Tuesday: Weeks I & III

Lauds: novus

Pergráta mundo núntiat

auróra solis spícula,
res et colóre véstiens
iam cuncta dat nitéscere.

Qui sol per ævum prænites,
o Christe, nobis vívidus,
ad te canéntes vértimur,
te gestiéntes pérfrui.

Tu Patris es sciéntia

Verbúmque per quod ómnia

miro refúlgent órdine

mentésque nostras áttrahunt.

Da lucis ut nos fílii

sic ambulémus ímpigri,

ut Patris usque grátiam

mores et actus éxprimant.

Sincéra præsta ut prófluant

ex ore nostro iúgiter,

et veritátis dúlcibus

ut excitémur gáudiis.

The grateful dawn announces to the world the rays of the sun, and vesting things with color, making all things to shine. O Christ, living for us, the sun shining through the ages, we turn to you singing and anxious to enjoy you. You are the knowledge of the Father and the Word through which all things glow in a wondrous order and attract our minds. Grant that we be sons of light, walking diligently, that our morals and acts may continually express the grace of the Father. Grant that sincerity may ever flow from our mouth and that we be inspired by the sweet joys of the truth.

When the Office of Readings is read in the daytime: 9^th-10^th Centuries

O sacrosáncta Trínitas,

quæ cuncta condens órdinas,

diem labóri députans

noctem quiéti dédicas,

Te mane, simul véspere,

te nocte ac die cánimus;

in tua nos tu glória

per cuncta serva témpora.

Nos ádsumus te cérnui

en adorántes fámuli;

vota precésque súpplicum

hymnis adiúnge cælitum.

O Holy Trinity, who creates and orders all things, establishing the day for work, giving the night for rest. Morning and evening, we sing to you night and day, preserve us in your glory at all times. We come to you on our knees, behold your adoring servants, join our intentions and prayers to the hymns of heaven.

Vespers: St. Gregory the Great?  

Tellúris ingens cónditor,

mundi solum qui éruens,

pulsis aquæ moléstiis,

terram dedísti immóbilem,

Ut germen aptum próferens,

fulvis decóra flóribus,

fecúnda fructu sísteret

pastúmque gratum rédderet:

Mentis perústæ vúlnera

munda viróre grátiæ,

ut facta fletu díluat

motúsque pravos átterat,

Iussis tuis obtémperet,

nullis malis appróximet,

bonis repléri gáudeat

et mortis actum nésciat.

O great creator of the earth, delivering the soil of the world, driving back the danger of the waters, you made the land secure. That bearing the appropriate seed, with beautiful golden flowers, it might be fertile with fruit, and render pleasing food. Cleanse the wounds of our dried out minds with the vigor of grace that it may purge our deeds with weeping and put a stop to disordered habits. At your command may our minds obey, draw near to no evil, rejoice to be filled with good, and know no eternal death.

Mater Ecclesiae

St. Augustine

"But plainly (Mary) is, in spirit, Mother of us who are His members, because by love she has cooperated so that the faithful, who are the members of that Head might be born in the Church.  In body, indeed, she is mother of that very Head."  

On Holy Virginity, 6,6

Hugo Rahner

This is the fundamental doctrine, that Mary is the type or symbol of the Church, and everything we find in the Gospel about Mary can be understood in a proper biblical sense of the mystery of the Church

Our Lady and the Church, p. 13

Henri de Lubac

Everywhere the Church finds in [Mary] her type and model, her point of origin and perfection: ‘the form of our Mother the Church is according to the form of his Mother.’  Our Lady speaks and acts in the name of the Church at every moment of her existence . . . because she already carries the Church within her, so to speak, and contains her in her wholeness, in her own person.

