December
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
This feast is not one 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. It is for their sake that we have resolved to take the opportunity 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.[1] Many of the people of Dalmatia went to live in Italy near the holy house, where they instituted the Society of Corpus Domini (known under the name of Sclavonians), which lasted even to the pontificate of Paul III.
‘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 translation, 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 neighbourhood 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 by the annalists of the Church, and by the local historians of Loretto (e.g., Tursellini and Martorelli), but by writers whose profound learning has gained them a world-wide reputation, and among them we may cite Papebroke, Natalis Alexander, Benedict XIV., 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 slighting the authority of the holy See, which has been, for upwards of five hundred years, so zealous in defending 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 II., of Leo X., of Paul III., of Paul IV., and of Xystus V.; the decree of Urban VIII., 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:
Antiphon
Ecce tabernaculum Dei cum hominibus, et habitavit cum eis; et ipsi populus ejus erunt, et ipse Deus cum eis erit eorum Deus.
V. Introibimus in tabernaculum ejus.
R. Adorabimus in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus.
Behold the tabernacle of God with men, wherein he dwelt with them; and they shall be his people, and God himself with them shall be their God.
V. We will go into his tabernacle.
R. We will adore in the place where his feet stood.
Prayer
Deus, qui beatæ Mariæ Virginis Domum per incarnati Verbi mysterium misericorditer consecrasti, eamque in sinu Ecclesiæ tuæ mirabiliter collocasti: concede, ut segregati a tabernaculis peccatorum, digni efficiamur habitatores domus sanctæ tuæ. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
O God, who didst mercifully consecrate the House of the 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 separated from the abodes of sinners, we may be made worthy to dwell in thy holy house. Through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[1] Hic est locus in quo fuit sacra Domus Nazarena, quæ nunc in Recineti partibus colitur.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The Church makes 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, which 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 His approaching 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 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 respice, omnipotens Deus, et quia pondus propriæ actionis gravat, beati Melchiadis Martyris tui atque Pontificis intercessio gloriosa nos protegat. Per Christum Dominum 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 Bishop, be a protection to us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The Church of Spain, the fair pearl of Christendom, brings before us on this same tenth of December her illustrious martyr Eulalia, the glory of Merida, the ornament of Iberia, the joy of the universal Church. She is the third of those wise virgins, whose names are most prominent in the Church’s liturgy during the season 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 Eulalia, written by Prudentius. Never, perhaps, did this prince of Christian poets write finer verses than these; nor can we be surprised that the Mozarabic liturgy, in its admiration of this exquisite canticle, should have made but one hymn of its forty-five stanzas. As it gives the life of our saint, we shall not add the legend of the proper Office as used in the Churches of Spain.
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,
Virgineoque potens titulo.
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,
Nec sua membra dicata toro.
Ipsa crepundia repulerat,
Ludere nescia pusiola.
Spernere succina, flare rosas,
Fulva monilia respuere:
Ore severa, 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 Eulaliæ
Spiritus ingeniique ferox
Turbida frangere bella parat,
Et, rude pectus anhela Deo,
Femina provocat arma virum.
Sed pia cura parentis agit,
Virgo animosa domi ut lateat.
Abdita rure, et ab urbe procul:
Ne fera sanguinis in pretium
Mortis amore puella ruat.
Illa perosa quietis opem
Degeneri tolerare mora,
Nocte fores sine teste movet,
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.
Non aliter pia virgo, viam
Nocte secuta, diem meruit,
Nec tenebris adoperta fuit,
Regna canopica quum fugeret,
Et super astra pararet iter.
Illa gradu cita pervigili,
Millia multa prius peragit,
Quam plaga pandat eoa polum:
Mane superba tribunal adit,
Fascibus adstat et in mediis.
Vociferans: Rogo, quis furor est
Perdere præcipites animas,
Et male prodiga corda sui
Sternere rasilibus scopulis,
Omnipatremque negare Deum?
Quæritis, O miseranda manus,
Christicolum genus? En ego sum
Daemonicis inimica sacris:
Idola protero sub pedibus:
Pectore, et ore Deum fateor.
