Epiphanytide
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
THE Magi have reached Bethlehem; the humble dwelling of the King of the Jews has been thrown open to them; there, says St Matthew, they found the Child with Mary his Mother.[1] Falling down, they adore the divine King they have so fervently sought after, and for whom the whole earth has been longing.
Here we have the commencement of the Christian Church. In this humble stable we have the Son of God made Man, presiding as Head over his mystical body; Mary is present, as the co-operatrix in the world's salvation, and as the Mother of divine Grace; Juda is represented by this holy Queen and her Spouse St Joseph; the Gentiles are adoring, in the person of the Magi, whose faith is perfect now that they have seen the Child. It is not a Prophet that they are honouring, nor is it to an earthly King that they open their treasures; he before whom they prostrate in adoration is their God. ‘See, I pray you,’ says St Bernard, ‘and attentively consider how keen is the eye of faith. It recognizes the Son of God whether feeding at his Mother's breasts, or hanging on the Cross, or dying in the midst of suffering; for the Good Thief recognizes him on the Cross, and the Magi recognize him in the stable; he in spite of the nails which fasten him, and they in spite of the clouts which swathe him.’[2]
So that all is consummated, Bethlehem is not merely the birthplace of our Redeemer; it is the cradle of the Church. Well did the Prophet say of it: And thou, Bethlehem, art not the least among the princes of Juda.[3] We can understand St Jerome leaving all the ambitions and comforts of Rome to go and bury himself in the seclusion of this cave, where all these mysteries were accomplished. Who would not gladly live and die in this privileged place, sanctified as it is by the presence of our Jesus, embalmed with the fragrance of the Queen of Heaven, filled with the lingering echoes of the songs of Angels, and fresh, even yet, with the memory of those ancestors of our faith, the holy Magi!
These happy kings are not scandalized at the sight they behold on entering the humble dwelling. They are not disappointed at finding at the end of their long journey a weak Babe, a poor Mother, and a wretched stable. On the contrary, they rightly understand the mystery. Once believing in the promise that the Infinite God would visit his creature Man, and show him how he loved him, they are not surprised at seeing him humble himself, and take upon himself all our miseries that he might be like us in all save sin. Their own hearts told them that the wound inflicted on man by pride was too deep to be healed by anything short of an extreme remedy; so that to them these strange humiliations at Bethlehem bespeak the design and action of a God. Israel, too, is in expectation of the Messias, but he must be mighty and wealthy and exalted above all other kings in earthly glory; the Magi, on the contrary, see in the humility and poverty of this weak Babe of Bethlehem the indications of the true Messias. The grace of God has triumphed in these faithful men; they fall down before him, and, full of admiration and love, they adore him.
Who could describe the sweet conversations they held with his blessed Mother? for the King himself, of whom they were come in search, broke not, even for their sakes, the voluntary silence he had imposed on himself by becoming an Infant. He accepted their homage, he sweetly smiled upon them, he blessed them; but he would not speak to them; Mary alone was to satisfy, by her sublime communications, the holy curiosity of the three pilgrims, who represented the entire human race. How amply must she not have rewarded their faith and love, by announcing to them the Mystery of that virginal Birth which was to bring salvation to the world; by telling them of the joys of her own maternal heart; and by describing to them the sweet perfections of the divine Child! They themselves would fix their eyes on the blessed Mother, and listen to her every word with devout attention; and oh! how sweetly must not divine grace have penetrated their hearts through the words of her whom God himself has chosen as the means to lead men to the knowledge and the love of his sovereign Majesty! The star which, but an hour ago, had brightly shone for them in the heavens, was replaced by another, of a lovelier light and stronger influence; and it prepared them for the contemplation of that God who calls himself the bright and morning Star![4] The whole world seemed now a mere nothing in their eyes; the stable of Bethlehem held within it all the riches of heaven and earth. They had shared in that long expectation of the human race, the expectation of four thousand years—and now it seemed but as a moment, so full and perfect was their joy at having found the God who alone can satisfy the desires of man's heart.
They understood and entered into the merciful designs of their Emmanuel; they gratefully and humbly contracted with him the alliance he so mercifully made, through them, with the human race; they adored the just judgements of God, who was about to cast off an unbelieving people; they rejoiced at the glories of the Christian Church, which had thus been begun in their persons; they prayed for us, their posterity in that same Church.
We, dear Babe of Bethlehem!—we, the Gentiles, who by our regeneration have become the posterity of these first Christians—we adore thee as they did. Since their entrance into Bethlehem, long ages have passed away; but there has been an unbroken procession of people and nations tending towards thee under the guidance of the Star of Faith. We have been made members of thy Church, and we adore thee with the Magi. In one thing are we happier than these firstborn of the Church; we have heard thy sacred words and teachings, we have contemplated thy sufferings and thy Cross, we have been witnesses of thy Resurrection, we have heard the whole universe, from the rising to the setting of the sun, hymning thy blessed and glorious Name: well may we adore and love thee as King of the earth! The Sacrifice whereby all thy Mysteries are perpetuated and renewed is now offered up daily in every part of the world; the voice of thy Church is heard speaking to all men; and all this light and all these graces are ours! The Church, the ever-enduring Bethlehem, the House of the Bread of Life, gives thee to us; and we are for ever feasting on thy adorable beauty. Yea, sweet Jesus, we adore thee with the Magi.
And thou, O Mary! teach us as thou didst teach the Magi. Unfold to us, and each year more clearly, the sweet Mystery of thy Jesus, and at length win us over unreservedly to his service. Thou art our Mother; watch over us, and suffer us not to lose any of the lessons he teaches us. May Bethlehem, wherein we have entered in company with the holy Magi, work in us the renovation of our whole lives.
Let us close the day by reciting some of the ancient hymns written in honour of the Mystery of our new-born King. Let us begin with these stanzas of one composed by St Ambrose.
Hymn
Fit porta Christi pervia,
Referta plena gratia,
Transitque Rex, et permanet
Clausa ut fuit per sæcula.
Genus superni Numinis
Processit aula Virginis,
Sponsus, Redemptor, conditor,
Suæ gigas Ecclesiæ.
Honor Matris et gaudium,
Immensa spes credentium,
Per atra mortis pocula
Resolvit nostra crimina.
Lapis de monte veniens,
Mundumque replens gratia,
Quem non præcisum manibus
Vates vetusti nuntiant.
Qui Verbum caro factus est
Præconio angelico,
De claustris virginalibus
Virginis virgo natus est.
Rorem dederunt æthera,
Nubesque justum fuderunt,
Patens excepit Dominum
Terra salutem generans.
Mirabilis conceptio:
Christum protulit sobolem,
Ut Virgo partum funderet,
Post partum virgo sisteret.
Exsulta omnis anima,
Nunc Redemptorem gentium
Mundi venisse Dominum
Redimere quos condidit.
Creator cuncti generis,
Orbis quem totus non capit,
In tua, sancta Genitrix,
Sese reclusit viscera.
Quem Pater ante tempora
Deus Deumque genuit,
Matris almæ virginitas
Cum tempore partum edidit.
Tollens cuncta facinora.
Et donans sancta munera,
Augmentum lucis afferens,
Tenebris damnum inferens.
The Gate of Christ is opened
—a Gate all filled with grace:
—the King passes, and the Gate remains
shut, as it had for ever been
The Son of the infinite God
came forth from the Virgin's womb:
he is the Spouse, Redeemer, Creator,
and (as the Psalm speaks) the Giant of his Church.
He is the glory and the joy of his Mother;
he is the immense hope of them that believe in him.
He drank the bitter cup of death,
and so absolved our sins.
He is the Stone that came from the mountain,
filling the world with grace.
The ancient prophets tell us that this Stone is to come,
and is not to be cut by the hand.
It is he, the Word, who was made Flesh
as the Angel was speaking;
He was born a Virgin
from the Virgin’s virginal womb.
The heavens gave forth their Dew,
and the clouds rained down the Just One;
the earth opens
and buds forth its Saviour, our Lord.
O wonderful conception!
the Child it has produced is Christ,
and the Mother that was Virgin in giving him birth
remained a Virgin after she had given him birth.
Let every soul be glad,
for the Redeemer of nations,
the Lord of the world,
is come to redeem the creatures he had made.