The Splendor of the Church, p. 320

Lumen Gentium

She [Mary] is hailed both as a pre-eminent, and wholly unique member of the Church and as its type and outstanding model in faith and charity…

By reason of the gift and role of divine Maternity by which she is united with her Son, the Redeemer, and with His singular graces and functions, the Blessed Virgin is also intimately united with the Church. As St. Ambrose taught, the Mother of God is a type of the Church in the order of faith, charity, and perfect union with Christ. For, in the mystery of the Church which, itself, is rightly called mother and virgin, the Blessed Virgin stands out in eminent and singular fashion as exemplar of both virgin and mother…

The Church indeed—contemplating her hidden sanctify, imitating her charity, and faithfully fulfilling the Father’s will by receiving the word of God in faith—becomes a mother herself. By her preaching, she brings forth to a new and immortal life, the sons who are born to her in Baptism, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of God. She, herself, is a virgin who keeps, whole and entire, the Faith given to her by her Spouse. Imitating the Mother of her Lord, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, she maintains integral faith, firm hope, and genuine charity with virginal purity… The Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise, she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10), assign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.

#53, 63, 64 and 68

 

 Beata Maria Virgo Imago et Mater Ecclesiae

On November 21, 1964, at the end of the third session of the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI, during the celebration of Mass, declared our Lady "Mother of the Church, that is, of the entire Christian people, both the faithful and their pastors, who call her their most loving Mother," and decreed that "from now onward the whole Christian people should give even greater honor to the Mother of God under this most loving title." (AAS 56, 1965, p.1015)

Accordingly, many particular Churches and religious families began to venerate the Blessed Virgin under the title of "Mother of the Church." In 1974, to encourage Marian celebrations during the Holy Year of Reconciliation (1975), this Mass was composed; it was shortly afterwards inserted in the second editio typica edition of The Roman Missal (Sacramentary) among the Votive Masses in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (MR, pp. 867-869)

Deus, misericordiarum Pater,

cuius Unigenitus, cruci afffxus,

beatam Mariam Virginem, Genetricem suam,

Matrem quoque nostram constituit,

concede, quaesumus, ut, eius cooperante caritate,

Ecclesia tua, in dies fecundior, prolis sanctitate exsultet

et in gremium suum cunctas attrahat familias populorum.

O God, Father of mercies, whose Only-begotten Son suspended upon the cross, made the blessed Virgin Mary, his mother, our mother as well, grant, we beseech you, that by her loving cooperation, Your Church, being more fruitful day by day, may rejoice in the holiness of her offspring, and may draw all the families of the peoples into her embrace.

At Lauds: Dom Anselmo Lentini, OSB

Quæ caritatis fulgidum

es astrum, Virgo , superis,

spei nobis mortalibus

fons vivax es et profluus.

Sic vales, celsa Domina,

in Nati cor piissimi,

ut qui fidenter postulat,

per te securus impetret.

Opem tua benignitas

non solum fert poscentibus,

sed et libenter sæpius

precantum vota prævenit.

In te misericordia,

in te magnificentia;

tu bonitatis cumulas

quicquid creata possident.

Patri sit et Paraclito

tuoque Nato gloria,

qui veste te mirabili

circumdederunt gratiæ.

Amen

What a shining star of love for those above you are, O Virgin; to us mortals a living and flowing fount of hope.

So you win, O heavenly Lady, the heart of your most holy Son that he, who faithfully asks through you, entreats confidently.

Your kindness not only grants help to those who plead but more often

anticipate freely the requests of those who pray to you.

In you is mercy, in you is generosity; you the height of whatever goodness creatures can own. 

Glory to the Father and the Paraclete and to your Son, who wondrously adorned and surrounded you with grace. Amen

Vespers: Virgo Mater Eccelesiae

Virgo mater ecclesiae,

Aeterna porta gloriae,

Esto nobis refugium

apud patrem et filium.

Gloriosa Dei mater,

cuius Natus est ac pater,

ora pro nobis omnibus,

qui mem0riam ågimus.

Stella maris. lux refülgens,

stirps regålis, sancta parens,

 roga Patrem et Filium

ut det nobis Paråclitum.

                       

Virgo clemens, virgo pia,

virgo dulcis, O Maria.

Exaudi preces omnium

Ad te pie clamantium.

