the second Eve ; the first lost the God

who had once been with her ; the second had, like

the first, received our Lord into her from the first
moment

of her existence, and never lost Him,

but

continued from first to last and for ever to have Him
with her.

Let us listen once more to the salutation, and we

shall find from its last words that Gabriel is an-

nouncing the fulfilment of the divine oracle, and is

addressing Mar{ as the woman foretold to be the
instrument of the victory over satan. °Blessed art
thou among women.” For four thousand years, every
1 8t. John i. 14.

DEC.

8.

THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION

403

woman has been under the curse of God, and has
brought forth her children in suffering and sorrow :
but here is the one among women, that has been ever

blessed of God, that has ever been the enemy of the

serpent, and that shall bring forth the fruit of her

womb without travail.
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is therefore
declared in the Archangel’s salutation’;

and we can

now understand why the Church selected this portion

of the Gospel to be read to-day in the assembly of the
faithful.
After the glorious chant of the Symbol of our
faith, the choir intones the Offertory : it is composed
of the words of the angelical salutation. Let us sa,
to Mary with Gabriel : Verily, O Mary, thou art ful
of grace.
OFFERTORY

Ave, Maris, gratis plena:
Hail Mary, full of grace:
Dominus tecum, benedicta tu the Lord is with thee : blessed
in mulieribus, alleluis.
art thou among women, aleluis.
SECRET

Receive, O Lord, this host
in solemnitate immaculat of salvation, which we offer
Conceptionis beatw Virginis unto thee on this solomnity
Mari tibi, Domine, offeri- of the Immaculate Concepmus, suscipe, et prasts: ut tion of the blessed Virgin
sicut illam, tus gratis pre- Mary ; and grant, that, as we
veniente, ab omni labe im- confess her to have been premunem profitemur : ita ejus served, by thy preventi
intercessione & culpis omni- raoe: Trom.very atain.of
bus liberemur. Per Domi- sin, we may, by her intercesnum.
sion, be freed from all our
Salutarem

hostiam,

quam

sins.

Through, &o.

A commemoration is here made of Advent, by the

Becret of the preceding Sunday.

406

ADVENT
THE

PREFACE

The Church is too full of joy on this great
feast to be satisfied with her usual form of thanks-

giving ; she employs one which makes mention of
the holy Mother of God, whose Conception revives
her hopes, and announces the rising of Him who is
the eternal light.
Vere dignum et justum
It is truly meet and just,
est, mquum et salutare, nos right and available to salva-

tibi semper, et ubique gratias agere: Domine sancte,
wterne
omnipotens,
Pater
Deus. Et te in Conceptione
Immaculata

beate

Mariz

semper Virginis collaudare,
benedicere, et praedicare.
Quz et Unigenitum tuum
sancti
Spiritus obumbratione concepit: et virginitatis gloria permanente, lumen @ternum mundo effudit, Jesum Christum Domi-

num nostrum.
Per quem
Majestatem
tuam laudant
Angeli,
adorant
Dominationes, tremunt Potestates,
Ceeli, cclorumque Virtutes,
ac beata Seraphim, socia exsultatione concelebrant. Cum
quibus_et nostras voces, ut
admitti jubeas deprecarur,
supplici _ confessione dicentes:
Sanctus/
Sanctus!
Sanctus /!

tion, that we should always,
and in all places, give thanks
to thee, O holy Lord, Father
almighty, eternal God. And
that we should praise, bless,
and glorify theo on the Im:
maculate Conception of the
blessed Mary, ever a Virgin,
who by the overshadowing of
the Holy Ghost conceived
thine _only - begotten Son,
and, the glory of her virginit
still remaining, brought f
the eternal light to the
world, Jesus Christ our Lord.
By whom the Angels prais
thy Majesty, the Dominations
adore it, the Powers tremble
before it, the Heavens, the
heavenly Virtues, and blessed
Seraphim, with common jubileo glorify it. Together
with whom wo beseech thee
that we may be admitted to
join our humble voices, saying: Holy / Holy ! Holy |

During the Communion, the Church shares in the

holy

glories
God.

enthusiasm,

and

wherewith

David

proclaims

the privileges of the mystic

the

city of

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE

CONCEPTION

407

COMMUNION
Gloriosa dicta sunt de te,

Maria, quis fecit tibi magna
qui potens est.

Glorious things are said of
theo, O Mary ! for he that is
mighty hath dono great
things in thee.

POSTCOMMUNION

Sacraments que sumpsimus, Domine
us noster,
illius in nobis culpme vulnera reparent; & qua immaculatam beatse Mari® Concoptionem_singulariter presorvasti. Per Dominum, &c.

May the mysteries we have
received, O Lord our God,
ropair in us the wounds of
that sin, from which thou
hast, with exceptional providence, preserved the Immaculate Conception of the
ever blessed Mary. Through,
&e.

Then is made a commemoration of Advent, by the

Postcommunion of the preceding Sunday.

SECOND
The

antiphons,

psalms,

VESPERS
capitulum,

hymn,

and

versicle, are the same as in first Vespers, pages 390
to 397.
ANTIPHON

OF THE MAGNIFICAT

Hodio egressa et virga de
radico Jesse : hodio sine ulls
peocsti Inbo conoopta st
aria: hodie contritum est
ab_ea caput serpentis antiqui, alleluia.

This day there went forth
a branch from the root of
Josse: this day was Mary
conceived without any stain
of sin: this day was tho
head of the old serpent
crushed by her, alleluis.

The Prayer as in the first Vespers, page 397.

We will now give three liturgical hymns composed in honour of the mystery of Mary’s Immaculate Conception; they will assist the faithful to

408

ADVENT

enter more fully into the spirit of to-day’s feast. We
must give the precedence to the beautiful strophes,
in which Prudentius, in his hymn Ante cibum,

celebrates the triumph of the woman over the
serpent. We find, then, early in the fifth century,
that the prince of Christian poets mentions,

as one

of the glories of Mary, her having triumphed over all
the poisons of the infernal dragon, because there was
fé)o ém bestowed upon her the dignity of Mother of
HYMN

Ecce venit nova progenies,

Zthere proditus alter homo,

Non luteus, velut ille prior,
Sed Deus ipse gerens hominem,
Corporeisque carens vitiis.
Fit caro vivida Sermo Pa-

tris,
Numine quem rutilante gravis
Non thalamo, neque jure
tori,
Nec genialibus illecebris,
Intemerata puella parit.
Hoc odium vetus illud
erat,
Hoc erat aapidis, atque ho‘minis
Digladiabile discidium,
Quod modo cernua femineis
Vipera proteritur pedibus.
dere namque Deum merita,
Omnia Virgo venena domat.
Tractibus anguis inexplicitis,
Virus inerme piger revomit,
Gramine concolor in viridi.

Lo! there comes a new
progeny: o new man como
rom heaven, not formed of
clay as was that first Adam
no, it is God himself that
has assumed human nature,
though without that nature’s
sins.
The Word of the Father is
made_living flesh; a spotless Virgin is his Mother,
not mado 8o by the ordinary
laws of wedlock, but by the
overshadowing of that bright
Spirit, who is God, yet
chooses Mary for his bride.
Here is the cause of that
ancient hate, that ever-warring quarrel between the
serpent and man—that now
the crouching viper is crushed
by the woman’s foot.

The Virgin, that was made
worthy to be Mother of God,
triumphs over all the poisons
of satan: the
gre n monster,
now sluggish and disabled,
coils his huge folds round
himself, and on the grass
vomits out his venom.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Qu feritas modo non trepidat,
Territa do grege candidulo ?
Tmpavidas lupus inter oves
Tristis obambulat, et rabidum
Sanguinis immemor os cohibet.

Agnus enim, vice mirifica
Ecce leonibus imperitat,
Exagitansque truces aquilas
Per

vaga
notos

nubila,

perque

Sidere lapsa Columba fugat.

409

Well may_ the fierce wolf
tremble, and flee from the
dear white lambs of the fold !
Sulky and vexed, he prowls
around the inclosure wherein

they safely browse: he dare
not think of blood, nor show
his rabid teeth.
O wonderful change! the
lamb _commands the lion,
and the heavenly Dove in
her descent to earth makes
the ravenous eagle flutter
through the clouds and tho
‘winds.

The following hymn belongs to the eighth century.
It was written by the celebrated Paul
the deacon,
who, after being secretary to Charlemagne, became
a monk

at Monte-Cassino.

Here, too, we find the

clearest profession of faith in the Immaculate Conception. The poison of original sin, as the author
expresses it, has run its infection through the entire
human race ; but the Creator sees that the womb of
Mary is pure, and there he enters.
HYMN

Qnu possit smplo famine
ngx.s g =l
ginis,

premis

Vir-

Per quam veterne sub laqueo necis

Orbi retento reddita vita est ?

Heo virga Jesse, Virgo
puerpera,
Hortus superno germine consitus,
Signatus alto munere fons
sacer,
Mundum
libi.

beavit viscere cce-

Hausto maligni
ocoidit

B

us ut

Whore is the man with
words sublime _enough to
tell _the_gifta bostowed on
the Virgin,
by whom life was
resto
o world, which
was prisoner in the sare of
tho old death ?
She is the branoa of
Jesse, the Virgin Mother,
the garden wherein
grow the
divine plant, the holy fountain sealed with tho myate.
nmu

ift :

e wor

T}d” it

is

‘that

by
the
Tt of hor vicgimeyby ¢

Our first parent blvught
deat
on himse
hlf, by drink.

410

ADVENT

Virus chelydri terrigenum
parens ;
Hinc lapsa’ pestis per genus
irrepens
Cunctum _profundo vulnere
perculit.
Rerum misertus sed Sator,
inscia
Cernens_pisculi viscera VirHic ism

mortis crimine lan-

ido
Mondat salutis gaudia swculo.
Emissus
estris Gabriel
innuba
Eterna_portat nuntia Virini :
Verbo tumescit latior ethere
Alvus replentem szcula continens.
Intacta mater, virgoque fit
parens,

Orbis Creator ortus in orbe
est;

Hostis pavendi sceptra remota sunt,
Toto refulsit lux
culo.

nova

se-

Sit Trinitati gloria unicz,

Virtus,

potestas, summa

po-

tentia,
Regnum retentans, qua Deus
unus est,
Per cuncts semper smcula
smculi.

ing in the poison of the
wicked serpent ; thence came
the pestilence on all mankind, and it was mortal.
But the Creator of the
world took compassion on
man, and seeing the womb of
the Virgin, that was pure
from sin, it is by her he
decrees to convey the joys
of salvation to the world that
languished in crime,
Gabriel is sent from heaven
bearing to tho chaste Virgin
the eternal decreo: and she
becomes Mother of the Word,
her womb containing within
it him that fills the earth.
A chaste maid, yet a
mother! a virgin, yet &
parent! The Creator of the
world was born in his own
world; the sceptre was
wrested from the hands of
the dreaded enemy; 8 new
light shone throughout the
whole world.
To the Trinity, the one
only God, be glory, honour,
wer, highest strength, and
ingdom, for ever and for
ever. Amen.

Amen.

The following Prose

was used in many Churches,

two hundred years ago, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Dies iste celebretur,

In quo pie recensetur

Conceptio Marism.

PROSE

Let this day be kept as a
feast, on which is celebrated
the Conception of Mary.

DEC. 8.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Virgo Mater generatur ;

Concipitur et creatur
Dulcis vena veniz.

411

The Virgin-Mother is begotten ; she, the sweet source
of pardon, is conceived on
this day.
It is the remedy of those
edip
3
eb Lol

Ads vetus exsilium,
Et Joachim opprobrium,
Hine habent remedium.
Joachim.
It is this that the inspirHoo prophete preeviderunt,
ing
of God made the
prophets foretell, and the
Patriarche prasenserunt,
patriarchs foresee.
Inspirante
Virgs prolem conceptura,
This day is conoeived
Stella solem pariturs,
Jesse’s branch, that was to
Hodie concipitur.
produce a Flower, the star
gm was to bring forth the

Flos de virga processurus,

Sol de stella nasciturus,
Christus intelligitur.

un.

Who

is the Flower

that

was to rise from the branch,

who the Sun that was to be
born from the star, but Christ

our Lord ?

0 quam felix et praeclara,
0 happy and glorious Conception ! 80 welcome to us,
Nobis grata, Deo ol
and go dear to God |
Fuit hwo Conceptio !
Misery
is at an end ; meroy
Terminatur miseria :
is given to us; sadness is
Datur misericordis ;
succeeded by joo.
Luctus cedit gaudio.
By & new, unheard-of
Nova mater novam prolem,
oo, 8 mew Mother gives
Nova stella novam solem,
irth to & new offspring, and
Nova profert gratia.
a new star produces a new

Genitorem geniturs,
Creatorem creatura,
Patrom parit filia.
O mirandsm novitatem,
Novam quoque dignitatem !
Ditat matris castitatem
Filii conceptio.
Gaude, Virgo gratiosa,

Virgs flore specioss,
Mater
prolo geneross,
Vero
gaudio.

Sun.

She that is made brings
forth him that made her,
creature her Creator, the
daughter her Father.
0 wondertul novelty 1 O
novel
prerogative ! the
Mothers " purty s made
pures by the conception of
Child !
Bo glad, thou
Maid, thou branch so
with thy Flower, thou Mother
80 venerable with thy divine
Babe, thou truly full of joy |

412

ADVENT

That which was heretofore
Nube latens sub obscura,
hid under the thick cloud of
figures, is now made manifest
Hoc declarat
genitura
by the daughter of the holy
Pi® matris:
Virgo pura,
Pariendi vertit jura,
Anne ; the dew of the Deity
Fusa, mirante naturs,
enriches this her Child, and
Deitatis pluvia.
she,
a pure Virgin, brings forth
Jesus, whilst nature beholds
with astonishment an exception made to all her laws.
There was a sound of maleTriste fuit in Eva ve /
Sed ex Eva format ave,
diction in the very name of
Versa vice, sed non prave;
Eva; but Gabricls salutation, by an admirable change,
Intus ferens in conclave
Verbum bonum et suavo;
formed Ave out of Eva. VirNobis, Mater Virgo, fave
gin-Mother ! that didst reTua frui gratia.
ceive this good and sweet
word in thy little cell at
Nazareth ; grant us the consolation of thy favour.
Omnis homo, sine mora,
Come, all ye faithful, dela
Laudo plena solvens ora
not ; open your lips, and wit]
hearty praise honour the
Tstam colas, ipsam ora:
Omni die, omni hora,
Mother of Jesus: pray to
Sit mens supplex, vox sonora ; her; every day and every
hour, let the mind concord
Sic supplica, sic implora
with the voice in prayer and
Hujus patrocinia.
raise : yea, even go must yo
Beg and implore her patronage.
Tu spes certa miserorum,
Mary ! thou the unfailing
hope of the wretched, the
Vere mater orphanorum,
Tu levamen oppressorum,
true Mother of orphans, the
consolation of the afflicted,
Medicamen infirmorum,
Omnibus es omnia.
the health of the sick, thou
art all to all.
O thou that art worthy of
Te rogamus voto pari,
special praise, hear our united
Loude digna singulari,
prayer, and may thy interUt errantes in hoc mari,
cession lead us, poor wanNos in portu salutari
derers on this sea of life, to
Tus sistat gratia.
the haven of salvation.
Amen.
Amen.
Quod preecessit in figura,

DEO. 9.

SECOND DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

DECEMBER

THE

413

9

SECOND DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE
OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

Ler us consider how the immaculate Mary came into

this world nine months after her conception, and
how each day of her life gave man fresh reason to
hope for the great promises made him by God. Let
us admire the fulness of grace which God has given
to her, and contemplate the respect and the love
wherewith the holy angels look upon her ss the
future Mother of Him who is to be their Head and
King, as well as ours. Let us follow this august
Queen to the temple of Jerusalem, where she is presented by her parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne.
When but three years of age, she was initiated into
all the secrets of divine love. ‘I always rose at
midnight (thus she spoke of herself, in a revelation
to St. Elizabeth of Hungary), and went before the
sltar of the temple, where I besought of God that
T might observe all the commandments of His Law,

and be enriched with those graces which would render
me pleasing to His Majesty. I most earnestly prayed
Him, that I might hve to see that most holy virgin
who was to bnng forth into this world His own divine
Son. I asked Him to grant me to enjoy the use of
my eyes that I might see her, of my tongue that I
might praise her, of my hands that I might serve her,
of my feet that I might go her errands, and of my
knees that T might adore the Son of God resting in
her arms.’

Thou, O Mary, thou thyself wast this Virgin, who

414

ADVENT

was worthy of the praises of men and angels! But
God had not yet revealed it to thee, and thy heavenly
humility forbade thy thinking that the immense
dignity, which thou didst so deeply venerate, could
ever

be

thine.

Nay,

thou

wast

the

first and

the

only one of the daughters of Israel that had renounced all hope of ever being the Mother of the
Messias. To be Mother of the Messias was, indeed,
an ineffable honour; but it seemed as though it
could only be received on the condition of having
another spouse besides God, and this thou wouldst
not suffer ; thou wouldst be united to God alone, and

thy vow of virginity which made thee so, was dearer
to thee than the possibility of any privilege, which
would rob thee of even a tittle of that. Thy marriage
with St. Joseph, therefore, was a fresh lustre added
to thy incomparable purity, whilst, in the designs of
God, it provided thee with the protection which thy
coming honours would soon require. We follow thee,
O bride of Joseph, into thy house at Nazareth,

where is to be spent thy humble life. There we behold

thee diligent in all thy duties, the valiant woman
of the Scriptures,! the object of the admiration of
God and of His angels.

Suffer us, O Mary ! to unite

our Advent devotions with the prayers which thou

didst offer up for the coming of the Messias; with
the veneration wherewith thou didst think upon her
that was to be His Mother; and with the inflamed

desires wherewith thou didst long for the divine
Saviour. We salute thee as the Virgin? foretold by
Isaias ; it is thyself, O blessed Mother, that deservest

the praise and love of the holy people and city, the

redeemed of the Lord.3
1 Prov. xxxi. 10.

3 Ibid. Lxii. 12.

2 Is. vii. 14.

DEC. 9.

SECOND

DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE
SEQUENCE

415

(Taken from the Cluny Missal of 1523)
Let us venerate the Virgin,
Veneremur Virginem
Genitricem gratie,
the Mother of grace, the
Salutis duleedinem,
sweetness of salvation, the
Fontem Sapientie.
fount, of Wisdom.
She is the palace of the
Hac est aula regia,
Regina prudentie,
King, the Queen of prudence,
the Virgin full of grace, the
Virgo plena gratia,
Aurora letitie.
aurora of joy.
She is sweeter than honey,
Heeo est melle dulcior,
Castitatis liliw
the lily of chastity; she is
brighter than the jasper, our
Jaspide splendidior,
Meeroris solatium.
solace in sorrow.
0 fountain most admirable,
0 fons admirabilis,
Fidei principium.
source whence came the auMater admirabilis,
thor of our faith, Mother most
admirable, precious vessel of
Vas virtutis pretium.
virtue.
Thou art the purest Mother
Tu es regis speciosi
of the beautiful King; thou
Mater honestissima,
art the perfume of precious
Odor nardi pretiosi,
ointment ; thou art the sweetRosa suavissima.
est rose.
Rejoice, O glorious treo of
Arbor vite digna laude,
Stella fulgentissima,
life, O brightest of stars, O
noblest of mothers, O Virgin
Generosa Mater, gaude,
Virginum sanctissima.
‘most holy !
Thou, the sinner’s help, and
Tu medela peccatorum,
Regina consilii,
Queen of counsel, didst bring
Peperisti florem florum,
forth the flower of flowers,
Christum fontem gaudii.
Jesus the source of our joy.
Virga Jesse, lux sanctorum,
Branch of Jesse, light of the
Donatrix auxilii,
saints, help of the needy, be
Memor esto_miserorum,
mindfal of us sinners on the
In die judicii.
day of judgement.
Tu s mundi gaudium,
hou art the joy of the
Charitatis regula,
world, the model of charity,
Victoris stipendium,
the encouragement to victory,
Aromatum cellula.
tho treasury of every france.
Sit tibi, flos omnium,
To thee, O sweetest flower,
Virgo sine macula,
immaculate Virgin, be queenHonor et imperium,
Iy honour for ever. Amen.
Per w®terna szcula.

Amen,

416

ADVENT
PRAYER

FROM

THE

GREGORIAN

SACRAMENTARY

(In the daily Prayers for Advent)
Exsultemus,
quasumus,
Grant, wo beseech thee, O
Domine Deus noster, omnes Lord our God, that all wo,
recti corde in unitate fidei who aro united with upright
congregati: ut veniente Sal- hearts in the unity of faith,
vatore nostro Filio tuo, im- may rejoice: that so, when
maculati occurramus illi in thy Son our Saviour shall
ejus _sanctorum comitatu. come, we, being purified, may
Per Christum Dominum no- meet him in the society of his
strum.

Amen.

saints.

Through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

DEceMBER

Amen.

10

THE THIRD DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE
OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Lrr us contemplate our blessed Lady as visited by
the angel Gabriel, and conceiving in her chaste
womb the Creator of the universe and the Redeemer

of mankind.

But that we may the better relish the

sweetness of this great mystery, let us listen to the
seraphic St. Bonaventure, who, in his Meditations
on the Life of Christ, has brought these sublime scenes
of the Gospel so vividly before us, that one would
almost suppose an eye-witness was speaking to us.
No human language has ever surpassed the unction
and pathos of these Meditations.
‘Now,

when

the fulness of that time had

come,

wherein the most high Trinity, in exceeding love,

had decreed to save mankind by the Incarnation of
the Word ; the divine mercy, and the instant prayers
of the blessed spirits, pressed for the accomplishment

DEC. 10.

THIRD DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

417

of this redemption. The blessed Virgin Mary having
returned to Nazareth, the Almighty called unto Him
the Archangel Gabriel, and thus spake unto him : “ Go
thou unto our well-beloved daughter Mary, that is
espoused unto Joseph, and that is dear unto us
above all our creatures ; and say unto her, that the
Son of God hath been taken with her beauty, and

chosen her that she be His Mother.

Pray her that

she accept Him joyously, for that through her have
I decreed to save all mankind, and no longer remember the injuries done unto Me.”
¢ Whereupon, Gabriel arose joyous and glad, and
flew from on high, and suddenly stood in a human
form before the Virgin Mary, who was in the inner
chamber of her cot. But not so quick had been his

flight, but that he found already there the holy

Trinity, that had gone before Their ambassador.

As

soon, therefore, as the faithful spirit Gabriel perceived

the Virgin Mary, he said : * Hail full of grace ; the
Lord is with thee : blessed art thou among women.”
But she was troubled, and answered him not & word.
Her trouble came not from a guilty fear, nor from
the sight of Gabriel, for oft-times did she receive the

visits

of

the

angels;

but,

according

to

what

the

Gospel saith, she was troubled at his saying, thinking
within herself upon it, for that it was strange unto
her to hear Gabriel speak such manner of salutation.
‘ The humble Virgin was perforce troubled at it,
finding therein three praises of herself. She was
praised for that she was full of grace; and that the
Lord was with her ; and that she was blessed above
all women. He that is humble cannot hear his own
praise without blushes and trouble. Therefore Mary

was troubled with fitting and virtuous shame. She
began wondering how this that she heard could be

true ; not forasmuch as she suspected the angel's
having said aught that was false, but by reason that
the humble ever ponder their defects and not their
27

418

ADVENT

virtues, whereby they may always advance ; counting
their great virtue to be little, and their little defects
at. Asone that was prudent and wary, timid and
%:hful, she answered not. In truth, what could she
say ?

and to
useful
before
that a
¢ As
thus

Do thou learn, from her example, to be silent,

love to speak little, for exceeding great and
is this virtue. Twice is she spoken unto,
she speaks once, for it is a thing intolerable
virgin should be a great talker.
soon, therefore, as the angel saw that she was

in doubt,

he said:

“Fear

not, Mary,

neither

blush thou at the praises I have spoken unto thee, for
they are most true.
Thou thyself art full of grace;
nay, verily I tell thee, that thou hast found for man
the grace he had lost. For behold ! thou shalt conceive and bring forth a Son, that hath chosen thee for
His Mother, and He shall save all that put their trust
in Him.”
Whereupon she made answer, heeding
nothing the praises of the angel, but seeking how it
could be that that should not be taken from her, which

was precious unto her above measure ; and she asked

of the angel, saying : How shall this be ? for I have
vowed my virginity for ever unto God, that I never
should know man.”

The angel answered, and said :

“ It shall be done by the operation of the Holy Ghost,
who shall fill thee as no tongue can speak. Thou
shalt conceive by His power, yet shalt remain a pure

Virgin, and therefore shall thy Son be called the Son

of God.
For unto God nothing is impossible. For
thy cousin Elizabeth, that is old and called barren,
has conceived a son by the power of God, now these

six months past.”

¢ Consider here, I beseech thee, for God’s sake, how

the Trinity is there, waiting the answer and consent
of this Their most beloved daughter, and taking delight in her modesty, and ways, and words ; and also,
how diligent and wise is the angel in his endeavour
to obtain

her consent,

and how

admirable

are his

DEC.

10.

THIRD DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

419

words, and how he stands with his head bowed down

before his and our Lady, with a placid and recollected
look, doing his embassy with exactitude, and atten-

tively noting Mary’s words, so as to be able to satisfy
her in his answers, and execute the divine will in this
wondrous work. See, too, how our Lady stands in
holy fear and humility, showing in her face the blush
of modesty, and surprise at this so sudden visit of the
angel. Neither have his words extolled her in her
own esteem : and albeit they were such as never had
been spoken to mortal, yet does she attribute nought
to herself but all to grace.