The Creator of the human race,
whom the whole world is too little to hold,
has hid himself, O holy Mother!
in thy womb.
He that was born of his Father
before all ages, God of God,
is now born in time
of his dear Virgin-Mother.
He takes away all sin,
and gives his sacred gifts;
he brings increase of light,
and breaks the power of night.
The following prayer is from the Breviary of the Gothic Church of Spain.
Prayer
Domine Jesu Christe, qui ad interrogationem Herodis, ita Magorum ora præconio veritatis tuæ irradias, ut te Regem regum per eos nuntiatum ostendas, dum se vidisse aiunt stellæ refulgentis indicium, quod mundum illuminet universum: Te quæsumus, te precamur, ut des in Ecclesia tua visionis tuæ lumen optatum: appareas etiam in ea sidus omnibus pretiosum, quod nulla adversarii interrogatione deterriti, sic magnalia tua prædicemus ore diffuso, ut in æternæ lucis radiemus usquequaque præsidio. Amen.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who, when the Magi were questioned by Herod, didst enlighten them with the announcement of thy truth by showing thyself to be the King of kings whom they declared by saying that they had seen thy sign, the bright Star, which gives light to the whole world: we beseech and implore thee that thou grant to thy Church the light she so much desires of thy vision. Show thyself also in her as the Star prized by all; that so, when questioned by our enemy, we may not be afraid, but may so boldly confess thy mysteries as that we may shine for all eternity in the mansion of eternal light. Amen.
The Church of Syria received the following Hymn of the Magi from her admirable Poet, St Ephrem.
Hymn
Exsultantes Principes Persidis ex sua regione acceperunt munera, et Filio Virginis attulerunt aurum, myrrham et incensum.
Ingressi ut infantem repererunt illum in domo jacentem pauperculæ: at procidentes exsultando adoraverunt eum, et suos ipsi obtulerunt thesauros.
Dixit Maria: Cui hæc? et ad quid? et quæ causa vocavit vos ex vestra regione, ut ad puerum cura thesauris vestris veniretis?
Respondent illi: Rex est filius tuus, et diademata connectit cum sit Rex omnium, altiusque mundo est regnum ejus, ac imperioipsiussingula parent.
Quando contigit hoc unquam, ut paupercula Regem pariat? Inops sane sum, ac egena, undeque mihi erit ut Regem pariam?
Tibi soli hoc contigit, ut magnum Regem parias; et per te magnificabitur paupertas, filioque tuo subjicientur diademata.
Non sunt mihi gazæ regum, nec divitiæ unquam mihi obvenerunt; domus en paupercula est, et vacuum domicilium: cur ergo filium meum Regem prædicatis?
Gazæ magnæ est filius tuus, et divitiæ, quæ omnes ditare valent; gazæ namque regum deficiunt; ille vero nec deficiet, nec mensurabitur.
Ne alius forte sit vester Rex, qui natus est, hunc perquirite; etenim hic pauperculæ est filius, quæ Regem vel videre nequit.
Numquid fieri unquam potest, ut aberret viam lumen, quando immittitur? Siquidem non tenebræ nos vocarunt et adduxerunt: sed in lumine ambulavimus, et filius tuus Rex est.
Ecce videtis infantem silientem, et matris domum inanem et vacuam, nullumque in ea Regis apparere vestigium; quomodo ergo ejusmodi incolans domum Rex est?
Ecce sane videmus ilium silentem, et quietum; sed Regem, etsi pauperem, ut dixisti: at videmus etiam eum suo commovere imperio astra cœli, ut prænuntient ortum ejus.
Parvulus est infans, et ecce, ut cernitis, nec diadema regium habet, nec thronum: quid ergo videtis ut honoretis eum thesauris vestris, ut Regem?
Parvulus est, quia ipse voluit, et diliget mansuetudinem, et humilitatem, donec manifestetur. At erit tempus, cum incurvabuntur illi diademata, ac illum adorabunt.
Virtutes nullas habet, neque legiones; neque cohortes filius meus, in paupertate suæ jacet matris; et Rex a vobis quomodo appellatur?
Virtutes filii tui desuper sunt, cœlum equitant, et micant flammis, ex quorum numero unus nos vocare venit, totaque perterrita est regio nostra.
The Persian Princes were filled with joy, and took with them such gifts as their country yielded, and brought to the Son of the Virgin gold, myrrh, and frankincense.
Having entered, they found the Child lying in the house of a poor maid: but falling down they adored him with much joy, and offered him their treasures.
Mary spoke to them and said: To whom offer ye these things? and why offer ye them? what has brought you from your country, to come to my Child with your treasures?
They answered: Thy Child is King, and all diadems are made by him, for he is the King of all kings, and his kingdom is above this world, and all things are subject to his dominion.
But how could this have happened, that a poor maid should have given birth to a King? I am indeed needy and poor: could I have brought forth a King?
Thou alone hast had this happiness, to give birth to the great King. Poverty shall now be honoured on thy account, and thrones shall be subject to thy Son.
But I have no treasures such as kings have, nor did I ever possess riches. Lo! my house is little and poor, and empty is this my dwelling: why then call you my Son King?
Thy Son himself is treasure and riches enough to enrich all men; for the treasures of kings fail; but he shall never fail, and there shall be no limits to his wealth.
Go, seek this your King, who is born; for this Babe is the Child of a poor maid, who would not be allowed to even look at a king.
No, it cannot be that light sent down from heaven can mislead us. It is not darkness that has called and guided us; but we have walked in the light, and thy Son is King.
But this Babe is speechless, and his Mother’s house is poor and empty, and there is nought here that suits a King: how can he be King that dwells in such a house?
Silent indeed he is, and motionless, and as thou sayest, poor; still is he King, for we have seen him move the stars of heaven, when he bade them proclaim his birth.
He is but a tiny Babe, and as you see, he has neither crown nor throne: what is it that makes you honour him with your treasures, as though he were a King?
He is a little Child, for he wished so to be, and he will love meekness and humility, until the day shall come for him to show himself: but the time shall be when crowned heads shall bow before him and adore him.
My Son has no troops or legions or armies, but lies couched as best his Mother's poverty can provide: how, then call you him King?
The armies of thy Child are there above, they ride on the clouds of heaven, and light up the firmament with their brightness, and one of their number came down to call us, and all our people were in consternation.
As our offering to our Lady, we will recite this beautiful Sequence, which our own dear England used to sing in the Middle Ages.
Sequence
Flos pudicitiæ,
Aula munditiæ,
Mater misericordiæ.
Salve, Virgo serena,
Vitæ vena,
Lux amœna,
Rore plena
Septiformis Spiritus,
Virtutibus Ornantibus,
Ac moribus Vernantibus!
Rosa jucunda,
Castitatis lilium,
Prole fœcunda,
Gignis Dei Filium;
Virgoque munda
Tu post puerperium.
Modo miro,
Sine viro,
Prole fœcundaris.
Summi Ducis,
Veræ lucis
Partu decoraris.
Virga, flore,
Rubo, rore
Virgo designaris.
Vellereque
Madenteque
Digna Domini paris.
Virgo prolem,
Stella solem,
Profers, expers paris.
Ob hoc rite,
Via vitæ
Jure prædicaris.
Tu spes, et refugium
Lapsorum humilium:
Tu medela criminum,
Salus pœnitentium.
Tu solamen tristium,
Levamen debilium;
Tu purgatrix sordium,
Confirmatrix cordium.
Tu laus, tu remedium
In te confidentium:
Tu vitale præmium
Tibi servientium.
O pia Maria,
Lapsis advocata,
Tu cunctis miseris
Dulcis spes et grata.
Erige, dirige
Corda tuorum,
Ad pia gaudia
Regni cœlorum.
Quo vere gaudere
Per te possimus,
Cum Natoque tuo,
Regnantes simus.
Amen.
O flower of purity!
Sanctuary of chastity!
Mother of mercy!
Hail, gentle Maid!
Source of Life!
Beautiful light!
Full of the dew
of the sevenfold Spirit!
Adorned with all virtues,
and blooming in holiness of life!
Sweet Rose!
Lily of chastity!
Fruitful Mother,
thou givest birth to the Son of God!
And after thy delivery
thou remainest a pure Virgin!
Thou art made his Mother in a wonderful way
—nature stood aside
to let its God do all.
