St. Alphonsus Mary de Liguori: On Scandal: Sermon 23 - for the Second Sunday after Easter

"The wolf catcheth and scattereth the sheep." - (John 10:12)

The wolves that catch and scatter the sheep of Jesus Christ, are the authors of scandal, who, not content with their own destruction, labor to destroy others. But the Lord says: "Woe to that man by whom the scandal cometh" (Matt. 18:7). Woe to him who gives scandal, and causes others to lose the grace of God. Origen says, that "a person who impels another to sin, sins more grievously than the other." If, brethren, there be any among you who has given scandal, I will endeavor this day to convince him of the evil he has done, that he may bewail it, and guard against it for the future. I will show, in the first point, the great displeasure which the sin of scandal gives to God; and, in the second, the great punishment which God threatens to inflict on the authors of scandal.

First point. On the great displeasure which the sin of scandal gives to God.

It is, in the first place, necessary to explain what is meant by scandal. Behold how St. Thomas defines it: "Scandal is a word or act which gives occasion to the spiritual ruin of one's neighbor." (2, ii. q. 45, art. 1.) Scandal, then, is a word or act by which you are to your neighbor the cause or occasion of losing his soul. It may be direct or indirect. It is direct, when you directly tempt and induce another to commit sin. It is indirect, when, although you foresee that sinful words or actions will be the cause of sin to another, you do not abstain from them. But, scandal, whether it be direct or indirect, if it be in a matter of great moment, is always a mortal sin.

Let us now see the great displeasure which the destruction of a neighbor's soul gives to God. To understand it, we must consider how dear every soul is to God. He has created the souls of all men to his own image. "Let us make man to our image and likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Other creatures God as made by a fiat - by an act of his will; but the soul of man he has created by his own breath. "And the Lord breathed into his face the breath of life" (Gen. 2:7). The soul of your neighbor God has loved for eternity. "I have loved thee with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3). He has, moreover, created every soul to be a queen in Paradise, and to be a partner in His glory. "That by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature" (II Peter 1:4). In Heaven He will make the souls of the saints to be partakers of His own joy. "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord" (Matt. 25:21). To them He shall give Himself as their reward.

"I am thy reward exceeding great" (Gen. 15:1).

But nothing can show the value which God sets on the souls of men, more clearly than what the Incarnate Word has done for their redemption from sin and Hell. "If," says St. Eucharius, "you do not believe your Creator, ask your Redeemer how precious you are." Speaking of the care which we ought to have of our brethren, St. Ambrose says: "The great value of the salvation of a brother is known from the death of Christ." We judge of the value of everything by the price paid for it by an intelligent purchaser. Now, Jesus Christ has, according to the Apostle, purchased the souls of men with His own Blood. "You are bought with a great price" (1 Cor. 6:20). We can then say, that the soul is of as much value as the Blood of a God. Such, indeed, is the language of St. Hilary. "Tam copioso munere redemptio agitur, ut homo Deum valere videatur" (So plentiful a redemption was given, that man might seem to be worth God.) Hence, the Savior tells us, that whatsoever good or evil we do to the least of His brethren, we do to Himself. "So long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me" (Matt. 25:40).

From all this we may infer how great is the displeasure given to God by scandalizing a brother and destroying his soul. It is enough to say, that they who give scandal rob God of a child, and murder a soul, for whose salvation He has spent His blood and His life. Hence, St. Leo calls the authors of scandal murderers. "Quisquis scandilizat, mortem infert animae proximi" (whosoever scandalizes, brings the soul of his neighbor to death). They are the most impious of murderers; because they kill not the body, but the soul, of a brother, and rob Jesus Christ of all His tears, of His sorrows, and of all that He has done and suffered to gain that soul. Hence the Apostle says: "Now, when you sin thus against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ" (1 Cor. 8:12). They who scandalize a brother, sin against Christ; because, as St. Ambrose says, they deprive Him of a soul for which He has spent so many years, and submitted to so many toils and labors. It is related, that St. Albertus Magnus spent thirty years in making a head, which resembled the human head, and uttered words; and that St. Thomas, fearing that it was done by the agency of the Devil, took the head and broke it. St. Albertus complained of the act of St. Thomas, saying: "You have broken on me the work of thirty years." I do not assert that this is true; but it is certain that, when Jesus Christ sees a soul destroyed by scandal, He can reprove the author of it, and say to him: "Wicked wretch, what have you done? You have deprived me of this soul, for which I have labored thirty-three years."