Learn, therefore, of her

angel.

in the revelations made

to have modesty and humility, for without them even
virginity availeth little. The most prudent Virgin
is full of joy, and gives consent unto the words of the
Then, as is related

to a devout servant of God, throwing herself on her
knees with intense devotion, and joining her hands
together, she said unto the angel : “ Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according

to

thy word.” Then straightway did the Son of God
enter the Virgin’s womb, and took unto Himself flesh
of her substance, and though His whole Person was

there, yet did He not cease to abide still wholly in the
bosom of His Father.
“Then

did Gabriel also

kneel down,

after rise up together with our Lady.

and

shortly

He once more

bowed down even unto the ground, and wishing her
farewell, he disappeared : and going back to heaven,
he related all these things, and a new joy was there,
and a new feast, and exceeding great jubilee. But

our Lady, all devout, and burning with a love of God
such as she had not felt before, for she perceived

what was done within her, knelt to give thanks for
this so great gift, humbly and devoutly supplicating
the divine Majesty that He would vouchsafe to teach
her how she should comport herself with all perfection
in her treatment of this His only-begotten Son.” .

420

ADVENT

Such is the description of the mystery of the An-

nunciation given us by the seraphic Doctor. Let us
profoundly adore our Creator, who has thus humbled
Himself out of love for us from the desire He hasto
succour us in our misery.
Let us also salute Mary,
the Mother of God and of men.
PROSE

(Taken from the Cluny Missal of 1523)
In

honorem

nis,

Marim

Virgi-

This is a day of joy ! let us
celebrate it in honour of the

Qua nos lavit & labe criminis, blessed Virgin Mary, who
ave us l:um that cleansed us
Celebretur hodie :
Dies est ltitize.
m sin.
De radico Jesse propaginis
He that is the source of
Hano eduxit Sol veri luminis, true light, brought up this
Manu sapienti,
branch from
the root of
Templum sum gratis.
Jesse; and his wisdom has
Stella nova noviter oritur,

made her the temple of his
grace.
It is a new rising of a new

Cujus ortu mors nostra mo- star, at which our death
dies: it is now that what
ritur :
Eva lapsus jam restituitur was lost by the fall of Eve, is
found again by Mary.
In Maria.
This s the holy Virgin
Et aurora surgens progrethat is described as the auroditur;
Sicut luna pulchra descri- 1a rising, as the lovely moon,
as b:he sun, the brightest of
bitur ;
orbs.
Super cuncta ut sol erigitur
Virgo pia.
O Virgin Mother, Virgin
Virgo Mater et Virgo unica,
of virgins, fragrant oloud of
Virga fumi, sol aromatica,
In te cceli, mundique fabrica smoke, sun shedding the

perfume of its light ! in theo
both heaven and earth delight.
n the fulness of time,
Verbum _Patris processu
temporis
the Word of the Father
Intra tui secretum corporis ; entered into thy chaste
In te totum, et totum deforis womb; wholly in thee and
wholly in the bosom of his
Tn te fuit.
Father.
Gloriatur.

DEC.

10.

THIRD DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

Fructus virens arentis arboris
Christus, gigas immensi roboris,
Nos a nexu funesti pignoris
Eripuit.
Condoluit humano generi
Virginalis filius uteri :
Accingantur senes et pueri
'Ad laudem Virginis.

421

Jesus, the beautiful fruit
of a virgin tree, snatched us,
in his giant strength, from
the claims which sin and
hell had upon us.

This God, that saved the
human race, is the Son of
the Virgin: in that Virgin's
praise all may justly speak
and sing.

Ho that might have punishod us for tho sin of our
first,
parents, became himself
Mediator voluit fieri
the Mediator between God
and man.
Dei et hominis.
O Maria, dulce commerIn thy chaste womb, O
cium
Mary ! was made that merciIntrat tuum cceleste gro- ful barter, whereby salvation

Qui potuit de nobis conqueri
Pro
to parentis veteris,

‘mium,

Quo salutis reis remedium

Indulgetur.

was given to the sinner.

Truly, then, thou art the
cause of our joy and hope!
dium,
Fac post vite prasentis sta- Oh ! pray, that after running
the raco of this present life,
dium
Ut optatum in ccelis bra- we may receive the lookedfor prize in heaven. Amen.
vium
O spes vera et verum gau-

Nobis detur.

Amen.

422

ADVENT

THE SAME DAY
ST. MELCHIADES,
TrE

Church makes

POPE AND

MARTYR

a commemoration,

on this same

day within the octave, of the holy Pope Melchiades.
This illustrious Pontiff, whom St. Augustine calls ¢ the
true child of the peace of Jesus Christ, the worthy

father of the Christian people,” ascended the papal

throne in the year 311, that is, during the very
fiercest storm of persecution. It is on this account
that he is honoured with the title of martyr. Though
he did not shed his blood for the name of Jesus, yet
he shared in the glory of the martyrs, by reason of

the

great trials he had to suffer during the persecution,

whige afflicted the entire Church. It was the same
with many of his predecessors. But the pontificate of
Melchiades marks a very important period of the
Church—the transition from persecution to peace.
As early as the year 312, liberty was granted to the
Christian religion by Constantine. So that Melchiades
had the glory of governing the Church at the commencement of her period of temporal prosperity. His
name now graces the calendar of the liturgical year,
and reminds us of that peace which will soon descend
upon us from heaven.
Deign then, O father of the Christian people, to
pray for us to the Prince of peace, that, in Hie
agpmaching visit, He may quell our troubles, remove
the obstacles to His grace, and reign as absolute
Master

over our

heart,

our

mind,

and

our senses.

Pray also_ that peace may reign in the holy city
and Church of Rome, of which thou wast the Bishop,
and which will honour thy venerable memory to the

423

DEC. 10. TRANSLATION OF THE HOUSE OF LORETTO

end of time: help her by thy intercession now that
thou art face to face with God, and hear the prayers

which she addresses to thee.

PRAYER

Infirmitatem nostram re-

spice,

omnipotens

Deus,

et

quia pondus proprie actionis
gravat, beati Melchiadis Martyris tui atque Pontificis
intercessio gloriosa nos protegat.

Per Christum Domi-

num nostrum.

Amen.

Have regard, O almighty

God,

to our weakness;

and

as we sink under the weight
of our own doings, let the
glorious
intercession
of
blessed Melchiades,
thy
Martyr

and

jesus
Amen.

Christ

grohcnon

Bishop,

to us.

our

be

Through

a

Lord.

THE SAME DAY

THE TRANSLATION
OF THE HOLY HOUSE OF LORETTO

Tris feast is not ome of those inserted in the
universal calendar of the Church; but it is kept
throughout Italy, and in many dioceses in various
parts of the Christian world, and by a number of
religious Orders. It was instituted in thanksgiving for the great favour bestowed on the western
Church, whereby God, to console Christians for the
loss of the holy sepulchre, miraculously translated
into a Catholic land the humble yet ever venerable

house, in which Mary received the message of the

angel, and where, by the consent of this holy Virgin,
the Word was made flesh and began to dwell among us.
It is no unusual thing to meet with Catholics, who
are sincerely devoted to their holy faith, yet who
have never heard of the house of Loretto. Tt is for
their sake that we have resolved to take the oppor-

424

ADVENT

tunity of this feast to give an exact and concise
account of this wonderful event. We take it from the
learned and judicious author of the Life of M. Olier.

‘It was during the pontificate of Celestine V., in

1291, when the Christians had irrevocably lost the
holy places of Palestine, that the house, wherein

was achieved the mystery of the Incarnation in the
womb of Mary, was translated by the angels from
Nazareth into Dalmatia or Sclavonia, and placed by
them on a hill near a little town called Tersatto.

The miracles which were being continually wrought

in this holy house, the official enquiry made by chosen
deputies who visited Nazareth in order to attest

the translation, and, lastly, the universal belief of all
countries, and the pilgrims who went from all parts
to venerate a sanctuary which had ever been dear to
Christians—all this seemed proof enough of the
miracle. But God gave another testimony, of which

the whole people of Italy and Dalmatia were the
vouchers.

‘ Three years and seven months had elapsed since

this first translation, when, in the year 1294, the
holy house was carried across the Adriatic Sea to

the territory of Recanati, and placed in a forest the
property of a lady called Loretta. The inhabitants
of Dalmatia were in the deepest affliction : nothing
could have been a greater trial to them. As a slight
consolation to themselves, they erected a church on
the spot where the house had stood ; it was dedicated to our Lady, and was served later on by the
Franciscan fathers. Over the porch was placed this
inscription : This is the place where stood the holy
House of Nazareth, which now is honoured in the
territory of Recanati.! Many of the people of Dalmatia went to live in Italy near the holy house,

* Hic est locus in quo fuit sacrs Domus Nazarena, que nuno in
Recineti partibus colitur.

DEC. 10. TRANSLATION OF THE HOUSE OF LORETTO

425

where they instituted the Society of Corpus Domini
(known under the name of Sclavonians), which lasted
even to the pontificate of Paul ITI.
“This second translation was soon rumoured
throughout Christendom. There came from almost
every part of Europe innumerable pilgrims to Recanati, that they might visit the house, which has ever
since gone under the name of The House of Loretto.
The people of Recanati, anxious that every doubt
upon this favour granted them should be removed,
sent over, first to Dalmatia and afterwards to Nazareth, sixteen of the most respectable persons of the
neighbourhood, who were instructed to make fresh

inquiries in both places. But here again, God would
certify the prodigy by a third and a fourth transla-

tion, which were made, close upon each other, in the

same territory of Recanati. The holy house had not
been in the forest of Loretto eight months, when it
was found that the pilgrims were continually attacked
by brigands, who were attracted to the naiggbourhood

by the hope of booty.

The house was miraculously

removed the distance of a mile, and placed on a piece
of rising ground, which belonged to two brothers of
the family of the Antici. These also laid hands on
the offerings of the pilgrims ; and having quarrelled
about the division of their plunder, they took up
arms against each other. Then it was that the holy
house, in the year 1295, was once more translated :
this time also to a very short distance, but near the

high road. There has been built the town of Loretto,
and there, to this day, remains the House of Loretto.’

This prodigy has been attested not only
snnalists of the Church, and by the local
of Loretto (e.g., Tursellini and Martorelli),
writers whose profound learning has gained

by the
historians
but by
them &

world-wide reputation, and among
them we ma;
cite Papebroke, Natalis Alexander, Benedict XIV.,

426

ADVENT

Trombelli, etc. Who, that is not blinded by prejudice,
could seriously think of preferring an idle repugnance

to the authority of such writers as these, who are the
received masters of historical criticism, and whose
united opinion would not be rejected on any other
question ?
But, from a Catholic point of view, it is certain that
those persons would be guilty of excessive temerity,
who

would disregard

the countless

miracles which

have been wrought in the holy house of Loretto.

They dare not deny all these miracles; and yet, by
denying the fact in question, they are admitting that
God is giving His sanction by miracles to what would
be, if false, the grossest and most absurd deception.
They would incur the imputation of temerity on

another ground, inasmuch as they would be slight-

ing the authority of the holy See, which has been,
for upwards of five hundred years, so zealous in de-

fending the truth of this translation, and in offering

it to the veneration of the faithful as a means of
honouring the Incarnate Word and His ever blessed

Mother.

Among

the explicit approbations of the

holy See regarding the miracle of Loretto, we will

mention the Bulls of Paul IL,, of Leo X., of Paul IIL.,
of Paul IV., and of Xystus V. ; the decree of Urban

VIIL, in 1632, establishing this feast in the marches

of Ancona;

the decree

of Innocent

XII.,

in 1699,

approving the proper Office of the feast; the indults

of Benedict XIII., and his successors, extending this
feast to several provinces of the Catholic world; and

finally, the indult of Benedict XV., extending the
office to the whole of Italy.
That we may enter into the spirit of the holy See,
which has spared nothing in order to encourage the
confidence of the faithful in the holy house of Nazareth, or rather (as by the divine mercy it has now
become) the House of Loretto, we will give the following from the Office of its miraculous translation:

DEC. 10. TRANSLATION OF THE HOUSE OF LORETTO

427

ANTIPHON

Behold the tabernaclo of
cum hominibus, et habitavit God with men, wherein he
cum eis ; et ipsi populus ejus dwelt with them; and they
erunt, et ipse
Deus cum eis shall be his people, and God
himself with them shall be
erit eorum
their God.
V. Introibimus in taberV. We will go into his
naculum ejus.
tabprnacle.
R. Adorabimus in loco
R. We will adore in_the
ubi steterunt pedes ejus.
place where his feet stood.
Eoce

tabernaculum

Dei

PRAYER
Deus,

qui

beat®

Marize

Domum per incarnati Verbi mysterium misericorditer consecrasti, eamque in sinu Ecclesie tus
mirabiliter collocasti: concede, ut segregati a taberna-

culis peccatorum, digni efficiamur
habitatores domus
sancte tum.
Per eumdem
Christum
Dominum
nostrum.
Amen.

O God, who didst mercifully consecrate the House
of tho blessed Virgin Mary
by the mystery of the Word
made Flesh, and hast now
mercifully placed that House
in the midst of thy Church;
grant. that, being seporated
rom the abodes of sinners,
we may bo made worthy to
dwell n_ thy holy house
Through the same Jesus
Christ our Loxd. Amen.

428

ADVENT

THE SAME DAY
SAINT EULALIA,

VIRGIN AND MARTYR

Tae Church of Spain, the fair pearl of Christendom,

brings before us on this same tenth of December her
illustrious

ornament
She is the
are most
the season

martyr

Eulalia, the

glory of Merida, the

of Iberia, the joy of tie universal Church.
third of those wise virgins, whose names
prominent in the Church’s liturgy during
of Advent.
She is the worthy companion

of Bibiana and Barbara, and that heroic Lucy whose

feast we shall keep on the thirteenth. We give the
whole of the beautiful poem on the life and martyrdom

of

finer

verses

perhaps,

Eulalia,

did

written

this prince

than

these;

by

Prudentius.

of Christian

nor

can

we

poets

be

Never,

write

surprised

that the Mozarabic liturgy, in its admiration of this

exquisif.e canticle, should have made

of 1ts forty-five stanzas.
saint, we shall not add

but one hymn

As it gives the life of our
the legend of the proper

Office as used in the Churches of Spain.
HYMN

Germine nobilis Eulalia,
Mortis et indole nobilior,
Emeritam sacra virgo suam,
Cujus ab ubere progenita est,
Ossibus ornat, amore colit.
Proximus occiduo locus est,
Qui tulit hoc decus egregium,
Urbe potens, populis locuples :
Sed mage sanguine martyrii,
Virgincoque potens titulo.

Eulalia, noble by birth, but

still nobler by her death, was
born

at

Merida;

and

this

city the holy virgin adorns
with her relics, and cherishes
with her loving protection.

Where the sun sets, there

lies

the

birthplace

of

this

splendid heroine: it is &
werful and populous oity,
ut its proudest title to fame

is that there the saint shed

her blood, and there rests her
e.

DEC. 10.

Curriculis
tribus atque
novem,
Tres hyemes quater attigerat,
Quum’ crepitante pyra trepidos
Terruit aspera carnifices,
Supplicium sibi dulce rata.
Jam dederat prius indicium,
‘Tendere se Patris ad solium,

Neo sua membra

dicata toro.

Ipsa crepundia repulerat,
Ludere nescia pusiola.

Sperncro succina, flare ro8as,
Fulva monilia respuere :
Ore sovera, modesta gradu,
Moribus et nimium teneris
Canitiem meditata senum.
Ast ubi se furiata lues
Excitat in famulos Domini,
Christicolasque cruenta jubet
Thura cremare, jecur pecudis
Mortiferis adolere deis ;
Infremuit sacer Eulaliz
Spiritus ingeniique ferox
Turbida frangere bella parat,
Et, rude pectus anhela Deo,
Femina provocat arma virum.

8T. EULALIA

429

But thrice four winters had
passed over Eulalia, when she

braved the fierce tortures of
fire,

and

made

her

execu-

tioners tremble by her courage, suffering as though it
were sweet to suffer.
Already had she proved to
men that she would have no

spouse but God, and that
earthly nuptials were too poor
for her.

Though

but a girl,

sho despised the toys and
sports of children.
Perfumes

and

wreaths

of

roses, and golden trinkets, all

were beneath her.

Her look

demure, her gait modest, her
wholo conduct, even at that

tender age, as though the
gravityof old age were upon it
But when a rabid persecution began to threaten the
servants

of

God,

and

the

Christians were commanded

to burn incense and the flesh
of victims before the dead

gods of the

pagans,

Oh ! then did Eulalia’s soul
chafe within her, and her high

spirit thirst for the battle !

She, a girl, defies the threats

of men that talk of war, for

her heart pants after God.

But her fond mother tremcura parentis
bles for her courageous child,
Virgo animosa domi ut la- and insists on her keeping at
home. She takes her into
teat.
Abdita rure, et sb urbe pro- the country, as far as may be
from the city, lest the dountcul:
Ne fera sanguinis in pretium less child, that longed to die

Mortis amore puella ruat.

for

Tlla perosa quietis opem
Degeneri tolerare mora,
Nocte fores sine teste movet,

She ill brooks this quiet, this
shelter which seems to her so

Christ,

should

seek

to

purchase that glory at the
price of her blood.
unchristian : the night comes

ADVENT

430
Septaque

claustra

fugax

aperit,
Inde per invia carpit iter.
Ingreditur pedibus laceris
Per loca senta situ, et vepribus,
Angelico comitata choro :
Et licet horrida nox sileat,
Lucis habet tamen illa ducem.
Sic habuit generosa patrum
Turba columniferum radium :
Scindere qui tenebrosa potens,
Nocte viam face perspicua
Praestitit, intereunte chao.

on; she is alone; she forces

open the doors, and escaping

from her enclosure, she tends
she knows not whither.

The paths are rugged, and
thorns prick her feet at over;
step; yet on she goes, wici
angels“in her company. All
is silent in the dark grim
night; but she has Lght
which leads her.

As our fathers, that brave
Hebrew band, had of old a
pillar of light, which piercing
the murky gloom of night,
led them on by its bright
blaze,

and

turned

darkness

into day ;
So this holy maid; in her
Non aliter pia virgo, viam
midnight journey, God gave
Nocte secuta, diem meruit,
her light; and as she fled
Neo tenebris adoperta fuit,
Regna canopica quum fu- from the land of Egypt, to
enter into that of heaven, she
geret,
Et super astra pararet iter. was not hindered by the
darkness.
Many a mile had she walked
Tlla gradu cita pervigili,
with hasty step, before tho
Millia multa prius peragit,
Quam plaga pandat eoa po- day-dawn_ broke upon the
world : and scarce had morn
Tum :
Mano superba tribunal adit, begun, when there stood beFascibus adstat et in mediis. fore the tribunal, amidst the
ensigns of the empire, the
fearless virgin.
‘What madness is this,”
Vociferans : Rogo, quis
sho cried, * which makes you
furor est,
lose your unthinking souls ?
Perdere pracipites animas,
wasting away your love in
Et male prodiga corda sui
adoring these chiselled lumps
Sternero rasilibus scopulis,
of stone, whilst you deny God
Omnipatremque negare
the Father of all ?
Deum ?
0 wretched men ! you are
Queritis, O miseranda
in search of the Christians :
‘manus,
Christicolum genus ? En ego_ lot I am one: I hate your
worship of devils: I trample
sum
ondyonr idols ; and with heart
Deemonicis inimica sacris :
Idola protero sub pedibus : and mouth I acknowledge but
Pectore,

et ore Deum

fateor,

one God,

DEC.

10.

Isis, Apollo, Venus nihil
est.
Maximianus et ipse nihil :
Tlla nibil, quia facta manu:
Hic manuum quia facta colit:
F ivola utraque,

nihil.

et utraque

Maximianus opum dominus,
Et tamen ipse cliens lapidum,
Prostituat, voveatque suis
Numinibus caput ipse suum :
Pectora cur generosa quatit ?

ST. EULALIA

431

Isis, Apollo, Venus,

all are

nothing ; Maximian, too, is
nothing ; they, because they
are idols; he, because he
worships 'idols; both are
vain, both are nothing.
Maximian calls himself lord,

and yet he makes himself a
slave of stones, ready to give
his very head to such gods.
And why does he persecute
them

that

have

nobler

hearts 7
This good emperor, this
Dux bonus, arbiter egregius
‘most upright judge, feeds on

Sanguine paseitur innocuo :
Corporibusque piis inhians
Viscera sobria dilacerat,
Gaudet et excruciare fidem.

the blood of the innocent.

He gluts himself on the bodies
of

the

saints,

embowelling

those temples of purity, an
cruelly insulting "their holy
faith.

Do thy worst, thou cruel
Ergo age, tortor, adure,
butcher ; burn, cut, tear asunseca,
Divide membra coacta luto. der these clay-made bodies.
Solvere rem fragilem facile Tt is no hard thing to break a
est:

Non penetrabitur interior

Exagitante dolore animus.
Talibus excitus in furias
Prator, ait: Rape precipitem,
Lictor, et obrue suppliciis ;
Sentiat esso deos patrios,
Nec leve principis imperium.
Quam cuperem tamen ante

fragilo vase like this. But
all thy tortures cannot reach
the soul.”

At these words the pretor,

maddening with rags, cried
out: ‘Away, lictor, with
this senseless prattler, and
punish her in every way thou
canst.

Teach

Yet

stay,

her that

our

rash

irl.

country’s gods are gods, and
that our sovereign’s words are
not to be slighted.

Would I could persuade thes
necem,
to recall thy impious words
Si potis est, revocare tuam,
before it is too late! Think
Torva puellula, nequitiam
Respico, gaudia quanta me- on all the joys thou thus wilt
tas,

Que tibi fert genialis honor.

obtain ; think on that noble

marriage which we will procure thee.

-

432

ADVENT

To lacrymis labefacts do‘mus
Prosequitur, generisque tui
Ingemit anxia nobilitas,
Flore quod occidis in tenero,
Proxima dotibuset thalamo.
Non movet aurea pompa
tori,
Non pietss veneranda senum,
Quos temeraria dobilitas ?
Ecce porata ministeria
Excruciabilis exitii.

Aut gladio feriere caput,
Aut laniabere membra feris,
Aut facibus data fumificis,
Flebiliterque ululanda tuis
In cineres resoluta flucs.

Thy family is in search cf
thee, and thy noble house
eeps and grieves after thee,
their tender floweret so near
its prime, yet 8o resolved to
wither.

What! are nuptials like
theso I offer not enough to
move thee ?

Wilt thou send

the grey hairs of thy parents

into the tomb by th mh

dis-

obedience ? Tremble at least
at all these fearful instruments of torture and death.

There is a sword which
will sever thy head; there

are wild beasts to tear thee

to pieces; there are fires on
which to burn_thee, leaving
to thy family but thy ashes
to weep over.
Hec, rogo, quis labor est
And what do we ask of
thee in order that thou mayst
fugere
Si modioum salis eminulis
escapo these tortures ? Do,
Thuris et exiguum digitis
T beseech thee, Eulalia, touch
Tangere, virgo, benigna velis, but with the tip of thy finger
Peena gravis procul abfuerit. theso grains of salt and incense, and not a hair of thy
head shall be hurt.”
Martyr ad ista nihil: sed
The martyr answered him
enim
not: but full of indignation,
Infremit, inquo tyranni oculos nfin in the tyrant’s face;

with her foot, upset
Sputa_jacit. Simulacra dehino
idols, cakes, and incense.
Dissipat, impositamque molam
Thuribulis pede prosubigit.
Nec_more, carnifices goScarce had she done it, two
mini
executioners seizo her:
Juncea pectora dilacerant,
tear her youthful breast, nnc[v
Et latus ungula virgineum
one on each side, cut off her
Pulsat utrinque, ot ad ossa innocent flesh even to the
secat,
very ribs. Eulalia counts
Eulalis numerante notas.
each gash, and says :
‘See, dear Jesus, they
Scriberis ecco mihi, Dowrite thee on my flesh'!
mine,
Quam juvat hos apices legere, Beautiful letters, that tell of

DEC. 10.

ST. EULALIA

Qui tua, Christe, trophea notant |
Nomen et ipsa sacrum loquitur

Purpura sanguinis eliciti.
Hwo sino fletibus et gemitu
Lata cancbat, ot intrepida.
Dirus abest dolor ox animo.
Membraque picts oruore
novo
Fonte cutem recalente lavant.
Ultima carnificina dehinc,

Non Iaceratio vulnifica,
Crate tenus neo arata cutis :
Flamma sed undique lamo

g:d.\bus

stomachumque
furit.
Cria ‘odorus et in_ jogo08

Fluxerat, involitans humeris,
Quo pudibunda pudicitia,
Virgineusque lateret honos,

Tesm.ine verticis opposito.
lamma crepans volat in
faciem,

Perque comas vegetata, caput

Occupat,

exsuperatque

api-

433

thy viotory! Oh, how I
love to
them ! So, this
red stream of my blood speaks

thy holy name I
Thus sang the joyous and
intrepid virgin: not o tear,
not a moan. The sharp tortures reach not her_soul.
Her body is all stained with
the fresh blood, and the warm
stream _trickles down the
snow-white skin.
But this is not the end.
It yas not enongh to plough
and harrow up her flesh : it
was time to
burn: torches,
then, are applied to her sides
and breast.
Her besuteous locks dishevelled fell veiling her from
worse than all their butchery,
the stare of these wretches.

The otackling flame mounts
to her face, and, running

through
and

her hair, surrounds

blazes

over

her

head.

Thovirgin, thirsting
for death,
cem :
Virgo, citum cupiens obitum, opens her mouth and drinks
Appetit, et bibit ore rogum.
it in.