Isis, Apollo, Venus nihil est.
Maximianus et ipse nihil:
Illa nihil, quia facta manu:
Hic manuum quia facta colit:
Fivola utraque, et utraque nihil.
Maximianus opum dominus,
Et tamen ipse cliens lapidum,
Prostituat, voveatque suis
Numinibus caput ipse suum:
Pectora cur generosa quatit?
Dux bonus, arbiter egregius
Sanguine pascitur innocuo:
Corporibusque piis inhians
Viscera sobria dilacerat,
Gaudet et excruciare fidem.
Ergo age, tortor, adure, seca,
Divide membra coacta luto.
Solvere rem fragilem facile est:
Non penetrabitur interior
Exagitante dolore animus.
Talibus excitus in furias Praetor, ait:
Rape præcipitem,
Lictor, et obrue suppliciis;
Sentiat esse deos patrios.
Nec leve principis imperium.
Quam cuperem tamen ante necem,
Si potis est, revocare tuam,
Torva puellula, nequitiam!
Respice, gaudia quanta metas,
Quæ tibi fert genialis honor.
Te lacrymis labefacta domus
Prosequitur, generisque tui
Ingemit anxia nobilitas,
Flore quod occidis in tenero,
Proxima dotibus et thalamo.
Non movet aurea pompa tori,
Non pietas veneranda senum,
Quos temeraria debilitas?
Ecce parata ministeria
Excruciabilis exitii.
Aut gladio feriere caput,
Aut laniabere membra feris,
Aut facibus data fumificis,
Flebiliterque ululanda tuis
In cineres resoluta flues.
Haec, rogo, quis labor est fugere?
Si modicum salis eminulis
Thuris et exiguum digitis
Tangere, virgo, benigna velis,
Poena gravis procul abfuerit.
Martyr ad ista nihil: sed enim
Infremit, inque tyranni oculos
Sputa jacit. Simulacra dehinc
Dissipat, impositamque molam
Thuribulis pede prosubigit.
Nec more, carnifices gemini
Juncea pectora dilacerant,
Et latus ungula virgineum
Pulsat utrinque, et ad ossa secat,
Eulalia numerante notas.
Scriberis ecce mihi, Domine,
Quam juvat hos apices legere,
Qui tua, Christe, trophea notant!
Nomen et ipsa sacrum loquitur
Purpura sanguinis eliciti.
Hæc sine fletibus et gemitu
Læta canebat, et intrepida.
Dirus abest dolor ex animo.
Membraque picta cruore novo
Fonte cutem recalente lavant.
Ultima carnificina dehinc,
Non laceratio vulnifica,
Crate tenus neo arata cutis:
Flamma sed undique lampadibus
In latera, stomachumque furit.
Crinis odorus et in jugulos
Fluxerat, involitans humeris,
Quo pudibunda pudicitia,
Virgineusque lateret honos,
Tegmine verticis opposito.
Flamma crepans volat in faciem,
Perque comas vegetata, caput
Occupat, exsuperatque apicem:
Virgo, citum cupiens obitum,
Appetit, et bibit ore rogum.
Emicat inde columba repens,
Martyris os nive candidior
Visa relinquere, et astra sequi:
Spiritus hio erat Eulaliæ
Lacteolus, celer, innocuus.
Colla fluunt, abeunte anima,
Et rogus igneus emoritur;
Pax datur artubus exanimis,
Flatus in æthera plaudit ovans,
Templaque celsa petit volucer.
Vidit et ipse satelles avem,
Feminæ ab ore meare palam,
Obstupefactus, et attonitus
Prosilit, et sua gesta fugit,
Lictor et ipse fugit pavidus.
Ecce nivem glacialis hyems
Ingerit, et tegit omne forum:
Membra tegit simul Eulaliæ,
Axe jacentia sub gelido,
Pallioli vice linteoli.
Cedat amor lacrymantum hominum,
Qui celebrare suprema solent,
Flebile cedat et officium:
Ipsa elementa, jubente Deo,
Exsequias tibi, virgo, ferunt.