Funde preces tuo Nato,

crucifixo, vulneråto,

pro nobis et flagellåto,

spinis puncto. felle potåto.

Alma mater summi regis,

lux et porta celsi cæli,

inclina te misérrimis

geméntibus cum låcrimis.

                       

Patri sit et Paråclito

tu0que Nato gloria,

cuius vocåris münere

mater beåta Ecclésiæ.

Virgin Mother of the Church,

eternal portal of glory,

be for us a refuge 

with the Father and the Son.

Glorious Mother of God,

Whose Son is also your father,

Pray for us all,

Who observe this memorial.

 Virgin merciful, Virgin holy,

Virgin sweet, O Mary.

Hear the prayers of all

those crying obediently to you.

Pour out prayers to your Son,

Crucified and wounded,

Scour also for us,

Pierced by thorns, given gall as drink.

Gracious Mother of the high King,

Light and gate of high heaven,

Incline yourself to the wretched,

Groaning and weeping.

To the Father and Paraclete

To your Son be glory,

Whose gift it is that

You be called Mother of the Church. Amen.

In Praise of Hiddenness: ON THE PARADOX OF CONCEALMENT: by a Camaldolese Hermit

In Communist countries not so long ago, the media never reported earthquakes, floods, train wrecks, disasters of all kinds, and other tragedies. Such occurrences were considered as the negation of the then prevailing dogma according to which the Soviet man must of necessity control all the events of the planet. The ideal of such a society being success, and a today always more glorious than yesterday, all disasters must therefore be concealed, denied. Catastrophes occur only in capitalist countries.

Now the society in which we live is in fact dominated by this same idol of success, of perpetual youth, of obligatory efficiency. Human pride, which tries strenuously to do without God and His laws, is unable to give meaning to earthly distresses and even simply to admit them. Among us, it is true that we are informed of our ordeals either by word of mouth, or by the press, radio, and television, but inevitably with indignation, protests, and accusations.

In short, the setback should not have occurred, and that is why we immediately look for the culprits that caused it. If something goes awry, then certainly somebody did not do his duty and should be condemned. For instance, it is even difficult to admit that an earthquake could not be foreseen and avoided. Why did not those responsible arrange everything so as to exclude all damage of goods and persons? Likewise, regarding the recent bad floods. A number of mayors and magistrates expect proceedings to start against them. . . It is certainly true that sometimes one sins by omission, but it seems that this clumsy search for culprits in all our misfortunes often has this strange idea as its underlying motive: man must be the absolute master of all, even of nature itself. To admit that certain calamities are natural and inevitable would be to agree that the human condition is fragile and, in the final reckoning, a state of death.

In the past, the faithful Christian accepted mishaps, seeing in trials a means God makes use of to punish us for our aberrations or to purify us and to prepare us for eternity. Today, a disaster is not seen at all as a challenge to faith or as a stimulus to abandon ourselves into God's hands, but rather just as a provocation to anger. Now anger supposes an enemy to shoot at, to unload on. Man's failure is a scandal and unacceptable. From the moment man wants to free himself from God, without really having the power, he needs to feel himself a victor. Success is for him more necessary than the air he breathes. He knows well, however, that "success" is not a name of God — at least not of the God of Christian revelation. But as in every error there is a grain of truth, so when the hour arrives that will put an end to history and reveal the Kingdom of God in all its grandeur, when at last the new heavens and the new earth will appear, it is then that we will be able to say that God's name is Victory.

The idolatry of success in our wounded humanity reveals itself in the great illusion that tries to mask the enormous defeat called death. The human victories of science and technology vanish with this defeat, this last enemy that will be overcome by the resurrection of Christ.

The desire for success inscribed in the depths of our being is certainly not at all condemnable in itself, for it is the natural object of all we undertake, even if it is not always attained. Success in our existence represents, without a doubt, a true value, a good that we call "merit" in our Christian tradition. We have “to merit" heaven even though, in reality, it is a question of a gratuitous gift of God. But personal success is altogether compatible with material failure; the sick, the unfortunate, the handicapped can have a greater dignity, merit, and moral worth than the worth of celebrities written up in widely circulated newspapers. It is man's lot to live with failure, but likewise to lay hold of suffering and to use it as raw material for his human and divine success, his merit, his salvation, and his glory.