Suddenly is seen & snowwhite dove coming from tho
Martyris 08 nive candidior
martyr's mouth, and fiyng up
Visa relinquere, et astra se- % bouven, Tt ‘was Edlabia
ui :
spirit, spotless, eager, innoSpiritas hio orat Eulalin
cent.
Lacteolus, celer, innoouus.
Colla fluunt, sbeunte aniHer soulis fled : her head
droope, the fire dios aut: her
ma,
Bt
igneus emoritur ;
lifeless
body sleeps in peace,
Pax datur artubus exanimis, while her glad spirit keeps
Flatus in wmthera plaudit feast in its ethereal home, and
ovans,
this sweet dove rests in the
Templaque
celss petit volucer. house of her most high God.
28
Emicat
pens,

inde

columba

re-

434

ADVENT

Vidit et ipse satelles avem,
Feminz ab ore mesro palam,
Obstupefactus, et attonitus
Prosilit, et sua gesta fugit,
Liotor et ipse fugit pavidus.

Ecce nivem glacin]ixlhyem
Ingerit, et tegit omne forum :
Membra tegit simul Eulaliz,

Axe jacentia sub q:lido,
Pallioli vice linteoli.

Cedat amor lacrymantum
hominum,
Qui celebrare suprema solent,
Flebile cedat et officium :
Ipsa elementa, jubente Deo,
Exsequias tibi, virgo, ferunt.
Nune locus Emerita est tumulo
Clara colonia Vettonis :
Qusm memorabilis amnis
Ana
Praterit, et viridante rapax
Gurgite meenia pulchra lavit.
Hic, ubi marmore perspicuo
Atria luminat alma nitor
Et peregrinus, ot indigens,
Relliquiss, cineresque sacros
Servat humus veneranda sinu.
Teota corusca super rutilant
De laquesribus aurcolis,
Saxaque cmsa solum variant,

The exmfionu-,hotoo, o
from the
the dove issuing
martyr's mouth: astonished
and trembling they flee from
them:im. The lictor, oo, is
seized with fear and takes to
flight.
Tis winter, and the snow
in thick flakes falls on the
the tender
forum, covering
corpee of Eulalla, which lay
stiffening in the cold, with its
fair pall of crystal.
Ye men that mourn at funerals, weeping and sobbing
out your love for the dead,
ye ate not needed here: give
place. God bids his elements,
O Eulalia, do the honours of
thy exequies,
Her tomb is now at Merida, illustrious city of Vettonia, whose beautiful walls
are washed by the swift green
waters of Ana, that celebrated stream.
'Tis there, in a temple rich

with polished marbles both of
Spain and foreign lands, that
repose in a venerablo tomb
the holy relics of the martyr.
The

roof,

above,

glitters

with its golden pens
:
and the pavement, with its
mosaics, looks like & meadow

strewn with the gayest flowers.
Cull the purple violet and

Non caret his genialis hyems,
Loxat et arva tepens glacies,
Floribus ut cumulet calathos.
Ista comantibus e foliis
Munera, virgo, puerque, date:
Ast ego serta choro in medio

the golden crocus, which even

winter spares us, and with its
hours

of sunshine

lets

our

fields yield plentifully enough

to deck D‘;AX Eulalia’s altar.
‘Twine them into your
.

garlands, and these begr;r

offering, dear children !

Mine

shall be these verses for our

DEC. 10.

Texta foram pede dactylico,
Vilia, marcida, fests tamen.

8T. EULALIA

435

choir ; poor I know they are
and savouring of the dulness
of my ownold age
; still, they
snit a feast.

Sio venerarier ossa libet,
Thus will we venerate EuOssibus sltar et impositum : lalia’s relics and Eulalia’s
altar: she, standing before
Tlls Dei sita sub pedibus
Prospicit hwc, populosque the throne of God, will bo
suos
pleased with our offerings,
Carmine propitista fovet.
snd hearing our hymns and
prayers wil protect her devoted people.
Nothing can surpass the magnificence of the prayers

m the missal and breviary of the Mozarabic liturgy
for this feast. Out of a score of examples which we

could here insert, we select, almost at hazard, two from

the missal ; but they will give only a faint idea of the

eloquence with which the love for her martyr Eulalia
inspired this ancient Church of Spain.

PRAYER
Latetur in_te, Domine,
Let virginity be glad in
Lord, we beseech
qumso, virginitas: et huic thee, O
proxima _congaudeat conti- thee; and with it lot its
nentia. Non sexum quarunt sister-virtuo of continency rehujus modi bella: sed ani- joice. Battles like these are
mum.
Non mucronis con- won not by sex but by courfidentiam, sed pudoris. Non age; not by them that can
etiam personas discvesuras, well wield the sword, but by
sed causas. Impune inter ar- them that can be chaste ; not
matas transit acies innocens by the combatant’s title, but
conscientia: qua superavit by his motive. An innocent
crimina, superat et metalla. conscience fears not an armed
Facile vincit alios quisque se legion. He that has vanvicerit ; ot cum laudabile sit quished sin, will not flinch at
viro fecisse virtutem, majoris a sword. He that has contamen praeconii est fecisso quered himself, easily convirginem rem virilem. Pro- quers others: and if it be
phanum sacra. ingreditur pu- praiseworthy when s man
ella concilium: et solum does a virtuous act, it is more
Deum in pectore gestans in- 50 when a virgin does a manly
fert violentiam passioni. Nec deed. The holy virgin Eu.
deest lictor tam impudens lalia stands before a tribunal
quam crudelis: qui sponsam of ungodly men; and with
ORATIO

436

ADVENT

(seoure dixerim) Christi, fornicentium verberibus ' ooulorum, supplicio libidinante
torquoret: ut qum penas in
adulterio non luebat, saltem
nas adulteras sustineret.
Dt quod gravins sacmifes
putat, exspectantium oculis
corpus exponit, et per divaricatas viscorum partes, ictuum
sulcos cursus fusi sanguinis
antecedit. Periit tinc tortoris iniqui commentum
sola patiuntur tormenta lu
brium. Habet quidem virginem nostram nuditas, sed
pudicam. Discat ergo, discat
uterque sexus ex virgine, non
pulchritudinem colere, sed
virtutem : fidem amare, non
formam. Placiturus Domino,
non decoris exspeotare judicium, sed pudoris. Sed quia
tuum est, Christe, totum quod
meruit: tuum etism quod
peregit. Nec enim tela repellimus adversantium, nisi
tum divinitatis beneficio sublovemur. Nuno presta nobis,
ut siout hao beatissima martyr tua pugnsndo premium
adepta est castitatis; ita nos
commissorum nostrorum_ad
te dimissis_contagiis, adipiscamur premia tum promissionis.

God alono in hor heart, she

bids defiance to all their tor-

tures.

There comes a lictor

as lustful as he is cruel: he
punishes this bride of Christ

as we may indeed call her,
by the torture of his impure

looks; and she that could
have no adultery
to atone for

suflered its punishment from

him that had. He rescrves
to the last what he knew was
the worst; he exposes her

body to the gaze of the speotators, and the stream of blood
from the open gashes on her
sides stains her flesh before
the knife can open deeper
wounds.
founded

Then
was conthe design of ths

wicked tormentor, and his
torments are insulted by the
viotim. Impiety strips our
martyr, but modesty voils
her.

Let all, then, learn from

but

faith.

this virgin to cultivate not
beauty but virtue, not form
He

that

would

please the Lord must be tricd
not for how much comeliness
he
possesses, but for how

much

modesty he has.

And

et, O Jesus! since it was
rom thee that Eulalia had
all her merits, and from thee
all that she achieved (for it

is in vain that we would repel
tho darts of our enemies, unless we be shielded by thy
divine mercy); grant, we beseech thee, that, as this thy
most holy martyr won, by
her

combat,

the

reward

of

chastity, we also may be forgiven the uncleanness of our
sins, and obtain the rewards
thou hast promised.

DEC. 10.

AT.

ILLATIO

Dignum et justum est, Domino Deus, qui tam prudentem virginem fidei sociatam
apice glori consecrasti, tibi
fi.fiu agere: Ut per quem
ta est Mater Maria, fieret
‘martyr Eulalia : illa pariendi
affectu felix, ista moriendi.
Tls implens Incarnationis
officium, ista rapiens Passionis- exemplum : illa crodidit
angelo, ista resistit inimico.
Tila eleota per qusm Christus
nasceretur: ista sssumpta
per quam dinbolus vinceretur. Digna ro Eulalia martyr et virgo placitura Do-

437

EULALIA

ILLATION

It is meet and just that we

ive thee thanks, O Lord, our

od ! who hast raised to the
highest glory this most wise
virgin that was loyal to the

faith.

Thus didst thou, that

madest Mary be the Mother
of Jesus, make

Eulalia be a

martyr of Jesus. The Mother

wes happy in giving him
Birth ; e, martye in giving
bima er lfer
Tho Mother
ministered
tion;

the

to

his

martyr

Incarna-

imitated

his Passion. Mary believed
the angel that aj
to
her;
Eulalia withstood the
mino suo:
que,
Spiritu enemy that tormented her.
sancto _protegente, _tenero Mary was chosen by whom

sexu bellum forte sudaverit : Christ should be born:

Eulalia was elected by whom
the devil should be con-

et ultra opinionem humana
virtutis sd tolerantiam paenarum zelo tui amoris se quered. Eulalia, the martyr
obtulerit: quum in specio and virgin, was indeed worpretiosi Unigeniti tui san- thy to please her Lord, for,
ern suum sub testimonio by the protection of the Holy
onm confessionis effuderit : Ghost, she, a young maiden,
et incorrupta flammis viscera waged fierce war ; she, with
in odorem suavissimi thy- more than human strength,
miamatis adoleverit. Vadit mado herself, for thy love, a
ad tribunal cruenti presidis, victim of suffering; she, for
non quesits. In qua tam the sake of thy beloved Son,
solum

fuit

animus

inconti-

shed her blood in the noble
nens ad secretum, quam locus . confession of her faith, and

competens &d triumphum.
Lucraturs
regnum, contemptura supplicium, inventura
uesitum, visura’ confessum.
on_trepids de pana, non
smbigua do corons, non defeasa de equuleo, non diffisa
do premio. Interrogatur,
confitetur ; occiditur, corona:
tur,
Ingentique miraculo
majestas tus exhalatum vir-

offered to him, as a fragrance

of sweetest incense, the flesh
‘which fire could not consume.

She goes unbidden to the

tribunal of the cruel persecutor. As fit as was the
place for a triumph, 8o bold
was her spirit to s

um

&

ki

her :,:ith.

m,

the

wants

she oares not for

tortures, she would find him

438

ADVENT

ginis spiritum, quem nssumpsit per flammam. suscepit per
columbam. Ut hoc prodigio
in caelis martyr_ascenderet,
quo in terris Filium Pater
ostenderat.
Siquidem nee
inhonorum
patiuntur clementa corpusculum, quod
deciduis nix aspersa velleribus, et virtutis rigorem ot
virginitatis tecta candorem
eluceret, vestiret, absconderet. Superni velaminis operimento, celum funeri prastat exequias, et per misericordism Redemptoris daret
anime sedem, pro sepultura
redderet dignitatem.

sho longs for, she would see
him that she confesscs.
Fearless of pain, certain of a
crown, happy on her rack,
hopeful of her prize. She is
questioned, she confesses ;
men put her to death, God
gives ber the crown. By an admirable miracle, the virgin's
spint, which thy divine Majesty did draw from_its
prison by a flame, thou didst
tako to thyself as o dove:
thus under the same symbol
whereby thou didst show thy
Son to the earth, did thy
martyr ascend into heaven.
Neither did the clements
withhold their homage ; but
over her body, which remained on the earth, they form &
smowy canopy, that beautifies, and covers, and hides
that body where there had
ever been the inflexibility of
virtue and the unsullied lily
of virginity. Whilst thus
ber body lay palled in the
coverlet of heaven's making,
her soul was placed, by the
mercy of our Redeemer, on
ita throne. Rich compensation for the burial which men
denied her !

And we too, O glorious martyr, would join our
humble praises with these sublime expressions of the
Church’s love for thee. The love of Jesus so filled

thy heroic soul, that torments could not torture thee ;

nay, they satisfied thy love by giving thee to suffer
for Him, until thy whole heart should be filled by
Eomssing Him. And yet, with all this ardour which
eeds no obstacle, with

all this noble daring which

makes thee confront a tyrant and a furious rabble,
nothing is more gentle and meek than thy loving

DEC.

439

ST. EULALIA

10.

spirit. Pray for us to Him who made thee thus
worthy to be His bride, that we also may be coura-

geous in the fight against the enemies of our salvation,

and full of that tender love for Jesus which can
alone preserve us from hardness and pride of heart.
O thou, the glory of Iberia! O dove of peace,
have pity on that Catholic land which prepared thee
for heaven. Suffer not that the ancient faith grow
dim in a country which, for ages, stood so prominent

in the Catholic Church, as the faithful and fervent
Spain. Pray for her, that the days of her trial may
be shortened ; that God may bring to nought the
sacrilegious

attempts

of

men,

who

have

sworn to

destroy His kingdom on earth ; that He give to the
clergy of Spain the courage and energy of former

days; that He render fruitful the blood of her
martyrs, who have already suffered ; that He take

away

those scandals,

simple and weak ;
thy beloved Spain
nations, but spare,
among her children
A

which

so readily

mislead

the

and lastly, that He efface not
from the number of Catholic
for the sake of the fathers, those
that are degenerate.

RESPONSORY

OF

ADVENT

(Ambrosian breviary, fourth Sunday of Advent)
R. Per Gabriclis angeli
R A m
wes Mary
o
0s, nunciatum est Virgini nounced
to the irgin
Mariw, et Verbum concepit by the mouth of the angel
e clo: * Et illum suscepit Gabriel ; and sho conceived
modicus uterus, cui parvus the Word from heaven:
fuerat mundus. V. Spiritus * And the womb of a tender
sanctus
in te ing
Virgin contained him, whom
ietur,
et virtus Altissimi obumbrathe world was too little to
bit tibi: * Et illum suscepit contain. V. The Holy Ghost
modicus uterus, cui parvus shall enter within_thee, and
fuerat mundus.
the power of tho Most High
shall overshadow thee: *
And_the womb of a tender
Virgin contained him, whom
the world was too Little to
contain.

440

ADVENT

Decemser

11

SAINT DAMASUS, POPE AND CONFESSOR
Tais great Pontiff comes before us in the liturgical
year, not to bring us tidings of peace as St. Melchiades

did, but as one of the most illustrious de-

fenders of the great mystery of the Incarnation.

He

defends the faith of the universal Church in the

divinity of the Word, by condemning, as his
decessor Liberius had done, the acts and the authors
of the celebrated Council of Rimini.
With his
sovereign authority, he bore witness to the teaching
of the Church regarding the Humanity of Jesus
Christ, and condemned the heretic Apollinaris, who
taught that Jesus Christ had assumed only the flesh
and not the soul of man. He commissioned St.

Jerome to make a new translation of the new Testament from the Greek, for the use of the Church of
Rome ; here,

again,

giving

a further

proof

of the

faith and love which he bore to the Incarnate Word.
Let us honour this great Pontiff, whom

the Council

of Chalcedon calls ‘the ornament and support of
Rome by his piety.’ 8t. Jerome, too, who looked
upon St. Damasus as his friend and patron, calls him
‘a man of the greatest worth; a man whose equal
could not be found, well versed in the holy Scrip-

tures, and a virgin doctor of the virgin Church.” The
{‘egend of the breviary gives us a brief account of his
fe.

Damasus

Hispanus,

vir

egregius et emdif\:s in Scripturis, indicto primo Constan-

Damasus was a Spaniard,

a man of highest wm?a::’:nd
learned in the Scriptures.

Finopelitano
Goncilio, nefa. Ho called tho first Couneil of
rism Eunomii et Macedonii Constantinople, in which he

DEC.
heeresim

Idem

exstinxit.

441

ST. DAMASUS

11.

condemned

the

impious

& heresy of Eunomius and
He also conMacedonius.
Liberio jam ante rejectum,
iterum condemnavit : in quo, demned the Council of Riut soribit Sanctus Hierony- mini, which had _already
mus, Valentis potissimum been rejected by Liberius,
et Ursacii fraudibus dom- inasmuch as it was in this
natio Nicene fidei concla- assembly of Rimini, as St.
conventum

Ariminensem

mata fuit, et ingemiscens Jerome tells us, that mainly
orbis terrarum, se Arianum by the craft of Valens and
Ursacius, was published a
esse miratus est.

Basilices duss mdificavit;
alteram Sancti Laurentii nomine ad theatrum Pompeii,
quam meximis muneribus
auxit, eique domos, et predia attribuit:
alteram
via
Ardeatina ad Catacumbas.
Platoniam etiam, ubi_corpora sanctorum Petri et
Pauli aliquandiu jacuerunt,
dedicavit, et _exornavit elegantibus versibus. Idemque
prosa, ot versu_soripsit de
virginitate, multaque alia
metro edidit.
Penam talionis constituit
iis, qui alterum falsi criminis

accusassent.
Statuit,
ut
quod pluribus jam locis erat

in usu,
i per omnes
ecclesias die noctuque ab
alternis canerentur; et in
fine cujusque psalmi_diceretur: Gloria Patri, et Filio, et
Spiritui sancto. Ejus jussu
sanctus

Hieronymus

reddidit.

Quum

Testamentum

Grzes

novum

fidei

Ecclesiam

condemnation of the faith
which had been taught by
the Niceno " Council. _and
thus the whole world grieved
to find itself made Arian.
He built two basilicas;
one dedicated to St. Laurence, near Pompey’s theatre,
and this he endowed with
magnificent presents, with
houses and with lands:
the
other, on the Ardeatine Way,
at the Catacombs.
The
bodies of SS. Peter and
Paul lay for some time in a
place richly adorned with
marbles;
this place he dedicated, and composed for it
several inscriptions in beautiful verses. He also wrote
on_virginity, both in prose
and verse, and several other

poems.
Ho established the law of
retaliation for cases of false
accusation. He decreed that,
as was the custom in many
places, tho psalms should be
sung in all churches in alternato choirs, day and night;
and that at the end of each
psalm, there should be
added: ‘Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost.” It was
by his order that §t. Jerome

ADVENT

442

rexisset annos decem et translated the new Testaseptem, menses duos, dies ment from the Greek text.
viginti sex, et habuisset ordi- He governed the Church
nationes quinque mense De- seventecn years, two months,
cembri, quibus creavit pres- and twenty-six days ; and five
byteros triginta unum, dia- times during this period, he
conos
undecim, episcopos gave ordinations, in the
per diversa loca sexaginta month of December, to
duos; virtute, doctrina, ac thirty-one
priests, eleven
prudentia clarus, prope octo- deacons, and
sixty
- two
genarius, Theodosio _seniore bishops, for divers places.
imperante, obdormivit in Conspicuous for his virtue,
Domino, et via Ardeatina learning, and prudence, and
una cum matre et sororo having lived little short of
sepultus est in basilica, eighty years, he slept in the
quam ipse wmdificaverat. II- Lord, during the reign of
lius reliquim postea trans- Theodosius the Great. He
latz sunt in ecclesiam sancti was buried in the basilica
Laurentii, ab ejus nomine in which he had built on the
Damaso vocatam.
Ardeatine Way, where also
lay

his

mother

and

sister.

His relics were afterwards
translated to the church of
Saint Laurence, called after
him St. Laurence’s sn Da-

maso.

Holy Pontiff Damasus ! during thy life on earth,

thou wast the light, which guided the children of

the Church ; for thou didst teach them the mystery

of the

Incarnation,

those perfidious
to corrupt that
tells us of God’s
sublime dignity

and

didst guard

them

against

doctrines, wherewith hell ever strives
glorious symbol of our faith, which
infinite mercy towards us, and of the
of man thus mercifully redeemed.

Seated on the Chair of Peter, thou didst confirm thy

brethren, and thy faith failed not; for Jesus had
prayed to His Father for thee. We rejoice at the
infinite recompense with which this divine Prince of
Futors has rewarded the unsullied purity of thy
aith, O thou virgin doctor of the virgin Church ¥’

Oh that we could have a 1ay of that light which now

enables thee to see Jesus in His glory ! Pray for us,

DEC. 11.

ST. DAMASUS

443

that we may have light to see Him, and know Him,

and love Him, under the humble guise in which He is

80 soon to appear to us.

Obtain for us the science of

the sacred Scriptures, in which thou wast so great a

master ; and docility to the teachings of the Bishop
of Rome, to whom, in the person of St. Peter, Christ
has said : ‘ Launch out into the deep I'*
Obtain also for all Christians, O thou the successor
of this prince of the apostles, that they be animated

with those sentiments, which St. Jerome thus deseribes in one of his letters addressed to thee : It is
the Chair of Peter that I will consult, for from it do

I derive that faith which is the food of my soul. I
will search for this precious searl, heeding not the
vast expanse of sea and land which I must pass
over. Where the body is, there shall the eagles be
gathered together. It is now in the west that the
un of justice rises. I ask the Victim of salvation
from the priest, and from the shepherd the protection of the sheep. On that rock I know the
Church is built. He that eats the Lamb in any
house but this, is profane. He that is not in Noah’s
ark, shall perish in the waters of the deluge.

I know

not Vitalis, I reject Meletius, I pass by Paulinus.

He that gathers not with thee, Damasus, scatters;
for he that is not of Christ, is of Antichrist.’

Let us contemplate our divine Saviour in the
womb of His most holy Mother Mary. Let us, to-

gether with the holy angels, adore Him in this state

of profound humiliation, to which His love for us has
brought Him. See Him there offering
Himself to His
Father

for the redemption

of mankind,

and

com-

mencing at once to fulfil the office of our Mediator,
which He has taken upon Himself. What an excess
of love is this of our Jesus, that He is not satisfied

with having humbled Himself in assuming our nature,
1 Bt. Luke
v. 4.

444

ADVENT

though
million
remain,
womb :

that alone would have sufficed to
worlds! The eternal Son of God
as other children, nine months in His
after that, to be born in poverty, to

redeem a
wills to
Mother’s
live a life

of labour and suffering, and to be obedient to death,

even to the death of the cross. O Jesus! mayst
Thou be praised and loved by 2ll creatures for this
Thy immense love of us ! Thou hast come down from
heaven the Victim that art to take the place of all
those which were hitherto offered, but which could
not efface man’s sin. At length, the earth possesses
its Saviour, though as yet unseen. God will not
curse

the earth,

which

contains

which, though

covered with crime,

is rich in such a treasure as this. Still repose, O
Jesus, in the chaste womb of Mary, that living ark
the

true

manna

sent for the food

ot man. But the time is approaching for Thee to
leave this loved sanctuary. The tender love which
Thou hast received from Mary, must be changed for
the

malice

wherewith

men

will treat Thee;

yet

it

must needs be that Thou be born on the day which
Thou Thyself hast decreed : it is the will of Thy eternal
Father,

it is the expectation of the world, 1t is the

salvation of all who shall love Thee.
PROSE

IN

HONOUR

OF

THE

BLESSED

VIRGIN

(Taken from the Cluny missal of 1523)

Ave, mundi gloria,
Virgo Mater Maria,
Ave, benignissima.
‘Ave, plena gratia,
Angelorum domina,
Ave, praclarissima.
Ave, decus virginum,
Ave, salus hominum,
Ave, potentissima.

Ave, Mater Domini,

Genitrix Altissimi,

Ave, prudentissima.

Hail, thou glory of the
world ; hail, Virgin Mother ;
hail, most merciful Mary !
Hail, full of grace; hail,
Queen of the angels; hail,
most glorious Mary !
Heil, Virgin of virgins;
hail, protectress of men ; hail,
most

powerful Mary !

Hail, Mother of the Lord ;

hail, parent of the Most High ;

hail, most prudent Mary !

DEC.

11.

Ave, beatissima.

Ave, vena veniz,
Fons misericordiz,

Ave, clementissima.
Ave, mater lumini:

Ave, honor sth
Ave, porta o

most gentloMary !
‘Hall faic ity ; Fadl prosious
fragranco; bail, sweet ingenso; hail, most resplendent
1
Hal, O meek; hai, O
sweot ; hail, O merciful
; hail,
0 joyous ; hail, O most besutiful Mary !

Ave, serenissi

‘Ave, candens lilium,
Ave, opobalsamum,
‘Ave, fumi virgula,

‘Ave, splendidissima.
Ave, mitis,

Ave, duleis,
Ave, pia,

Ave, leta,

Ave, porta,
Ave, virga,
‘Ave, rubus,
Ave, vellus,
‘Ave, felicissima.
Ave, clara cceli gemma,
Ave, alma Christi cella,
‘Ave, venustissima.

Ave, virga Jesse data,
Ave, scals cceli facta,
Avo, nobilissima.
Ave, stirpe geneross,
Ave, prole gloriosa,
Ave, fatu gaudiosa,
Ave, excellentissima.
Ave,Virgo singularis,
Avo, duloo salutais,
Avo, digna admirari,
Ave, admirandissima.
Ave, turtur, tu que
Castitate, sed foecunda

Charitate, tu columbs,
Ave, pudicissima.

45

Hail, mother of glory ; hail,
mother of mercy ; hail, most
blessed Mary |
Hail, source of pardon;
hail, fount of pity; hail, most
'
clement
Hail, mother of light ; hai,
honour of the firmament;
hail, gate of heaven; hail,

Ave, mater gloriz,
Mater indulgentis,

Ave, lucidissima.

ST. DAMASUS

Hail, gate of heaven hail,

branch prophetio; hal, foming bush ; hail,mystio fleece ;
hail, most happy Mary |
Hail, beautiful pearl of
heaven ; hail, fruitful abode
of Christ; hail, most comely
Mary !
Hail, branch of Jesso; hail,
mystic ladder that reaches to
heaven; hail, most noble
Mary !
Hail, daughter of a kingly
race; hail, Mother of &
Son who is God; hail, full
of joy ot the birth of this
Son ; hail, unrivalled Mary |
Hail, peerless Virgin; hail,
lovely source of our happinots; hal, wonderful in thy
; hail, most admirable
!
muni
), spotless dove, pure in
thy chastity, yet fruitful in
charity;
hail, immaculate

Mary

446

ADVENT

Hail, empress of the world ;
hail, mediatrix of men ; hail,
rotectrix of the world;
joy of our hearts !
Amen.

