St. Scholastica: Monastic Breviary: 1962

 

 

Matins/Office of Readings & Vespers

 

Te beata sponsa Christi,

Te columba virginum,

Siderum tollunt coloni

Laudibus, Scholastica:

Nostra te laetis salutant

Vocibus praecordia.

 

Sceptra mundi cum coronis

Docta quondam spernere,

Dogma fratris insecuta

Atque sanctae regulm,

Ex odore gratiarum,

Astra nosti quaerere.

 

O potens virtus amoris!

O decus victoriae!

Dum fluentis lacrymarum

Cogis imbres currere,

Ore Nursini parentis

Verba coeli suscipis.

 

Luce fulges expetita

 In polorum vertice.

Clara flammis charitatis

Cum nitore gratiae :

Juncta Sponso conquiescis

In decore gloriae.

 

 Nunc benigna pelle nubes

Cordibus fidelium,

Ut serena fronte splendens

Sol perennis luminis,

Sempiternae claritatis

Impleat nos gaudiis.

 

Gloriam Patri canamus

Unicoque Filio;

Par tributum proferamus

Inclyto Paraclito,

Nutibus cujus creantur,

Et reguntur saecula. Amen.

 

O Scholastica, blessed bride of Christ! O dove of the cloister! the citizens of heaven proclaim thy merits, and we, too, sing thy praises with joyful, hymns and loving hearts.

Thou didst scorn the honors and glory of the world; thou didst follow the teaching of thy brother and his holy rule; and, rich in the fragrance of every grace, thou carest for heaven alone.

Oh! what power was in thy love, and how glorious thy victory, when thy’ tears drew rain from the skies, and forced the patriarch of Nursia to tell thee what he knew of the land above!

And now thou shinest in heaven’s longed – for light; thou art as a seraph in thy burning love, beautiful in thy bright grace; and united with thy divine. Spouse, thou art reposing in the splendour of glory.

Have pity on us the faithful of Christ, and drive from us the miseries which cloud our hearts; that thus the Sun of light eternal may sweetly shine upon us, and fill us with the joys of his everlasting beams.

Let us sing a hymn of glory to the Father, and to his only Son; let us give an equal homage of our praise to the blessed Paraclete: yea, to God, the Creator and Ruler of all, be glory without end. Amen.

 

Lauds

Jam noctis umbrae concidunt,

Dies cupita nascitur,

Qua virgini Scholasticae

Sponsus perennis jungitur.

 

Brumae recedit taedium,

Fugantur imbres nubibus,

Vernantque campi siderum

Aeternitatis floribus.

 

Amoris auctor evocat,

Dilecta pennas induit;

Ardens ad oris oscula

Columba velox evolat.

 

Quam pulchra gressum promoves,

O chara proles Principis!

Nursinus Abbas aspicit,

Grates rependit Numini.

 

Amplexa Sponsi dextera,

Metit coronas debitas,

Immersa rivis gloriae,

Deique pota gaudiis.

 

Te, Christe, flos convallium,

Patremque cum Paraclito,

Cunctos per orbis cardines

Adoret omne saeculum. Amen.

 

The shades of night are passing away: the longed-for day is come, when the virgin Scholastica is united to her God, her Spouse.

Winter’s tedious gloom is over; the rainy clouds are gone; and the Spring of the starry land yields its eternal flowers.

The God of love bids his beloved come; and she, taking the wings of a dove, flies swiftly to the embrace so ardently desired.

How beautiful is thy soaring, dear daughter of the King! Thy brother, the abbot, sees thee, and fervently thanks his God.

Scholastica receives the embrace of her Spouse, and the crown her works have won ; inebriated with the torrent of glory, she drinks of the joys of her Lord.

May the world-wide creation of every age adore thee, O Jesus, sweet Flower of the vale, together with the Father and the Holy Ghost. Amen.

The Conversion of St. Paul: Bede and Augustine

 

On the Conversion of St. Paul: Homily of St. Bede the Venerable, Priest

 

He is a perfect man who, going, sells all that he has and gives to the poor, and coming, follows Christ, for he shall have a never- ending treasure in heaven. And hence at Peter's well-chosen question Jesus says to men of this kind, "Amen I say to you, that you who have followed me, in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the seat of his majesty, you also shall sit on twelve seats judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

 

He taught those who labor for His name's sake in this life to hope for a reward in the next; that is, in the regeneration, when they who were born as men into this frail life shall have been regenerated into life eternal by rising again. And truly it is a just reward that they, who here disregard the glory of human greatness for the sake of Christ, who could not be drawn away from following His footsteps by any motive, should there sit With Him as glorified judges.