How beautiful art thou
by giving birth to him
that is the very Light—the great King!
Those ancient figures of the Law
—the Rod, the Flower, the Bush, the Dew
—all were types of thee, sweet Virgin-Mother!
And Gedeon's Fleece,
soaked with the dew of heaven, foreshadowed thee,
O Mary, the worthy Mother of our God!
Thou art a Virgin, and thou hast a Child!
Thou art a Star,
and thou bringest forth a Sun! Dear peerless Queen!
And after this,
can men be found who deem it wrong to call thee
‘the Way of Life'?
Thou art the Hope, and the Refuge of humble sinners:
thou healest them
whose hearts are sick from crime,
and thou winnest salvation for them that repent.
Thou art the comfortress of the afflicted,
and the support of the weak;
the unclean of heart ask thee to pray them pure,
and souls discouraged obtain bravery from thee.
Thou art the glory and the helper of them
that have confidence in thee;
and by thy prayers thou obtainest the reward
of eternal life for them that serve thee.
O Mary, full of motherly love!
thou art the sinner's advocate,
and the sweet consoling hope
of them that are in wretchedness.
Raise up the hearts
of us thy clients,
and turn them to the holy joys
of the heavenly kingdom.
Where we may,
by thy intercession,
truly rejoice,
and reign together with thy Son.
Amen.
[1] St Matt, ii 11.
[2] Second Sermon for the Epiphany.
[3] St Matt. ii 6; Mich. v 2.
[4] Apoc. xxii 16.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
THE Magi were not satisfied with paying their adorations to the great King whom Mary presented to them. After the example of the Queen of Saba, who paid her homage to the Prince of Peace in the person of King Solomon, these three Eastern Kings opened their treasures and presented their offerings to Jesus. Our Emmanuel graciously accepted these mystic gifts, and suffered them not to leave him until he had loaded them with gifts infinitely more precious than those he had vouchsafed to receive. The Magi had given him of the riches which this earth produces; Jesus repays them with heavenly gifts. He strengthened in their hearts the virtues of faith, hope, and charity; he enriched, in their persons, the Church of which they were the representatives; and the words of the Canticle of Mary were fulfilled in them: He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away,[1] for the Synagogue refused to follow them in their search after the King of the Jews.
But let us consider the gifts made by the Magi, and let us, together with the Church and the Holy Fathers, acknowledge the Mysteries expressed by them. The gifts were three in number, in order to honour the sacred number of the Persons in the divine Essence, as likewise to express the triple character of Emmanuel. He had come that he might be King over the whole world; it was fitting that men should offer gold to him, for it is the emblem of sovereign power. He had come to be High Priest, and, by his mediation, reconcile earth to heaven; incense, then, was an appropriate gift, for the Priest uses it when he offers sacrifice. But thirdly, it was only by his own death that he was to obtain possession of the throne which was prepared for his glorified Human Nature, and the perpetual Sacrifice of the Divine Lamb was to be inaugurated by this same his Death; the gift of Myrrh was expressive of the Death and Burial of an immortal Victim. The Holy Ghost, who inspired the Prophets, had guided the Magi in their selection of these three gifts. Let us listen to St Leo, who, speaking of this Mystery, says with his usual eloquence:
O admirable Faith, which leads to Knowledge and perfect Knowledge, and which was not taught in the school of earthly wisdom, but was enlightened by the Holy Ghost himself! For whence had they learnt the supernatural beauty of their three Gifts? they that had come straight from their own country, and had not as yet seen Jesus, nor beheld in his infant Face the Light which directed them in the choice of their offerings? Whilst the star met the gaze of the bodily eye, their hearts were instructed by a stronger light—the ray of Truth. Before setting out on the fatiguing journey they knew him, to whom were due, by Gold, the honours of a King; by Incense, the worship of God; by Myrrh, the faith in his Mortal Nature.[2]
But these three gifts, which so sublimely express the three characters of the Man-God, are fraught with instruction for us. They signify three great virtues, which the Divine Infant found in the souls of the Magi, and to which he added increase by his grace. Gold signifies charity, which unites us to God; Frankincense prayer, which brings God into man's heart; and Myrrh self-abnegation, suffering and mortification, whereby we are delivered from the slavery of corrupt nature. Find a heart that loves God, that raises herself up to him by prayer, that understands and relishes the power of the cross—and you have in that heart the worthiest offering which can be made to God, and one which he always accepts.
We, too, O Jesus! offer thee our treasure and our gifts. We confess thee to be God and Priest and Man. We beseech thee to accept the desire we have of corresponding to the love thou showest us by giving thee our love in return; we love thee, dear Saviour! do thou increase our love. Receive also the gift of our Prayer, for though of itself it be tepid and poor, yet it is pleasing to thee because united with the prayer of thy Church: teach us how to make it worthy of thee and how to give it the power of obtaining what thou desirest to grant: form within us the gift of prayer, that it may unceasingly ascend up like sweet Incense in thy sight. And lastly, receive the homage of our contrite and humble hearts, and the resolution we have formed of restraining and purifying our senses by mortification and penance.
The sublime Mysteries which we are celebrating during this holy season have taught us the greatness of our own misery, and the immensity of thy love for us, and we feel more than ever the obligation we are under of fleeing from the world and its concupiscences, and of uniting ourselves to thee. The Star shall not have shone upon us in vain: it has brought us to thee, dear King of Bethlehem! and thou shalt be King of our hearts. What have we that we prize and hold dear, which we can hesitate to give thee in return for the sweet infinite treasure of thyself, which thou hast given to us?
Dear Mother of our Jesus! we put these our offerings into thy hands. The gifts of the Magi were made through thee, and they were pleasing to thy Son; thou must present ours to him, and he will be pleased with them, in spite of their poverty. Our love is deficient; fill up its measure by uniting it with thine own immense love. Second our prayer by thy maternal intercession. Encourage us in our warfare against the world and the flesh. Make sure our perseverance, by obtaining for us the grace of a continual remembrance of the sweet Mysteries which we are now celebrating; pray for us that, after thine own example, we may keep all these things in our hearts. That must be a hard and depraved heart which could offend Jesus in Bethlehem; or refuse him anything now that he is seated on thy lap, waiting for our offering! O Mary! keep us from forgetting that we are the children of the Magi, and that Bethlehem is ever open to receive us.
Let us borrow the language of the ancient Liturgies, in order to give expression to the sentiments awakened in us by all these ineffable Mysteries. Let us begin with this Hymn on the Nativity of our Lord left us by the saintly Bishop of Poitiers, Venantius Fortunatus.
Hymn
Agnoscat omne sæculum
Venisse vitæ præmium;
Post hostis asperi jugum
Apparuit redemptio.
Esaias quæ cecinit
Completa sunt in Virgine:
Annuntiavit Angelus,
Sanctus replevit Spiritus.
Maria ventre concipit
Verbi fidelis semine:
Quem totus orbis non capit
Portant puellæ viscera.
Radix Jesse floruit,
Et Virga fructum edidit;
Fœcunda partum protulit,
Et Virgo mater permanet.
Præsepe poni pertulit
Qui lucis auctor exstitit,
Cum Patre cœlos condidit,
Sub Matre pannos induit.
Legem dedit qui sæculo,
Cujus decem præcepta sunt,
Dignando factus est homo
Sub Legis esse vinculo.
Adam vetus quod polluit
Adam novus hoc abluit:
Tumens quod ille dejicit
Humillimus hic erigit.
Jam nata lux est et salus,
Fugata nox et victa mors,
Venite gentes, credite,
Deum Maria protulit.
Amen.
Let all ages acknowledge
that he is come who is the reward of life.
After mankind had carried the yoke of its cruel enemy,
our Redemption appeared.
What Isaias foretold
has been fulfilled in the Virgin;
an Angel announced the mystery to her,
and the Holy Ghost filled her by his power.
Mary conceived in her womb,
for she believed in the word that was spoken to her:
the womb of a youthful maid
holds him whom the whole earth cannot contain.
The Root of Jesse has given its flower,
and the Branch has borne its fruit:
Mary has given birth to Jesus,
and the Mother is still the spotless Virgin.
He that created the light
suffers himself to be laid in a manger;
he that, with the Father, made the heavens,
is now wrapt by his Mother's hand in swaddling-clothes.