Nunc locus Emerita est tumulo
Clara colonia Vettoniæ:
Quam memorabilis amnis Ana
Præterit, et viridante rapax
Gurgite mænia pulchra lavit.
Hic, ubi marmore perspicuo
Atria luminat alma nitor
Et peregrinus, et indigena,
Relliquias, cineresque sacros
Servat humus veneranda sinu.
Tecta corusca super rutilant
De laquearibus aureolis,
Saxaque caesa solum variant,
Floribus ut rosulenta putes
Prata rubescere multimodis.
Carpite purpureas violas,
Sanguineosque crocos metite:
Non caret his genialis hyems,
Laxat et arva tepens glacies,
Floribus ut cumulet calathos.
Ista comantibus e foliis
Munera, virgo, puerque, date:
Ast ego serta choro in medio
Texta feram pede dactylico,
Vilia, marcida, festa tamen.
Sic venerarier ossa libet,
Ossibus altar et impositum:
Illa Dei sita sub pedibus
Prospicit hæc, populosque suos
Carmine propitiata fovet.
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 a powerful and populous city,
but its proudest title to fame is that there
the saint shed her blood,
and there rests her shrine.
But thrice four winters had passed over Eulalia,
when she braved the fierce tortures of fire,
and made her executioners
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,
she 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 whole conduct, even at that tender age,
as though the gravity of 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 trembles for her courageous child,
and insists on her keeping at home.
She takes her into the country, as far as may be from the city,
lest the dauntless child, that longed to die for Christ,
should seek to purchase that glory at the price of her blood.
She ill brooks this quiet, this shelter which seems to her so unchristian:
the night comes 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 every step;
yet on she goes, with angels in her company.
All is silent in the dark grim night;
but she has light 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 midnight journey, God gave her light;
and as she fled from the land of Egypt,
to enter into that of heaven,
she was not hindered by the darkness.
Many a mile had she walked with hasty step,
before the day-dawn broke upon the world:
and scarce had morn begun,
when there stood before the tribunal,
amidst the ensigns of the empire, the fearless virgin.
‘What madness is this,’ she cried,
'which makes you lose your unthinking souls?
wasting away your love
in adoring these chiselled lumps of stone,
whilst you deny God the Father of all?
O wretched men!
you are in search of the Christians:
lo! I am one: I hate your worship of devils:
I trample on your idols;
and with heart and mouth I acknowledge but one God,
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?
This good emperor, this most upright judge,
feeds on the blood of the innocent.
He gluts himself on the bodies of the saints,
embowelling those temples of purity,
and cruelly insulting their holy faith.
Do thy worst, thou cruel butcher;
burn, cut, tear asunder
these clay-made bodies.
It is no hard thing to break a fragile vase like this.
But all thy tortures cannot reach the soul.’
At these words the prætor, maddening with rage, cried out:
‘Away, lictor, with this senseless prattler,
and punish her in every way thou canst.
Teach her that our country’s gods are gods,
and that our sovereign’s words are not to be slighted.
Yet stay, rash girl.
Would I could persuade thee
to recall thy impious words before it is too late!
Think on all the joys thou thus wilt obtain;
think on that noble marriage which we will procure thee.
Thy family is in search of thee,
and thy noble house weeps
and grieves after thee,
their tender floweret so near its prime,
yet so resolved to wither.
What! are nuptials like these I offer
not enough to move thee?
Wilt thou send the grey hairs of thy parents
into the tomb by thy rash disobedience?
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.
And what do we ask of thee
in order that thou mayst escape these tortures?
Do, I beseech thee, Eulalia,
touch but with the tip of thy finger these grains of salt and incense,
and not a hair of thy head shall be hurt.'
The martyr answered him not:
but full of indignation,
spat in the tyrant’s face;
then, with her foot,
upset idols, cakes, and incense.
Scarce had she done it,
two executioners seize her:
they tear her youthful breast,
and, one on each side, cut off her innocent flesh even to the very ribs.
Eulalia counts each gash, and says:
'See, dear Jesus, they write thee on my flesh!
Beautiful letters, that tell of thy victory!
Oh, how I love to read them!
So, this red stream of my blood
speaks thy holy name!'