 

But let no one think that only the twelve apostles (for Matthias was chosen in the place of the apostate Judas) will be judges; just as not only are the twelve tribes of Israel to be judged. Otherwise, the tribe of Levi, which is the thirteenth, would escape judgment. And Paul, who is the thirteenth Apostle, would be deprived of his privilege of judging, although he himself says, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more the things of this world?"

 

For you should know that all who, after the example of the apostles, have left all things and followed Christ, are going to sit in judgment with Him, just as every race of mortal men- is to be judged. For since universality is often denoted in Scripture by the number twelve, the great number of all those who are to judge is shown by the twelve seats of the Apostles, just as by the twelve tribes of Israel the universality 'Of all those to bo judged is designated.

 

On the Conversion of St. Paul: Sermon of St. Augustine, Bishop

 

We have heard today from the Acts of the Apostles how the Apostle Paul was changed from a persecutor of the Christians to A preacher of Christ. Christ struck down the persecutor that He might raise him up a teacher of His Church. He struck him and healed him; He slew him and re-enlivened him. For Christ is the Lamb that was slain by the wolves and that now changes the wolves into lambs. In Paul was fulfilled that which was clearly prophesied by the Patriarch Jacob at the time when he blessed hig sons, laying hands on those who were then present, but looking forward to the happenings of the future.

 

Paul tells us himself that he was of the tribe of Benjamin. When Jacob, blessing his sons, came to Benjamin, he said, "Benjamin, a ravenous wolf." What then? Shall Benjamin always be a ravenous wolf? God forbid.  "In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil." This is exactly what was fulfilled in Paul.

 

Now, if it please you, we will consider how he devoured the prey in the morning, and how he divided the spoil at night. Here morning and evening signify beginning and end. So we may read, "In the beginning he shall devour the prey, and in the end he shall divide the spoil." First, then, in the beginning he devoured the prey, as we read that he, having received letters from the chief priests, went forth in order that, if he should find any Christians, he might bring them to the priests for punishment. He went breathing out threats and slaughter; Indeed, he was devouring the prey. When the first martyr, Stephen, was stoned for confessing the name of Christ, Saul gave his consent to the crime, and, as though it were not enough for him to cast stones, he kept the garments of all those who did it, thus venting his rage more than if he had cast stones with his own hands. Thus, in the morning he devoured the prey. How did he divide the spoil in' the evening? Struck down by the voice of Christ from heaven, and receiving from above a prohibition to further raging, he fell upon his face, first to be prostrated, then to be raised up; first to be wounded, then to be healed.

St. Paul

 Ad Officium lectionis: saec XVIII

 

Pressi malórum póndere

te, Paule, adímus súpplices,

qui certa largus désuper

dabis salútis pígnora.

 

Nam tu beáto cóncitus

divíni amóris ímpetu,

quos insecútor óderas,

defénsor inde amplécteris.

 

Amóris, eia, prístini

ne sis, precámur, ímmemor,

et nos supérnæ lánguidos

in spem redúcas grátiæ.

 

Te deprecánte flóreat

ignára damni cáritas,

quam nulla turbent iúrgia

nec ullus error sáuciet.

 

O grata cælo víctima,

te, lux amórque Géntium,

o Paule, clarum víndicem,

nos te patrónum póscimus.

 

Laus Trinitáti, cántica

sint sempitérnæ glóriæ,

quæ nos boni certáminis

tecum corónet præmiis. Amen.

 

Pressed down by the weight of evil, O Paul, we come to you praying that you will give us from above sure pledges of our salvation. For you aroused by the blessed blow of divine love, first persecuted those whom you hated and then as their defender embraced them.  Ah, do not forget your first love, we pray, and lead us back in our weakness to the hope of heavenly grace. By your prayers may love, which knows not damnation, flourish, love which is disturbed by no murmuring and which no error can wound.  O victim pleasing to heaven, light and love of the Gentiles, O Paul, we pray to you, our glorious avenger and patron. A hymn of praise to the eternal glory of the Trinity, who crowns us with you, the reward for those who have fought the good fight. Amen.