He that gave to the world
the ten commandments of the law,
deigns, by becoming Man,
to be under the bond of the law.
What the old Adam defiled,
that the new Adam has purified;
and what the first cast down by his pride,
the second raised up again by his humility.
Light and salvation are now born to us,
night is driven away, and death is vanquished:
oh! come, all ye people, believe;
God is born of Mary.
Amen.
The Mozarabic Breviary contains the following eloquent prayer.
Prayer
Deus, Dei Filius, Patris ineffabilis Virtus, qui novo sidere in Gentibus Rex regum ostenderis magnus, et in civitate illa beata appares gloriosus: quem insulæ tremunt: cui principes et nationes Gentium obsequuntur, dum tibi omnia regna cedunt, tibi regum diademata substernuntur; dignare jam gratianostris te ostendere sensibus pium, et in conversationibus manifestum: ut primitias Spiritus habentes, ea tibi semper munera dedicemus, per quæ introire beatam illam Hierusalem placitis cordibus mereamur, ut tibi mundissimum aurum nostrorum operum deferentes, regni tui mereamur esse participes. Amen.
O God, Son of God, the ineffable Power of the Father, who, by the rising of a new star, didst reveal thyself to the Gentiles as the King of kings, and now art seen in thy glory in that happy city above: O thou before whom the islands tremble, and the Gentile princes and nations bow in homage, and to whom all kingdoms are subject, and at whose feet all kings lay down their crowns: vouchsafe now, by thy grace, to show thyself in thy mercy to our souls, and manifest thyself by our lives: that having within us the firstfruits of the Spirit, we may ever offer thee such gifts as thereby to merit to enter, with hearts well-pleasing to thee, into the blessed Jerusalem, and by offering thee now the most pure gold of our works, we may deserve to be partakers of thy kingdom. Amen.
We take the following Sequence from the Paris Missal of 1584.
Sequence
In excelsis canitur
Nato Regi gloria,
Per quem terræ redditur
In cœlo concordia.
Jure dies colitur
Christi natalitia,
Quo nascente, nascitur
Novæ legis gratia.
Mediator nobis datus
In salutis præmium,
Non nature, sed reatus
Effugit consortium.
Non amittit claritatem
Stella fundens radium,
Nec Maria castitatem,
Pariendo Filium.
Quis de monte lapis cæsus
Sine manu, nisi Jesus
Qui de Regum linea,
Sine carnis opere,
De carne puerperæ
Processit virginea?
Solitudo gaudeat,
Et desertum floreat:
Virga Jesse floruit.
Radix virgam, virga florem,
Virgo profert Salvatorem,
Sicut Lex præcinuit.
Radix David typum gessit:
Virga, matris quæ processit
Ex regali semine.
Flos est Puer nobis natus,
Jure flori comparatus
Præ mira dulcedine.
In præsepe reclinatur,
Cujus ortus celebratur
Cœlesti præconio.
Cœli cives jubilant,
Dum pastores vigilant
Sub noctis silentio.
Cuncta laudes intonant
Super partum Virginis.
Lex et psalmi consonant
Prophetarum paginis.
Angelorum et pastorum,
Stellæ simul et Magorum
Concordant indicia.
Reges currunt Orientis
Ad præsepe vagientis,
Gentium primordia.
Jesu puer immortalis,
Ex terreno temporalis,
Nos ab hujus vitæ malis
Tu potenter erue.
Tu, post vitam hunc mortalem,
Sive mortem hanc vitalem,
Vitam nobis immortalem
Clementer restitue.
Amen.
There is sung in the highest heavens:
Glory be to the newborn King,
by whom peace is restored
between heaven and earth.
Rightly do we keep
the Birthday of Jesus as a feast;
for by his birth,
the grace of the new law is born.
He, our Mediator, is given to us
to be the reward of our salvation:
he takes upon himself our nature,
refusing only to be like us in our sin.
As a star loses nothing of its brightness
by giving forth its ray;
so neither does Mary suffer the loss of her purity
by giving birth to her Son.
Who is the Stone cut from the mountain
and not by the hand of man, if not our Jesus,
who was of the line of kings.
And was born from the womb
of his Virgin-Mother,
after she had virginaily conceived?
Let the wilderness be glad,
and the desert bloom;
—the rod of Jesse has flowered.
As was foretold in the Law, the Root has yielded its Branch,
the Branch its Flower,
and the Virgin our Saviour.
The Root was the figure of David:
the Branch was the type of Mary,
who was born of a kingly race.
The Flower is the Child that is born unto us,
well likened to a flower,
by reason of his wonderful sweetness.
He, whose birth is celebrated
by the heavenly spirits,
is laid in a manger!
The citizens of heaven are in jubilee,
whilst the Shepherds are keeping
watch in the still night.
Let all creatures give forth praise
for that the Virgin has given birth to her Son.
The law and the psalms harmonize
with the writings of the Prophets.
The Angels and the Shepherds,
the Star and the Magi,
all agree in proclaiming the Birth.
The Eastern Kings run
to the Crib of the Babe
—they are the first-fruits of the Gentiles.
O Jesus, immortal Babe!
born in time because thou wouldst assume our nature,
snatch us, by thy power,
from this life's woes.
After this our mortal life,
or rather this living death,
mercifully restore unto us
that life which is immortal.
Amen.
Hymn
Totum mysterium ut actum est apud vos in regione vestra, aperite nunc mihi, ut amici; et quis vocabit vos, ut ad me veniretis?
Magna stella nobis apparuit, reliquis multo splendidior stellis, cujus lumine nostra terra est inflammata, et quod Rex ortus sit, nobis annuntiavit.
Nollem, vos quæso, loquamini hæc in regione nostra, ne sentientes Reges terræ, machinentur sua invidia adversus puerum.
Ne timeas, Virgo, quia omnia diademata solvet Filius tuus, eaque pessumdabit, nec sua invidia nocumentum inferre illi valebunt.Herodem timeo, lupum pollutum, ne me perturbet, gladium stringat, quo præcidat dulcem botrum adhuc immaturum.
Herodem ne timeas: per Filium enim tuum subvertetur ejus thronus, et statim atque regnabit, destruetur, et ejus diadema decidet.
Torrens sanguinis est Hierusalem, in eaque optimi quique cadunt: quare si hoc præsenserit, machinabitur in ilium; ideoque secreto loquamini, precor, et ne tumultuetis.
Torrentes omnes, et lanceæ etiam per manus Filii tui sedabuntur, et Hierosolymæ obstupescet gladius, et nisi voluerit, non cadet.
Scribæ et sacerdotes Hierusalem, qui sanguinem subdole effundere solent, excitabunt forte lethale litigium adversum me, et adversum puerum: Magi, quæso, silete.
Scribæ et sacerdotes nequáquam valebunt sua invidia Filio tuo nocere; et per ipsum solvetur eorum sacerdotium, et solemnitates eorum cessabunt.
Angelus apparuit mihi, quando concepi puerum; quod Rex sit Filius meus, et quod ab alto sit ejus diadema, et non solvetur, ipse quoque explicavit mihi ut et vobis.
Angelus igitur, quem dicis, ipse venit sub specie sideris et apparuit nobis, atque annuntiavit quod Puer major sit et splendidior stellis.
Coram vobis ecce aperio aliud arcanum, ut confirmemini; scilicet virgo peperi filium, Filiumque Dei; euntes prædicate ipsum.
Jam nos prædocuit stella, nativitatem ejus extra ordinem esse naturæ, et super omnia esse Filium tuum, eumdemque etiam Filium esse Dei.
Pacem referte in terram vestram; pax gliscat in finibus vestris: veraces veritatis nuntii habeamini in toto itinere vestro.
Pax Filii tui nos reducat incolumes in regionem nostram, ut duxit; et cum imperium ejus mundo manifestabitur, invisat terram nostram, et benedicat illi.
Gaudeat Persis vestro nuntio, exsultet Assyria vestro reditu; et quando regnum Filii mei manifestabitur, in regione vestra suum collocabit vexillum.
Tell me, I beg of you as friends, how the mystery was declared to you in your country, and who it was that told you to come to me?
A star of great size appeared to us, more brilliant far than other stars; its light illumined our land, and it was an announcement to us that the King was born.