Be careful, then, never again to give the smallest scandal. And if you wish to save your soul, avoid as much as possible those who give scandal. These incarnate devils shall be damned; but, if you do not avoid them, you will bring yourself to perdition. "Woe to the world because of scandals," says the Lord (Matt. 18:7). That is, many are lost because they do not fly from occasions of scandal. But you may say: Such a person is my friend; I am under obligations to him; I expect many favors from him. But Jesus Christ says: "If thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. It is better for thee, having one eye, to enter into life, than, having two eyes, to be cast into Hell fire" (Matt. 18:9). Although a certain person was your right eye, you must withdraw forever from her; it is better for you to lose an eye and save your soul, than to preserve it and be cast into Hell.

S. IGNATII DE LOYOLA, PRESBYTERI

Ad Laudes matutinas & ad Vesperas: novus

Magnæ cohórtis príncipem

Ignátium laus cóncinat,

clarum loquélis, áctibus

ducem ciéntem mílites.

Regi suprémo cælitum

amóre vinctus único,

eius fovénda glória

nil cénsuit iucúndius.

Hinc se suósque dévovet,

urgéntis instar ágminis,

ut iura Christi víndicet,

erróris umbras díssipet.

Sancto monénte Spíritu,

certam salútis sémitam

scrutátor altus sæculis

doctórque prudens dénotat.

Suis alúmnis díssita

missis in orbis lítora,

Ecclésiam quot éxpetit

frondére lætam géntibus!

Sit Trinitáti glória,

quæ nos det huius mílitis

exémpla fortes pérsequi

in Christi honórem pérpetim. Amen.

May our praise sing of Ignatius, prince of a mighty cohort, brilliant in words and deeds, a commander rousing his soldiers for battle.  Bound by singular love for the supreme King of the citizens of heaven, he counted nothing more pleasant than fostering the King’s glory.  Hence he devoted himself and his companions like a fighting army to vindicate the authority of Christ and drive away the darkness of error.  Inspired by the Holy Spirit, a sublime guide and wise doctor of the world, he pointed out the sure path of salvation.  He spread and sent out his disciples to distant shores of the earth, wherever there was a desire for the Church he fostered joy among the nations. To the Trinity be glory, who grants us to follow bravely the example of this soldier for the eternal honor of Christ. Amen.

St. Peter Chrysologus: Homily 141: A Sermon on the Incarnation of Christ

Deus, qui beatum Petrum Chrysologum, episcopum. Verbi tui incarnati praeconem egregium effectisti

How secret are the sleeping quarters of a king!  The place where the nation’s head, who is powerful, takes his rest is wont to be viewed only in a spirit of reverence and awe.  No alien, no sullied man, no disloyal subject, gains access and entrance to it.  How clean, how chaste, how faithful are the services expected there!  The resplendent trappings of a royal court make all this clear to us.  And what com-[p. mon or unworthy person dares to approach the gates of the king’s palace?

Surely, no one is admitted to the inner chamber of a bridegroom except a relative or an intimate friend.  He must be a man of good conscience, praiseworthy reputation, and upright life.  Thus, too, it happens that God takes into His inner chamber only this one virgin; she alone, with her virginity unimpaired, is received there.

           

These examples, O man, are for your instruction.  Realize from them just who you are, how great you are, and of what character you are.  Then ponder this in your heart: Can you fathom the mystery of the Lord’ birth?  Do you deserve to enter into the resting place of that bosom, where the heavenly King, with all the full majesty of His divinity, finds His repose?  Ought you, as a rash witness with human eyes and bodily senses, to gaze on the virgin’s conceiving?  Can you, as a bystander, contemplate with daring reverence the very hands of God fashioning for himself the holy temple of a body within the womb of the mother?  Can you by your gaze lay bare that mystery hidden through the ages, and unveil for yourself that sacrament invisible to the angels themselves?  Can you act as an overseer in the workshop of the heavenly Artisan, so that you may clearly observe how God has entered the shrine of her unbroken flesh?  Can you observe how without this virgin’s awareness He has produced the outlines of His sacred body in her venerable womb; how, without any sensations on the part of her who was conceiving, He made firm those bones which will last forever, how, beyond any arrangement of man, He produced a genuine human form; how, without any fleshly desire, He assumed the whole nature of man; how, apart from the way human flesh operates, He has taken on its every quality?