 

Ad Laudes matutinis: saec. VIII-IX

 

Doctor egrégie, Paule, mores ínstrue

et mente polum nos transférre sátage,

donec perféctum largiátur plénius,

evacuáto quod ex parte gérimus.

 

Sit Trinitáti sempitérna glória,

honor, potéstas atque iubilátio,

in unitáte, cui manet impérium

ex tunc et modo per ætérna sæcula. Amen

 

Doctor without equal, Paul, instruct  our life and mind that we be set on the path to heaven;  grant that we may more fully  possess what has been perfected and what we now know only in part.  Glory be to the eternal Trinity, honor, power and praise in the Unity, whose authority abides now and for eternal ages. Amen.

 

Ad Vesperas: Petrus Damianus

 

Excélsam Pauli glóriam

concélebret Ecclésia,

quem mire sibi apóstolum

ex hoste fecit Dóminus.

 

Quibus succénsus æstibus

in Christi nomen sæviit,

exársit his impénsius

amórem Christi prædicans.

 

O magnum Pauli méritum!

Cælum conscéndit tértium,

audit verba mystérii

quæ nullus audet éloqui.

 

Dum verbi spargit sémina,

seges surgit ubérrima;

sic cæli replent hórreum

bonórum fruges óperum.

 

Micántis more lámpadis

perfúndit orbem rádiis;

fugat errórum ténebras,

ut sola regnet véritas.

 

Christo sit omnis glória,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

qui dedit vas tam fúlgidum

electiónis géntibus. Amen.

 

The Church celebrates the most high glory of Paul, an enemy, whom the Lord wondrously made an apostle. Burning with zeal he savagely raged against the name of Christ; aroused by a more intense fire he preached the love of Christ. O great merit of Paul! He ascended to the third heaven, he hears the words of the mystery, which he dares not tell anyone. While he scattered the seed of the word, a very rich harvest arouse; thus he filled the granaries of heaven with the fruit of good works. As a bright lamp he poured rays of light upon the world; he put to flight the darkness of error that the truth alone should reign. To Christ be all glory, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, who gave to the Gentiles such resplendent vessel of election. Amen.

John Saward, The Beauty of Holiness and the Holiness of Beauty

 

 

 

The Beauty of Humility     

Pride is ugly. It inflates and swells, brings disorder and deformity into the soul. Humility, by contrast, is the reassertion of order. St Bernard saw a deep correspondence between the beauty of Our Lady's virginity and the humility of her approach to the Father. The spotless virginity of her body was, in a way, a sacrament of the childlike humility of her soul. According to St Bernard, there was a beautiful mingling ('pulchra permixtio') of virginity and humility in Our Lady; without humility, her virginity would not have pleased God.   She was humble of heart, emptied of self and therefore ready to be filled by God. Yes, virginity and humility coincide in this quality that, for want of a better word, the English Catholic writer Caryll Houselander called  emptiness'.

 It is not a formless emptiness, a void without meaning; on the contrary, it has a shape, a form given to it by the purpose for which it is intended. It is emptiness like the hollow in the reed … like the hollow in the cup . . .like that of the bird's nest. .

The pre-Advent emptiness of Our Lady's purposeful virginity was indeed like those three things. She was a reed through which the Eternal Love was to be piped as a shepherd's song. She was the flowerlike chalice into which the purest water of humanity was to be poured, mingled with wine, changed to the

66 Ibid., ad 2, quoting St Ambrose, (Expositio Evangelii secundum Lucam 2, 1, 27; PL 15, 1553.) crimson blood of love, and lifted up in sacrifice. She was the warm nest rounded to the shape of humanity to receive the Divine Little Bird.

Our Lady's virginity is good earth made ready by God to receive the seed of His Word. The Akathist Hymn of the Byzantine Church praises this beautiful receptiveness in the Virgin: 'As a clear and untilled space thou madest the divine Ear of Corn to burst forth; hail, thou living table having space for the Bread of Life ' 69 The world may see virginity or celibacy as something negative, a void. But the Mother of God reveals that it is empty only as everything receptive is empty, as a chalice is empty so it may contain first wine and then the Blood of Christ.