Tell not this, I pray you, in these our parts, lest the kings of the earth should hear it, and plot, in their envy, against the Child.
Fear not, O Virgin! for thy Son shall be master of all crowns, and shall crush them; neither shall the envy of kings be able to hurt him.
I fear that unclean wolf Herod, lest perhaps he bring grief upon me, and draw his sword to cut from off its vine my sweet though not yet ripened Fruit.
Fear not Herod, for his throne shall be o'erthrown by thy Son, and his reign shall be short, and his crown shall fall from his head.
Jerusalem is a torrent of blood, and all that are good are slain; if this be known, the city will plot against my Child. I pray you, then, whisper these things, and noise them not abroad.
All blood-shedding shall be stayed, and all weapons sheathed by the hand of thy Son; Jerusalem's sword shall be stupefied, powerless to strike, unless by his consent.
The Scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem are skilled in secret murders, and may stir up some deadly purposes against me and the Child. Be silent, Magi, I beseech you.
Not so: the envious Scribes and Pharisees shall not have power to injure thy Child; nay, he will take away their priesthood, and put an end to their solemn feasts.
An Angel appeared to me when I conceived my Babe; he told me, as he told you, that my Child is King, and that his throne is from above, and shall never have an end.
This Angel, then, of whom thou speakest, is he that appeared to us under the figure of the star, and told us that thy Son is greater and brighter than the stars.
Lo, now I will reveal to you another secret, that you may take fresh courage: I have given birth to my Child, who is the Son of God, and yet am I a Virgin. Go forth and preach his name to the nations.
All this was taught us by the Star: it told us that his birth was beyond the course of nature, and that thy Son is above all creatures, and that he is the Son of God.
Take peace back with you to your land; may peace be in your territories; may you be the truthful messengers of the Truth on all your journey.
May the peace of thy Son, which brought us hither, lead us back safe to our country; and, when his kingdom shall be declared to the world, may he visit our land, and bless it.
May Persia rejoice at your tidings, and Assyria be glad in your return; and when the kingdom of my Son shall be declared, he shall set his standard in your land.
Die XV Januarii
Molestissimis passionum insultibus, quasi tempestatibus exagitatus, et peccatorum ictibus quasi fluctibus concussus, ad indefessam protectionem tuam confugio cum affectu, o puella omni laude dignissima: miserere mei, et salva me, o Virgo perpetua.
Cum te tamquam rosam redolentem punis ille in convallibus reperisset, o inviolata; in medio tui habitavit, humanum genus suavissimo replens odore.
Dirige motus animæ meæ, o purissima, ad divina illius præcepta qui ex utero tuo coruscavit, atque a tempestate scandalorum hujus vitæ eripe me intercessionibus tuis.
Omnium Dominum Emmanuel sine viri opera peperisti, manens Virgo post partum, o Virgo mater. Eumdem incessanter exora ut ab hostium invasionibus liberentur illi qui confugiunt sub protectionem tuam.
Verbum quod æquale est in operatione et in throno Genitori suo, ex visceribus tuis corporasti, o casta; atque inde propter ineffabilem misericordiam suam, totam naturam nostram assumpsit.
Prolem tuam laudamus, o benedicta, per quam ab antiqua damnatione redempti sumus; te vero beatificamus, o divina felicitate cumulatissima; quam solam dilexit ille qui est benedictus ac supergloriosus.
Fluvium perennem nobis effundis recurrentibus ad te, o casta; cujus uberem gratiam delibantes, partum tuum laudamus, o inviolatissima, et superexaltamus in omnia sæcula.
Lucis habitacuium venter tuus factus est, per quam sedentes in tenebris viderunt lumen: unde te incessabili voce semper laudamus, o Dei Mater; et cum affectu veneramur te spem animarum nostrarum.
Tossed by the troublesome attacks of my passions, as by so many storms, and buffeted by the blows of my sins as by angry billows, I lovingly fly to thy untiring protection, O Maid most worthy of all praise. Have pity on me, and save me, O ever spotless Virgin!
When the God of purity found thee, O spotless Virgin, in the lowly valleys as the Rose that breathes forth sweet fragrance, he dwelt within thee, and filled the human race with the most delicious perfume.
Turn the faculties of my soul, O most pure one, to the divine commandments of him who shone forth from thy womb, and by thy prayers deliver me from the storm of this life's scandals.
Thou didst virginally bring forth our Emmanuel, the Lord of all, O Virgin-Mother, and didst remain a Virgin after thy delivery. Pray to him unceasingly, that they who fly to thy protection may be freed from the attacks of their enemies.
O chaste Virgin! thou didst, from thy womb, clothe with a human body him who is the Word equal to his Father in works and in majesty; from thee, by reason of his unspeakable mercy, did he assume our entire human nature.
O Blessed Mother! we praise thy Son, who redeemed us from the old curse. We bless thee, O blessed by God above all women, who art loved above all by him who is blessed and glorious above all.
Thou pourest forth an everflowing stream on us who have recourse to thee, O VirginMother! Refreshed by its plentiful grace, we praise thy Son, O purest Maid, and we extol him above all for ever.
Thy womb was made the dwelling-place of Light, whereby they saw the light that sat in darkness. Therefore do we ever praise thee with our unceasing hymns, O Mother of God, and devoutly venerate thee, the hope of our hearts.
[1] St Luke i 53.
[2] Sermon the Fourth On the Epiphany.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
The Church makes commemoration, to-day, of the holy Pope and Martyr Hyginus. He held the Apostolic Chair under the reign of Antoninus, and closed his four years’ Pontificate by martyrdom. We have no history of his life, but we venerate in him one of the links of that grand chain of Pontiffs which unites us, by St Peter, to our Lord Jesus Christ. The whole weight of the government of the Church was upon his shoulders, and he was courageous and faithful in the discharge of his duties; his reign was during the age of Persecution, when to be Pope was to be a victim of tortures and death. As we have already said, he soon won his Palm, and was associated in heaven with the three Magi, who had, before leaving this world, preached the Gospel in Greece, the country of our Saint. Let us ask him to bless the offerings we are making to the Divine Infant of Bethlehem, and to pray for us, that we may obey this sweet King, who asks us to give him not our blood by martyrdom, but our hearts by charity.
Let us honour the memory of this holy Pope, and say with the Church:
Ant. Iste Sanctus pro lege Dei sui certavit usque ad mortem, et a verbis impiorum non timuit; fundatus enim erat supra firmam petram.
Oremus
Infirmitatem nostram respice, omnipotens Deus, et quia pondus propriæactionis gravat, beati Hygini Martyris tui atque Pontificis intercessio gloriosa nos protegat. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
Ant. This Saint fought, even unto death, for the law of his God, and feared not the words of the wicked; for he was set upon a firm rock.
Let us Pray
Have regard, O Almighty God, to our weakness; and whereas we sink under the weight of our own doings, let the glorious intercession of blessed Hyginus, thy Martyr and Bishop, be a protection to us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
From Dom Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.
HAVING laid their offerings at the feet of Jesus, as the sign of the alliance they had, in the name of all mankind, contracted with him, and laden with his graces and blessings, the Magi take their leave of the Divine Babe; for such was his will. They take their departure from Bethlehem, and the rest of the world seems a wilderness to them. Oh, if they might be permitted to fix their abode near the new-born King and his incomparable Mother! But no; God's plan for the salvation of the world requires that everything savouring of human pomp and glory should be far from him who had come to take upon himself all our miseries.
Besides, they are to be the first messengers of the Gospel; they must go and tell to the Gentiles that the Mystery of Salvation has begun, that the earth is in possession of its Saviour, and that their salvation is nigh at hand. The star does not return to them; they needed it to find Jesus; but now they have him in their hearts, and will never lose him. These three men are sent back into the midst of the Gentile world, as the leaven of the Gospel which, notwithstanding its being so little, is to leaven the whole paste.[1] For their sakes, God will bless the nations of the earth; from this day forward infidelity will lose ground, and faith will progress; and when, the Blood of the Lamb having been shed, Baptism shall be promulgated, the Magi shall be, not merely men of desire, but perfect Christians, initiated into all the Mysteries of the Church.