Yet the temptation certainly exists among us to want to establish God's Kingdom already on this earth. This is precisely, mark well, the temptation that Jesus repulsed in the desert at the beginning of His public ministry and preaching of the Gospel: "The Kingdom of God will not be realized through a historic triumph resulting from an ever-increasing ascendancy, but rather by God's victory over the ultimate unchaining of evil, which will make His Bride descend from heaven."  This is our hope.

St. Joan of Arc: from The Inn at the End of the World

St Joan never quite made it to the general Roman calendar, not in the Roman Rite and not in Archbishop Bugnini's Novus Ordo. But she's in the French calendar and in several other local calendars. And that seems a missed opportunity. Here we have a saint written about by Bernard Shaw and idolized by Mark Twain. She's had half a dozen films made of her life and at least one opera. There was even a short-lived and not too objectionable TV series that punned on her name and used her "voices" as an inspiration. In short, one of the handful of saints that everyone, Catholic or not, knows of. And she can't make it to the general calendar.

When I can locate my old Diurnale I will put up some of the proper hymns for her feast. Very patriotic if you're French. Gallia vivat.

For 1st Vespers

Stat cultrix vigilans pauperis hortuli,
Annorum tredecim parvula, ni sciens,
Primas docta preces, præ sociis pia,
Simplex, mitis et innocens.

Orantem Michaël Angelus edocet,
Quam claræ parili lumine virgines,
Virtutum meritis conspicuæ simul,
Crebris alloquiis fovent.

Dum voces superas excipit, expavet;
Sed, fidens Domino, fortior in dies,
Parens imperiis, pro patria libens
Castam se vovet hostiam.

Mox dulces socias et patriam domum,
Et cum matre patrem iussa relinquere,
Miles facta Dei, quo vocat Angelus,
Fertur nil trepidans eques.

Qui terras statuit, gloria sit Patri:
Qui gentes redemit, gloria Filio:
Sancto Spiritui gloria, qui pias
Et fortes animas facit. Amen.


She carefully cultivates her poor garden; she is but a child of thirteen, knowing but the usual prayers, but so pious, simple, meek and innocent.

While at prayer, the Archangel Michael teaches her; two illustrious virgins, equal in splendor and virtue encourage her in frequent conversations.

On hearing these heavenly voices, she fears; but, little by little, fortified by divine grace, she obeys their orders, and as a chaste victim, willingly devotes herself to her country.

Out of obedience, she leaves her dear companions, her birthplace, her father and mother, and, become soldier of God, she leaves on horseback, without fear, for the place where the Archangel summons her.

Glory be to the Father, who created the earth; glory be to the Son who redeemed all nations; glory be to the Holy Ghost who maketh souls to be pious and courageous. Amen.

For Lauds:

Hostium victrix, properante cursu,
Carolum ad sanctam comitaris ædem,
Ut triumphantem sacra rite signet
Unctio regem.

Gaudio fundens lacrimas, Ioanna,
Principi plaudis : Domino rependis
Debitas grates, retinesque dexta
Nobile signum.

Erigens longa populum ruina,
Mira fecisti, generosa virgo:
Iure te nostræ patriæ parentem
Sæcla vocabunt!

Sed manet maior meliorque merces:
Te novus poscit labor et triumphus:
Te Deus mittens, dabit ipse vires
Atque coronam.

Qui dedit presso populo salutem,
Laude ter sanctum Dominum colamus,
Semper ut tantæ meritis patronæ
Gallia vivat. Amen.



After the victory, hastening thy steps thou dost accompany Charles, triumphantly, to the venerable Cathedral, so that according to custom, with holy oil, he may be anointed king.