Thus sang the joyous and intrepid virgin:
not a 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 was not enough to plough
and harrow up her flesh:
it was time to burn:
torches, then, are applied to her sides and breast.
Her beauteous locks
dishevelled
fell veiling her
from worse than all their butchery,
the stare of these wretches.
The crackling flame mounts to her face,
and, running through her hair,
surrounds and blazes over her head.
The virgin, thirsting for death,
opens her mouth and drinks it in.
Suddenly is been a snowwhite dove
coming from the martyr’s mouth,
and flying up to heaven.
It was Eulalia’s spirit,
spotless, eager, innocent.
Her soul is fled: her head droops,
the fire dies out:
her lifeless body sleeps in peace,
while her glad spirit keeps feast in its ethereal home,
and this sweet dove rests in the house of her most high God.
The executioners, too,
see the dove issuing from the martyr’s mouth:
astonished and trembling
they flee from the spot.
The lictor, too, is seized with fear and takes to flight.
'Tis winter, and the snow in thick flakes
falls on the forum,
covering the tender corpse of Eulalia,
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 are 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 venerable tomb
the holy relics of the martyr.
The roof, above, glitters
with its golden pendants;
and the pavement, with its mosaics,
looks like a meadow strewn
with the gayest flowers.
Cull the purple violet and the golden crocus,
which even winter spares us,
and with its hours of sunshine
lets our fields yield plentifully enough
to deck our Eulalia’s altar.
Twine them into your green garlands,
and these be your offering, dear children!
Mine shall be these verses for our choir;
poor I know they are and savouring of the dulness of my own old age;
still, they suit a feast.
Thus will we venerate Eulalia’s relics
and Eulalia’s altar:
she, standing before the throne of God,
will be pleased with our offerings,
and hearing our hymns and prayers will protect her devoted people.
Nothing can surpass the magnificence of the prayers in 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
Lætetur in te, Domine, quæso, virginitas: et huic proxima congaudeat continentia. Non sexum quærunt hujus modi bella: sed animum. Non mucronis confidentiam, sed pudoris. Non etiam personas discussuras, sed causas. Impune inter armatas transit acies innocens conscientia: quæ superavit crimina, superat et metalla. Facile vincit alios quisque se vicerit; et cum laudabile sit viro fecisse virtutem, majoris tamen præconii est fecisse virginem rem virilem. Prophanum sacra ingreditur puella concilium: et solum Deum in pectore gestans infert violentiam passioni. Nec deest lictor tam impudens quam crudelis: qui sponsam (secure dixerim) Christi, fornicantium verberibus oculorum, supplicio libidinante torqueret: ut quæ pænas inadulterio non luebat, saltem pænas adulteras sustineret. Dudum quod gravius carnifex putat, exspectantium oculis corpus exponit, et per divaricatas viscerum partes, ictuum sulcos cursus fusi sanguinis antecedit. Periit timo tortoris iniqui commentum: sola patiuntur tormenta ludibrium. 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 exspectare judicium, sed pudoris. Sed quia tuum est, Christe, totum quod meruit: tuum etiam quod peregit. Nec enim tela repellimus adversantium, nisi tuæ divinitatis beneficio sublevemur. Nunc præsta nobis, ut sicut hæc beatissima martyr tua pugnando præmium adepta est castitatis; ita nos commissorum nostrorum ad te dimissis contagiis, adipiscamur praemia tuæ promissionis.
Let virginity be glad in thee, O Lord, we beseech thee; and with it let its sister-virtue of continency rejoice. Battles like these are won not by sex but by courage; not by them that can well wield the sword, but by them that can be chaste; not by the combatant’s title, but by his motive. An innocent conscience fears not an armed legion. He that has vanquished sin, will not flinch at a sword. He that has conquered himself, easily conquers others: and if it be praiseworthy when a man does a virtuous act, it is more so when a virgin does a manly deed. The holy virgin Eulalia stands before a tribunal of ungodly men; and with God alone in her heart, she bids defiance to all their tortures. 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 suffered its punishment from him that had. He reserves to the last what he knew was the worst; he exposes her body to the gaze of the spectators, and the stream of blood from the open gashes on her sides stains her flesh before the knife can open deeper wounds. Then was confounded the design of ths wicked tormentor, and his torments are insulted by the victim. Impiety strips our martyr, but modesty veils her. Let all, then, learn from this virgin to cultivate not beauty but virtue, not form but faith. He that would please the Lord must be tried not for how much comeliness he possesses, but for how much modesty he has. And yet, O Jesus! since it was from thee that Eulalia had all her merits, and from thee all that she achieved (for it is in vain that we would repel the 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.