The ancient tradition, which is quoted by the author of The Imperfect Work on St Matthew, which is put in all the editions of St John Chrysostom, and was probably written about the close of the 6th century, tells us that the three Magi were baptized by St Thomas the Apostle, and devoted themselves to the preaching of the Gospel. But we scarcely need a tradition on such a point as this. The vocation of these three Princes could never be limited to the mere privilege of being the first among the Gentiles to visit the eternal King who had come down from heaven to be born on this earth and show himself to his creatures; a second vocation was the consequence of the first, the vocation of preaching Jesus to men.
There are many details relating to the life and actions of the Magi, after they had become Christians, which have been handed down to us; but we refrain from mentioning them, as not being sufficiently ancient or important traditions to have induced the Church to give them place in her Liturgy. We would make the same observation with regard to the names assigned to them of Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthassar; the custom of thus naming them is too modern to deserve credit; and though it might be indiscreet to deny that these were their true names, it seems very difficult to give proofs of their correctness.
The Relics of these holy Kings were translated from Persia to Constantinople, under the first Christian Emperors, and, for a long time, were kept in the Church of Saint Sophia. At a later period, they were translated to Milan, when Eustorgius was Bishop of that city. There they remained till the 12th century, when, through the influence of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, they were translated to the Cathedral Church of Cologne by Reynold, Archbishop of that metropolitan see. The Relics are in a magnificent Shrine, perhaps the finest specimen now extant of medieval metallic art, and the superb Cathedral where it is religiously kept is, by its size and architectural beauty, one of the grandest Churches of the Christian world.
Thus have we followed you, O Blessed Magi! Fathers of the Gentile world! from your first setting out from the East for Bethlehem to your return to your own country, and even to your sacred resting-place; which the goodness of God has made to be in this cold West of ours. It was the love of children for their parents that made us thus cling to you. Besides, were we not ourselves in search of that dear King whom you so longed for and found? Blessed be those ardent desires of yours, blessed be your obedience to the guidance of the star, blessed be your devotion at the Crib of Jesus, blessed be the gifts you made him, which, while they were acceptable to God, were full of instruction to us! We revere you as Prophets, for you foretold the characters of the Messias by the selection of your three gifts. We honour you as Apostles, for you preached, even to Jerusalem herself, the Birth of the humble Jesus of Bethlehem, of that Jesus whom his Disciples preached not till after the triumph of his Resurrection. We hail you as the Spring Flowers of the Gentile world, but Flowers which produced abundant and rich fruits, for you brought over entire nations and countless people to the service of our divine King. Watch over us, and protect the Church. Be mindful of those Eastern countries, whence rises to the earth the light of day, the beautiful image of your own journey towards Bethlehem. Bless this Western world of ours, which was buried in darkness when you first saw the star, and is now the favoured portion of God's earth, and on which the Divine Sun of Justice pours forth his brightest and warmest rays. Faith has grown weak among us; reenkindle it. Obtain of the divine mercy that the West may ever send forth her messengers of salvation to the South and North, and even to that infidel East, where are laid the tents of Sem, and where the light that you gave her has been long extinguished by her apostasy. Pray for the Church of Cologne, that illustrious sister of our holiest Churches in the West; may she preserve the faith, may she defend her sacred rights and liberty; may she be the bulwark of Catholic Germany, and be ever blessed by the protection of her Three Kings, and the patronage of the glorious Ursula and her virginal army. Lastly, we beseech you, O venerable Magi! to introduce us to the Infant Jesus, and his Blessed Mother; and grant us to go through these forty days, which the Church consecrates to the Mystery of Christmas, with hearts burning with love for the Divine Child, and may that same love abide with us during the pilgrimage of our life on this earth.
To-day, also, we will make use of the formulas employed by the several ancient Churches in honour of the Mystery of the Epiphany. Our first selection is a hymn written by the great Fulbert of Chartres.
Hymn
Nuntium vobis fero de supernis;
Natus est Christus, Dominator orbis,
In Bethlehem Judæ; sic enim Propheta
Dixerat ante.
Hunc canit lætus chorus Angelorum,
Stella declarat, veniunt Eoi
Principes, dignum celebrare cultum,
Mystica dona.
Thus Deo, myrrham tribuunt sepulchro,
Auream Regi speciem decenti,
Dum colunt unum, meminere Trino
Tres dare terna.
Gloriam trinæ monadi canamus,
Cum Deo divæ Genitore Proli,
Flamini necnon ab utroque fuso
Corde fideli.
Amen.
'I bring you tidings from heaven above:
Christ, the Ruler of the earth,
is born in Bethlehem of Juda:
for thus was it foretold by the Prophet.’
Thus sing the glad choir of Angels;
the same is announced by the Star,
and the Eastern Kings come to offer to Jesus
the worthy homage of their mystic gifts.
They offer their Frankincense to him as to their God;
the Myrrh honours his sepulchre; the Gold is the token of his Kingly character.
Whilst thus worshipping One,
the three offerers give three gifts to the Blessed Three,
Let us, too, sing praise to our Triune God:
glory to the Father, and to his divine Son,
and to the Holy Spirit, who is sent into the hearts of the faithful
by the Father and the Son.
Amen.
Prayer
Tu es. Domine, stella veritatis oriens ex Jacob, homoque consurgens ex Isræl: et in novo sidere ostenderis Deus, et in præsepio positus Deus et homo, unus crederis Christus: propter magnam misericordiam tuam visionis tuæ nobisproroga gratiam: appareat in nobis lucis tuæ radiabile signum, quod expellat omnes tenebras vitiorum; ut qui visionis tuæ desiderio anhelamus, visionis tuæ præmio consolemur. Amen.
Thou, O Lord, art the Star of truth, that riseth out of Jacob, and the man that springeth from Israel. In the new Star thou showest thyself as God, and lying in the Crib God and Man, we confess thee to be the one Christ. In thy great mercy grant us the grace of seeing thee, and show unto us the radiant sign of thy light, whereby all the darkness of our sins may be put to flight: that so we who now languish with the desire of seeing thee, may be refreshed with the enjoyment of that blissful vision. Amen.
Prayer
Fulget, Domine, cœlum rutilum serenitate astrorum, terraque ipsa refulgenti lumine serenatur, quia apparere dignatus es mundo de habitaculo sancto tuo; sana ergo cordis nostri mœstitiam, quia ad hoc venisti, ut redimas universa: illudque nostris oculis lumen attribue, quo te purificati semper mereamur aspicere: ut qui Apparitionis tuæ gaudia lætabunda nuntiamus in gentibus, infinita tecum lætitia gaudeamus. Amen.
The heavens are shining with the clear beauty of the stars, O Lord, and the very earth is made beautiful by a shining light, because thou didst vouchsafe to appear to the world from out thy holy dwelling place. Remove, therefore, from our hearts all sadness, for unto this end art thou come, that thou mayest make all things new. Grant also that light unto our eyes which may purify us and fit us to behold thee for ever; that thus we who preach to the nations the glad joys of thy Apparition, may be made glad with thee in infinite joy. Amen.
We take the following Sequence from the ancient Missals of the Churches of Germany.
Sequence
Nato nobis Salvatore
Celebremus cum honore
Diem natalitium.
Nobis datus, nobis natus,
Et nobiscum conversatus,
Lux et salus gentium.
Eva prius interemit;
Sed Salvator nos redemit
Carnis suæ merito.
Prima parens nobis luctum,
Sed Maria vitæ fructum
Protulit cum gaudio.
Negligentes non neglexit,
Sed ex alto nos prospexit
Pater mittens Filium.
Præsens mundo, sed abs consus,
De secreto tamquam sponsu:
Prodiit in publicum.
Gigas velox, gigas fortis,
Gigas nostræ victor mortis,
Accinctus potentia.
Ad currendam venit viam,
Complens in se prophetiam
Et Legis mysteria.
Jesu, nostra salutaris
Medicina, singularis
Nostra pax et gloria;
Quia servis redimendis
Tam decenter condescendis,
Te collaudant omnia.
Amen.
Our Saviour is born unto us!
Let us solemnly celebrate
his Birthday.
To us was he given, unto us was he born,
and with us has he lived,
he the light and salvation of the Gentiles.
In the beginning Eve caused our death;
but Jesus, by the merits of the human nature he assumed,
has redeemed us.
Our first mother brought us woe;
but Mary joyfully brought forth
for us the fruit of life.