With tears of joy, O Joan, thou dost congratulate the prince; holding thy noble banner in thy hand thou dost render fitting thanks to God.

Liberating the people from their long captivity, thou hast worked wonders, O generous Virgin! With every right will the ages proclaim thee the mother of the nation.

But a better and more beautiful recompense awaits thee. A new labor with its triumph summons thee: God in entrusting it to thee, will give thee courage and also the crown.

Let us offer our praise to God, who has delivered his oppressed people, and by the merits of this holy patroness, may France live forever. Amen.

For Second Vespers:

Salve, virilis pectoris
Virgo, Patrona Galliæ!
Tormenta dira sustinens,
Christi refers imaginem.

Voces supernas audiens,
Iesu repleta lumine,
Dum fata pandis patriæ,
Silent parentque iudices.

Oppressa flammis clamitas
Iesum, crucemque fortiter
Amplexa, ad Ipsum simplicis
Instar columbæ, pervolas.

Choris beatis Virginum
Adscripta, cives adiuva:
Te deprecante, singulis
Detur corona gloriæ.

Sit laus Patri, sit Filio:
Sancto decus Paraclito,
Qui corda amore sauciat,
Vires et auget languidis. Amen.


Hail O courageous Virgin! Patroness of France. Thy sorrowful passion recalls to our minds the image of Christ.

Instructed by heavenly voices and filled with the light of Jesus, thou dost unveil the destiny of thy Fatherland, before thy silent and terrified judges.

Surrounded with flames, thou dost invoke Jesus: and embracing the cross, energetically, thou dost fly to him as an innocent dove.

Thou, who art now among the blessed choirs of Virgins, succor thy compatriots; may all through thy prayers, receive the crown of glory.

Praise be to the Father! Praise be to the Son. Glory be to the Holy Comforter, who wounds hearts with the fire of his love, and strengthens souls who are weak. Amen.

And finally the collect for her feast:

Deus, qui beatam Ioannam Virginem ad fidem ac patriam tuendam mirabiliter suscitasti: da, quæsumus, eius intercessione; ut Ecclesia tua, hostium superatis insidiis, perpetua pace fruatur. Per Dominum. Amen.

O God, who in wondrous wise didst raise up blessed Joan for the defense of her faith and her country: grant, we beseech thee, through her intercession, that thy church, overcoming all the wiles of her enemies, may enjoy unceasing peace. Through our Lord. Amen.

Sermon by S. Leo the Great: Sermon 1 on Pentecost.

Sermon by S. Leo the Great: Sermon 1 on Pentecost. 

DEARLY beloved, all Catholics know in their hearts that Pentecost is to be esteemed as one of the most important festivals. There is no question but that we owe great reverence to that day which the Holy Spirit has sanctified by his most excellent and wondrous Gift.

FOR this is the tenth day since the Lord ascended high above all heavens to sit down at the right hand of God the Father, and it is the fiftieth  since his Resurrection, whereon  the Lord initiated and made manifest mighty mysteries, binding together the old and new covenants; thereby plainly revealing that grace was foreshadowed by the law, and that the law has been perfected by grace.

FOR as of old, when the Hebrews had been freed from the yoke of the Egyptians, upon the company of believers on the fiftieth day after his Resurrection, in order that the faithful Christian might truly perceive that the mysteries of the Old Testament provide the foundations of the Gospel, and that the second Covenant was established by the same Spirit which had instituted the first.

FROM this day, therefore, the preaching of the Gospel hath sounded forth like a trumpet; from this day the gentle rain of the gifts of the Spirit, the rivers of blessings, have watered all the dry and thirsty desert: for the Spirit of the Lord moved upon the face of the waters, that he might renew the face of the earth; the new flames shone forth to chase away the old darkness with the brilliancy of fiery tongues and the clarity of the Word of God; flaming eloquence is conceived, from which proceeds understanding and the doing away of sins, through the Spirit's power of consuming and enlightening as by fire.

Dominica Pentecostes

Ad Officium lectionis: Adamus a S. Victore?