Illation
Dignum et justum est, Domine Deus, qui tam prudentem virginem fidei sociatam apice gloriæ consecrasti, tibi gratias agere: Ut per quem facta est Mater Maria, fieret martyr Eulalia: illa pariendi affectu felix, ista moriendi. Illa implens Incarnationis officium, ista rapiens Passionis exemplum: illa credidit angelo, ista resistit inimico. Illa electa per quam Christus nasceretur: ista assumpta per quam diabolus vinceretur. Digna re Eulalia martyr et virgo placitura Domino suo: quæ, Spiritu sancto protegente, tenero sexu bellum forte sudaverit; et ultra opinionem humanæ virtutis ad tolerantiam pœnarum zelo tui amoris se obtulerit: quum in specie pretiosi Unigeniti tui sanguinem suum sub testimonio bonæ confessionis effuderit: et incorrupta flammis viscera in odorem suavissimi thymiamatis adoleverit. Vadit ad tribunal cruenti præsidis, non quaesita. In qua tam solum fuit animus incontihens ad secretum, quam locus competens ad triumphum. Lucratura regnum, contemptura supplicium, inventura quaesitum, visura confessum. Non trepida de pœna, non ambigua de corona, non defessa de equuleo, non diffisa de praemio. Interrogatur, confitetur; occiditur, coronatur. Ingentique miraculo majestas tua exhalatum virginis spiritum, quem assumpsit per flammam, suscepit per columbam. Ut hoc prodigio in cœlis martyr ascenderet, quo in terris Filium Pater ostenderat. Siquidem nec inhonorum patiuntur elementa corpusculum, quod deciduis nix aspersa velleribus, et virtutis rigorem et virginitatis tecta candorem eluceret, vestiret, absconderet. Superni velaminis operimento, cœlum funeri praestat exequias, et per misericordiam Redemptoris daret animae sedem, pro sepultura redderet dignitatem.
It is meet and just that we give thee thanks, O Lord, our God! 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 was happy in giving him birth; the martyr in giving him her life. The Mother ministered to his Incarnation; the martyr imitated his Passion. Mary believed the angel that appeared to her; Eulalia withstood the enemy that tormented her. Mary was chosen by whom Christ should be born; Eulalia was elected by whom the devil should be conquered. Eulalia, the martyr and virgin, was indeed worthy to please her Lord, for, by the protection of the Holy Ghost, she, a young maiden, waged a fierce war; she, with more than human strength, made herself, for thy love, a victim of suffering; she, for the sake of thy beloved Son, shed her blood in the noble confession of her faith, and 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, so bold was her spirit to speak the secret of her faith. She wants a kingdom, she cares not for tortures, she would find him she longs for, she would see him that she confesses. 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 her the crown. By an admirable miracle, the virgin’s spirit, which thy divine Majesty did draw from its prison by a flame, thou didst take to thyself as a dove; thus under the same symbol whereby thou didst show thy Son to the earth, did thy martyr ascend into heaven. Neither did the elements withhold their homage; but over her body, which remained on the earth, they form a snowy 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 her body lay palled in the coverlet of heaven’s making, her soul was placed, by the mercy of our Redeemer, on its 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 possessing Him. And yet, with all this ardour which heeds 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 spirit. Pray for us to Him who made thee thus worthy to be His bride, that we also may be courageous 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, which so readily mislead the simple and weak; and lastly, that He efface not thy beloved Spain from the number of Catholic nations, but spare, for the sake of the fathers, those among her children that are degenerate.