We neglected our heavenly Father, but he did not neglect us;
he looked down upon us from heaven,
and sent us his only Son.
This Jesus, though in the world, was hidden from the s world;
but, at length he came forth as a Bridegroom from the nuptial chamber,
and made himself known.
He is the Giant foretold by the Psalmist—swift, and strong,
and vanquishing our death,
for he was girt with power.
He came that he might run his course,
and so verify the prophecy,
and the mysteries of the Law.
Jesus, thou our
saving medicine,
our only Peace and glory!
May all creatures give thee praise,
for that thou didst so mercifully condescend
to redeem us thy servants!
Amen.
This beautiful canticle in honour of the Infant Jesus is from the pen of St Ephrem, the sublime bard of the Syrian Church.
Hymn
Hebrææ virgines assuetæ alias Jeremiæ Threnos recantare, pro lugubri suarum Scripturarum carmine, indidem acceptos lætitiæ hymnos hujusmodi refuderunt, Spiritu ipsarum ora movente:
Læta jam nunc oculos ab inferis attollat Eva hunc visura diem, in quo ipsius nepos vitæ auctor descendit extinctam Matris suæ genitricem excitaturus. Adoran dus puer caput serpentis contudit, cujus illa olim infecta veneno periit.
A cunis decori Isaac, Sara mater tuam speculabatur infantiam, teque illo adumbratum suo mulcebat cantu; relegensque infantiæ tuæ mysteria in eo puero expressa:Euge, fili, votorum fructus meorum, cantabat; jam nunc video in te, qui latet in te Dominum, omnium piorum vota precesque suscipiens, et ratas efficiens.
Nazaræus Samson juvenis fortissimus tuæ fortitudinis umbra fuit; leonem laceravit, mortis quam concidisti typum; rupisti scilicet mortem, vitamque ex ejus amarissimo ventre exclusisti, cujus usura nobis futura erat jucundissima.
Anna pariter te in Samuele figuratum, suo non semel pectori oppressiti tum primum, quando tuam præsensit justissimam severitatem ab illo repræsentatam eo die, quo regem Agag in frusta dissectum occidit, expressam diaboli imaginem: tum iterum, quando tuam contemplabatur clementiam ab eodem velut rudiore manu descriptam, eo tempore quo Saulis ruinam piis et veris lacrymis lugere non destitit.
The Hebrew maidens, who heretofore had been wont to chant the Lamentations of Jeremias in the plaintive strain of their Scriptures, now borrowed from the same holy volume joyful thoughts, and, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sang them thus in hymns:
'Let Eve, in Limbo, now raise up her eyes, and see this day whereon one of her race, and he the author of life, descends to raise up from death the mother of his own dear Mother. The adorable Infant crushed the head of the serpent, by whose poison Eve had perished.
'Sara, the fair Isaac’s mother, foresaw thine Infancy, O Jesus, in her own son’s crib; the lullaby she sang over him told the mysteries of thy Childhood, which were foreshadowed and prefigured in her own child. Thus did she sing: “Sweet Babe! fruit of my prayers! I see in thee the Lord, who is hidden in thee as in his type: ’tis he receives the wishes and the prayers of pious hearts, and grants them their requests."
'The Nazarite Samson, the youth of exceeding strength, was a figure of thy strength, O Jesus! He tore a lion to pieces, typifying the death thou didst slay, for thou didst crush death, and from its bitter entrails didst draw forth life, whose taste would be most sweet to us.
'Anna, too, pressed thee to her bosom in the person of Samuel the Prophet, who was twice a figure of thy ministry; firstly when he prefigured thy most just severity on the day when he slew King Agag, the figure of the devil, and cut him to pieces; secondly, by imitating thy mercy, though imperfectly, when he unceasingly shed his tears of loving and sincere compassion over the fall of Saul.'
The Menæa of the Greek Church furnish us with these beautiful stanzas in honour of the holy Mother of God.
Die XVI Januarii
Terra inarata apparuisti, o augustissima, quæ spicam nobis protulisti, universi nutritorem Dominum Jesum, ex quo nos comedentes, ad vitam revocamur.
Deum ex te incarnatum videntes, o Virgo casta, Deiparam te proprie confitemur, quæ omnium reformationis, absque ulla dubitatione, causa fuisti.
Superessentialis ille, qui carnis erat expers, ex venerandis sanguinibus tuis incarnatus est, o castissima; et caro sine ulla mutatione factus, cum hominibus conversatus est.
Naturæ leges in te, o purissima Virgo, revera innovantur: Virgo quippe post partum manes, velut ante partum, Christum legislatorem enixa.
Miserabilis animæ meæ passionibus medere, o Dei Genitrix castissima; mentem tranquilla hostilibus invasionibus velut tempestatibus jactatam, et cor meum pacatum redde, o puella.
Rosam in medio spinarum te vere invenit in hujus mundi convallibus, o casta Virgo, Jesus omnium piantator atque ex utero tuo natus, nos divinæ cognitionis suavissimo perfudit odore.
Te spirituale candelabrum, qua lucem inaccessibilem suscepisti, agnovimus, o Virgo Maria, quæ omnium fidelium animos illuminasti, et peccati tenebras eliminasti.
Vocibus gratiarum actione plenis ad te clamamus: Ave, immaterialis, lucis habitaculum purissimum; ave, causa deificationis omnium; ave, maledictionis dissolutio; ave, terrigenarum expulsorum revocatio.
O most august Queen! thou wast the untilled land that gavest us our Wheat, Jesus, the Lord and feeder of the universe; by eating this Bread we are restored to life.
Seeing our Lord made incarnate from thee, chaste Virgin! we confess thee to be in very deed the Mother of God, that didst thus become, we hesitate not to proclaim it, the cause of the regeneration of all things.
He, the Being above all beings, who was a pure spirit, took flesh to himself from thy pure blood, O Spotless Maid! and remaining God as before, he was made flesh, and lived among men.
Nature’s Laws were truly suspended in thee, most pure Virgin! for thou remainest a Virgin after thy delivery, as thou wast before it, for thou didst give birth to him who is the giver of all laws, Christ.
Spotless Mother of God! heal the passions of my wretched soul: appease my mind, tossed by the attacks of my enemy as with tempests, and bring, O Virgin, peace unto my heart.
Jesus, the divine Husbandman of the world, found thee, chaste Virgin! in the lowly valley of this earth, growing as a Rose amidst thorns. He entered thy womb, and was born of thee, refreshing us with the delicious fragrance of the knowledge of divine things.
O Virgin Mary! we acknowledge thee to be the mystic candlestick on which was placed the Light inaccessible; thereby thou hast enlightened the minds of all the faithful, and hast put to flight the darkness of sin.
Thus do we cry out to thee in words of thankful love: Hail, most pure dwelling of spiritual Light! Hail, cause of our union with God! Hail, destroyer of the curse! Hail, O thou that didst call from their exile the children of this earth.
[1] St Matt. xiii 33.
ST BENET BISCOP is one of the great Benedictine saints to whom England owes so much. His devotion and loyalty to the Holy See, his love of learning, his zeal for the beauty of the house of God, for the monastic observance and for the Church's chant, show him to be a true monk, though his influence extended far wider than the narrow limits of his monastery, and affected the social condition of the people and the whole life of the Church in England. His feast is kept in several dioceses in England, but as there is no uniformity with regard to the date, we have inserted it in our calendar on the day of his death.
St Benet stands out among the great travellers in the cause of religion. He visited Rome no fewer than seven times, not only to satisfy his own devotion, but to obtain from the mother of all the churches the purest traditions, the most correct books for use in the divine liturgy, and objects of piety wherewith to inspire the devotion of the faithful. These treasures were all destined to be used for the benefit of his own countrymen, who were unable to seek them for themselves at the fountain-head. He inspired all those with whom he came in contact with a more exalted idea of the dignity of the worship of God. With regard to the Divine Service, his ruling principle was that nothing but the best was worthy of use, whether it were in the carrying out of liturgical functions or the actual fabric of the church. In his day Britain was far behind the continental nations in industry and art, and stone buildings were hardly known. St Benet, therefore, journeyed into Gaul to procure stonemasons, who came to the monastery at Wearmouth in Northumbria, and, with the help of the monks whom they instructed, built a stone church for the Community. The making and use of glass was also unknown in these islands at the time, and again St Benet sent messengers to Gaul who brought back workers in glass to glaze the windows of his church.