Ave, mundi imperatrix,

Ave, nostra mediatrix,
Ave, mundi sublevatrix,

Ave, nostrum gaudium.
Amen.

PRAYER

FOR

THE

TIME

OF

ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, Monday of the first week of
Advent)
ORATIO

Nunciatum ecce vocem jucunditatis et letitiz, quam
do tua, Christe, Incarnationo
audivimus; ut in nobis dulciori efficiamus charitate fruentiores, imploramus tua
magnitudinis
exspectantes
potentiam ; ut ita in nobis
vocis hujus effectus usquequaquo preepolleat, ut non
confundamur in ea, quum
manifestata nobis fuerit gloria tus. Amen.

PRAYER

The tidings wo have heard
of thy Incarnation, O Jesus,
have filled us with gladness
and joy. Wo bescech thes,
grant that we, whoare expecting the manifestation of thy
power, may enjoy the abundant sweetness of charity ;
that thus corresponding to
the grace of the mystery announced to us, we may rot bo
confounded when thy glory
shall appear to us. Amen.

DEC.

12.

FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

DECEMBER

447

12

THE FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE
OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
LeT us contemplate the sentiments of profound respect and maternal tenderness, which fill the soul of
our blessed Lady, now that she has conceived Jesus in
her chaste womb : He is her God, and yet He is her

Son.

Let us think upon this wonderful dignity be-

stowed upon a creature ; and let us honour the Mother

of our God.

It is by this mystery that the prophecy

of Isaias was fulfilled : Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son;’!

and that of Jeremias:

¢ The

Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth; a
woman shall compass a Man.’? The Gentiles themselves had received the tradition of these prophecies.
Thus in the old pagan Carnutum (Chartres), there
was an altar dedicated ‘To the Virgin that was to
bring forth a Son (Virgini Pariture)’ ; and whilst
modern rationalism, with its ignorant scepticism, was
affecting to throw a doubt on this fact of history, the
researches of science were discovering that Carnutum
was far from being the only city of the west which
had such an altar.
But what human language could express the
dignity of our Lady, who carries within her chaste
womb Him that is the world’s salvation! If Moses,
after a mere colloquy with God, returned to the
Israelites with the Tays of the majesty of Jehovah
encircling his head, w{at an aureola of glory is due
to Mary, who has within her, as in a living heaven,
1 Tso. vii. 14

2 Jer. xxxi. 22,

448

ADVENT

that very God Himself ! The divine Wisdom tempers
the effulgence of her glory that it be not visible to
men ; and this in order that the state of humility,
which the Son of God has chosen as the one in which
He would manifest Himself to the world, should not
be removed at the very outset by the dazzling glory
which would, otherwise, have been seen gleaming
from His Mother.
The sentiments which filled the heart of Mary
during these months of her ineffable union with the
divine Word, may be thus expressed in the words of
the bride in the sacred Canticle: ‘I sat under the
shadow of Him whom

I desired ; and His fruit was

sweet to my palate. I sleep, but my heart watches.
My soul melted when He spoke. I to my Beloved
and my Beloved to me, who feedeth among the
lilies, till the day break, and the shadows retire.’?
And if there ever were a human heart, that was
forced, by the overpowering vehemence of its love of
God,

to use these other words of the same Canticle,

it was Mary’s : O daughters of Jerusalem ! stay me
up with flowers, compass me about with fragrant
fruits ; for I languish with love.’? ‘These sweet
words,” says the venerable Peter of Celles, are those

of

the

bride

that

dwelleth

in the

gardens,

and

is

now near the time of her delivery. What so lovely
in creation as this Virgin, who loves the Lord with
such matchless love and 1s so exceedingly loved by
this her Lord ? It is she of whom the Secripture
speaks, when it calls the bride the dearest hind.
‘What, too, so lovely as that well-beloved Son of God,

born of His beloved Father from ell eternity, and
now, at the end of time, as the apostle speaks, formed

in the womb of His dearest Mother, and become to her,

in the words of the same divine proverb, the sweetest
fawn ?

Let us, therefore, cull our flowers, and offer

them to both Child and Mother.
1 Cant. ii. 3, 16,17; v. 2,6.

But let me briefly
3 Ibid. ii. 5.

DEC. 12.

FIFTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

449

tell you what are the flowers you must offer to our
Lady. Christ says, speaking of His Humanity, “Iam
the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.” By
Him, therefore, let us purify our souls and bodies,
and so be able to approach our God in chastity. Next,

preserve this flower of purity from all that would in-

Jure it ; for flowers are tender things, and soon drcop
and fade. Let us wash our hands among the inno-

cent, and, with a pure heart, and pure body, and
cleansed lips, and chaste soul, let us gather in the

paradise of our heavenly Father our fresh flowers
for the new Nativity of our new King. With these
flowers let us stay up this most saintly Mother,
this Virgin of virgins, this Queen of queens, this
Lady of ladies ; that so we may deserve to receive
the blessing of the Mother and of the divine Babe.
SEQUENCE

IN

HONOUR

(Taken from the ancient
Avo, Virgo gratioss,
Virgo Mater gloriosa,
Mater Regis glori.
Ave, fulgens margarita
Per quam venit mundi vita,
Christus sol justitie.
0 oliva fructifera,
T pietatis viscera
Nulli claudis hominum.
Nos exsules ltificas,
Ut vitis, dum fructificas
Salvatorem Dominum.
Ave, Virgo Mater Dei,
Tu superni sol diei,
Ev mundi nootis luna.
Clementior pr celeris,
Succurre nobis miseris,
Mortalium spes unica.

OF

OUR

BLESSED

LADY

Roman-French missals)
Hail, Virgin full of grace !
lorious Virgin-Mother of the
King of glory !
Hail, fair pearl ! by whom
came the life of the world,
Christ tho Sun of justice.
O fruitful olive ! thou excludest no mortal from thy
tender compassion.
Thou givest gladness to us
exiles, for, like & fruitful vine,
thou yieldest thy fruit, Jesus
our Lord.
Hail, Virgin - Mother of
God! thou art the sun of
the heavenly day ! thou art
the moon of the world's night !
Tendorcst of Mothers !
help us poor mortals, for
God wills us to hopo in thes
above all creatures.

1 Sermon for Christmas Eve.

29

450

ADVENT

Ave, decus virginalo,
Templum Dei specialo !
Per te fiat veniale

G;‘[ail,

forgive us all our sins.

Thou art unto us what no
other creaturc is. Guide us,

Tu nos ducas, stella maris ;

Tu nos semper tuearis :
En ad te confugimus.

O star of the sea!

Defend

us always and in all places.
We fly to thee in our necessities.
Tender Mother! we pray
thee guide us, or we go
astray. Tell us what would
thy Jesus have us do ? that
50, after this life is ended, wo
may live for ever with the
saints.

Ad te, pis, suspiramus,
Si non ducis, deviamus ;
Ergo doce quid agamus ;
Post hunc finem ut vivamus
Cum sanctis perenniter.
Jesu Christe, Fili Dei,

O Jesus ! Son of God, our

only Saviour, in whom rests
all our hope! grant by the
intercession of thy Mother,
that we may be united to tho
angels in eternal joy.

Tota salus nostre spei ;

‘Tuz matris interventu,

Angelorum nos conventu
Fac gaudere jugiter.
Amen.
FOR

Virgin!

for us lopc}fim, thxtphu would

Tu nobis es singularis

PRAYER

purest

's ‘special temple ! pray

Omne quod committimus.

A

O

Amen.

THE

(The Mozarabic breviary,
oraTIO
Audivimus, Christe; confitemur, et credimus, quod
de sinu Patris egrediens veneris, ut carnis nostra vestibulo cingereris, liberaturus,
scilicot suscepts Incarna.
tionis mysterio, quod perierat nature vitiata contagio.
Fao nos, prenuntiata adventus tui guudia, promptissima surrectionis devotione
re: ut quia tu e loco
trio, secretoque
progreGlons,_salvaturas homises,
humanitus
properasti ad
publicum; nos e loco cri-

TIME

OF

ADVENT

first Sunday of Advent)
PRAYER

We have heard, O Christ,
we confess, and believe, that
thou art come from the
bosom of thy Father, to
clothe thyself in the cover of
our flesh by the mystery of
the Incarnation, that thou
mayst thus deliver mankind, that had been lost by
the ~ corruption of sinful
nature. Grant us so devoutly to welcome the joyful
tidings of thy coming, that
as thou, issuing from the

divine sanctuary of thy Father's bosom, didst, for man’s

DEC.

13.

minis exeuntes, munditiores
concitum Divinitatis tue
prospectemus excursum : ut
extrema vitm nostre, nullius
disoriminis conculoatione involvens: sic provoces_terrore justitie, ut solita justifices pietate. Amen.

ST. LUCY

salvation,

451

come

into

the

world, in the form of man;
we may abandon the sins in
which wo have been living,
and hasten, thus purified, to
meet thy " divine majsty ;
that at the close of our lives,
the fear of thy threats may
Dot crush us by despair ; but
make us now so tremble at
the dread of thy justice, that
thy wonted mercy may then
justifyus. Amen.

DEeceMBER 13

SAINT LUCY, VIRGIN AND MARTYR
THERE

irgins,

comes to us, to-day, the fourth of our wise

the

valiant

martyr,

Lucy.

Her

glorious

:fge shines on the smreg;ydiptychyof the Cfinon of
the Mass, together with those of Agatha, Agnes, and
Cecily ; and as often as we hear it pronounced during
these days of Advent, it reminds us (for Lucy signifies light) that He who consoles the Church, by
enlightening her children, is soon to be with us.

Lucy is one of the three glories of the Church of

Sicily ; as Catania is immortalized by Agatha, and
Palermo by Rosalie, so is Syracuse by Lucy. Therefore, let us devoutly keep her feast : she will aid us
by her prayers during this holy season, and will
repay our love by obtaining for us a warmer love of
that Jesus, whose grace enabled her to conquer the
world. Once more let us consider, why t:lur {u.zxd has
not only given us apostles, martyrs, and bishops
as
guides

togllls on

oul;0 road

to

Bethlehem,

'bul:l:‘s has

willed also that we should be accompanied thither by
such virgins as Lucy. The children of the Church

452

ADVENT

are forcibly reminded by this, that, in
the crib of their sovereign Lord and
must bring with them, besides their
purity of mind and body without which
come near to God. Let us now read
acts of the virgin Lucy.

Lucia, virgo Syracusana,
genere et Christiana fide ab
una cum
infantia_ nobilis,
matre Eutychia, que sanguinis fuxu laborabat, Catanam ad venerandum corpus beata Agathw venit. Qua
ad cjus sepulchrum quum
suppliciter orasset, Agatha
intercessiono matris sanita-

approaching
God, they
faith, that
no one can
the glorious

Lucy, a virgin of Syracuse,
illustrious by birth and by
the Christian faith, which
she had professed from her

infancy, went to Catania,
with her mother Eutychia,
who was suffering from a
flux of blood, there to venerate the body

of the blessed

Agatha. Having prayed fertem impetravit. Statim vero vently at the tomb, she obmatrem exoravit, ut quam tained her mother’s cure, by
dotem sibi datura esset, the intercession of St. Agatha.
Christi pauperibus _ tribui Lucy then asked her mother
pateretur. Ut igitur Syracu- that she would permit her to
po r of
sas rediit, omnem_pecuniam, bestow upon the

quam ex facultatibus vendi: Christ the fortune which she
tis redegerat, pauperibus dis- intended to leave her. No
sooner, therefore, had she retribuit.
Quod ubi rescivisset is,
cui eam parentes contra vir-

ginis voluntatem desponderant, apud Paschasium praefectum, Luciam, quod Christiana esset, accusavit. Quam
ille

cum

nec

precibus

nec

minis ad cultum idolorum
posset
perducere;
immo

tanto magis incensam videret

ad celebrandas christianze
fidei laudes, quanto magis
ipse eam a sententin avertere
conabatur: Cessabunt, inquit, verba, quum ventum

turned to Syracuse, than she
sold all that was given to her
and distributed the money
amongst the poor.
When

he,

to

whom

her

before

the

parents had against her will
promised her in marriage,
came to know what Lucy had

done,

he

went

prefect Paschasius and accused her of being a Christian.
Paschasius entreated
and threatened, but could not
induce her to worship the
idols ; nay, the more he strove
to shake her faith, the more
inflamed wero the praises
which she uttered in professing its excellence. He said,

DEC. 13.

erit ad verbera. Cui virgo:
Dei servis verba decsse non
possunt, quibus & Christo
Domino

dictum

est: Quum

steteritis ante reges et prasides, nolite cogitare quomodo

aut quid loquamini ; dabitur

enim vobis in illa hora quid
loquamini ; non enim vos cstis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus
sanctus qui loquitur in vobis.

Quam quum_ Paschasius
interrogasset: Estne in te
Spiritus sanctus ? Respondit: Caste et pie viventes
templum _sunt Spiritus sancti. At il e: Jubebo te ad
lupanar duci, ut te Spiritus
sanctus deserat. Cui virg
Si invitam jusseris violari,
castitas mihi duplicabitur ad
coronam. Quare Paschasius
ira_inflammatus Luciam co
trahi jussit, ubi ejus virginitas violaretur: sed divinitus
factum est, ut firma virgo
ita consisteret, ut nulla vi de
loco dimoveri possit. Quamobrem _praefectus circum ipsam pice, resina, ac ferventi
oleo perfusam, ignem accendi
imperavit; sed quum ne
flamma quidem eam lederet,
multis tormentis_excruciata
uttur _gladio transfigitur.
Qoo vulhero accepto, Lucis
pradicens Ecclesie tranquillitatem, quee futura erat Diocletiano et Maximiano mortuis, Idibus Deccmbris, spiritum Deo reddidit. Cujus
corpus

Syracusis

sepultum,

453

8T. LUCY

therefore, to her: We shall

have no more of thy words,
when thou feclest the blows

of my exccutioncrs. To this
the ‘virgin replied: Words
can never be wanting to
God's

servants,

for

Christ

When

you shall

be brought

our Lord has said to them :
before kings and governors,

take no thought how or what
to speak ; for it shall be given

to you in that hour what to
speak; for it is mot you
that speak, but the Holy
Spirit that speaketh in you.
Paschasius then asked he:

Is the holy Spirit in thec ?
She answered : They who live
chastely and piously, are the
temple’ of the holy Spirit.
He said: I will order thee to
be taken to a brothel,

that

this holy Spirit may leave
thee. The virgin said to him :

The violence wherewith thou

threatenest me would obtain
for me a double crown of
chastity.
Whereupon Paschasius being exceedingly angry, ordered Lucy to be dragged to a place where her
treasure might be violated ;

but, by the power of God, so
firmly was she fixed to the
place where she stood, that

it was impossible to move
her. Wherefore the prefect
ordercd

her

to

be

covered

over with pitch, resin, and
boiling oil, and a fire to be
kindled round
her.
seeing that the flame

But
was

not permitted to hurt her,
they tormented her in many

cruel ways, and at length ran
a sword

through

her neck.

454
deinde

ADVENT
Constantinopoiim,

postremo Venetias translatum

est.

Thus wounded, Lucy foretold the peace of the Church,
which would come after the
death of Diocletian and
Maximian, and then died.
It was the Ides of Decem.
ber (Dec. 13). Her body was
buried at Syracuse, but was
to
first
thence
translated
Constantinople, and afterwards to Venice.

We here give some of the antiphons which occur
in the Office of the saint : they form a lyric poem of
great beauty.

Orante Sancta Lucia, apAs Lucy was praying, there
paruit ei beata Agatha, et appeared unto her the blessconsolabatur ancillam Christi. ed Agatha, and she comforted the handmaid of
Christ.
0 virgin Lucy ! why askLucia virgo, quid a me
petis, quod ipsa poteris est thou of me, what thyself
prestare continuo matri tuz ? canst
straightway grant
unto thy mother ?
Per te, Lucia virgo, civiBecause of thee, O virgin
tas Syracusana decorabitur a Lucy ! the city of Syracuse
Domino Jesu Christo.
shall be honoured by the
Lord Jesus Christ.
Benedico te, Pater Domini
Words of Lucy : 1 bless
mei Jesu Christi, quia per thee, the Father of my Lord
Filium tuum ignis extinctus Jesus Christ, because by thy
est a latere meo.
Son the fire around me was
quenched.
In tua patientia possedisti
In thy patience thou didst
animam tuam, Lucia, sponsa
thy soul, O Lucy,
Christi : odisti qua in mun- ride of Christ ! thou didsf
do sunt, et coruscas cum hate the things that are in
angelis:
sanguine proprio the world, and thou shinest
inimicum vicisti.
among the angels. Thou
didst conquer the enemy by
thine own blood.

‘We present ourselves before thee, O virgin martyr,
beseeching thee to obtain for us that we may recognize in His lowliness that same Jesus whom thou

DEC. 13.

ST. LUCY

455

now seest in His glory. Take us under thy powerful
patronage. Thy name signifies light; guide us

through the dark night of this life. O fair light of

virginity ! enlighten us; evil concupiscence has
wounded our eyes : pray for us, O thou bright light
of virginity ! that our blindness be healed, and that

rising above created things, we may be able to see
that true light, which shineth in darkness, but which

darkness cannot comprehend.

Pray for us, that our

eye may be purified, and may see, in the Child who

is to be born at Bethlehem, the new Man, the second

Adam, the model on which the life of our regenera-

tion must be formed. Pray too, O holy virgin, for
the Church of Rome and for all those which adopt
her form of the holy Sacrifice ; for they ‘daily pronounce at the altar of God thy sweet name ; and the
Lamb, who is present, loves to hear it. Heap thy

choicest blessings on the fair Isle,
native land, and where grew the palm
dom. May thy intercession secure to
firmness of faith, purity of morals,
prosperity, and deliver them from the
threaten her with destruction.

which was thy
of thy martyrher inhabitants
and temporal
disorders which

456

ADVENT

THE SAME DAY
SAINT
O

ODILIA,

VIRGIN

AND

ABBESS

this same day, we have also the fifth of the wise

virgins, whose bright lamps light us, during Advent,
to the crib of Jesus their Spouse. Odilia did not
shed her blood for Him, as did Bibiana, Barbars,
Eulalia,

herlove.

and

Lucy ; her offering

was

her tears and

Her wreath of lilies blends sweetly with the

roses, which form the crownsof her four companions.

Her name is held in special veneration in the east of

France, and beyond the Rhine. The holy hill whereon

ther tomb has rested now these thousand years, is still

visited by numerous and devout pilgrims. Several
kings of the Capetian race, and several emperors of
the house of Hapsburg, were descendants of the father

of our saint, Adalric or Atticus, Duke of Alsace.

Odilia was born blind.

being

removed

from

the

Her father insisted on her
house,

for

her

presence

would have been a continual humiliation to him.
It seems as though this affliction was permitted by
Providence, in order that the action and power of

divine grace might be the more clearly manifested
in her regard. The little exile was taken from her
mother,

and

placed

in a monastery.

God,

who

de-

signed to show the virtue of the holy Sacrament of
regeneration, permitted that her Baptism should be
deferred until she had reached her thirteenth year.
The time at length came for Odilia to be made a child
of God. No sooner was she taken from the baptismal
font, than she received her eyesight, which was but a
feeble figure of the light which faith had lit up in her
soul. This prodigy restored Odilia to her father and
to the world ; and from that time forward, she had to
defend, against unceasing attacks, the virginity which
she had vowed to God.

Her personal beauty, and her

DEC. 13.

ST. ODILIA

457

father’s wealth and power, attracted to her many rich
suitors. She refused them all; and her father himselt
built a monzstery on the rocks of Hohenburg, wherein
she served her divine Lord, governed a large community, and gave relief to every sort of suffering.
After a long life spent in prayer, penance, and
works of mercy, the day came which was to reward

her for it all.

It was this very day, the thirteenth

of December, the feast of the holy virgin Lucy. The
sisters of Hohenburg, desirous of treasuring up her
last words, assembled round their saintly abbess,
She was in an ecstasy, and already dead to the things
of this life. Fearing lest she should die before she
had received that holy Viaticum, which leads the
soul to Him who is her last end, the sisters thought

it their duty to rouse her from the mystic sleep,

which, so it seemed

to them, rendered

of the duties which she had to perform.

her forgetful

Being thus

brought to herself, she turned to the community, and

said to them : ‘ Dear sisters, why have you disturbed
me? Why would you again oblige me to feel the
weight of this corruptible body, when I had once
left it? By the favour of His divine Majesty,I
was in the company of the virgin Lucy, and the
delights T was enjoying were so great that no
mngue could tell them, nor ear hear them, nor
human eye see them.” No time was lost in giving
her the Bread of life and

the Chalice of salvation,

which having received, she immediately rejoined her
heavenly companion, and the thirteenth day of December thus united into one the feasts of the abbess
of Hohenburg and of the martyr
of Syracuse.
The Church of Strasburg, which honours Odilia as
one of its greatest glories, has the following lessons
for this feast. By giving them a place here, we do not
adopt the statement they contain with regard to the
mle which was followed in the monastery of Hohenburg. Mabillon, who proves that St. Odilia followed

458

ADVENT

the rule of St. Benedict, shows that the Canonical
Rule, as it was called, did not exist at that time.
Odilia, the glory and the
Odilia, suw decus et presidium patriz, Attici Alsatia protectress of her country,
ducis et Beresinda
genita soboles fuit ;
c®cis

oculis

nata

primoquod

esset,

a

patre repudiatam, mater humanior clam nutrici alendam
tradidit. Post in Balmensi

parthenio haud procul Vesontiono educats, divinisque

was the eldest child of Adal-

ric, Duke of Alsace, and of
Beresind his wife. Being
born blind, she was repudiated by her father; but

the mother, with more

com-

Jam adulta,

passion, had her nursed privately. Later on she was sent
to the monastery of Baume,
not far from Besangon, whero

sule baptizatur, visum miraculo accepit. Interjectis ali-

structed in the holy Seriptures, and_grew in age and

petuum

wealth, and leading a hermit’s

erudita

litteris

ot sapientia.

crevit

wmtate

dum a beato Erhardo prae-

she

was

educated,

and

in.

quot annis, paternam in do- wisdom.
en an adult, she
mum et gratiam reducitur. was baptized by the holy
Ibi
quidquid mundus amat bishop Erhard, and was on
despiciens, inter amplissi- that occasion miraculously
mas opes paupertatis amo- cured of her blindness. After
rem, in medio aule tumultu the lapse of some years, she
solitudinem
anachoretarum was recalled to her father's
retinebat; nuptiasque con- house, and became the object
stanter aversata, post longum of his affection. During this
et acre certamen a patre time, she despised all that
obtinuit, ut sibi liceret cum
the world loves, preferring
aliis virginibus Deo se in per- poverty to the
greatest
Atticus

consecrare.
in

vertice

Quare

excelsi

montis sacram sedem et monasterium re suo excitavit,

life, amidst all the distractions
of her father’s palace. She re-

jected, with great resolution,

latos eidem fundos ot pradia all the offers of
i
concessit, Odiliamque ei re- which were made to her, and,
after a long and hard contest,
gendo praposuit.

obtained her father’s consent
to devote herself for ever to
God, with several other virghm For this end, Adalric
uilt, at his own cost, a

¢hurch and monastery on the
top of a high hill, and richly

endowed it with land and possessions. It was at his request:

that Odilia was appointed to

govern the monastery.

DEC. 13.

Vixdum patuerat hoc sanctitatis asylum, quum ingens
eo_affluxit virginum multitudo ; centum triginta fuisse
traditum_est. He primum
nullis religios vite legibus
adscripte erant:
Odiliam
imitari pro legibus habebatur.
Deliberantibus postmodo cuinam se regule addicerent,
monastice an canonicw ; sa’
pientissima prases suadente
loci natura, hanc alteri pratulit.

ST. ODILIA

459

Scarce was

eanctity

this abode of

established,

when

many sought for admission,

and, as it is related, the com-

munity

numbered

no

than a hundred and thirty.
At the commencement, no
special rule was followed,

the imitation of Odilia was
their rule. When afterwards

it was deliberated on which
of the two

rules

should

lenis, se solam durius arctabat ; pane hordeaceo ct aqua,
subinde modico legumine,
tolerabat vitam. In rerum
divinarum _ contemplatione
defixa, vigilabat majorem
noctis partem; quod supererat, quieti datum: pellis
hirsuta pro lecto, saxum pro
pulvinari erat.
Inter hwxe, materno erga
pauperes et infirmos amore,
aliud monasterium amplum:
que xenodochium in infimo
clivo extruxit, quo facilius
affliote sum fortune perfugium invenirent. Illic non
solum sacras virgines collocavit, qu operam suam navarent miseris; sed etiam
ipsa quotidie eos invisebat,
cibis, solatiis refocillabat,
neque pavebat _leprosorum
ulcera suis manibus fovere.
Tandem meritis annisquo
gravis, quum se morti vicinam intelligeret, suas sodales

be

adopted, the monastic or the
canonical,

this

latter

was

preferred by the discreet Abbess, as being better adapted
to the circumstances

Cum vero esset in omnes

less

of the

place.

To all around her she was
indulgent; to herself alone

she was severe.
food

was

Her only

barley-bread

and

water, to which she sometimes
added a few herbs.