 

St. Augustine, Homily 200 for the Epiphany

Magi come from the East to adore the Virgin's Child. Today we celebrate this event; we pay our respects and deliver a sermon in keeping with the feast. This day first shone resplendently for the Magi; its anniversary is renewed by us with a festal rejoicing. They were the first-fruits of the Gentiles; we are a nation of Gen- tiles. The words of Apostles announced His birth to us; a star was, as it were, the language of heaven for them; like the heavens, therefore, the Apostles announced the glory of God to us. Why should we not recognize as heavens those who have become the abode of God, as it is written: The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom? [Wis. 71] For, through these heavens [the Apostles], the One who made and who dwells in the heavens has sounded forth. The earth trembled at the sound and now, behold, it believes. O mighty mystery! The Lord lay in a manger, yet He drew the Magi from the East. He was hidden in a stable, yet He was acknowledged in the heavens, so that, thus recognized in the heavens, He might be manifested in the stable and that this day might be called the Epiphany or, in the Latin derivative, the Manifestation. Thus, at one and the same time, He set His seal of approval on His high and His lowly estate, so that He to whom the heavens bore witness by a starry sign might, when sought, be found in an insignificant dwelling where, helpless in His tiny frame and wrapped in swaddling clothes, He might be adored by the Magi and feared by the wicked.

Now, then, my dearly beloved sons and heirs of grace, look to your vocation and, since Christ has been revealed to both Jews and Gentiles as the cornerstone, cling together with most constant affection. For He was manifested in the very cradle of His infancy to those who were near and to those who were afar—to the Jews whose shepherds were nearby; to the Gentiles whose M gi were at a great distance. The former came to Him on the very day of His birth; the latter are believed to have come on this day. He was not revealed, therefore, to the shepherds because they were learned, nor to the Magi because they were righteous, for ignorance abounds in the rusticity of shepherds and impiety amid the sacrileges of the Magi. He, the cornerstone, joined both groups to Himself since He came to choose the foolish things of the world in order to put to shame the wise and to call sinners, not the just [Mt. 9, 13], so that the mighty would not be lifted up nor the lowly be in despair.

 

 

Vesperas I & Laudes: Prudentius

 

From Cantus XII of The Cathemerinon.  

 

Quicúmque Christum quæritis, (1)

óculos in altum tóllite:

illic licébit vísere

signum perénnis glóriæ.

 

Hæc stella, quæ solis rotam

vincit decóre ac lúmine,

venísse terris núntiat

cum carne terréstri Deum.

 

En, Pérsici ex orbis sinu,

sol unde sumit iánuam,

cernunt períti intérpretes

regále vexíllum magi.

 

«Quis iste tantus — ínquiunt —

regnátor astris ímperans,

quem sic tremunt cæléstia,

cui lux et æthra insérviunt?

 

Illústre quiddam cérnimus

quod nésciat finem pati,

sublíme, celsum, intérminum,

antíquius cælo et chao.

 

Hic ille rex est géntium

populíque rex Iudáici,

promíssus Abrahæ patri

eiúsque in ævum sémini».

 

Iesu, tibi sit glória,

qui te revélas géntibus,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

in sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

 All you who seek Christ, raise your eyes to the sky, there you will see a sign of eternal glory. This star, which in beauty and light triumphs over the rotation of the sun, proclaims to earth that God has come with earthly flesh. Look, Persians come from the part of earth where the sun makes its entrance, the Magi skilled in interpreting signs come to find the banner of the King. They ask “where is such a great Ruler of the stars who commands that the heavens tremble before him, whom the light and sky obey?

The brightness we found will know no end: the most high, heavenly, infinite, older than heaven and the formless void. This is the King of the nations, the King of the Jews, promised to Father Abraham and his seed forever. O Jesus, to you be glory, you who revealed yourself to the Gentiles, with the Father and loving Spirit for eternal ages. Amen.

 

Ad Officium lectionis: Prudentius

 

The continuation of Quicumque Christum quaeritis.

 Magi vidéntes párvulum

eóa promunt múnera,

stratíque votis ófferunt

tus, myrrham et aurum régium.

 

Agnósce clara insígnia

virtútis ac regni tui,

Puer, cui trinam Pater

prædestinávit índolem:

 

Regem Deúmque annúntiant

thesáurus et fragrans odor

turis Sabæi, at mýrrheus

pulvis sepúlcrum prædocet.

 

O sola magnárum úrbium

maior Bethlem, cui cóntigit

ducem salútis cælitus

incorporátum gígnere!