The record of St Benet's life has come down to us as written by the Venerable Bede, who was a monk of the abbey founded by the saint at Jarrow. Bede was admitted into this monastery when a child, during the lifetime of St Benet Biscop, and thus in his Life speaks from personal experience. He records several charming incidents which are not included in the Breviary lessons, one of which is given here as being illustrative of the saint's zeal for the Divine Office.
The Venerable Bede records that once during a visitation of the pestilence the monks at Jarrow were all stricken with the sickness with such severity that there remained but two persons in the house who were able to go to the church to sing the Divine Office, the Abbot Benet and Bede, who was still a child. These two performed the duties of the whole choir with unflagging zeal until the monks gradually regained sufficient strength to resume their share of the work of God. One can well imagine the joy of the angels at the sight of the venerable Abbot and the innocent child, each intent upon performing his share of the psalmody with exactitude so that it might never be said that the praise of God had ceased to resound through the Abbey church.
The following is the life of the saint as given in the Breviary lessons.
Benedictus cognomento Biscopus nobili stirpe genitus, quum esset minister Osvii regio, annos natus circiter viginti quinque Romam adiit, et Apostolorum Beatorum loca visere curavit. Ad patriam mox reversus, quævidit ecclesiasticæ vitæ instituía, non solum diligere et venerari, sed prædicare non desiit. Quo tempore Alchfridus Osvii filius et ipse Romani venire disponens, eum comitem accepit. Quem quum pater revocaret, ipse cœptum explens iter Romam rediit tempore Vitaliani Papæ. Et post menses aliquot inde digrediens, ad insulam Lirinensem tonsuram accepit, et disciplinam regularem, monachi voto insignitus, servavit; ubi per biennium institutus, rursus beati Petri Apostolorum Principis amore devictus, sacram ejus corpore civitatem repetere statuit, nec post longum tempus adveniente nave mercatoria desiderio satisfecit.
Eo tempore Egbertus Cantuariorum rex electum ad Episcopatus officium virum nomine Vigardum Romam miserat, qui veniens defunctus est. Ast Romanus Pontifex, ne legatio fructu careret, elegit de suis, quem Archiepiscopum mitteret, Theodorum nomine, et quia Benedictum sapientem, industrium, religiosum, et nobilem compererat, huic ordinatum commendavit. Venerunt Cantium, Theodorus sedem episcopalem conscendit, Benedictus vero monasterium beati Petri regendum suscepit. Quod ubi duobus annis rexit, tertium de Britannia Romam iter accipiens, libros divinæ eruditionis vel emptos vel largitos retulit. Tandem ad patriam pedens convertens Egfridum Transumbranæ regionis regem adiit, tantamque apud eum gratiam invenit, ut terram septuaginta familiarum largitus, monasterium ibi primo Pastori Ecclesiæ facere præciperet.
Unius anni spatio post fundatum monasterium interjecta, Benedictus Gallias petens casmentarios, qui lapideam sibi ecclesiam facerent, accepit. Proximante ad profectum opere, misit legatorios Galliam qui vitrificatores artifices Britannis eatenus incognitos, ad cancellandas fenestras adducerent. Ea quoque, quæ nec in Gallia reperiri valebant Romanis e finibus ecclesiæsuæ ut conferret, quarta illa post compositum monasterium profectione, ampliori quam prius fenore cumulatus rediit. Inter alia ordinem psallendi juxta morem Romanæ institutionis suo monasterio tradidit ab Agathone Papa accepto archicantore ecclesiæ sancti Petri, Joanne, Abbate monasterii Sancti Martini. Attulitetiam epistolam privilegii a Papa, qua monasterium ab extrinseca irruptione perpetuo redderetur liberum.
Verum quarta vice de Britannia Romam accurrens, innumeris donis locupletatus rediit, magna copia voluminum sacrorum, sed non minori sicut prius, sanctorum imaginum. Haud multo post morbo cœpit fatigari et per triennium languere, paulatim accrescente tanta paralysi membrorum parte factus sit præmortuus: superioribus solum, sine quorum vita vivere nequit homo, ad officium patientiæ virtutumque reservatio. Satagebat interim Benedictus advenientes sæpius ad se fratres de custodienda, quam statuerat, regula firmare; et hoc sedulus iisdem solebat iterare mandatum ne quis in electione Abbatis generis prosapiam, et non magis vivendi, docendique probitatem putaret esse quærendam. Vero inquit, dico vobis quia tolerabilius mihi est hunc locum si sic judicaverit Deus, in solitudinem sempiternam redigi, quam ut frater meus carnalis quem novimus viam veritatis non ingredi, in monasterio regendo post me succedat. Sexto decimo postquam monasterium fundavit anno quievit in Domino pridie Idus Januarii, sepultus in ecclesia beati Petri Apostoli, ut quem degens in carne semper solebat amare, ab hujus reiiquiis ex altari post mortem nec longius abesset.
Benedict, surnamed Biscop, of noble parentage and a member of the household of King Oswy, journeyed to Rome when he was about twenty-five years of age to visit the tombs of the blessed Apostles. Upon his return to his native land soon afterwards, he endeavoured to introduce the customs of ecclesiastical life which he had seen and which he had not ceased to love and venerate. Alchfrid, son of Oswy, wishing also to visit Rome, took Benedict as his companion, but when Alchfrid was recalled by his father, Benedict continued the journey and arrived at Rome in the time of Pope Vitalian. After spending some months there, he went to the island of Lerins,. where he received the tonsure, and making his monastic profession, followed the regular observance. After two years, again overcome by the love of blessed Peter, the prince of the Apostles, he decided to revisit the city made holy by his body, and not long after, upon the arrival of a merchant vessel, he was able to satisfy his desire.
About that time Egbert, King of Kent, had sent to Rome as bishop-elect a man named Vigard, who died in the Holy City. In order that this embassy should not be fruitless, the Roman pontiff chose Theodore from those about him and nominated him to the Archbishopric, and having learnt that Benedict, was wise, diligent, devout, and of noble birth, he entrusted the bishop to him. When they arrived in Kent, Theodore took possession of his see and Benedict was placed at the head of the monastery of blessed Peter. He governed this monastery for two years, at the end of which time he took the road from Britain to Rome a third time, whence he brought back books of divine learning which he had either bought or been given. At length, returning to his native land, he went to Egfrid, King of Northumbria, with whom he found so much favour that he received land enough to support seventy families, and was enjoined to found there a monastery in honour of the first pastor of the Church.
A year after the foundation of the monastery, Benedict fetched masons from Gaul to build a stone church. Glass had been hitherto unknown in Britain, and therefore shortly before the completion of this work he sent messengers into Gaul to bring back artificers to glaze the windows. When the church was finished he set out for Rome (the fourth journey after the foundation of the monastery) in order to obtain those things which he could not procure in Gaul, and he returned even more laden than before. Amongst other things, he introduced into his monastery the method of psalmody according to the custom of the Roman Church, having received from Pope Agatho the Archcantor of the Church of St Peter, John, Abbot of the monastery of St Martin. He also brought back a letter of privileges from the Pope by which the monastery was made free for ever from outside interference.
For the fourth time he hastened from Britain to Rome, and, enriched with many gifts, he returned with a great store of sacred books and with no less store of holy pictures. Shortly afterwards he was attacked by his last illness, which lasted three years, for his body was a prey to paralysis in such wise that while his lower members became entirely dead, the upper part of his body, without the use of which life is impossible, remained unafflicted for the exercise of patience and virtue. Meanwhile Benedict was careful to confirm the brethren who frequently visited him in the observance of the rule he had instituted, and he often repeated the following injunction lest anyone should think that in the election of the Abbot one should be sought for among his relatives and not rather by the test of life and teaching. ‘Truly,' he said, 'I tell you that I should prefer that this place should be reduced to a solitude for ever, if God so wills, rather than that my brother according to the flesh who, we know, has not entered upon the way of truth, should succeed me in the government of the monastery.' He slept in the Lord on the day before the Ides of January sixteen years after the foundation of the monastery, and was buried in the church of blessed Peter the Apostle, that his remains might rest after death not far from the relics and altar of him to whom, during life, he had always been most devout.