Her con-

templation of divine things
was continual ; she gave to it
the greatest
part of the night,
and spent the rest in sleep.
Her bed was a rough skin,
and a stone her pillow.
To this she added a mater-

nal solicitude for the poor and
sick, for whom she built another monastery, and also a
large hospital at the foot of
the’ hill, that so they might
have readier assistance in
their various miseries. She
not only placed there several
of the nuns to take care of the

poor inmates, but every day
visited them herself, fed them

and

comforted

hesitated

not

them,

to dress

and

with

her own hands the loathsome

sores of lepers. At length,
weighed down by age and

460

ADVENT

in sacellum sancti Joannis
Baptista convocat : hortatur

merit, and knowing that her
death was at hand, she as-

ut pii propositi tenaces arc- sembles her sisters in_the
tiorem “ceeli viam nunquam oratory of St. John the Bapdeserant.
Accepto deinde tist, and there exhorts them
ibidem Corporis ot Sanguinis to continue firm to their holy
Christi Viatico, vita cessit engagements, and never to
Idibus Decembris, anno, ut leave the narrow path which
probabilius traditur, septin- leads to heaven, Having regentesimo_vigesimo. Corpus ceived in the same place the
virginis in eodem sacello Viaticum of the Body and
conditum est, statimque se- Blood of Christ, she de
pulchrum ejus maxima vene- this life on the Ides of Deratione coli ac miraculis cla- cember (Dec. 13), and according to the more probable opirere caepit.

nion, in the year seven hundred and twenty. The body
of the holy virgin was buried
in the same oratory, and her
tomb became immediately an
object; of the greatest veneration to the faithful, and was
celebrated for the miracles
wrought there.

The ways of God in thy regard, O holy virgin, were

admirable

indeed,

and

He

manifested

in thee

the

riches and power of His grace. He deprived thee of
sight, that so thy soul might the more eagerly cling

to His own infinite beauty ; and when afterwards He

bestowed on thee thy bodily vision, thou hadst already
made choice of the better part. The harshness of
thy father deprived thee of the innocent pleasures of
home ; but it prepared thee to become the spiritual
mother of so many noble virgins, who, following th
example, trampled on all the vanities of the world.
Thou didst choose & life of humility, because thy
heavenly Spouse Jesus had humbled Himself for our
sake. Thou didst imitate Him also in His being our
divine Deliverer, and taking upon Himself all our
miseries, for thou hadst the tenderest compassion on

the poor and the sick. ~Thou didst take on thyself the
care of a poor leper, that had been abandoned by all

DEC. 13.

ST. ODILIA

else ; with a mother’s courage

461

thou didst feed him,

and affectionately dress his loathsome sores. And
is it not this that our Jesus is coming down from
heaven to do for us; to heal our wounds by embracing our human nature, and to nourish us with that

food, which He is preparing to give us at Bethlehem ?

Whilst the leper was receiving thy loving care, the
frightful disease which excluded him from the society
of his fellow-creatures suddenly disappeared; a delicious odour came from his whole person, whereas
before, none but a saint like thyself could have borne

to approach him. s it not this which Jesus is coming down to do for us ? The leprosy of sin was upon
us ; His grace heals us, and man regenerated sheds

around him the good odour of Christ.

In the midst of the joys which thou art now sharing

with Lucy, remember

us, O thou that wast ever so

compassionate to the needy ! We cannot forget the
tears thou didst shed, and the prayers thou didst
offer up for the soul of thy father after his death,
whereby thou didst deliver him from purgatory, and
open the gates of heaven to him that had banished
thee from his house. Thou art no longer in the land
of tears; thine eyes are opened to the light of
heaven, and contemplate God in His glory : pray therefore for us, for thy prayers are now more powerful
than heretofore. Think of us who are poor and in-

firm ; obtain the cure of our maladies.
uel, who

is coming

to us, tells

The Emman-

us that

He

is the

Physician of our souls, for He has said : ‘ They that
are in health need not the Physician, but they that
are ill’?
Ask Him to cure us of the leprosy of sin,
and make us become even like unto Himself. Pray
for France, thy country, and help her to maintain

the purity of the Catholic faith. Watch over the
ruins of the holy empire. Heresy has disunited the
members of that great body ; but it will once more
12 Cor. ii. 14, 15.

2 8t. Matt. ix. 12.

ADVENT

462

flourish, if our Lord, propitiated by such prayers as
thine, vouchsafe to bring Germany back again to the
true

faith and

to submission

to the Church.

Yes,

pray that these glorious things be brought about for
the honour and glory of thy divine Spouse, and that
nations, now weary of their errors and disunion, may

unite together in propagating the kingdom of God
upon earth.
Let us consider the ever blessed Mother of God

leaving her humble dwelling at Nazareth, in order to
visit her cousin, St. Elizabeth.
The Church honours

this mystery of the Visitation on the Friday in Ember
‘Week of Advent, as we have mentioned above, in the
Proper of the Time.
We will let St. Bonaventure
relate this sublime incident of Mary’s life, convinced

that our readers will be pleased to hear the seraphic

Doctor revealing to them, with his wonderful unction,
these preludes to the birth of Jesus.

¢ After this, our Lady, pondering the words spoken

unto her by the angel concerning her cousin Elizabeth, resolved to visit her, that she might congratulate with her and render her service.

She, therefore,

together with Joseph her spouse, set out from Naza-

reth for the house of Elizabeth, which might perhaps
be fourteen or fifteen miles distant from Jerusalem.
Neither the roughness nor the length of the journey
discouraged

her ; but she walked

with haste, foras-

much as she wished to be little seen in public.

She

was not like other mothers, burthened by her Child,

nor was it to be thought that the Lord Jesus would
be a burthen to His Mother. See, therefore, how the
Queen of heaven and earth takes this journey alone,
with none but her spouse Joseph ; not riding, but

walking ; neither is she escorted by troops of soldiers

and barons, nor attended by handmaids and fine
ladies. Her train is poverty, humility, modesty, and
the beauty of all virtues. The Lord Himself, too, is

DEC. 13.

ST. ODILIA

463

with her; and He verily hath a numerous and honour-

able suite, but it is not that of the world, vain and

pompous.

“Now, when she had entered the house of Elizabeth, she greeted her saying : “ Hail ! my sister Eliza-

beth !”

But she, exulting, and all full of joy, and

inflamed by the holy Spirit, rises
embraces Mary, exclaiming for joy
among women, and blessed is the
And whence is this to me, that
unto me the Mother of my Lord ?”

and most tenderly
: * Blessed art thou
fruit of thy womb !
there should come
For as soon as the

Virgin had greeted Elizabeth, John, in his mother’s
womb, was filled with the Holy

Ghost, as was likewise

the mother. Nor was it that the mother was filled and
then her child, but contrariwise the child was filled
first, and he communicated the Spirit unto the mother.
The babe effected nought in Elizabeth’s soul, but he

merited that the Holy Ghost should do a work in

her soul, because the grace of the divine Spirit had

descended into him with greater abundance, and he

was the first to receive the grace. And as Elizabeth
had perceived the coming of Mary, so did John perceive the coming of Jesus. Therefore was it that he
leaped for joy, and she prophesied. See the virtue
of our Lady’s words, when by their utterance the
Holy Ghost is conferred ; for so replenished was

Mary with Him, that, by her merits, He filled others

also with Himself. Upon this, Mary made answer
unto Elizabeth, saying: “ My soul doth magnify the
Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my
Saviour.””
SEQUENCE

IN HONOUR

OF THE MOTHER

OF GOD

(Taken from the ancient Roman-French missals)

Hodiernw lux diei
Celebris in Matris Dei
Agitur memoria.

A hapy day i this for on
it we make commemoration of
Mary, the Mother of God.

464

ADVENT
Lot

Decantemus in hac die

us

sing

to-day

the

praises and the dignity of
the ever blessed Virgin Mary.

Semser Virginis Mari®
Laudes et praconia.

Whoo'er thou art, and
where'er thou art, pray to
her, bescech her to help thee.
Sing, sing, with
thy
beart ‘ana oiows power
ail Mary ! full of grace.
Hai, Queen of heaven,
purest of Virgins, yet incomparable Mother !
Made fruitful by God,
thou, his creaturo, didst give
birth, O prodigy of prodigios ! to thy Creator.
Florens hortus Austro
Here was tho prophecy
flante,
fulfiled; that a garden
Porta clausa post et ante,
should
flower
under ' the
Via viris invia.
breath of the south win
that all its gates were olosod,
and no man could enter.
Fusa cceli rore tellus,
Mary is the earth spoken
Fusum Gedeonis vellus,
of as enriohed with the dew
of heaven ; sho i as Gedson's
Deitatis pluvia.
jeece pre
er,
with the dow of the Godhead.
Salve, splendor firmamenti:
Hail, Mary, thou brightness of heaven ! bring to our
Tu caliginos menti
Desuper irradis.
darkness the light that is
from sbove.
O star of the ses, calm
Placa mare, maris stella,
Ne involvat nos procella
ite storms, and suffer not
Et tompestas obvia.
that they overwhelm us.
Amen.
Amen.

Omnis homo, omni hora,
Ipsam ora et implora
jus patrocinis.
Psalle,
psal o, nisu toto,
Cordis, oris, voce, Voto:
Ave plena gratia |
‘Ave, Domina ccelorum,
Ineoxperta viri torum,
Parens paris nesois.
Feecundata sine viro,
Genuisti more miro
Genitorem filia.

INTROIT

OF

ADVENT

(Ambrosian missal, sizth Sunday, Ingressa)
Videsne
Elisabeth
cum
Soest thou not Elizabeth
Dei Genitrice Maria dispu- thus speaking to Mary the
tantem : Quid ad mo venisti, Mother of God: How is it
Mater Domini mei ? Si enim
that thou, tho Mother of my
scirem, in tuum venirem Lord, art come unto mo ? for
occursum. Tu enim Regna- if T had known of thy com.

DEC. 14.

SEVENTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

torem portas, et

465

ego pro-

ing, I would have come to

et cgo legem accipientem:

the King, and I the prophet;

proclamantis adventum Sal-

law, and I him that receiveth

phetam: tu legem
tu

Verbum,

vatoris.

et ego

dantem,

vocem

mect thee. For thou bearcst
thou

him

that

giveth

the

the law ; thou the Word, and
I the Voice that proclaimeth

the coming of the Redeemer.

DEeCEMBER 14

SEVENTH DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE
OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Ler us consider how our blessed Lady, having
arrived at the house of her holy cousin Elizabeth,
rendered her every possible service with the greatest
love, favoured her with her sweet and holy conversations, assisted at the glorious birth of St. John the

Baptist, and at length returned home to her humble
But, that we may the better
dwelling in Nazareth.
enter into these divine mysteries, let us again listen

to the seraphic St. Bonaventure.
‘ When, therefore, her time was expired, Elizabeth
gave birth to a son, whom our Lady took up, and
with all diligence did what was required. The babe
looked into Mary’s face like one that knew her ; and
as she gave him nnto his mother, he turned his head
towards Mary, for he fain would be in her arms again,
Mary, on her part, delighted in nursing this holy babe,

and fondled him, nng kissed him with great joy.

Consider the honour that is here given unto John.

Never had child such arms as these to carry him.
Many other privileges are related as being granted unto

him ; but for this present, I must needs pass them by.

“Now, on the eighth day, the child was vircumcised, and was called John. Then was the mouth
30

466
of

ADVENT
Zachary

opened,

and

he

prophesied,

saying:

L Blessedrbye tE: Lord God of IP;rsIe)] ” Thuey'wegte
made, in that house, the two most beautiful canticles,

namely,

the

Magnificat

and

the

Benedictus.

Meanwhile our Lady, going aside lest she should be
seen by those that had come together for the ceremony, listened attentively to the canticle of Zachary,

which prophesied of her Son, and most prudently
pondered

in her heart upon all these

things.

At

length, when the. time came for her to return
home, she bade Elizabeth and Zachary farewell,

and, giving John her blessing, she returned unto
Nazareth. Recall to thy mind, in this her second
journey, all that was told thee of her poverty.
She returned to her house, where she would find
neither bread, nor wine, nor those things which
were needed. She had no property, nor money.

She had been, now these three months, living with

persons who were very rich; but now she returns
unto her poor cottage, and has to procure her liveli-

hood by the labour of her hands.

Do thou sym-

pathize with her, and learn to love poverty.”
SEQUENCE

IN HONOUR OF OUR BLESSED LADY

(Taken [rom the ancient Roman-French missals)

Ave, Virgo gloriosa,
Ceeli jubar, mundi rosa,
Ceelibatus lilium.
Ave, gemma pretiosa,
Super solem speciosa,
Virginale gaudium.
Spes reorum, O Maria,
Redemptoris Mater pia,
Redemptorum gloria.
Finis lethi, vit via ;
Tibi triplex hierarchia
Digna dat praconia.

Hail, O glorious Virgin!
brightness of the heavens,
roseof the world, llyof purity.
Hail, preoious gem ! moro
beauteous than tho sun, and
joy of pure souls.
'hou art the sinner’s hope,
O Mary! thou art the holy
Mother of our Redeemer, and
the consolation of us whom
he redcemed.
Thou didst stay the reign
of death, thou didst commence the reign of life. To
thee, O Mary, the triple hierarchy sing their praises.

DEC. 14.

SEVENTH

DAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE

Virga Jesse florida,
Stella maris lucida,
Sidus verz lucis.

467

Hail ! flowery stem of Jesse,
bright star of the sea, source
that broughtest to us him
that is our true light.

Fructum vite proferens,
Thou bearest the fruit of
Et ad portum transferens
life, and he whom thou
Salutis, quod ducis.
leadest will not miss the port
of salvation.
0O flowery garden, so sweet
Florens hortus, @gris grato the sick! O sealed fount
tus,
of purity, that gavest us
Puritatis fons signatus,
Jesus, the author of grace.
Dans fluenta grati.
Thronus veri Salomonis,
Thou throne of the true
Solomon, enriched by the
Quem praclaris cceli donis
King of glory with the best
Ornavit Rex glori.
O regina pietatis,
Et totius sanctitatis
Flumen indeficiens.

In te salva confidentes,

Salutari sitientes

Potu nos reficiens.

Ad te flentes suspiramus,

Rege mentes, invocamus,

Eva proles misera.
Statum nostre paupertatis,
Vultu tuz bonitatis,

Clementer considera.

of heaven's gifts.
O

merciful

Queen!

thou

art the rich unfailing stream
of all sanctity.
Have pity on us who trust
in thee, and refresh our
thirsty souls with thy efficacious prayers.
Hear our sighs, O Mary !
and suffer us not, poor children of Eve, to go astray.
Look with thy eye of love
on our many wants: compassionate our poverty.

Vessel of every fragrance,
and Mother and treasury of
Salutaris.
divine grace.
Tuam nobis fragrantiam
Breathe thy fragrance into
Spirans, infunde gratiam
our souls, and obtain for us
Qua ditaris.
the riches of grace.
Dulcis Jesu Mater bona,
Beautiful Mother of our
sweet, Jesus! the world reMundi salus, et Matrona
ceived its Saviour through
Supernorum civium,
thee, and the heavenly citizens call thee Queen.
Pacem confer sempiterObtain for us that peace
nam,
which has no end, and, after
Et ad lucem nos supernam
this our exile, that light
Transfer post exsilium.
which is divine. ~ Amen.
Cella fragrans aromatum,
Apotheca charismatum

Amen.

468

ADVENT
PRAYER

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, Friday of the second week of
Advent, Capitula)
0 King, whom our hearts
Dominator
desiderabilis,
Domine Jesu Christe, quasi desire,
Lord Jesus Christ,
ignis conflans ab scoriis come, we bescech thes, cleanse
peccantinum nos absterge : us a8 & furnace of fire from
et quasi aurum purum ar- the dross of our sins, and
gentumquo purgatum, nos make us like gold that is
effice; tuoque inspiramine, pure, and like silver that is
ad querendum te jugiter, without alloy. Inflame our
corda nostra succende: ut hearts, by thy inspiration,
ad te ardenter nostra desi- that they seck thee unceasderia anhelent,
tibique con- ingly: 8o may our desires
jungi tota aviditate festi- long with all ardour after
nent.

Amen.

thee, and pant, with all

ness to be united with
Amen.

DeceumBER
THE

eagerthee.

15

OCTAVE OF THE IMMACULATE
CONCEPTION
OF THE MOST BLESSED VIRGIN

THis, the eighth day from that on which we kept the

feast of the Immaculate Conception, is the octave

properly so called; whereas the other days were
simply called days within the octave. The custom
of keeping up the principal feasts for a whole week

is one of those which the Christian Church adopted

from the Synagogue. God had thus spoken in the
Book of Leviticus: ‘The first day shall be called
most solemn and most holy, you shall do no servile

work therein. . . . The eighth day also shall be
most solemn and most holy, and you shall offer

holocausts to the Lord, for it is the day of assembly
and congregation: you shall do no servile work

DEC. 15. OCTAVE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

therein.”?
Solomon,

469

We also read in the Book of Kings, that
having called all Israel to Jerusalem for

the dedication of the temple, suffered not the people
to return home until the eighth day.
We learn from the Books of the new Testament
that this custom was observed in our Saviour's time,

and we find Him authorizing, by His own example,

this solemnity of the octave.

Thus,

we read in

Saint John, that Jesus once took part
the Jewish festivals, about the midst of
and the same Evangelist relating how our
out to the people : *If any man thirst, let
to Me, and drink’

in one of
the feast ;2
Lord cried
him come

: observes, that it was on the last

and great day of the festivity.®
In the Christian Church there are three kinds of
octaves. Some feasts are celebrated with a privileged
octave—that is, one of which the Office is said daily,
or at least a commemoration is always made.
Other
feasts have a common octave, or one whose com-

memoration

omitted.

may, on greater feasts, be sometimes

And,

lastly, some

have

a simple

octave,

of which only the Octave Day itself is kept or commemorated.

Privileged

octaves,

whose

office

is

said or commemorated every day, are divided into
three Orders. The octaves of the First Qrder are
those of Easter and Pentecost. Those of the Second

Order, of which days within the octave exclude all

feasts except doub{es

of the First Class, are

the

octaves of the Epiphany and of Corpus Christi.

The octaves of the Third Order, which must always
be commemorated, although days within the octave
exclude only the same feasts as do common octaves, are
those of Christmas and of the Ascension of Our Lord.
The octave of the Immaculate Conception, the first that
occurs in the ecclesiastical year, is a common octave.
Let us once more devoutly reverence the mystery
of Mary’s Immaculate Conception: our Emmanuel

1 Lev. xxiil. 35, 36.

2 8t. John vii. 14.

3 Ibid. 37.

470

ADVENT

loves to see His Mother honoured. ~After all, is it not
for Him and for His sake that this bright star was
prepared from all eternity, and created when the

happy time fixed by the divine decree came ?

When

we honour the Immaculate Conception of Mary, it is
really to the divine mystery of the Incarnation that
we are paying our just homage. Jesus and Mary
cannot be separated, for Isaias tells us that she is

the branch and He the Flower
We

give

Thee

thanks,

O

Jesus

our Emmanuel,

because Thou hast granted us to live during the time
that the privilege of Thy blessed Mother was proclaimed on this earth ; the glorious privilege wherewith Thou didst enrich the first instant of the life
of the happy creature, from whom Thou didst take
upon Thyself our human nature ! This definition of
Thy Church has given us a clearer knowledge of
Thine infinite holiness. It has taught us to see more
distinetly the harmony there is in all Thy divine
mysteries. But it has also impressed upon us the
great truth that we ourselves, being destined to
the most intimate union with Thee here, and to the

face to-face vision of Thy infinite Majesty hereafter,
must labour without ceasing to purify ourselves from
the smallest stains of sin. Thou hast said : ‘ Blessed

are the clean of heart, for they shall see God ’;2 and

Thou showest us, by the dogma of Thy blessed Mother’s
Immaculate Conception, what is the purity which
Thy sovereign sanctity demands of us. Ah! by the

love, which led Thee to preserve her from every stain

of sin, have mercy on us who are her devoted children.

Thou art so soon to be among us! Before many
days are past we shall have yielded to Thy invitations,
and have presumed to approach Thy sacred crib. We
are not yet ready, dear Jesus ! The effects of original
sin are still so plainly upon us, and, what i3 worse,
there are so many of our own sins, which we have
1 Is xi L.

3 Bt. Matt. v. 8.

DEC. 15. OCTAVE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION

471

added to this of our first parent. Oh! prepare our
hearts and our senses, for we will not approach to
Bethlehem unworthily. The sinless purity of Thy
Mother is not for us; we ask not for that; but we
ask for forgiveness of our countless sins, for conversion, for hatred of the world and the world’s
maxims, and for perseverance in Thy holy love.
O Mary! created mirror of divine justice, and
purer than the Cherubim and Seraphim, i return for
the homage paid thee by this our generation, on that
blissful day when the glory of thy Immaculate Conception was proclaimed throughout the world, give
us that abundant richness of thy protecting love, which
thou didst reserve till now. The world is shaken to

its very foundations: thy hand can help it to rest

again. Hell has let loose upon mankind the most
terrible of its spirits of wickedness, who breathe but

blasphemy and destruction ; but, at the same time,
the Church of thy Jesus feels that her youth has
been renewed within her, and that the seed of the

divine word is broadcast and healthy in a thousand
fresh portions of the earth. Never was the battle
more fierce on both sides : so that we need all our

hope to make us feel that hell will not prevail. Is
this the great struggle, which is to be followed by the
day of judgement ?
.
O blessed Mother of Jesus! O Queen of the
universe ! can it be that the star of thy Immaculate

Conception has shone in the heavens only to light
up the ruin and wreck of this earth ? The sign foretold by the beloved disciple St. John, of the woman
that appeared in the heavens clad with the sun,
bearing on her head a crown of twelve stars, and
crushing the crescent beneath her feet '—has it not
more brightness and power than that other, which

appesred in the heavens telling men

that God’s

anger was appeased, and that the deluge was over %

% Apoo.
xil. 1.

472

ADVENT

The light which shines upon us is from a Mother.
It is our Mother that comes to console and heal us.
1t is heaven that smiles upon poor guilty earth. We

have

deserved

the chastisement

we

have

received,

and more than we have received : but the anger of
God will give way, and He will spare us.

The graces which God Eouted out upon the world

on that great day of the Church’s definition of Mary’s
Immaculate Conception, were not to be without their
effect; a new period then commenced.
Mary, on
whom heresy had heaped its blasphemies for three
hundred years, will again reign in the love of those

whom her Son redeemed ; countries will abandon those

errors which have made them slaves and dupes of
men’s doctrines ; the old serpent will again writhe
under that crushing pressure which God set up from

the beginning; and the divine Sun

of justice will

pour out on the regenerated world the floods of a light
more than ever dazzling and resplendent. We may
not live to see that time; but we have signs of its
near approach.
Tt was in the last century that thy devout servant
whom the Church has placed upon her altars,

Leonard of Porto-Maurizio, predicted that when this

dogma of thy Immaculate Conception should be
defined, the world would enjoy a long period of peace.
The troubles of the present time in which we are living
are, we doubt not, a prelude to that happy peace,
during which the divine word will traverse tge whole
world unimpeded, and the Church militant will reap
her harvest for the Church in heaven. Sweet Mother

of our Jesus ! the world was also in agitation in those
times which preceded the birth of thy divine Son;
but peace reigned throughout the whole earth, when

thou
that
world
given

didst give it its Saviour in Bethlehem. Until
grand time come when thou wilt show to the
the magnificence of the power which God has
to thee, assist us, each year, to prepare for the

DEC. 15. OCTAVE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 473

glorious solemnity of Christmas: oh! pray for us,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins when
that splendid night comes, during which will be
born of thee Jesus Christ,

eternal,
PROSE

IN

HONOUR

OF

THE

the Son of God, the light
HOLY

MOTHER

OF

GOD

(Taken from the ancient Roman-French missals)
Cor devotum elevetur,
Let every heart that is
devout now raise iteelf and
Ut devote celebretur
devoutly celebrate the ConVirginis Conceptio.
ception of the Virgin ever
blessed.
Mens amore inflammetur
Let the mind be inflamed
with love ; and let praise and
Et amori copuletur
jubilee unite with the love.
Laus et jubilatio.
Haee concepta miro more
In her admirable ConcepEst ut rosa cum nitore,
tion, sheisa rose in its beauty,
Est ut candens lilium.
she is a lily in its whiteness.
Ut fruotus exit a flore,
As fruit that comes from
Est producta cum pudore,
the flower, 0 was Mary
brought forth in her purity,
Preeventa per Filium.
for her Son had possession of
her from the first.
Sicut ros non corrumpitur,
As & dew-drop contracts
Quando in terra gignitur,
not a stain from the earth
Elementi rubigine ;
whereon 'tis formed,
Sic Virgo non inficitur,
So was Mary untainted by
original sin when she was
Quum in matre concipitur,
conceived in her mother's
Originali crimine.
womb.
Nos ergo dulei carmine,
Let us then sing our sweetest hymn in praise of a cloudLaudemus in hac Virgine
Conceptum sine nubilo.
less brightness, the Immaculate Conception.
Hanc conceptam ex sePut on all your joy, ye
mine,
choirs of eafth, and ‘sing of
Et mundam ab origine,
her, that was & daughter of
Laudet chorus cum jubilo.
Adam, but not of his sin.
Ut mota dulei modulo,
May she be pleased with
our hymns, and defend us
Nos servet in hoe szculo
Mundos ab omni crimine.
from all sin in this our pre.
sent life.

474

ADVENT

Et in mortis articulo,

Liberet a periculo
Et inferni voragine.
Amen.

A PRAYER

And when our last hour
comes, deliver us by her
prayers from the abyss of hell,
into which the devil will
seck
to drag us.
Amen.

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, fourth Sunday of Adsent,
Oratio)
New and unheard-of tidNova et inaudita sunt,
Domine, que propheticus ings aro those, which the
sermo intonuit mundo : quod word of thy prophet, O
novo Virginis partu salvatio Lord, has announced to the
exorietur
creaturarum;
cuworld: A Virgin shall bring
jus admirabile incarnationis salvation
to mankind by
mysterium quin devota cor- giving birth
to her Son. Now,
dium _susceptione Ecclesia therefore, that thy Church,
suscipit letabunda: quwsu- filled with joy, is preparing
mus, ut in laudem ejus ot to receive, with great devonova illi cantica deferat et tion, this admirable mystery
accepta: ut cujus laus ab of the Incarnation; we beextromis terrm concinitur, scech thee, give her to celoejus voluntas in toto mundo brate the praise of the Incar& fidelibus impleatur. Amen. nate Word with new and
weloome canticles ; that thus,
he, whose praise is sung in
the furthermost parts of the
earth, may seo his will fulfilled by the faithful throughout the universe.