A Responsory of Advent
(Ambrosian breviary, fourth Sunday of Advent)
R. Per Gabrielis angeli os, nunciatum est Virgini Mariæ, et Verbum concepit e cœlo: * Et illum suscepit modicus uterus, cui parvus fuerat mundus. V. Spiritus sanctus in te ingredietur, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi: * Et illum suscepit modicus uterus, cui parvus fuerat mundus.
R. A message was announced to the Virgin Mary by the mouth of the angel Gabriel; and she conceived the Word from heaven: * And the womb of a tender Virgin contained him, whom the world was too little to contain. V. The Holy Ghost shall enter within thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: * And the womb of a tender Virgin contained him, whom the world was too little to contain.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
This 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 defenders 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 predecessor 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.’ St. 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 Scriptures, and a virgin doctor of the virgin Church.’ The legend of the breviary gives us a brief account of his life.
Prose
(Taken from the Cluny missal of 1523)
Damasus Hispanus, vir egregius et eruditus in Scripturis, indicto primo Constantinopolitano Concilio, nefariam Eunomii et Macedonii hæresim exstinxit. Idem Ariminensem conventum a Liberio jam ante rejectum, iterum condemnavit: in quo, ut scribit Sanctus Hieronymus, Valentis potissimum et Ursacii fraudibus damnatio Nicenæ fidei conclamata fuit, et ingemiscens orbis terrarum, se Arianum esse miratus est.
Basilicas duas ædificavit; alteram Sancti Laurentii nomine ad theatrum Pompeii, quam maximis muneribus auxit, eique domos, et prædia attribuit: alteram via Ardeatina ad Catacumbas. Platoniam etiam, ubi corpora sanctorum Petri et Pauli aliquandiu jacuerunt, dedicavit, et exornavit elegantibus versibus. Idemque prosa, et versu scripsit de virginitate, multaque alia metro edidit.
Pœnam talionis constituit iis, qui alterum falsi criminis accusassent. Statuit, ut quod pluribus jam locis erat in usu, psalmi 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 novum Testamentum Græcæ fidei reddidit. Quum Ecclesiam rexisset annos decem et septem, menses duos, dies viginti sex, et habuisset ordinationes quinque mense Decembri, quibus creavit presbyteros triginta unum, diaconos undecim, episcopos per diversa loca sexaginta duos; virtute, doctrina, ac prudentia clarus, prope octogenarius, Theodosio seniore imperante, obdormivit in Domino, et via Ardeatina una cum matre et sorore sepultus est in basilica, quam ipse ædificaverat. Illius reliquiae postea translatae sunt in ecclesiam sancti Laurentii, ab ejus nomine in Damaso vocatam.
Damasus was a Spaniard, a man of highest worth, and learned in the Scriptures. He called the first Council of Constantinople, in which he condemned the impious heresy of Eunomius and Macedonius. He also condemned the Council of Rimini, which had already been rejected by Liberius, inasmuch as it was in this assembly of Rimini, as St. Jerome tells us, that mainly by the craft of Valens and Ursacius, was published a condemnation of the faith which had been taught by the Nicene 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.
He established the law of retaliation for cases of false accusation. He decreed that, as was the custom in many places, the psalms should be sung in all churches in alternate 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 St. Jerome translated the new Testament from the Greek text. He governed the Church seventeen years, two months, and twenty-six days; and five times during this period, he gave ordinations, in the month of December, to thirty-one priests, eleven deacons, and sixty two bishops, for divers places. Conspicuous for his virtue, learning, and prudence, and having lived little short of eighty years, he slept in the Lord, during the reign of Theodosius the Great. He was buried in the basilica which he had built on the 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 in Damaso.
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, and didst guard them against those perfidious doctrines, wherewith hell ever strives to corrupt that glorious symbol of our faith, which tells us of God’s infinite mercy towards us, and of the sublime dignity 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 pastors has rewarded the unsullied purity of thy faith, O thou ‘virgin doctor of the virgin Church!’ Oh that we could have a ray of that light which now enables thee to see Jesus in His glory! Pray for us, that we may have light to see Him, and know Him, and love Him, under the humble guise in which He is so 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!’[1]
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 describes 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 pearl, 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 Sun 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, together 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 commencing 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,though that alone would have sufficed to redeem a million worlds! The eternal Son of God wills to remain, as other children, nine months in His Mother’s womb: after that, to be born in poverty, to 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 all 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, 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 which contains the true manna sent for the food of 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, it is the salvation of all who shall love Thee.