Even if you did not enjoy free access to knowledge of all these marvels, would you think that God was unable at that time to assume from flesh what in the beginning he took from mud?  Indeed, since everything is possible to God, and it is impossible for you fully to understand even the least of His works, do not pry too much into this virgin’s conceiving, but believe it.  Be reverently aware of the fact that God wishes to be born, because you offer an insult if you examine it too much.  Grasp by faith that great mystery of the Lord’s birth, because without faith you cannot comprehend even the least of God’s works.  “All his works,” says the Scripture, “are [understood] by faith”.  But here is a matter which depends completely upon faith, and you want it to stand by reason.  It is not, indeed, without reason that this matter holds true; it holds true by the reasoning of God, O man, not yours.  What is so much according to reason as the fact that God can do whatever He has willed?  He who cannot do what he wills is not God.

So, what God commands an angel relates.  His spirit fulfills it and His power brings it to perfection.  The virgin believes it, and nature takes it up.  The tale is told from the sky, and then proclaimed from all the heavens.  The stars show it forth, and the Magi tell it about.  The shepherds adore, and the beasts are aware.  As the Prophet testified: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib” [Isaiah 1:3].  You, O man, if you did not recognize Him soon along with the angels, do acknowledge Him now, even though very late, in company with the beasts.  Otherwise, while you loiter, you may be deemed less than those very animals with whom you were previously compared.  Look, they give homage with their tails, they manifest their pleasure with their ears, they lick with their tongue, and with whatever sign they can they acknowledge that their Creator, in spite of His nature, has come into yours.  Yet, you argue and quibble along with the Jews who turned away from their inns their Master whom the beasts welcomed in their cribs.  If, therefore, you will at length give reverent ear at least to the angels, at least properly, if not joyfully, receive from us the message which the angel will speak.

            

You need a sermon about this, holy brethren, but today we find it necessary to postpone this matter and treat it in our next discourse.

[From: Ganns, George E., Saint Peter Chrysologus: Selected Sermons and Saint Valerian: Homilies, The Fathers of the Church, 17 (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1953) 229-232]

Blessed John Henry Newman (Dr. Adam A. J. DeVille, Catholic World Report)

Such is the state of things in England, and it is well that it should be realised by all of us; but it must not be supposed for a moment that I am afraid of it. I lament it deeply, because I foresee that it may be the ruin of many souls; but I have no fear at all that it really can do aught of serious harm to the Word of God, to Holy Church, to our Almighty King, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, Faithful and True, or to His Vicar on earth. Christianity has been too often in what seemed deadly peril, that we should fear for it any new trial now. So far is certain; on the other hand, what is uncertain, and in these great contests commonly is uncertain, and what is commonly a great surprise, when it is witnessed, is the particular mode by which, in the event, Providence rescues and saves His elect inheritance. Sometimes our enemy is turned into a friend; sometimes he is despoiled of that special virulence of evil which was so threatening; sometimes he falls to pieces of himself; sometimes he does just so much as is beneficial, and then is removed. Commonly the Church has nothing more to do than to go on in her own proper duties, in confidence and peace; to stand still and to see the salvation of God.

S. MARTHÆ

Ad Officium lectionis & ad Vesperas: novus

Te gratulántes pángimus,

Martha, beáta múlier,

quæ meruísti sæpius

Christum domi recípere.

Tantum libénter hóspitem

curis ornábas sédulis,

in plúrima sollícita

amóris dulci stímulo.

Pascis dum læta Dóminum,

soror ac frater ávide

possunt ab illo grátiæ

vitæque cibum súmere.

Captúro mortis trámitem

dante soróre arómata,

extrémi tu servítii

vigil donásti múnera.

Magístri felix hóspita,

corda fac nostra férveant,

ut illi gratæ iúgiter

sint sedes amicítiæ.

Sit Trinitáti glória,

quæ nos in domum cælicam

admítti tandem tríbuat

tecúmque laudes cánere. Amen.

We sing your praises, O Martha, blessed woman, who were worthy often to receive Christ into your home. You so joyfully covered your guest with sollicit0us care, anxious in many things under the sweet sting of your love.  While you happily feed the Lord, your sister and brother enthusiastically were able to take from him the food of grace and life. When the Lord was captured on the road to his death, your sister provided him sweet smelling perfume and you gave the gift of final service by keeping watch over him. O happy hostess of the Master, make our hearts to burn to be grateful seats of friendship with him. . To the Trinity be glory, who grants at last for us to admitted into the heavenly home with you to sing praises. Amen.