Hymn for Office of Readings: Pentecost

Sr. Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ, translator of the Adam of Saint-Victor Sequences, accepts his authorship of this hymn (Cf. Dallas Medieval Texts and Translations 18).  The hymn is assigned to Monday in the Octave of Pentecost. It is composed of stanzas 1 & 2, 15, 18, 19 & 20 of the original twenty stanzas.

Lux iucúnda, lux insígnis,

qua de throno missus ignis

in Christi discípulos,

Corda replet, linguas ditat,

ad concórdes nos invítat

cordis, linguæ módulos.

Consolátor alme, veni,

linguas rege, corda leni:

nihil fellis aut venéni

sub tua præséntia.

Nova facti creatúra,

te laudámus mente pura,

grátiæ nunc, sed natúra

prius iræ fílii.

Tu qui dator es et donum,

nostri cordis omne bonum,

cor ad laudem redde pronum,

nostræ linguæ formans sonum

in tua præcónia.

Tu nos purges a peccátis,

auctor ipse pietátis,

et in Christo renovátis

da perféctæ novitátis

plena nobis gáudia. Amen.

Happy light, noble light, fire sent down from the throne upon Christ’s disciples.  He fills hearts, enriches tongues, he invites us to harmony of heart and melodies of tongue. Nourishing Comforter, come, govern language, soothe hearts, under your presence there is nothing bitter or venomous. Made a new creation we praise you with pure minds, now sons of grace, but formerly by nature sons of wrath.  You who are both the giver and the gift, every good of our hearts, guide our hearts to humble praise, shaping the sound of our tongues for your glory. Cleanse us from our sins, yourself the author of love and renew us in Christ: grant to us full joys in perfect conversion. Amen.

Ad Laudes matutinas: saec. VI

Milfull: “assigned by the Canterbury Hymnal to Matins, by  the Winchester Hymnal to Lauds”.

Beáta nobis gáudia

anni redúxit órbita,

cum Spíritus Paráclitus

effúlsit in discípulos.

Ignis vibránte lúmine

linguæ figúram détulit,

verbis ut essent próflui

et caritáte férvidi.

Linguis loquúntur ómnium;

turbæ pavent gentílium,

musto madére députant,

quos Spíritus repléverat.

Patráta sunt hæc mýstice

Paschæ perácto témpore,

sacro diérum número,

quo lege fit remíssio.

Te nunc, Deus piíssime,

vultu precámur cérnuo:

illápsa nobis cælitus

largíre dona, o Spíritus.

Dudum sacráta péctora

tua replésti grátia;

dimítte nunc peccámina

et da quiéta témpora.

Blessed joys to us, the orbit of the year returns, when the Spirit Comforter shines on the disciples. Fire flashing light takes the form of a tongue, that their words might flow and their love burn. They speak every language, the crowd of Gentiles quake in fear, they think those the Spirit filled to be drunk with wine. When the time of Easter had ended, these things were done mystically, by the sacred number of days when according to the law remission is given. Now, O most Holy God, we humbly pray, grant that the gifts of the Spirit may come down upon us from heaven. Now that you have filled our sanctified hearts with grace, forgive us our sins and a time of peace.

Terce: saec. IX

Previously in the Roman Breviary Veni, creator Spiritus was sung at Terce in place of Nunc, Sanctus, nobis, Spiritus on Pentecost and during its Octave. However, this hymn represents an earlier usage, e.g. the Canterbury Hymnal. 

Iam Christus astra ascénderat,

regréssus unde vénerat,

promíssa Patris múnera,

Sanctum datúrus Spíritum,

Cum hora felix tértia

repénte mundo íntonat,

Apóstolis orántibus

Deum venísse núntians.

De Patris ergo lúmine

decórus ignis almus est,

qui fida Christi péctora

calóre verbi cómpleat.

Descénde, Sancte Spíritus,

ac nostra corda altária

orna tibi virtútibus,

tibíque templa dédica.