Prose in Honor 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, praeclarissima.
Ave, decus virginum, Ave, salus hominum, Ave, potentissima.
Ave, Mater Domini, Genitrix Altissimi, Ave, prudentissima.
Ave, mater gloriæ, Mater indulgentiæ, Ave, beatissima.
Ave, vena veniæ, Fons misericordiæ, Ave, clementissima.
Ave, mater luminis, Ave, honor ætheris, Ave, porta cœlica, Ave, serenissima.
Ave, candens lilium, Ave, opobalsamum, Ave, fumi virgula, Ave, splendidissima.
Ave, mitis, Ave, dulcis, Ave, pia, Ave, læta, Ave, lucidissima.
Ave, porta, Ave, virga, Ave, rubus, Ave, vellus, Ave, felicissima.
Ave, clara cœli gemma, Ave, alma Christi cella, Ave, venustissima.
Ave, virga Jesse data, Ave, scala cœli facta, Ave, nobilissima.
Ave, stirpe generosa, Ave, prole gloriosa, Ave, fætu gaudiosa, Ave, excellentissima.
Ave, Virgo singularis, Ave, dulce salutaris, Ave, digna admirari, Ave, admirandissima.
Ave, turtur, tu quæ munda Castitate, sed fœcunda Charitate, tu columba, Ave, pudicissima.
Ave, mundi imperatrix, Ave, nostra mediatrix, Ave, mundi sublevatrix, Ave, nostrum gaudium. Amen.
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!
Hail, 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!Hail, mother of glory; hail, mother of mercy; hail, most blessed Mary!
Hail, source of pardon; hail, fount of pity; hail, most clement Mary!
Hail, mother of light; hail, honour of the firmament; hail, gate of heaven; hail, most gentle Mary!
Hail, fair lily; hail, precious fragrance; hail, sweet incense; hail, most resplendent Mary!
Hail, O meek; hail, O sweet; hail, O merciful; hail, O joyous; hail, O most beautiful Mary!
Hail, gate of heaven; hail, branch prophetic; hail, flaming bush; hail, mystic fleece; hail, most happy Mary!
Hail, beautiful pearl of heaven; hail, fruitful abode of Christ; hail, most comely Mary!
Hail, branch of Jesse; hail, mystic ladder that reaches to heaven; hail, most noble Mary!
Hail, daughter of a kingly race; hail, Mother of a Son who is God; hail, full of joy at the birth of this Son; hail, unrivalled Mary!
Hail, peerless Virgin; hail, lovely source of our happiness; hail, wonderful in thy graces; hail, most admirable Mary!
Hail, spotless dove, pure in thy chastity, yet fruitful in charity; hail, immaculate Mary!
Hail, empress of the world; hail, mediatrix of men; hail, protectrix of the world; hail, joy of our hearts! Amen.
.
Prayer for the Time of Advent
(The Mozarabic breviary, Monday of the first week of Advent)
Nunciatum ecce vocem jucunditatis et lætitiæ, quam do tua, Christe, Incarnatione audivimus; ut in nobis dulciori efficiamus charitate fruentiores, imploramus tuae magnitudinis exspectantes potentiam; ut ita in nobis vocis hujus effectus usquequaque praepolleat, ut non confundamur in ea, quum manifestata nobis fuerit gloria tua. Amen.
The tidings we have heard of thy Incarnation, O Jesus, have filled us with gladness and joy. We beseech thee, grant that we, who are 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 not be confounded when thy glory shall appear to us. Amen.