Amen.

DEC.

16.

ST. EUSEBIUS

DECEMBER

475

16

SAINT EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF VERCELLI
AND MARTYR

WHEN asked to tell the names of the saints who
were foremost in defending the dogma of the Incar-

nation, we think at once of the intrepid Eusebius of

Vercelli,

as

one

of

the

glorious

number.

The

Catholic faith, which was so violently attacked in the

fourth century by the Arian heresy, was maintained
at that time by the labours and zeal of four sove-

reign Pontiffs : Sylvester, who confirmed the decrees
of the Council of Nicea : Julius, the supporter of St.

Athanasius ; Liberius, whose faith failed not, and
who, when restored to his liberty, confounded the
Arians;

and

lestly,

Damasus,

who

destroyed

the

last hopes of the heretics. One of these four Pontiffs appears on our Advent calendar—Damasus,
whose feast we kept but a few days since. The four
Popes have for their fellow-combatants, in this battle

for the Divinity of the Incarnate Word, four great
bishops, of whom it may be said that the defence of
the dogma of the Consubstantiality of the Son of God
was what they lived for, and that to say anathema
to them was to say anathema to Christ Himself; all
four most powerful in word and work, lights of the
Churches of the world, objects of the people’s love,
and the dauntless witnesses of Jesus. The first and
greatest of the four is the bishop of the second See
of Christendom, St. Athanasius, the Patriarch of
Alexandria : the second is St. Ambrose of Milan,
whose feast we kept on the seventh of this month ;
the third is the glory of Gaul, St. Hilary, bishop of

476

ADVENT

Poitiers ; the fourth

is the ornament

of Italy,

St.

Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, whom we have to honour
to-day.

tide, and

Hilary will come
will

to us during Christmas-

stand at the crib of the Word, whose

Divinity he so bravely confesses; Athanasius will
meet us at Easter, and help us to celebrate, in the
triumphant Resurrection, Him whom he proclaimed
as God

in those

dark

times,

when

human

wisdom

hoped to destroy, by fifty years of peace, that
Church which had survived the storm of three centuries of persecution.

St. Eusebius’ place is Advent ;

and divine Providence has thus chosen him as one of
the patrons of the faithful during this mystic season.
His powerful prayers will help us to come devoutly to
Bethlehem, and see in the Child, that is lying there,

the eternal Word of God. So great were the sufferings which St. Eusebius had to undergo for the Divinity of Jesus, that the Church awards him the honours

of a martyr, although he did not actually shed his
blood. Let us now listen to the admirable account
which the Church gives us of his life.

Eusebius, natione Sardus,
Romana urbis lector, post
Vercellensis _episcopus, _ad
hanc regendam Ecclesiam
merito est_creditus divino
electus judicio :*nam quem
nunquam ante constituti
electores cognoverant, posthabitis civibus, simul ut viderunt, et probaverunt, tantumque interfuit ut probaretur, quantum ut_videretur. Primus in Occidentis
partibus in eadem Ecclesia
eosdem monachos instituit
esse quos clericos, ut esset
in ipsis viris contemptus rerum, et accuratio levitarum.
Arianis impietatibus ea tem.
pestate per Occidentem longe

Eusebius, by birth a Sardinian, was a lector in the
Church at Rome, and afterwards Bishop of Vercelli. It
may well be said that it was
God_himself who chose him
to be the pastor of this
Church; for the elcotors,
who had never before seen
him, no sooner set their eyes
upon him, than they preferred
him before all _their fellowcitizens ; and this instantly,
and as soon as they first
saw him. Eusebius was the
first of the bishops in the
western Church, who estab.
lished monks in his Church
to exercise the functions of
the clergy ; he did it in order

DEC. 16.

47

8T. EUSEBIUS

lateque _traductis, adversus
eas viriliter sic dimicavit, ut
ejus invicta fides Liberium,
summum Pontificem, ad vitw
solatium erigeret. Quare hic
sciens, in ipso fervere Spiritum Dei, quum ei significasset ut penes imperatorem,
una cum suis legatis patrocinium fidei susciperet, mox
cum illis profectus est ad
Constantium, apud _quem
enixius agens, quidquid legatione petebatur, obtinuit, ut
episcoporum nempo costus
celebraretur.

that he might thus unite, in

the same persons, the detach-

ment

from

riches

and

the

dignity of levites. It was
during this time that the im-

pious doctrines of the Arians

were devastating

the

whole

of the west; and so vigorously did Kusebius attack

them,

that

Pope

Liberius’

greatest consolation was the
unflinching faith of this holy
man. It was on this account,
that the same Pope, knowiny

that the Spirit of God burn
in Eusebiug’ soul, commis-

sioned him to go, accompanied by his legates, to the
emperor, and plead the cause

of the true faith.

Eusebius

and the legates being come

before Constantius, the saint

pleaded so powerfully, that
the emperor granted what
he asked, namely, that a
council of the bishops should

Collectum _est Mediolani
anno sequenti concilium, ad
quod a Constantio invitatum
Eusebium, concupitumque
ac vocatum a Liberii legatis,
tantum abest ut malignantium synagoga Arianorum
contra sanctum Athanasium
furentium in suas partes adduceret, ut potius diserte
statim ipse declarans, e preesentibus quosdam sibi compertos heeretica labe pollutos
icenam imo fidem proposucrit s subscribendam, antequam catera tractarentur.
Quod Arianis acerbe iratis
negantibus, nedum in Athanasium recusavit ipse subscribere, quin sancti. Dionysii

be convened.

That Council was held the

following

year,

at Milan;

Eusebius was invited by Con-

stantius to be present at it,
which was what the legates

of

Liberius

had

desired

and begged. So far was he
from being dugcd by the
synagogue of the malicious
Arians to side with them
against St. Athanasius, that
he openly declared from the
first that several of those
present were known to him

to be herctics, and he there-

fore proposed that they should
subscribe to the Nicene Creed
before procecding any further. This the Arians, infuriated with anger, refused to

478

ADVENT

martyris, qui deceptus ab do; whercupon, he not only

ipsis
tam

sissime

subscripserat,
simplicitatem
liberavit.

captivaingenioQuamo-

brem illi graviter indignantes,

post multas illatas injurias,

exsilio illum mulctarunt ; sed

sanctus vir excusso pulvere,

nec Ceesaris minas veritus,
nec enses obstrictos, exsilium

veluti sui ministerii officium

accepit, missusque Scytopolim,

famem,

sus,

pro

sitim,

verbera

diversaque supplicia perpesfide strenue

vitam

refused to subscribe to what
was drawn up against Athanasius, but he also, by a most
ingenious device, succoeded
in having the name of St.
Denis the martyr blotted out
from the decree, which the
craft_of the Arians had induced him to sign. Wherefore, they being exceedingly
angry
against Euscbius,
loaded him with injuries, and
had

ment.

him

sent

into

banish-

The holy man, on his

contempsit, mortem non me-

side, shaking off tho dust

didit.

either for the threats

tuit, corpus carnificibus tra- from his feot, caring little
of the

emperor, or the sword which
was held over him, submitted to banishment as to something which belonged
to his
episcopal office.
Being sent
to Seythopolis, he there endured hunger, thirst, blows,
and sundry other punish-

ments; he generously despised his life for the true

Quanta in eum tunc Aria-

norum crudelitas fuerit, ac
effrons inverecundia, ostendunt_graves litters plenz
roboris, pietatis ac religionis,
quas e Scytopoli scripsit ad
Vercellensem clerum et populum, aliosqne finitimos, e
quibus etiam est exploratum,
ipsorum nec minis inhuma:
naque sevitia potuisse umquam eum deterreri, nec serpentina blanda subtilitate ad
eorum societatem perduci.
Hine in Cappadociam, pos-

faith, feared not death, and
gave up his body to the executioners.
3
How much he had to put
up with from the cruelty and
insolence of the Arians, we
learn from the admirable let.
ters, full of energy, piety, and
religion, which he addressed,
from ' Scythopols, to _the
clergy and people of Vercelli,
and to other persons of the
neighbouring country. It is
evident from these letters
that the heretics were unable,
cither by their threats or by
their inhuman treatment, to
shake his constancy, or to in-

DEC.

16.

ST. EUSEBIUS

tremoque
ad
superiores
Zgypti Thebaidas pree constantia sua deportantibus,
exsilii rigores tulit ad mortem
usque Constantii, post quam
ad gregem suum reverti permissus, non prius redire voluit, quam reparandis fidei
jacturis ad Alexandrinam
Synodum sese conferret ;
postque medici preestantis instar_peragrans Orientis provincias, in fide infirmos ad
integram valetudinem_restitueret, eos instituens in Ecclesi doctrina. Inde salubritate pari, digresso in Tllyrioum, tandemgque in Italiam
delato, ad ejus reditum, lugubres vestes Italis mutavit,
ubi _postquam Psalmorum
omnium expurgatos a se commentarios Origenis _edidit,
Eusebiique Casareensis quos
wertesat. do Grisos in Lati.
num: demum tot egregie
factis illustris ad immarcescibilem glori coronam tantis
mrumnis promeritam sub Valentiniano, et Valente, Vercellis migravit.

479

duce him by the craft of their
flattery or arguments to join
their party. Thence he was
taken into Cappadocis, and
lastly into Thebais of Upper
Egyot, in punishment of hia
rofusing to yield. Thus did
he suffer the hardships of
exile until the death of Constantius : after which he was
allowed to return to his flock ;
but_this he would not do,
until he had assisted at the
Council which was being held
at Alexandria for the purpose
of repairing the injuries done
by heresy. This done, he
travelled through the provinces of the cast, endeavouring, like a clever physician,
to restore to perfect health
such as were weak in the
faith, by instructing them
in the doctrine of the Church.
Animated by the like zeal
for the salvation of souls, he
passed over into Illyricum ;
and having at length returned
to Italy, that country put off

its mourning. He there published the commentaries of
Origen and Eusebius of Ceesarea on the Psalms, which
two works he translated from
the Greek into Latin, with
such cormeotions as were
needed. At length, havin
rendered himself celebrat
by a life spent in such actions
a3 these, ho died at Vercelli,
in the reign of Valentinian
and Valens, and went to roceive the immortal crown of
glory which his so many and
't sufferings had merited
or him.

480

ADVENT

Valiant soldier of Jesus, Eusebius, martyr and
pontiff, how much labour and suffering thou didst
undergo for the Messias! And yet, they seemed to
thee to be little in comparison with what is due to

this eternal Word of the Father, who, out of His pure
love, has made Himself the Servant of His own crea-

tures, by becoming Man for them in the mystery of
the Incarnation. We owe the same debt of gratitude
to this divine Saviour. He is born in a stable for

our sake, as He was for thine ; pray, therefore, for us

that we may be ever faithful to Him both in war and
in peace ; and that we may resist our temptations and

evil inclinations with that same

firmness, wherewith

we would confess His name before tyrants and perse-

cutors.
the

Obtain for the bishops of our holy mother

Church

such

vigilance,

that

no

false doctrines

may surprise them, and such courage that no persecution may make them yield. May they be faithful

imitators of the divine Pastor, who gives His life for

His sheep; and may they ever feed the flock entrusted to them in the unity and charity of Jesus
Christ.

Let us consider how our blessed Lady, having returned to Nazareth, is overwhelmed with joy to feel
living within her Him, who gives being to every
created thing, and whom she loves with all the intensity of the Mother of God. Joseph, the faithful
guardian of her virginity, tenderly loves this his
spouse, and blesses God for having entrusted such a
treasure to his keeping. The angels crowd round
this favoured

house

wherein

dwell

their sovereign

Lord, and she whom He has chosen to be His Mother.

Never was there happiness like that which fills this

little dwelling ; and yet, God has decreed to visit it

with a heavy trial, in order that He may give an occa-

sion to Mary to exercise heroic patience, and to Joseph
an occasion of meriting by his exquisite prudence.

DEC. 16.

ST. EUSEBIUS

481

Let us listen to the Meditation of St. Bonaventure,
in which he thus ponders the Gospel narrative :
‘ But while our Lady and Joseph her spouse were
thus dwelling together, the Infant Jesus grew within
His Mother's womb. Then Joseph, perceiving that
Mary was with Child, was above all measure grieved.
Here give, I pray thee, all thine attention, for thou
hast many fair things to learn. If thou wouldst
know wherefore it was that our Lord wished that
His Mother should have a husband, whereas He
always wished that she should be a Virgin, I answer
thee that He so wished on three accounts : firstly,
that she might not be disgraced when it was seen
that she was a Mother : secondly, that she might have

Joseph’s aid and company ; and thirdly, that the birth
of the Son of God might be concealed from the devil.
“Now, Joseph did look many times on Mary, and
grief and trouble of heart fell upon him, and his
displeasure was seen in his face, and he turned his

eyes away from her as one that was guilty of that

which he perforce suspected. See how God permits
His servants to be afflicted and sorely tried, that they
may so receive their crown. Now Joseph was minded
to put her away privately. In very truth may it be
said of this holy man, that his praise is in the
Gospel, for the Gospel says of him that he was a

just man, that is, a man of great virtue.

For albeit

they say that no shame, nor suffering, nor insult can
befall a man so grievous as that of his wife’s unfaithfulness ; yet did Joseph restrain himself withal, and
would not accuse Mary, but bore this great injury
patiently. He sought not how to avenge himself,

but, overcome with pity, and wishing to forgive, he

was minded to put her away privately.

But herein

also had our Lady her share of tribulation, for she

took notice of Joseph’s trouble, and it sorely grieved

her.

Yet did she humbly hold her peace, and hide

the gift of God.

Better did it seem unto her that evil
31

482

ADVENT

should be thought of her than that she should reveal
the divine mystery, and say aught of herself which
would come nigh to boasting. Therefore did she
beseech our Lord that Himself would right this matter,
and make pass this grief from Joseph and herself.
Here thou mayst learn what great tribulation and
anxiety was theirs. But God came unto their assistance.
‘He therefore sent His angel, who spake unto
Joseph in his sleep, and told him that his spouse had
conceived

of the

Holy

Ghost,

and

that he was

to

abide with her in all surety and joy. Whereupon,
the tribulation ceased, and they were both exceedingly
comforted.
So likewise would it befall us if we would
suffer patiently, for after a storm God brings a calm.
Neither oughtest thou to doubt this, for God suffereth

not His servants to be afflicted save for their good.
After this, Joseph requested our Lady to narrate
unto him what had happened ; and she faithfully
narrated all unto him. Whereupon Joseph remains

with his blessed spouse, and lives with her in all
contentment, and loves her above what words can

say, and diligently provides her with whatsoever she
needed. So also our Lady continues to remain confidently with Joseph, and they live right joyfully in

their poverty.’

PRAYER FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, Wednesday of the first week of
Advent, Capitula)

Deus, cui omnis terra pre-

conans jubilat laudem ; cujus
gloriam canora psalmi conclamant voce; cujusque terribilem in tuis operibus fatentur virtutem ; notum facito
salutare tuum in conspectu
omnium nostrum. Revela
justitiam tuam, qua possimus

0 God, to whom the whole

carth proclaims its glad
praise ; whose glory is celebrated in the swest melody
of the psalms; and whose
mighty power is confessed
by thy works; make known
thy Saviour unto all of us
thy servants. Reveal thy

DEC. 17

483

justice, whereby We may acrem: et esto memor miseriknowledge theo to be our
cordic tuw, qua nostrorum Creator: and_be mindful of
criminum mereamur invenire
thy mercy, whereby we may
remissionem : ut videntes sa- deserve to find the forgivelutare tuum, jubilemus tibi ness of our sins ; that seeing
hymnum, cantemus in exsul- the Saviour whom thou
tatione psalmum, et perfrui sendest, wo may hymn theo
mereamur tu beatitudinis
our hymns of joy, and si
our psalms in gladness, anc
premio. Amen.
deserve to enjoy the reward
of thy blessed sight. Amen.
te nostrum agnoscere Creato-

DecemseR

17

THE COMMENCEMENT
OF THE

GREAT

ANTIPHONS

Tre Church enters to-day on the seven days which
precede the Vigil of Christmas, and which are known
in the liturgy under the name of the Greater Ferias.
The ordinary of the Advent Office becomes more
solemn ; the antiphons of the psalms, both for Lauds
and the Hours of the day, are proper, and allude expressly to the great coming. Every day, at Vespers,
is sung a solemn antiphon, consisting of a fervent
prayer to the Messias, whom it addresses by one of
the titles given Him in the sacred Seriptures.
In the Roman Church, there are seven of these
antiphons, one for each of the greater ferias. They
are commonly called the O’s of Advent, because they
all begin with that interjection. In other Churches,
during the middle ages, two more were added to
these seven;

one to our blessed Lady, O Virgo vir-

ginum ; and the other to the angel Gabriel, O
Gabriel ; or to St. Thomas

the apostle, whose

feast

comes during the greater ferias; it began O Thoma

ADVENT

484

Didyme!

There were even Churches where twelve

great antiphons were sung; that is, besides the
nine we have just mentioned, O Rez Pacifice to our
Lord, O mundi Domina to our Lady, and O Hieru-

salem to the city of the people of God.
The canonical Hour of Vespers has been selected

as the most appropriate time for this solemn supplication to our Saviour, because, as the Church sings
in one of her hymns, it was in the evening of the

world (vergente mundi vespere) that the

Messias

came amongst us. These antiphons are sung at the
Magnificat, to show us that the Saviour whom we
expect is to come to us by Mary. They are sung

twice, once before and once after the canticle, as on

double feasts, and this to show their great solemnity.

In some Churches it was formerly the practice to sing
them

thrice ; that is, before

the canticle,

Gloria Patri, and after the Sicut erat.

admirable antiphons,

before

the

Lastly, these

which contain the whole pith

of the Advent liturgy, are zccompanied by & chant
replete with melodious gravity, and by
great expressiveness, though, in these
no uniform practice followed. Let us
spirit of the Church ; let us reflect on

ceremonies of
latter, there is
enter into the
the great day

which is coming; that thus we may take our share

in these the last and most earnest solicitations of the
Church imploring her Spouse to come, to which He
at length yields.
FIRST ANTIPHON

0O Sapientia, qux ex ore
Altissimi prodiisti, attingens
a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens
omnia; veni ad docendum
nos viam prudentize.

O Wisdom, that proceedest
from the mouth of the Most
High, reaching from end to
end mightily, and disposing
all things sweetly! come
and teach us the way of
prudence.

1 It is more modern than the 0 Gabriel ; but dating

from the

thirteenth century, it was almost universally substituted for it.

DEC. 17

485

O uncreated Wisdom, who art so soon to make

Thyself visible to Thy creatures, truly Thou disposest

all things. 1t is by Thy permission that the emperor
Augustus issues a decree ordering the enrolment of
the whole world. Each citizen of the vast empire is
to have his name enrolled in the city of his birth.
This prince has no other object in this order, which
sets the world in motion, but his own ambition,
Men go to and fro by millions, and an unbroken procession traverses the immense Roman world ; men

think they are doing the bidding of man, and it is
God whom they are obeying.

This world-wide agi-

tation has really but one object; it is, to bring to

Bethlehem a man and woman who live at Nazareth

in Galilee, in order that this woman, who is unknown

to the world but dear to heaven, and who is at the

close of the ninth month since she conceived her Child,
may give birth to this Child in Bethlehem ; for the
Prophet has said of Him: ‘ His going forth is from
the beginning, from the days of eternity. And
thou, O Bethlehem ! art not the least among the
thousand

cities of Juda, for out of thee

He

shall

come.”!
O divine Wisdom! how strong art Thou
in thus reaching Thine ends by means which are in-

fallible, though hidden ; and yet, how sweet, offering
no constraint to man’s free-will; and withal, how
fatherly, in providin% for our necessities! Thou

choosest Bethlehem for Thy birth-place, because
Bethlehem signifies the house of bread. In this, Thou

teachest us that Thou art our Bread, the nourishment

and support of our life.
cannot

die.

With God as our food, we

O Wisdom of the Father, living Bread

that hast descended from heaven, come speedily into
us, that thus we may approach to Thee and be enlightened 2 by Thy light, and by that prudence which
leads to salvation.
1 Mich. v, 2; St. Matt. ii. 6

2 Pe. xxxiii.6.

486

ADVENT
A

PRAYER

FOR

THE

TIME

OF

ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, fourth Sunday of Advent, Oratio)
Christe,

Dei Filius, qui in

0 Jesus, Son of God ! born

mundo per Virginem natus, of a Virgin! whose Nativity
Nativitatis tue terrore et struck
the nations with terconcutis, et reges ad- ror, and compelled kings to
mirari_compellis, prabe no- reverence thee; grant unto
bis initium Sapientiz, quod us the beginning of Wisdom,
est timor tuus ; ut in eo fruc- which is thy fear; that we
tificemur, in eo etiam profici- may thereby yield fruit, and
entes, fructum tibi pacatissi- render thee, by our advancemum’ offeramus: ut, qui ad ment in the same, the fruits
gentium vocationem, ~quasi of peace. O thou that didst
fluvius violentus, accessisti;
nasciturus in terris ad con-

versionem peccantium, manifesta tum gratie dona ostendas: quo, repulso terrore
formidinis,

casto

charitatis.

Amen.

sequamur

amore

te

come

like a torrent to call

the nations, and wast born
on earth for the conversion
of sinners, show unto us the

gilt of thy grace, whereby all
semper
ear being removed, wo may
intima over follos thea by ths ohiasts
love
of inward charity. Amen.

DEC. 18

DecEMBER

487

18

SECOND ANTIPHON

O Adonai, et dux domus
Israél, qui Moysi in igno
flammee rubi_apparuisti, et
oi in Sina legem dedisti:
veni ad redimendum nos in
‘brachio extento.

O Adonai, and leader of
the house of Israel, who appearedst to Moses in the fire
of the flaming bush, and gavest him the law on Sinai;
come and redeem us by thy
outstretched arm.

O sovereieN Lord ! O Adonai!

come and redeem us,

not by Thy power, but by Thy humility.

Heretofore,

Thou didst show Thyself to Moses Thy servant in the
midst of a mysterious flame ; Thou didst give Thy law
to Thy people amidst thunder and lightning ; now, on
the contrary, Thou comest not to terrify, but to save
us. Thy chaste Mother having heard the emperor’s
edict, which obliges her and Joseph her spouse to
repair to Bethlehem, prepares everything needed for
Thy divine Birth. She prepares for Thee, O Sun
of justice! the humble swathing-bands, wherewith
to cover Thy nakedness, and protect Thee, the Creator
of the world, from the cold of that midnight hour of
Thy Nativity ! Thus it is that Thou willest to deliver

us from the slavery of our pride, and show man that
Thy divine arm is never stronger than when he thinks

it powerless and still. Everything is prepared, then,
dear Jesus ! Thy swathing-bands are ready for Thy
infant limbs!
Come to Bethlehem, and redeem us

from the hands of our enemies.

488

ADVENT

THE SAME DAY

THE EXPECTATION
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Ta1s feast, which is now kept not only throughout
the whole of Spain but in many other parts of
the Catholic world, owes its origin to the bishops of
the tenth Council of Toledo, in 656. These prelates
thought that there was an incongruity in the ancient
practice of celebrating the feast of the Annunciation on the twenty-fifth of March, inasmuch as this
joyful solemnity frequently occurs at the time when
the Church is intent upon the Passion of our Lord, so
that it is sometimes obliged to be transferred into

Easter time, with which it is out of harmony for
another reason ; they therefore decreed that, henceforth, in the Church of Spain there should be kept,
eight days before Christmas, a solemn feast with an
octave, in honour of the Annunciation, and as a prep-

aration for the great solemnity of our Lord’s Nativity.
In course of time, however, the Church of Spain saw
the necessity of returning to the practice of the Church

of Rome,

and

of those

of the whole

world,

which

solemnize the twenty-fifth of March as the day of our
Lady’s Annunciation and the Incarnation of the Son
of God.

But such had been, for ages, the devotion of

the people for the feast of the eighteenth of December,
that it was considered requisite to maintain some
vestige of it. They discontinued, therefore, to celebrate the Annunciation on this day ; but the faithful
were requested to consider, with devotion, what must

DEC. 18.

EXPECTATION OF THE B. VIRGIN

489

have been the sentiments of the holy Mother of God
during
the days immediately preceding her giving
Him birth. A new feast was instituted, under the
name of ‘the Expectation of the blessed Virgin’s

delivery.”
This feast, which sometimes goes under the name

of Our Lady of O, or the feast of O, on account of

the great antiphons which are sung during these
days, and, in a special manner, of that which begins
0 Virgo virginum (which is still used in the Vespers
of the Expectation, together with the O Adonai, the
antiphon of the Advent Office), is kept with great
devotion in Spain. A High Mass is sung at a ve:
early hour each morning during the octave, at whic!
all who are with child, whether rich or poor, consider

it a duty to assist, that they may thus honour our
Lady’s Maternity, and beg her blessing upon themselves. It is not to be wondered at that the holy
See has approved of this pious practice being introduced into almost every other country. We find that

the Church of Milan, long before Rome conceded this

feast to the various dioceses of Christendom, celebrated

the Office of our Lady’s Annunciation on the sixth

and last Sunday of Advent, and called the whole week
following the Hebdomada de Ezceptato (for thus the
popular expression had corrupted the word Ezpectato).
But these details belong strictly to the archaology of
liturgy, and enter not into the plan of our present
work ; let us, then, return to the feast of our Lady’s
Expectation, which the Church has established and
sanctioned as a new means of exciting the attention of the faithful during these last days of
Advent.