Per te sciámus da Patrem

noscámus atque Fílium,

te utriúsque Spíritum

credámus omni témpore. Amen.

Now Christ has climbed the stars, returning to where he had come from, that he might give to us the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit. At the third hour suddenly the world thundered, announcing that God had come, while the apostles prayed.  From the light of the Father there is a beautiful strengthening fire which fills the hearts which trust in Christ with the burning word.  Come down, O Holy Spirit, adorn the altar of our hearts with the virtues and make of them a temple dedicated to you.

Ad Sextam: saec. V-VI

Veníte, servi, súpplices,

et mente et ore extóllite

dignis beátum láudibus

nomen Dei cum cántico.

Hoc namque tempus illud est,

quo sæculórum iúdicem

iniústa morti trádidit

mortálium senténtia.

Et nos amóre débito,

timóre iusto súbditi,

advérsus omnes ímpetus

quos sævus hostis íncutit,

Unum rogémus et Patrem

Deum regémque Fílium

simúlque Sanctum Spíritum,

in Trinitáte Dóminum. Amen.

Come, O you humble servants, with your mind and voice, with worthy praises, with a hymn lift up the blessed name of God.  For this is that season, when an unjust sentence handed over the Judge of the world to death.  And we also with the due love and the homage of a just fear, oppose every attack with which the cruel enemy strikes us.  We pray the one Father God, and the royal Son, likewise the Holy Spirit, the Lord in Trinity. Amen.

Ad Nonam: saec. V-VI

Hæc hora, quæ resplénduit

crucísque solvit núbila,

mundum tenébris éxuens,

reddens seréna lúmina.

Hæc hora, qua resúscitans

Iesus sepúlcris córpora,

prodíre mortis líbera

iussit refúso spíritu.

Nováta sæcla crédimus

mortis solútis légibus,

vitæ beátæ múnera

cursum perénnem cúrrere.

Iesu, tibi sit glória,

qui morte victa prænites,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

in sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

This hour shines forth and dissolves the black clouds of the cross, rescues the world from darkness and returns the light of peace.  This the hour when Jesus raises the bodies from the tombs and commands that they come forth free of death and infused again with breath.  We believe in a new world, loosened from the laws of death, the gifts of blessed life running an eternal course.  O Jesus, to you be glory, shining by your victory over death, with the Father and loving Spirit, in eternal ages. Amen.

Vespers: Rhabanus Maurus, OSB +856

Originally sung at Vespers on Pentecost through the octave, this hymn is now sung between Ascension and Pentecost. Perhaps this is because of the elimination of the Pentecost octave. “No other Latin hymn, except those of the daily office, has been so frequently and widely used as this” (Walpole).

Veni, creátor Spíritus,

mentes tuórum vísita,

imple supérna grátia,

quæ tu creásti, péctora.

Qui díceris Paráclitus,

donum Dei altíssimi,

fons vivus, ignis, cáritas

et spiritális únctio.

Tu septifórmis múnere,

dextræ Dei tu dígitus,

tu rite promíssum Patris

sermóne ditans gúttura.

Accénde lumen sénsibus,

infúnde amórem córdibus,

infírma nostri córporis,

virtúte firmans pérpeti.

Hostem repéllas lóngius

pacémque dones prótinus;

ductóre sic te prævio

vitémus omne nóxium.

Per te sciámus da Patrem

noscámus atque Fílium,

te utriúsque Spíritum

credámus omni témpore. Amen.

Come, O creator Spirit, visit the souls which are yours; fill with heavenly grace the hearts which you have created. You who are called the Comforter, the gift of God most high, the living source, fire and love, and spiritual anointing. You are the sevenfold gift, the finger of the right hand of God, you truly the promise of the Father, enriching throats with speech. Enkindle our thoughts with light, pour love into our hearts, strengthen the weakness of our bodies with your perpetual virtue. Drive the enemy far from us and continually grant us your peace, so that with you leading us and going before us we may avoid all harm. Through you may we know the Father, and know the Son, and you, the Spirit of both, we may confess at all times. Amen.