[1] St. Luke v. 4.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
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 bestowed 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;’[1] and that of Jeremias: ‘The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth; a woman shall compass a Man.’[2] 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 and that of Jeremias: 'The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth; a woman shall compass a Man.' 11 The Gentiles them- selves had received the tradition of these prophecies. Thus in the old pagan Oarnutum (Chartres), there was an altar dedicated ' To the Virgin that was to bring forth a Son and that of Jeremias: 'The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth; a woman shall compass a Man.' 11 The Gentiles them- selves had received the tradition of these prophecies. Thus in the old pagan Oarnutum (Chartres), there was an altar dedicated ' To the Virgin that was to bring forth a Son (Virgini Parituræ)’; 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 rays of the majesty of Jehovah encircling his head, what an aureola of glory is due to Mary, who has within her, as in a living heaven, 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.’[3] 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.’[4] ‘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 is so exceedingly loved by this her Lord? It is she of whom the Scripture 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 all 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. But let me briefly tell you what are the flowers you must offer to our Lady. Christ says, speaking of His Humanity, “I am 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 injure it; for flowers are tender things, and soon droop and fade. Let us wash our hands among the innocent, 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.’[5]
Ave, Virgo gratiosa,
Virgo Mater gloriosa,
Mater Regis gloriæ.
Ave, fulgens margarita
Per quam venit mundi vita,
Christus sol justitiæ.
O oliva fructifera,
Tu pietatis viscera
Nulli claudis hominum.
Nos exsules laetificas,
Ut vitis, dum fructificas
Salvatorem Dominum.
Ave, Virgo Mater Dei,
Tu superni sol diei,
Et mundi noctis luna.
Clementior præ caeleris,
Succurre nobis miseris,
Mortalium spes unica.
Ave, decus virginale,
Templum Dei speciale! Per te fiat veniale
Omne quod committimus.
Tu nobis es singularis;
Tu nos ducas, stella maris;
Tu nos semper tuearis:
En ad te confugimus.
Ad te, pia, suspiramus,
Si non ducis, deviamus;
Ergo doce quid agamus;
Post hunc finem ut vivamus
Cum sanctis perenniter.
Jesu Christe, Fili Dei,
Tota salus nostræ spei;
Tuæ matris interventu,
Angelorum nos conventu
Fac gaudere jugiter.
Amen.
Hail, Virgin full of grace!
glorious Virgin-Mother
of the King of glory!
Hail, fair pearl!
by whom came the life of the world,
Christ the Sun of justice.
O fruitful olive!
thou excludest no mortal
from thy tender compassion.
Thou givest gladness to us exiles,
for, like a 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!
Tenderest of Mothers!
help us poor mortals,
for God wills us to hope in thee above all creatures.
Hail, O purest Virgin!
God’s special temple! pray for us to him,
that he would forgive us all our sins.
Thou art unto us what no other creature is.
Guide us, 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 so, after this life is ended,
we may live for ever with the saints.
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 the angels in eternal joy.
Amen.
A Prayer for the Time of Advent
(The Mozarabic breviary, first Sunday of Advent)
Audivimus, Christe; confitemur, et credimus, quod de sinu Patris egrediens veneris, ut camis nostræ vestibulo cingereris, liberaturus, scilicet susceptæ Incarnationis mysterio, quod perierat naturæ vitiatæ contagio. Fac nos, praenuntiata adventus tui gaudia, promptissima surrectionis devotione excipere: ut quia tu e loco patrio, secretoque progrediens, salvaturus homines, humanitus properasti ad publicum; nos e loco criminis exeuntes, munditiores concitum Divinitatis tuæ prospectemus excursum: ut extrema vitæ nostræ, nullius discriminis conculcatione involvens: sic provoces terrore justitiæ, ut solita justifices pietate. Amen.
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 salvation, come into the world, in the form of man; we may abandon the sins in which we have been living, and hasten, thus purified, to meet thy divine majesty; that at the close of our lives, the fear of thy threats may not crush us by despair; but make us now so tremble at the dread of thy justice, that thy wonted mercy may then justify us. Amen.
[1] Isa. vii. 14.
[2] Jer. xxxi. 22.
[3] Cant. ii. 3, 16, 17; v. 2, 6.
[4] Ibid. ii. 5.
[5] Sermon for Christmas Eve.