Ad Laudes matutinas: novus

Quas tibi laudes ferimúsque vota,

nos tuis possint méritis iuváre,

Martha, quam mire sibi corde iungit

  Christus amíco.

Te frequens visit Dóminus tuáque

in domo degit plácida quiéte

ac tuis verbis studiísque lætans

  teque minístra.

Tu prior fratrem quéreris perísse,

cumque germána lacrimáta multum,

áspicis vitæ súbita Magístri

  voce redíre.

Quæ fide prompta stábilem fatéris

spem resurgéndi, Dómino probánte,

ímpetra nobis cúpide in perénne

  pérgere regnum.

Laus Deo Patri, Genitóque virtus,

Flámini Sancto párilis potéstas,

glóriam quorum pétimus per ævum

  cérnere tecum. Amen.

May the praise and prayers which we offer to you, by your merits help us, O Martha, whom Christ marvelously united to his heart in friendship. The Lord often visited you and in your home enjoyed peaceful quiet, happy in your words and zeal and service. At first you lament the death of your brother and with your sister shed many tears, then you see him restored to life at the command of the Master. Moved by faith you announce firm hope in the resurrection, when the Lord asks you, pray that we may eagerly come to the eternal kingdom. Praise to God the Father, strength to the Begotten, equal power to the Holy Spirit, whose glory we with you seek to see through ages.

Bede: The Great Litanies: Luke 11:9-13

We must not be apprehensive that, if we seek the gift of love from the Lord with deep devotion, if we say from the bottom of our hearts, Give us today our daily bread, he will permit our hearts to be narrowed by the rigidity of hatred.  Indeed, he implies this  hardness of the stone, when he says, which one of you, if (his son] asks his father for bread, will give him a stone?

We must not be afraid that, if we entreat him for strength  against the temptations of the ancient enemy, saying with our whole heart, 'Lord, increase our faith, ' he will allow us to perish from the venom of unbelief. By the word ‘serpent’ the poison of unbelief with which the human race is rightfully represented, when it is said,  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent in place of a fish? If we implore the Lord for the hope of heavenly goods through which we may be able to scorn both adversity and prosperity in the present, we must not fear that he will turn away his ears, and allow us, in our despair over what is to come, to look back, that is, to look for the poisonous advantages of the tottering world which we have left behind, The harmful change of a good intention, and the turning back to  fleshly concupiscence, is rightly compared to the venom of a scorpion which it carries behind, that is, in its tail, when it is said, 'Or if he asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion’?

Accordingly, dearly beloved, let us ask those things of the Lord, that he may grant the fresh nourishment of pure charity, sincere faith, and certain hope; and take from us the hardness of hatred, the poison faithlessness, the sting of despair which tends to tends to drag us back to the things that pass. Without any doubt we will receive what we ask for.

Monastic Office: SS. Joachim and Anne

If I Vespers is said and/or Matins: 

Gaude, mater Anna,

gaude mater sancta,

cum sis Dei facta

genetricis Dei.

Plaude tali natae

virgini Mariae;

eius genitore

Ioachim congaude

In hac nostra terra

primo benedicta,

quae fuit in Eva

quondam maledicta.

Ergo sume laudes

quas damus ovantes;

nos ab omni sorde

tua prece terge.

Sit laus Deo Patri,

summo Christo decus,

Spiritui Sancto

honor, tribus unus.

MOTHER Anne, be joyful;

Sing, O mother holy,

Since thou art the parent

Of God's Mother lowly.

PRAISE thy wondrous daughter;

Joachim, too, raises

To the Virgin Mary

His paternal praises.

FOR in her our planet

First hath benediction

Which in hapless Eva

Suffered malediction.

THEREFORE, take the praises

Joyous hearts are paying;

And from all defilement

Cleanse us by thy praying.

FATHER, Son eternal,

Holy Ghost supernal,

With one praise we bless thee,

Three in One confess thee. Amen.

Lauds

Succedit nocti lucifer,

quem mox aurora sequitur,
solis ortum praenuntians
lustrantis orbem lumine.