Most just indeed it is, O holy Mother of God, that
we should unite in that ardent desire thou hadst to see
Him, who had been concealed for nine months in thy
chaste womb ; to know the features of this Son of the
heavenly Father, who is also thine; to come to that

490

ADVENT

blissful hour of His birth, which will give glory to
God in the highest, and, on earth, peace to men of
good-will. Yes, dear Mother, the time is fast approaching, though not fast enough to satisfy thy
desires and ours. Make us redouble our attention
to the great mystery ; complete our preparation by
thy powerful prayers for us, that when the solemn
hour has come, our Jesus may find no obstacle to His
entrance into our hearts.
THE GREAT ANTIPHON TO OUR LADY

O Virgo virginum, quomodo fiet istud ?_quia nce
rimam similom visa es, nec
bers sequentem.
Filie
Jerusalem, quid me admiramini? Divinum est mysterium hoe quod cernitis.

O Virgin
of virgins! how
hall this bo ? for mever was
there one like thee, nor will
there ever be. Yo daughters
of Jerusalem, why look ye
wondering at me? What yo
behold, is & divine mystery.

DEC. 19

491

DecemMBER 19
THIRD ANTIPHON
O radix Jesse,

signum
quem

qui stas in

populorum,

continebunt

super

reges

os

0 Root of Jesse, who stand-

est as the ensign
people; before

whom

of the
kings

suum, quem gentes depre- shall not open their lips; to
cabuntur: veni ad liberan- whom the nations shall pray :
dum nos, jam noli tardare. ~ come and deliver us; tarry
now no more.
Ar length, O Son of Jesse! Thou

the city of Thy ancestors.

art approaching

The Ark of the Lord has

risen, and journeys, with the God that is in her, to

the place of her rest.

¢ How beautiful are thy steps,

O thou daughter of the Prince,” now that thou art

bringing to the cities of Juda their salvation! The
angels escort thee, thy faithful Joseph lavishes his
love upon thee, heaven delights in thee, and our
earth thrills with joy to bear thus upon itself its
Creator

and

its Queen.

Go

forward,

O

Mother

of

God and Mother of men! Speed thee, thou propitiatory that holdest within thee the divine Manna
which gives us life!

count

thy steps.

Our hearts are with thee, and

Like

thy royal ancestor

David,

“ we will not enter into the dwelling of our house, nor

go up into the bed
to our eyes, nor rest
found a place in our
bearest, a tabernacle

whereon we lie, nor give sleep
to our temples, until we have
hearts for the Lord whom thou
for this God of Jacob.”> Come,

then, O Root of Jesse! thus hidden in this Ark of

purity ; Thou wilt soon appear before Thy people as
the standard round which all that would conquer must
1 Cant. il 1.

2 Ps. cxxxi, 3-5.

492

ADVENT

rally. Then their enemiesthe
, ki
of the world, will
be silenced, and the nations
offer Thee their
prayers. Hasten Thy coming, dear Jesus ! come and

conquer all our enemies, and deliver us.
A

RESPONSORY

OF

ADVENT

(Ambrosian breviary, sizth Sunday of Advent)
vi R. Beatus uterus Marim
R. Blessed
is the womb ot
qui portevit invi- the Virgin Mary, which bore
Vo
ham
aptem
throni
the invisible God : there did
capere
non possunt in eo bo deign to dwell, whom
habitare dignatus est: * Et seven thrones cannot hold : *
rtabat levem in sinu suo. And she bore him s & light
. Dedit illi Dominus sedem
ight n
her womb. V.
David patris sui, et regnabit
hath_given him the
in domo Jacob in smternum,
throne of David his father,
cujus
non erit finis: * and he shall reign in the house
fl levem in sinu suo. of Jacob for over, and of his
kingdom there shall be no
end: * And she bore him as
& light weight in her womb.

DEC. 20

493

DEceMBER 20
FOURTH ANTIPHON
O

Clavis

trum domus

David

et

scep-

Isra¢l, qui ape-

tre

0 Key of David, and scepof the

house

of

Israel!

ris, et nemo claudit; clau-

who openest, and no man

et educ

no man openeth; come,

dis, et memo aperit; veni,
vinctum

de

domo

carceris, sedentem in tene-

bris, et umbra mortis.

shutteth: who shuttest, and

and

lead the captive from prison,

sitting in darkness and in the
shadow of death.

0 Jesus, Son of David ! heir to his throne

and

his

power ! Thou art now passing over, in Thy way to
Bethlehem,

the land lhst once was the kingdom of

Thy ancestor, but now is tributary to the Gentiles.
Scam an inch of this ground which has not witnessed
the miracles of the justice and mercy of Jehovah,

Thy Father, to the people of the old Covenant, w}\ich

i3 80 soon to end.

Before long, when Thou hast come

from beneath the virginal cloud which now hides
Thee, Thou wilt pass along this same road doinggood,*
healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity,?
and yet having not where to lay Thy head.® Now,
at least Thy Mother’s womb affords Thee the sweetest
Test, and Thou receivest from her the profoundest
adoration and

the tenderest love.

But, dear Jesus,

it is Thine own blessed will that Thou leave this
loved abode.
Thou hast, O eternal Light, to shine
in the midst of this world’s darkness, this prison
where the captive, whom Thou hast come to deliver,
sits in the shadow of death. Open his prison-gates
by Thy all-powerful key. And who is this captive,
but the human race, the slave of error and vice ?
Who

is this captive, but the heart of man,

1 Acts x. 38.

2 8t. Matt. iv. 23:

which is

3 St. Luke ix. 58.

494

ADVENT

thrall to the very passions it blushes to obey ? Oh!
come and set at liberty the world Thou hast enriched
by Thy grace, and the creatures whom Thou hast
raade to be Thine own brethren.
ANTIPHON

TO THE ANGEL GABRIEL

O Gabriel ! nuntius cceloO Gabriel ! the messenger
i januis olausis ad of heaven, who camest unto
Verbum nun- me through the closed doors,
ciasti: Concipies et paries: and didst announce the Word
Emmanuel vocabitur.
unto me : Thou shalt conceive
and bear & Son, and ho shall
be called Emmanuel.

DecEMBER

21

TrE Church announces to us, to-day, in her Office
of Lauds, these solemn words :

Nolite timere: quinta enim
die veniet ad vos Dominus
noster,
SAINT

Fear not: for on the fifth
day, our Lord will come unto
you.

THOMAS,

APOSTLE

This is the last feast the Church keeps before the

great one of the Nativity of her Lord and Spouse.
She interrupts the greater ferias in order to pay her
tribute of honour to Thomas,

the apostle of Christ,

whose glorious martyrdom has consecrated this
twenty-first day of December, and has procured for
the Christian people a powerful patron, who will

introduce them to the divine Babe of Bethlehem.
To none of the apostles could this day have been so
fittingly

assigned

as to St. Thomas.

It was

St.

Thomas whom we needed ; St, Thomas, whose festal

DEC. 21.

ST. THOMAS

495

patronage would aid us to believe and hope in that
God whom we see not, and who comes to us in silence
and humility in order to try our faith. St. Thomas
was once guilty of doubting, when he ought to have
believed, and learnt the necessity of faith only by
the sad experience of incredulity: he comes then
most appropriately to defend us, by the power of his
example and prayers, against the temptations which
proud human reason might excite within us. Let
us pray to him with confidence. In that heaven of
light and vision, where his repentance and love have

placed him, he will intercede for us, and gain for us

that docility of mind and heart, which will enable us
to see and recognize Him, who is the Expected of
nations, and who, though the King of the world,
will give no other signs of His majesty, than the
swaddling-clothes and tears of a Babe. But let us
first read the acts of our holy apostle. The Church
has deemed it prudent to give us them in an exceedingly abridged form, which contains only the most
reliable facts, gathered from authentic sources ; and
thus she excludes all those details, which have no

historic authority.

Thomas apostolus, qui et
Didymus, Galilzus, post acceptum Spiritum sanctum,
in multes provinciss profectus est ad preedicandum
Christi Evangelium.
Par.
this, Modis, . Persis, Hircanis,
et Bactris christiane fidei
et vitm precepta tradidit.
Postremo ad Indos se conferens, eos in_Christiana religione erudivit. Qui ad
extremum, vite doctrineque sanctitate, et miraculorum magritudine, quum
cateris omnibus sui admirationem, et Jesu Christi
amorem commovisset, illius

Thomss the apostle, who
was also named med Didymus,
T
was a Galilean. ~ After ho had
received tho Holy Ghost, he
travelled through many provies, preaciing the Goepel
of Christ. He taught the
principles of Christian faith
and practioe to the Parthians,
Medes, Persians, Hircanians,
and Bactrions. He finally
went to the Indies, and instructed the inhabitants of
those countries in the Christian religion. Up to the last,
he gained for himself the es.
teem of all men by the holi.
noss of his Iifo and teaching,

496
gentis

ADVENT
regem,

idolorum

cul-

torem, magis ad iram accendit: cujus sententia condemnatus, telisque confossus,

Calamin®

honorem

decoravit.

and by the wonderful miracles
he wrought. He stirred up,

also, in their hearts, the love

of Jesus Christ. The king
latus of those parts, a worshipper
corona’ of idols, was, on tho contrary,
only the more irritated by ali
theo things. He concemned
the saint to be pierced to
death by javelins: which
punishment was inflicted at
Calamina, and gave Thomas

a)

martyrii

the

highest

honour

of

his

apostolate, the crown of mar-

tyrdom.

THE GREAT

ANTIPHON OF ST. THOMAS

O Thoma Didyme! qui
0 Thomas Didymus ! who
Christum meruisti cernere; didst merit to see Christ ; we
to precibus rogamus sltiso- beseech thee, by most earnest
supplication, help us misonis, succurre nobis miseris;
ne dsmpemur cum impiis, rablo sinners, lest we be condemned with the ungodly, at
in adventu Judicis.
the coming of the Judge.
OREMUS
LET US PRAY
Da nobis, quasumus, DoGrant, O Lord, wo beseech
mine, beati apostoli tui thee, that we may rejoice on
Thome solemnitatibus glo- the solemnity of thy blessed
riari: ut ejus semper et pa- apostle, Thomas ; to the end
trociniis sublevemur, et fidem that we may always have the
congrua. devotione sectemur. assistance of his prayers, and
zealously profess the faith
Per Dominum, &c. Amen.
he taught. Through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
The

following

prayer is from the Matins of the

Gothic, or Mozarabic, breviary :

Domine Jesu Christe, qui
0 Lord Jesus Christ, who
posuisti in capite martyris hast placed on the head of
tui Thoms _spostoli coro- thy martyr, Thomas the
nem do lspide
pretioso, in apostle, a crown made of
fundamento fundatam; ut that precious stone, that is
non confundatur, quia in founded in the foundation;

DEC.

21.

te credidit ; coronetur, quia
Pro te animam posuit: eit
ergo intercessionibus ojus
in nobis famulis tuis fides
vera, qua te etiam coram
persecutoribus_promptissima
levotione confiteamur: quatenus interveniente tanto
martyre, coram te et angelis
tuis ~minime confundamur.
Amen.

ST. THOMAS

497

that so he might not be con-

founded, because he believed
in thee; nor be uncrowned,
because he laid down his life

for thee ; may there be, by his

intercession,

in us thy

"ser-

vants, that true faith, where-

by we may confess theo with
most ready hearts before persecutors : that thus, by the
same great martyr's intercession, we may not be confounded before thee and thy
angels.

Amen.

The Greek Church celebrates, with her usual
solemnity, the feast of St. Thomas ; but she keeps it
on the sixth of October. We extract the following
stanzas from her hymns.
HYMN

OF

ST.

THOMAS

(Taken from the Mena of the Greeks)
Domini palpato latere, boWhen thy hand_touohed
norum assccutus es summiJosus’ side, thou didst find
tatem; nam velut spongia the perfection of good things ;
hino hausisti latices, fontem for, 88 & mystic sponge, thou
bonorum, mternamque po- didst thenoe imbibe the wator
tasti vitam, mentibus expel- of life, the fount of all that is
lens ignorantism, divinaque 00d, and didst drink in everDei
cognitionis dogmata sca- asting lifo; whereby thou
didst cleanse men’s minds
from
ignorance, giving them
to drink of the divine dogmas
of the knowledge of God.

Dl o

pro nobis in terris indutum,

Thoudidst, by thine own incredulity and thy after-faith,
confirm such as were tempted ;
for thou didst proclaim to all
‘men, how he, that is thy Lord

tem, clavis perforatum, cujus

nate on this earth for us, was

Tua

incredulitate

et

tua

fido stabilisti tentatos, nunciare incipiens omni creaturs
Deum

ac

Dominum,

carne

orucem mortemque subeun-

lancea latus apertum, ox quo
vitam haurimus,

and thy God, became incar-

nailed to the cross and,suf-

fered death, and had his side
opened with & spear, whence
we draw life.

32

498

ADVENT

Indorum omnem terram
fulgere fecisti, sacratissime,
a0 Deum videns apostole !
Quum enim illuminasses filios
luminis et _diei, horum, in
Spiritu, sapiens, idolica, evertisti_tompla, et sublimasti
eos in charitate Dei ad landem et gloriam Ecclesice,
beate intercessor pro animabus nostris.

Thou

didst make

all fl.\e

Indies shine with much lij

O

most

holy

apostle,

cn

contemplatorof the Divinity !
For after thou hadst enlightened theso people, and
made them to be children of

the light and day, thou, by
the

‘splnt

of

God,

didst

wisely overthrow the temples

of tlwir idols, and didst ele-

vate the people to the love of
God, making them an honour
and a glory to the Church,
O thou that helpest us by
thy intercession !
Divina videns, Christi Sathe
thou hadst
pientise spirituslis demon- of divine things, thou bestratus es crater mysticus, camest, O apostle Thomas !
O Thoma apostole, in quem the mystio cup of the Wisfidelium snimm letantur, et dom of Christ, whioh gives
Spiritus sagena populos eru- joy to the souls of the faith.
isti ex abysso jgnorantie: ful. Thou wert the spiritual
unde ex Sion sicut fuvius net, drawing men from' the
dovenisti charitatis, tua di- sea of ignorance. Hence is
vina soaturire faciens do- it, that thou camest from
ta in omnem creaturam. Sion as a stream of charity,
Ehristt Possionia _ imitatus, watering the world with the

b P

iy

latere
i
oratus,
lum deprecaro misereri ani‘mabus nostris.

divine

Thou

didst

imitate the Passion of Jesus,
thou wert pierced in thy side,
thou hast put on immortality. Pray to God, that he
have mercy on our souls.
O glorious apostle, Thomas! who didst lead to
Christ so many unbelieving nations, hear now the

prayers of the faithful, who beseech thee to lead them
to that same Jesus, who, i five days, will have shown

Himself to His Church. That we may merit to appear in His divine firesence we need, before all other
graces, the light which leads to Him. That light is
faith ; t}len,pray that we may have faith. Hereto-

fore, our Saviour had compassion on thy weakness,

and deigned to remove from thee the doubt of His

DEC. 21.

ST. THOMAS

499

having risen from the grave ; pray to Him for us, that

He will mercifully come to our assistance, and make
Himself

felt by

our

heart.

We

ask

not,

O

holy

apostle ! to see Him with the eyes of our body, but
with those of our faith; for He said to thee, when
He showed Himself to thee : ‘ Blessed are they who
have not seen, and have believed " Of this happy
number we desire to be. We beseech thee, therefore,

pray that we may obtain the faith of the heart and
will, that so, when we behold the divine Infant
wrapped in swaddling-clothes and laid in a manger,
we may cry out: ‘ My Lord! and my God ! Pray,
O holy apostle, for the nations thou didst evangelize,
but which have fallen back again into the shades of
death. May the day soon come, when the Sun of
justice will once more shine upon them.
Bless the
efforts of those apostolic men, who have devoted their

labours and their very lives to the work of the
missions ; pray that the days of darkness may be
shortened, and that the countries, which were watered

by thy blood, may at length see that kingdom of
God established amongst them, which thou didst
preach to them, and for which we also are in

waiting.

THE

SAME

DAY

FIFTH ANTIPHON
O

Oriens,

-plsmior

Tucis

O

Orient!

light,

splendour

and

of

of

Sun

wterne, et sol justitise ; veni

eternal

bris, et umbra mortis.

them that sit in darkness,

et illumina sedentes in teme-

O Jesvus,

justice ! come and

enlighten

and in the shadow of death.

divine Sun/ Thou

art coming to snatch

us from eternal night : blessed for ever be Thy infinite
goodness ! But Thou puttest our faith to the test,
before showing Thyself in all Thy brightness. Thou
hidest Thyrays, until the time decreed by Thy heavenly
Father comes, in which all Thy beauty will break upon
the world. Thou art traversing Judea ; Thou art near
Jerusalem ; the journey of Mary and Joseph is nigh
its term. Crowds
of men pass or meet Thee on the
road, each one hurrying to his native town, there to
be -enrolled, as the edict commands.

Not one of all

these suspects that Thou, O divine Orient/ art so
near him. They see Thy Mother Mary, and they see
nothing in her above the rest of women ; or if they
are impressed by the majesty and incomparable
modesty of this august Queen, 1t is but a vague feeling of surprise at there being such dignity in one so
poor as she is; and they soon forget her again. If
the Mother is thus an object of indifference to them,

it is not to be expected that they will give even so
much as a thought to her Child, that is nct yet born.

And yet this Child is Thyself, O Sun of justice/
increase our faith, but increase,

too, our love.

Oh!

If

these men loved Thee, O Redeemer of mankind, Thou
wouldst give them the
grace to feel Thy presence.
Their eyes, indeed, wouhfrnot yet see Thee, but their

501

DEC. 21

hearts, at least, would burn within them, they would

long for Thy coming, and would hasten it by their
prayers and sighs. Dearest Jesus! who thus traversest the world Thou hast created, and who forcest

not the homage of Thy creatures, we wish to keep
near Thee during the rest of this Thy journey : we
kiss the footsteps of her that carries Thee

in her

womb ; we will not leave Thee, until we arrive to-

gether with Thee at Bethlehem, that house of bread,
where, at last, our eyes will see Thee, O splendour of
eternal light, our Lord and our God !

PRAYER

FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT

(The Mozarabic breviary, Monday of the fifth week.
Oratio)

Immane

satis facinus vi-

deo coram tuis, Deus Pater,

oculis @ reprobis perpetratum: qui, dum Filium tuum,
preedicatum in Lege, contem:
in

nunt,

incredulitatis

suz

voragine remanserunt; dum
hi quibus non erat de eo nuntiatum, viderunt eum, et qui
non

audierunt,

intelligentia

contemplati sunt. Amove
ergo, quwesumus, quidquid
resistit tibi in_opere, ut credulo pectore sic in nobis virgulta’ donorum prepolleant,
ut radix humilitatis nunquam
arescat.

Amen.

O God, our Father! what

horrid

crime

is

this

I

see

committed in thy presence
by the reprobate Jews ! They

spurn thy Son, that was foretold in the Law, and remain
in the gulf of their incredu-

lity ; whereas, they to whom
he was not announced, have
seen him; and they who
heard not, contemplated him
in their spirit.
Remove,
therefore, we besecch thee,
from us all that resists theo
in our conduct, that so, with
& believing heart, we may in
such manner bring forth the
branches of thy gifts bestowed

on

us,

as

that

the

root of humility may never
dry up within us. Amen.

502

ADVENT

DECEMBER 22
BIXTH

O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque
unum; veni, et salva hominem quem do limo formasti.

ANTIPHON

O King of nations, and
their desired One, and the
corner-stone that makest
both one; come and savo
man whom thou formedst
out of slime.

O King of nations/ Thou art approaching still
nigher to Bethlehem, where Thou art to be born.
The journey is almost over, and Thy august Mother,
consoled and strengthened by the dear weight she
bears, holds an unceasing converse with Thee on the
way. She adores Thy divine Majesty ; she gives
thanks to Thy mercy ; she rejoices that she has been
chosen for
the sublime ministry of being Mother
to God. She longs for that happy moment when
her eyes shall look upon Thee, and yet she fears it.
For, {ow will she be able to render Thee those ser-

vices which are due to Thy infinite greatness, she
that thinks herself the last of creatures 2 How will

she dare to raise Thee up in her arms, and press Thee

to her heart, and feed Thee at her breasts 2

When she

reflects that the hour is now near at hand, in which,

being born of her, Thou wilt require all her care and
tenderness, her heart sinks within her; for, what

human heart could bear the intense vehemence of
these two affections—the love of such a Mother for
her Babe, and the love of such a creature for her

God ? But Thou supportest her, O Thou the Desired
of nations / for Thou, too, longest for that happy
birth, which is to give to the earth its Saviour, and

DEC, 22

503

to men that corner-stone, which will unite them all
into one

family.

Dearest

King/

be Thou

blessed

for all these wonders of Thy power and goodness !
Come speedily, we beseech Thee, come and save us,

for we are dear to Thee, as creatures that have been

formed by Thy divine hands.

Yes, come, for Thy

creation has grown degenerate ; it is lost ; death has
taken possession of it : take Thou it again into Thy
almighty hands, and give it a new creation ; save 1 ;
for Thou hast not ceased to take pleasure in and love
Thine own work.
THE GREAT ANTIPHON IN HONOUR OF CHRIST

O Rex pacifice, tu ante
O King of peace! that
secula nate, per surcam wast born before all ages,
egredere portam, redemptos come by the golden gate;
tuos

visita,

et

eos

illuc

re-

voca, unde rucrunt per cul-

pam.

visit

them

redccmed,

whom

and

thou

lead

hast

them

back to the place whence
they fell by sin.

504

ADVENT

DECEMBER

23

TrE Church sings this antiphon in to-day’s Lauds :

ANT. Ecce completa sunt
AxT. Lol all things are
omnis que dicta sunt_per sccomplished that were said
angelum, de Virgine Maria.
by the angel, of the Virgin
ary.
BEVENTH

O Emmanuel, Rex et Legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, ot salvator earum;
veni ad salvandum nos, Do‘mine Deus noster. -

ANTIPHON

O Emmanuel, our King
and Lawgiver, the Expectation and Saviour of the nations! come and save us,
0 Lord our God !

O Emmanucl! King of peace! Thou enterest today the city of Thy predilection, the city in which

Thou hast placed Thy temple—Jerusalem.

A few

years hence the same city will give Thee Thy cross
and Thy sepulchre: nay, the day will come on
which Thou wilt set up Thy judgement-seat within
sight of her walls. But to-day Thou enterest the
city of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown.
It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem. Thy blessed
Mother and Joseph her spouse would not lose the
opportunity of visiting the temple, there to offer to
the Lord t{eir prayers and adoration. They enter ;

and then, for the first time, is accomplished the pro-

phecy

of Aggeus, that great shall be the glory of this

last iouse

more

than of the first ;! for this second

temple has now standing within it an ark of the
Covenant more precious than was that which Moses
built; and within this ark, which is Mary, is

1 Agg.ii. 10.

DEC. 23

505

contained the God whose presence makes her the
holiest of sanctuaries. The Lawgiver Himself is in
this blessed ark, and not merely, as in that of old,
the tablet of stone on which the Law was graven.

The visit paid, our living ark descends the steps of
the temple, and sets out once more

for Bethlehem,

where other prophecies are to be fulfilled. We adore
Thee, O Emmanuel / in this Thy journey, and we
reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all
that the prophets have written of Thee; for Thou
wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being
the Messias, by showing them that all the marks,
whereby He was to be known, are to be found in Thee.

And now, the hour is near ; all is ready for Thy birth ;
come then, and save us ; come, that Thou mayst not
only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is,
He that saves us.
THE

GREAT

ANTIPHON

O Hicrusalem! civitas
Dei summi, leva in circuitu
oculos tuos; et vide Dominum tuum, quis jam venict
solvere te a vineulis.

TO

JERUSALEM

O Jerusalem ! city of the
great God : lift up thine eyes
round about, and see thy
Lord, for he is coming to
loose thee from thy chains.

506

ADVENT

DEecEMBER 24
CHRISTMAS

EVE

* At length, says St. Peter Damian, in his sermon
for this holy eve, ‘ at length we have come from the

stormy sea into the tranquil port; hitherto it was the
romise, now it is the prize; hitherto labour, now
rest ; hitherto despair, now hope

hitherto the way,

rejected

hast

now
came
ises.
slept,
sings

our home, The heralds of the divine promise
to us ; but they gave us nothing but rich promHence our psalmist himself grew wearied and
and, with a seemingly reproachful tone, thus
his lamentation to God: “But Thou hast
and

despised

us;

Thou

deferred

the

coming of Thy Christ.”* At another time he assumes
a tone of command and thus prays: “ O Thou that
sittest u{on the Cherubim, show Thyself 1”2

on Thy

Seated

high throne, with myriads of adoring angels

around Thee, look down upon the children of men,
who are victims of that sin, which was committed

indeed by Adam, but permitted by Thy justice.
Remember what my substance is;3 Thou didst
make it to the likeness of Thine own; for though

every

hvm%1 man

Bend

Thy

made

is vamty,

to Thy image,
heavens

yet masumch

as he is

he 13 not a passing vanity.4

and

come

down,

and

turn

the

eyes of Thy mercy upon us Thy miserable suppliants, and forget us not unto the end !
¢ Isaias, also, in the vehemence of his desire, thus
spoke: “ For Sion’s sake 1 will ot hold my peace,

and for the sake of Jerusalem I will not rest, till
2 Ibid. lxxix.
4 Ibid. xxxviii,

-

DEC. 24.

CHRISTMAS EVE

507

her Just One come forth as brightness.

Oh! that

thou wouldst rend the heavens, and wouldst come

down !” 8o, too, all the prophets, tired of the long
delay of the coming, have prayed to Thee, now with
supplication, now with lamentation, and now with
cries of impatience. We have listened to these
their prayers; we have made use of them as our
own, and now, nothing can give us joy or gladness,
till our Saviour come to us, and, kissing us with the
kiss of His lips, say to us : “ I have heard and granted
your prayers.”
“But,

what

is this

that

has

been

said

to

us:

“ Sanctify yourselves, O ye children of Israel, and be
ready ; for on the morrow the Lord will come
down ”?

We

are, then, but one half day and night

from the grand visit, the admirable birth of the
Infant God!
Hurry on your course, ye fleeting
hours, that we may the sooner see the Son of God in
His crib, and pay our homage to this world-saving
birth. You, brethren, are the children of Israel,
that are sanctified, and cleansed from

ment

of soul

devotion,

and

body,

for to morrow’s

ready, by

mysteries.

every defile-

your

earnest

Such, indeed,

you are, if I may judge from the manner in which
you have spent these sacred days of preparation for
the coming of your Saviour.
“ But if, notwithstanding all your care, some drops
of the stream of this life’s frailties are still on your
hearts, wipe them away and cover them with the
snow-white robe of confession. This I can promise
you from the mercy of the divine Infant: he that
shall confess his sins and

be

sorry for them,

shall

have born within him the Light of the world ; the
darkness that deceived him shall be dispelled ; and
he shall enjoy the brightness of the true Light.
For how can mercy be denied to the miserable this
night, in which the merciful and compassionate
Lord is so mercifully born ?

Therefore, drive away

508
from

ADVENT
you

all haughty

looks, and

idle words,

and

un{use works ; let your loins be girt, and your feet
walk in the right paths ; and then come, and accuse
the Lord, if this night He rend not the heavens, and

come down to you, and throw all your sins into the
de}T:ths of the sea.’
'his holy eve is, indeed, a day of grace and hope,
and we ought to spend it in spintual joy. The
Church, contrary to her general practice, prescribes
that, if Christmas Eve fall on a Sunday, the fasting

alone shall be anticipated on the Saturday ; but that
the Office and Mass of the vigil should take
dence of the Office and Mass of the fourth Sunday of
Advent.
How solemn, then, in the eyes of the Church,
are these few hours, which separate us from the great
feast! On all other feasts, no matter how great
they may be, the solemnity begins with first Vespers,
and until then the Church restrains her joy, and celebrates the Divine Office and Sacrifice according to
the lenten rite. Christmas, on the contrary, seems
to begin with the vigil ; and one would suppose that
this morning’s Lauds were the opening of the feast;
for the solemn intonation of this portion of the Office
is that of a double, and the antiphons are sung
before and after each psalm or canticle. The purple
vestments are used at the Mass, but all the genuflexions peculiar to the Advent

ferias are omitted ;

and only one Collect is said, instead of the three
usually said when the Mass is not that of a solemnity.
Let us enter into the spirit of the Church, and prepare ourselves, in all the joy of our hearts, to meet
the Saviour who is coming to us. Let us observe
with strictness the fast which is prescribed ; it will
enable our bodies to aid the promptness of our spirit.
Let us delight in the thought that, before we again
lie down to rest, we shall have seen Him born, in the

solemn midnight, who comes to give light to every
oreature. For surely it is the duty of every faithful

509

CHRISTMAS EVE

DEC. 24.

child of the Catholic Church to celebrate with her
this happy night, when, in spite of all the coldness
of devotion, the whole universe keeps up its watch
for the arrival of its Saviour. It is one of the last
vestiges of the piety of ancient days, and God forbid
it should ever be effaced !
Let us, in a spirit of prayer, look at the principal

portions of the Office of this beautiful vigil. First,
then, the Church makes a mysterious announcement

to her children.

It serves as the

Invitatory

of

Matins, and as the Introit and Gradual of the Mass.

They are the words which Moses addressed to the
people of God when he told them of the heavenly
manna, which they would receive on the morrow.
We,

too,

are expecting

our

Manna,

our Jesus,

the

Bread of life, who is to be born in Bethlehem, which

is the house of Bread.

INVITATORY

Hodie scietis quia veniet
_Thisday
ye shall know that
Dominus, et mane videbitis
the Lord will come, and in
gloriam ejus.
the momning ye shall see his
glory.
The responsories are full of sublimity and sweetness. Nothing can be more affecting than their
lyric melody, sung to us by our mother the Church,
on the very night which precedes the night of Jesus’

birth,

R. Sanctificamini hodie _ R. Sanctify yourselves this
et estote parati:
quia die day, and
be ye ready: for on
crasting videbitis * Majesta- the morrow ye shall see *
tem Dei in vobis. V. Hodie the Majesty of God amongst
scietis quia_veniet Dominus, you. F. This day ye shall
et mane videbitis
* Majesta: know that the Lord will
tem Dei in vobis.
come, and in the morning yo
shall sce * the Majesty of
God amongst you.
R. Constantes estote ;
R. Boye constant
; ye shall
Domini
see the help of the Lord upon
debitis
auxilium

510

ADVENT

super vos; Judwa et Jeru- ou: fear not, Judea and
salem, nolite timere: * Cras erusalem: * To-morrow ye
egrediemini, et Dominus erit shall go forth, and the Lord
vobiscum : T. Sanctificamini, shall be with you: V. Sanctify
£lii Isracl ot estote parati
yourselves, ye children of Isready. * ToCras egrediemini, et Dominus Tael, and be ye
‘morrow ye shall go forth, and
the Lord shall be with you.
R. Sanctify yourselves, ye

erit vobiscum.

R. Sanctificamini, filii Tsrai, dicit Dominus ! die énim children of Israel, saith the
crastina descendet Dominus : Lord: for on the morrow,
* Et suferet o vobis omnem the Lord shall come down : *
languorem. V. Crastina die And shall take from you all
delebitur iniquitas terrw, et that is languid. V. To-morregnabit super nos Salvator row the imquifi' of the earth
mundi. * Et auferet a vobis shall be cancelled, and over
omnem languorem.
us shall reign the Saviour of
the world. * And heshall take
from you all that is languid.
At the Office of Prime, in cathedral chapters and

monasteries, the announcement of to-morrow’s feast
is made with unusual solemnity.
The lector, who

frequently is one of the dignitaries of the choir, sings,

to a magnificent chant, the following lesson fmmnsfe
martyrology. All the assistants remain standing
during it, until the lector comes to the word Beth-

lehem,

at which

all

posture until all the glad

genuflect, and

OCTAVO KALENDAS JANUARID

Anno

a creatione mundi,

quando in_ principio Deus
creavit ccelum et terram,
quinquies millesimo ~ centesimo_nonagesimo nono: A
diluvio vero, anno bis millesimo nongentesimo quinquagesimo soptimo : A nativitate
Abrahw, anno bis millesimo
quintodecimo: A Moyse et
ogresm populi " Tarael _ do
gypto,
anno millesimo

confinue

tidings are told.

in that

THE EIGHTH OF THE CALENDS OF JANUARY

The year from the creation
of the world, when in the beginning God created heaven
and earth, five thousand one
hundred and ninety-nine :
from the deluge, the year two
thousand nine hundred and
fifty-soven : from the birth of
Abraham, the year two thou.
sand and fifteen : from Moses
and the going out of the
people of Tarael from Egypt,

DEC. 24.

quingentesimo_decimo: Ab
unctione David in_regem,
millesimo trigesimo
anno
secundo: Hebdomada sexagesima quinta juxta Danielis
prophetiam : Olympiade centesima nonagesima_quarta :
Ab urbe Roma condita, anno
septingentesimo quinquagesimo secundo: Anno imporii
Octaviani Augusti quadragesimo secundo: toto orbe in
pace composito, sexta mundi
wtate, Jesus Christus wternus
Deus, wternique Patris Filius,
mundum volens adventu suo
piissimo consecrare, de Spiritu sancto conoeptus, novemque post conceptionem decursis_mensibus, in_Bethlehem
Jude nascitur ex Maria Virgine factus homo : NaTIVITAs

DoMINI

CHRISTI
NEM !

NOSTRI

~ SECUNDUM

511

CHRISTMAS EVE

the year one thousand five
hundred

and

ten:

from

David’s being anointed king,
the year one thousand and

thirty-two: in the sixty-fifth
week according to the proghecy of Daniel : in the one

undred and ninety-fourth
OlymFiad: from the building of the city of Rome, the
year seven hundred and fiftytwo: in the forty-second year
of the reign of Octavian
Augustus: the whole world
being in peace: in the sixth
age of the world: Jesus
Christ, the eternal God, and
Son of the eternal Father,
wishing to consecrate this
world by his most merciful
coming, being conceived of
the Holy Ghost, and nine
months gince_his conception
having passed, in Bethlehem
of Juda, is born of the Virgin
Mary, being made Man : TaE

JESU

CAR-

Narrvity

oF

our

Lorp

JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO

THE FLESH !

Thus have passed before us, in succession, all the

generations of the world.!
it have seen Him whom

Each of them is asked if

we are expecting, and each

is silent ; until the name of Mary is pronounced, and

then is proclaimed the Nativity of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, made Man. St. Bernard, speaking of this
announcement,

says:

‘The

voice of joy

has

gone

* On this one day alonc, and on this singlo occasion, docs the
Church adopt the Septuagint _chronology, according to which tho
birth of our Saviour took place five thousand ycars after the
creation ; whereas the Vulgato version, and the Hebrew toxt,
place only four thonsand between the two events. This is not a
fitting place to explain this discrepancy of chronology ; we mercly
allude to it as showing the liberty which the Church allows us on
this question.

512

ADVENT

forth in our land, the voice of rejoicing and of salvation is in the tabernacles of the just. There has
been heard a good word, a word that gives consolation, a word

that is full of gladsomeness,

a word

worthy of all acceptance. Resound with praise, ye
mountains, and all ye trees of the forests clap your
hands before the face of the Lord, for He is coming.
Hearken, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth! be
astounded and give praise, O all ye creatures ! but
thou, O man, more

than all they!

Jesus

Christ,

THE SON OF GoD, 18 BORN IN BETHLEHEM OF JUDA !

Who

is there that is so hard of heart, that this

word does not touch him? Could anything be told
us sweeter than this? Could any news delight us
like

this?

Was

such

a thing

ever heard, or any-

thing like it ever told to the world?

Jesus CHrisT,

THE SON OF (GOD, 1S BORN IN BETHLEHEM

OF JUDA !

O brief word of the Word abridged !I' and yet how
full of heavenly beauty! The heart, charmed with
the honeyed sweetness of the expression, would fain

diffuse it and spread it out into more words ; but no,

it must be given just as it is, or you spoil it : JEsus
CHRIST,

THE

oF Jupa I"?

SON

OF GOD, IS BORN

IN BETHLEHEM

MASS
INTROIT

Hodio scietis, quia veniet
Dominus, et salvabit nos: et
mane videbitis gloriam ejus.
Ps. Domini est terra et plenitudo ejus
; orbis terrarum, ot
universi_qui habitant in eo.
V. Gloria.
T Rom. ix. 8.

_ This day ye shall know
that the Lord will come, and
save us: and in the morning
yo shall see his glory. Ps.
Tho earth is the Lord's, and
the fulness thereof ; the world
and all that dwell therein. V.
Glory.
3 Second sermon for Christmas Eve,

DEC. 24.

513

CHRISTMAS EVE

In the Collect, the Church makes a last allusion to
the coming of Jesus as our Judfie at the end of the
world. But after this, she can look upon her Jesus
only as the Prince of peace, and as the Spouse who
comes to her. Her children must imitate her confidence.
COLLECT

Deus, qui nos redemptionis
nostrs annus_exspectatione
Itificas : praesta, ut Unigenitum tuum, quem
Redemptorem leti suscipimus, venientem quoque Judicem securi
videamus, Dominum__nostrum Jesum Christum Filium
tuum. Qui tecum.

0 God, who makest ua rejoice
in the
yearly expeotation

oftion:the grant
feastthatof ‘our
redompwe who joy-

fully receive thy only- begotten Son as a Redeemer,
may behold, without fear, the
same Lord Jesus Christ
coming ss our Judge. Who
liveth, &o.

In the Epistle, the apostle St. Paul, addressing
himself to the Romans, makes known to them the
dignity and holiness of the Gospel, that is, of those
good tidings, which the angels are to bring to us
this very night. Now, the subject of this Gospel is
Jesus, the Son that is born unto God, of the family
of David, according to the flesh. This Jesus comes

that He may be to
and apostleship. It
still associated, after
great mystery of His

His Church the source of grace
is by these two gifts that we are
so many ages, to the joys of the
birth in Bethlehem.
EPISTLE

Lectio Epistole beati Pauli
Apostoli ad Romanos.
Cap. i.

Lesson of
St. Paul

the
the

the Romans.

Ch. i.

Epistle
Apostle

of
to

Paulus, servus Jesu Christi,
Paul, & servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle
'vocatus apostolus,
atus
in Evangelium Dei, quod ante separated unto the Gospel of
promiserat” per ~ prophetas God, which ho had promised
suos in Seripturis sanctis, e before by bis prophets a the

514

ADVENT

[}

boly Scriptures, concerning
i Som ot ks Dade b
him of the seed of David sccording to the flesh, who was
predestinated the Son of God
nis, cx resurre-tione mor- in_power, according to the
tuorura Jesu Chiisti Domini spirit of sanctification by the
nostriz per quers scoepimus resurrection of our Lord Jesus
gratiatn et nfipol.blnum, ad Christ from the dead: by
in omnibus whom we have received grace
obedii adum
jus, i and apostleship for obedience
gentilus pro no;

Quxew

Filio :tuo, qui facxus est ei ex
seminy David sec-indum carnem, :qui preedttinatus est
in viiute, secunFiliusrt
dum s3piritum >anctificatio-

estis_etlivos vocati
juibu
esu tihristi Don ni nostri.

Hodo scietis

A

to the faith in all nations for’
his name, among
whom are

you salso the cal ed
Christ our Lord.

of Jesus

GRADUAL

tuia veniet _This day ye shall know that

Domisaus, et salvtbit nos: et

mane |videbitis gl riam ejus.

the Lord will come, and save

us: and in the morning ye
shall see his filory.

V. ciui regis In:sél intende: V. Thou who rulest Israel,
qui dtducis velu ovem Jo- hearken: thou who leadest
seph :nqui sedes &-tper Cheru- Joseph like s sheep: thou
bim, ppare cora,a Ephraim, who sittest on the Cherubim,
Benjasain ot Man sse.
show thyself to Ephraim,
Benjamin, and Manasses.
If che vigil mf Christmas fall on a Sunday, the
follodling is adced :

Allaia, allelui .
Alleluis, alleluia.
V. {erastine dr> delebitur
V. To-morrow the sins of
iniquies terr®, tit regnabit the earth shall be cancelled,
super tnos Salve.or mundi. and the Saviour of the world
Allelui v
shall reign over us. Alleluia.

Thof Gospel

of to-day’s Mass is the passage which
relatal the trou ole of St. Joseph and tfi e visit he receivece from

th’ angel.

This incident,

which forms

one o1 the preledes to the birth of our Saviour, could
not biit enter linto the liturgy for Advent; and so
far, tnere was leo suitable occasion for its insertion,

The tigil of Caristmas was the right day for this

A

DEC. 24.

CHRISTMAS EVE

515

Gospel, for another reason: the angel, in speaking
to St. Joseph, tells him that the name to be given to
the Child of Mary is Jesus, which signifies that He

will save His people from their sins.
GOSPEL

Sequentis sancti Evangelii Sequel of the holy Gospel
secundum Mattheum
Cap. i.

Quum esset desponsata Ma-

according to Matthew
Ch. i
When Mary, the Mother of

ter Jesu Maria Joseph, ante- Jesus, ws espoused to Joquam convenirent, inventa seph, before they came toest in utero habens de Spi- gether, sho was found with
ritu sancto. Joseph autem child of the Holy Ghost.
Vir ejus, quum esset justus, Whereupon Joseph her huset nollet eam traducere, vo- band, boing a just man, and
luit occulte dimittere eam.
not willing publicly to expose
Hwo sutem eo cogitante, her, was minded to put her
ecce angelus Domini appe- awsy privately. But while
ruit in somnis ei, dicens: he thought on these things,
Joseph, fili David, noli timere behold the angel of the Lord
accipere Mariam conjugem appeared to him in his sleep,
tusm: quod cnim in ea na- saying: Joseph, son of David,
tum est, de Spiritu sancto fear not to take unto thee
est. Pariet
autem Filium : et Mary thy wife, for that
vocabis nomen ejus Jesum : which is conceived in her is
ipse enim salvum faciet po- of the Holy Ghost. And she
pulum suum a peccatis eo- shall bring forth a Son: snd
Tum.
thou shalt call his name
Jesus; for he shall save his
people from their sins.
OFFERTORY

Tollite portas, principes,
Lift up your gates, O ye
vestras, et elovamini
princes, and be ye lifted up,
aternales: et introibit Rex O cternalgates
; and the King
glorie.
of glory shall enter in.
SECRET

Da nobis, quesumus, omGrant, wo beseech thee, O
nipotens Deus : ut sicut ado- almighty God, that as we
randa Filii tui natalitia pree- celebrate the evo of the ado-

516

ADVENT

venimus; sic ejus munera
capiamus _sempiterna gaudentes. Qui tecum.

rable birth of thy Son; we
with joy
may one day receive
his® eternal rewards. Who
liveth, &c.

During the Communion, the Church expresses her
joy at receiving, in the Eucharistic Sacrament, Him
whose flesh
purifies and nourishes ours. She is
strengthened by the consolation given to her by the
divine

Food,

to wait

yet a little longer

for

that

happy moment, in which angels will come and invite
her to the crib of the Messias.
COMMUNION
Revelabitur

mini:

gloria

et videbit omnis

salutare Dei nostri.

Do-

caro

be

The glory of the Lord shall
revealed:

and

all

flesh

:}ho“;l see the salvation of our

POSTCOMMUNION

Grant us, we beseech thee,

censita Nati

cujus ccelesti mysterio pascimur, et potamur.
Per

eumdem.

0 Lord, relief by celebrating
the birth of thy only Sonm,
whose sacred mystery is our
meat and drink.
&e.

Through,

The Ambrosian and Mozarabic liturgies have
nothing in their Office and Mass for this vigil which
we deem telling enough for insertion here. In the
enthology of the Greeks there is a hymn, which
will assist our devotion, and from which we take the

following stanzas. It is called: The beginning of
the Hours of the Nativity : Tierce, Sext, and None.
HYMN

FOR THE

VIGIL OF CHRISTMAS

(Taken from the Anthology of the Greeks)
Insoribebatur die qusdam
On a certain day, there
cum sene Joseph, tanquam was enrolled at Bethlehem,

ex semine

David,

in Bethle-

together

with

the

old

man

DEC.

24.

CHRISTMAS

517

EVE

Joseph, as being of the fam.
feetum utero gestans; adve- ily of David, Mary, who
nerat pariendi _tempus, et bore in her virginal womb
nullus erat in_diversorio lo- the divine fruit. The time of
cus, sed pro splendido palatio ber delivery was come, and
spelunca Regin® aderat.
there was no place in the
inn; and instead of a splendid palace for the Queen
there was but a cave.
Adimpleri nunc urget proThe moment has come for
pheticum preeconium mystice the accomplishment of the
nuncisns: Et tu Bethlehem mystic prophecy : * And thou
terra Juds, nequaquam m Bethlehem, land of Juda,
nima es in principibus, prima. art not the least among the
adornans speluncam. ~ Ex te princes, for thou art the first
enim mibi veniet dux gen- to adorn the cave. For there
tium, per carnem ex puella shall come to me from thee
Virgine, Christus Deus qui the leader of the nations,
reget populum suum novum born of a Virgin-Maid accordToraél. Demus ei omnes ma- ing to the flesh; it is Christ,
gnificentiam.
who is God, and he shall rule
his new people of Israel.
Let us all give him highest
praise.
This is our God, and there
Iste Deus noster, prater
eum non numerabitur alius, is none other; he was born
natus ex Virgine, et cum ho- of a Virgin, and he conversed
minibus conversatus : in pau- with men ; the only-begotten
rculo jacens prasepio Fi- Son becomes mortal, and is
ius Unigenitus mortalis ap- laid in a poor crib; the Lord
paret, et fasciis implicatur of glory is wrapped in swadglorie Dominus: stella Ma- dling clothes; the star ingis indicat ut illum adorent, vites the Magi to adore him,
nosque canamus:
Trinitas and let us sing: O holy
sancta, salva animas nostras. Trinity, save our souls !
Come, all ye faithful: let
Venite, fideles: divinitus
extollamur, Deumque videa- us be transported with divine
hem,

Maria,

sine

semine

mus ex alto in Bethlehem
manifeste descendentem, et
sursum
mentem
elevantes.

enthusiasm ; let us look at
God coming in a visible form

virtutes, preeordinantes cum

from on high and descending
into Bethlehem ; then raising
up our minds, let us bring

dicamus:

myrrh we offer him, thus pre.

pro myrrha vite afferamus

fide natalitium introitum, et

Gloria in excelsis

Deo qui trinus est, cujus erga

homines

manifestatur

bene-

volentia ! qui Adam redimens

to him

our virtues as the

Eu—ing,

with

faith,

for

his

irth among us : let us sing,
Glory in the highest be to

518

ADVENT

et plasma tuum elevasti, phi- God, one in three Persons,
whose good-will to man is
lanthrope |
thus

made

man,

hast

manifest!

for

thou, O Jesus ! the Lover of

Audi,

ceelum,

et

auribus

percipe, terra: commoveantur fundamenta orbis, tremorem

apprehendant

ter-

restria; quia Deus et auctor
carnis
plasmatis formam
induit, et qui creaturam
creatrice corroboravit manu,

redeemed

Adam

and restored the work of thy
hands !
Hear, O ye heavens, and
ive ear,

O

earth!

let

the

oundations of the earth be

moved, and all the earth
tremble: for God the maker

of man has himself put on &

created form, and he whose
creative hand upheld his crea-

misericordia motus videtur tures, has, by mercy moved,
forma indutus. O divitiarum clothed himself with a body.
sapienti scientimque Dei Oh the depth of the riches o(
abyssus ! quem inscrutabilia the vnsdom and of the knowillius judicia, et investigabiles ledge of God! How incomvim ejus !
probensible are his jud,
ments, and how unsearchable
his ways !
Venite, Christiferi populi,
0 come, ye Christian
peovideamus prodigium omnem ple! let us see the pm%y
stupefaciens et cohibens cogi- that sh:ip.efies all thought
tationem, et pie procumben- and holds
it in suspense;
tes cum fide hymnificemus. '.hen let us devoutly adore,
Hodie

ad

Bethlehem

Pusllu mg‘“our

h;

with
aith. This
dA there hath come to Beth-

advenit paritura Dominum ;
pracurrunt angelorum chori :
illamque
videns
Joseph Johom » Maid that s to give
sponsus ejus clamabat : Quid- birth to God! Choirs of
nam in te pr. ligiosum my- angels are slready there !
sterium, Virgo
? Et quomodo Joseph, her spouse, seeing

parturire :;gb“. jugi expers her,
already received tha
juvenca ?
answer to his question : What
is this m;

in theo, pure

which

I see

Virgin? How

canst thou bring forth, that

never hast borne a mother’s
humiliation ?
This day, there is born of

Hodie nascitur ex Virgine
qui pugillo omnem creaturam s Virgin, Tho that holds 1
continet: panniculis siout his hand the whole creation.
mortalis fasciatur qui essen- He whose very essence 'tis
tia

intactibilis

est;

Deus

in

to be intangible, has become

DEC. 24.

CHRISTMAS EVE

preesepio reclinatur, qui olim
in principio ccelos stabilivit ;
ex uberibus lacte nutritur per
quem in deserto manna pluebat populo; Magos advocat
Sponsus Ecolesiwe; dona illorum accipit Virginis Filius.
Adoramus tusm Nativitatem, Christe; ostende nobis
tuas divinas Theophanias.

519

‘mortal and ig bound in swathing-bands. He who, of old,
in the beginning, poised and
set. the heavens, is laid in a
manger. He who rained
down manna on his people
in_the desert, is fed with
milk at his Mother's breast.
The Spouse of the Church
invites the Magi ; the Son of
the Virgin accepts their gifts.
We adore thy Nativity, O
Jesus! show unto us thy
divine manifestations.

Let us contemplate our blessed Lady, and her
faithful spouse Joseph, leaving the city of Jerusalem,
and continuing their journey to Bethlehem, which
they reach after a few hours. In obedience to the
will of heaven, they immediately repair to the place
where their names are to be enrolled, as the emperor’s edict requires. There is entered in the public
register, Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth in Galilee.
To his name, there is, doubtless, added that of Mary,
spouse of the above-named Joseph.
Perhaps they
enter her as & young woman, in the ninth month
of her pregnancy. And this is all! O Incarnate
Word ! Thou art not yet counted by men! Thou art
upon this earth of Thine, and men set Thee down as
nothing ! And yet, all this excitement of the enrolment of the world is to be for nothing else but this,

that Mary, Thy august Mother, may come to Bethle-

hem, and

there give Thee birth !

O ineffable mystery ! how grand is this apparent
littleness ! how mighty this divine weakness! But
God has still lower to descend than merely coming
on our earth. He goes from house to house of His
people : not one will receive Him. He must go and
seek a crib in the stable of poor dumb beasts. There,
until such time as the angels sing to Him their
hymn, and the shepherds and the Magi come with

520

ADVENT

their offerings, He will meet the ox that knoweth

its Owner, and the ass that knoweth its Master’s
crib "t

O Saviour of men,

Emmanuel,

too, will go to this stable of Bethlehem.

Jesus!

Thy

birth, which is to-night, shall not be without

and devoted hearts to bless it.
Thou

we,

new

loving

At this very hour,

art knocking at the doors of Bethlehem,

who is there that will take Thee in ?

and

Thou sayest to

my soul in the words of the Canticle : ‘Open to me,
my sister, my beloved ! for my head is full of dew,
and my locks of the drops of the night!"? Ah!
sweet Jesus ! Thou shalt not be refused here ! I beseech Thee, enter my house. I have been watching
and longing for Thee. Come, then, Lord Jesus!
come !3

1Lai8

2 Cant. v. 2.

END OF ADVENT

3 Apoc. xxii. 20.