Christus sol est iustitiae,

aurora Mater gratiae,

quam, Anna, praeit rutilans

legis propellens tenebras

Anna, radix, uberrima,
arbor tu salutifera,
virgam producens floridam
quae Christum nobis attulit.

Gloria tibi Domine,

Qui natus es de virgine,

Cum patre, et sancto spiritu,

In sempiterna saecula. Amen.

THE morning star succeeds to night,

The dawn soon follows, growing white

To herald in the sunrise bright 

That floods the waking world with light.

Christ is the sun of righteousness,

The dawn, the Mother full of grace;

Bright Anne precedes her, like the star,

To drive the shades of  law afar.

Lo, Anne; the very fruitful root,

The tree of healing, whence a shoot        

To richest blossoming did spring,

And brought us Christ: to whom we sing,

All honor, laud, and glory be,

O Jesu, Virgin-born, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

II Vespers

Omnis sanctörum cöncio

Matrem collåudet Virginis,

De cuius puerpério

Salus procéssit höminis.

Hæc prolem devotissime

Pétiit a Patre lüminum,

Et méruit dignissime

Mariam decus virginum.

Ex Iöachim, quem häbuit

Vitæ virum eximium,

Anna Mariam génuit,

Matrem Regis iustitiæ.

Stirps Jesse clara déluit

Evæ matris opprobrium,

Dum Anna prolem génuit,

Florem Sanctorum Omnium.

Glöria tibi, D6mine,

Qui natus es de Virgine,

Cum Patre, et Sancto Spiritu,

In sempitérna saecula. Amen.

LET all the Saints in concert sing,

The mother of that Maid to laud,

By whose unstained Childbearing

Salvation came to men from God.

She sought her faithful progeny

From God the Father, Lord of light;

And merited most worthily

The pride of Virgins, Mary bright.

To Joachim, esteemed the peer

Of any in his goodliness,

Anne brought forth Mary, Mother dear

Of Jesus, King of righteousness.

Let Jesse's noble stock efface

From Mother Eve her olden taints:

Anne bears her child, the child of grace,

The fairest blossom of the Saints.

All glory, praise, and honor be,

O Lord, the Virgin-born, to thee;

All glory, as is ever meet,

To Father and to Paraclete. Amen.

Fortem Virili Pectore

This hymn sufficed nicely for Vespers and Lauds in the Common of Holy Women before the reform of the Breviary. Silvio Cardinal Antoniano, 16th C.,

Fortem virili pectore
Laudemus omnes feminam,
Quae sanctitatis gloria
Ubique fulget inclita.

Haec Christi amore saucia,
Dum mundi amorem noxium
Horrescit, ad caelestia
Iter peregit arduum.

Carnem domans ieiuniis,
Dulcique mentem pabulo
Orationis nutriens,
Caeli potitur gaudiis.

Rex Christe virtus fortium,
Qui magna solus efficis,
Huius precatu, quaesumus,
Audi benignus supplices.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
Eiusque soli Filio,
Cum Spiritu Paraclito,
Et nunc, et in perpetuum. Amen.

tr. Fr. Edward Caswall, C.O., 1849.

High let us all our voices raise,
In that heroic woman’s praise;
Whose name, with saintly glory bright,
Shines in the starry realms of light.

Fill’d with a pure celestial glow,
She spurn’d all love of things below;
And heedless here on earth to stay,
Climb’d to the skies her toilsome way.

With fasts her body she subdued;
But fill’d her soul with prayers’ sweet food;
In other worlds she tastes the bliss,
For which she left the joys of this.

O Christ, the strength of all the strong!
To whom all our best deeds belong!
Through her prevailing prayers on high,
In mercy hear thy people’s cry.

To God the Father, with the Son,
And Holy Spirit, Three in One,
Be glory while the ages flow,
From all above, and all below.

St. Bridget of Sweden, Patron of Europe

SYON ABBEY: ST BIRGITTA'S LESSONS FOR THE FIRST WEEK

read daily at the Brigittine Syon Abbey in Devon

MONDAY

First Reading

It was love that led God to create.

There could be nothing lacking in God,

nothing wanting to his goodness or his joy.

It was out of love alone that he willed creation,

that there might be beings, apart from himself,

who would partake of his infinite goodness and joy.

So the Angels came to be,

created by God in countless numbers.

To them he gave free will,

freedom to act, in accordance with their nature,

as they willed.

As he himself is under no necessity

but has created out of love alone,

he wills that the Angels,

whom he designed for eternal happiness with him,

should likewise be under no necessity.

He looked for love in response to his love,

obedience to his offer of eternal joy.

Second Reading  

Yet in the first moment of their creation,
there were Angels who chose, freely and deliberately
against their Creator,
in spite of his infinite love, which called them to love in return.
Justly they fell, fixed in their evil will,
from an eternal joy into an eternal misery.
But not all fell.
To those Angels who chose love for love,
there was given the contemplation of God
in all his glory, power and holiness.
From this contemplation, they came to know the eternity of God,
that he has no beginning and no end;
they learnt what it meant to have him for their Creator;
and they saw most clearly
how everything they possessed had come to them from his love
and his power.
They learnt too that his wisdom had given them a wisdom of their own,
but which he allowed them to foresee the future.
And it was a joy and consolation to them
to know that God in his mercy and love
wished to replace, in his own way,
those Angels who had forfeited by pride and envy
their place in heaven.

Third Reading

In their contemplation of God,
the Angels saw with wonder
a throne placed next to that of God himself.
They knew that the one for whom this throne had been prepared
had not yet been created.
Yet already they loved this chosen one,
and rejoiced as they waited.
Their love for each other was born of their love for God.
But between these two loves they saw one who was more lovable
than themselves,
one whom God loves with great joy
more than all his creatures.

Virgin Mary, you were the chosen one,
destined for that throne near to the throne of God.
It was you whom the Angels loved, after God,
from the first moment of their creation,
seeing in the contemplation of God,
how beautiful he had made themselves,
but how much more beautiful he would make you.
They saw that in you there would be a love and a joy far greater
than their own.
They saw too the crown that awaited you,
a crown of glory and beauty surpassed only by the majesty of God.
They knew how God their Creator was glorified by themselves and they rejoiced.
They knew how much more he would be glorified by you,
and they rejoiced still more.
Before ever you were created, Mary,
God and Angels together rejoiced in you.

SS. IOACHIM ET ANNÆ, PARENTUM BEATÆ MARIÆ VIRGINIS

Ad Officium lectionis & ad Vesperas: saec. XVII?

Dum tuas festo, pater o colénde,

cántico laudes habet hæc coróna,

vocis ac mentis, Ióachim, benígne

  áccipe munus.

Longa te regum séries avórum

Abrahæ prolem tulit atque David;

clárior mundi dómina corúscas

  prole María.

Sic tuum germen benedícta ab Anna

éditum, patrum repetíta vota

implet, et mæsto próperat reférre

  gáudia mundo.

Laus tibi, Prolis Pater increátæ;

laus tibi, summi Súboles Paréntis;

summa laus, compar, tibi sit per omne,

  Spíritus, ævum. Amen.

O venerable father, Joachim, as this crown offers you praise with a festal hymn, kindly receive the gift of voice and mind. The long succession of kings, your ancestors, made you offspring of Abraham and David; you shine brighter because of your child, Mary, Lady of the whole world. Thus, your offspring issuing forth from blessed Anne fulfills the endless prayers of your fathers and hastens to turn the sorrow of the world into gladness. Praise to you, O Father of the uncreated Son, praise to you, O Progeny of the highest Father, highest and equal praise, O Spirit, be to you through all ages. Amen.

Ad Laudes matutinas: saec. XV

Nocti succédit lúcifer,

quem mox auróra séquitur,

solis ortum prænúntians

mundum lustrántis lúmine.

Christus sol est iustítiæ,

auróra Mater grátiæ,

quam, Anna, præis rútilans

legis propéllens ténebras.

Anna, radix ubérrima,

arbor tu salutífera,

virgam prodúcens flóridam

quæ Christum nobis áttulit.

O matris Christi génetrix

tuque parens sanctíssime,

natæ favénte mérito,

nobis rogáte véniam.

The morning star succeeds to night, the dawn soon follows, announcing the rising of the sun, which illuminates the world with light. Christ is the Sun of justice, his Mother the dawn of grace, whom resplendent Anne precedes, driving away the darkness of the old law.  O Anne, the most fruitful root, you, the saving tree, producing that flowering branch, which Christ brings to us. O Mother of the Mother of Christ, and you, Joachim, her most holy parent, by the merits of your daughter, ask for us pardon.