 

Hunc et prophétis téstibus

îsdémque signatóribus

testátor et sator iubet

adíre regnum et cérnere:

 

Regnum quod ambit ómnia

dia et marína et térrea

a solis ortu ad éxitum

et tártara et cælum supra.

 

Iesu, tibi sit glória,

qui te revélas géntibus,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

in sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

The Magi seeing the baby present him with gifts from the East, prostrate they offer prayers incense, myrrh and gold fit for kings. Child, recognize these clear signs of your power and your kingdom, to you the Father predestined a threefold nature. The treasure of gold and the fragrant smell of the incense of Sheba proclaim you King and God, while the myrrh dust foretells the tomb. Bethlehem, greater than all great cities, where the Captain of heavenly salvation took flesh and was born.  Here in accord with prophetic testimony and witness the Father and Testator commands that the kingdom come and be seen.  A kingdom which encompasses all things, divinity, sea and earth from the rising of the sun to its setting both the underworld and the heaven above.  O Jesus, to you be glory, you who revealed yourself to the Gentiles, with the Father and loving Spirit for eternal ages. Amen.

 

 

Vesperas II: Sedulius

This hymn continues A solis ortus cardine. The manifestation of Christ as threefold: to the Gentiles in the Magi; to the Jews in the baptism of Christ in the Jordan; and to the Apostles at the wedding in Cana. The three middle stanzas each in turn address the Magi, the Baptism and Wedding at Cana.

 

Hostis Heródes ímpie,

Christum veníre quid times?

Non éripit mortália

qui regna dat cæléstia.

 

Ibant magi, qua vénerant

stellam sequéntes præviam,

lumen requírunt lúmine,

Deum faténtur múnere.

 

Lavácra puri gúrgitis

cæléstis Agnus áttigit;

peccáta quæ non détulit

nos abluéndo sústulit.

 

Novum genus poténtiæ:

aquæ rubéscunt hýdriæ,

vinúmque iussa fúndere

mutávit unda oríginem.

 

Iesu, tibi sit glória,

qui te revélas géntibus,

cum Patre et almo Spíritu,

in sempitérna sæcula. Amen.

Why, O impious Herod, do you fear the coming of Christ? He who gives a heavenly kingdom does not usurp mortal ones. Following the lead of the star, the Magi came to worship, by light they seek light, by their gifts they profess him to be God. The heavenly Lamb touched Jordan’s cleansing waters; by washing he took washed us from sins that were not his own. A new type of power: the water in the jars becomes red and by his command wine flows out, its nature transformed. O Jesus, to you be glory, you who revealed yourself to the Gentiles, with the Father and loving Spirit for eternal ages. Amen

Traditionis custodes

 

Homily by S. Bernard, Abbot, in Praise of the Virgin Mary

Homily by S. Bernard, Abbot, in Praise of the Virgin Mary

Mary addressed the Son, God and Lord of Angels, saying, Son, why have you so dealt with us? Who among the Angels would thus dare? It is enough for them, and more than enough, that, while they are spirits by creation, by grace they are both made and called Angels, as David witnesses: Who makes his Angels spirits. But Mary, knowing herself to be his Mother, with confidence named this Majesty, Son, he whom they serve with reverence: neither did God disdain to be called what he had deigned to become. For a little later it is written: And he was subject unto them. Who, unto whom? God to man, God, I say, unto whom Angels are subject, whom Principalities and Powers adore, he was subject to Mary.

Come and marvel at these things and say which is the greater wonder, the infinite loving-kindness of the Son, or the pre-eminent honor of the parents. Each is amazing, each is marvelous: that God should comply with man is an unparalleled example of humility; that man should have dominion over God is a unique exaltation. In special praise of virgins, we sing that they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. What praise would you deem worthy for the one who leads him? Learn, O man, to obey; learn, O earth, to submit; learn, O dust, to comply. The Evangelist is speaking of the Creator, and he says, And he was subject unto them: there is no question of doubt: to Mary and to Joseph. Then blush, you creature of ashes! God humbles himself, do you exalt yourself? God subjects himself to men, and do you want to lord it over them, to set yourself over your Creator?

Vesperas I & II: Prudentius

A.S. Walpole: Cathemerinon IX, from which 23 is a cento, is entitled hymnus omnis horae. At every hour of every day should a believer be mindful of Christ, who is the A and O, the beginning and the end. Prudentius therefore praises Him as the creator of all things, as the everlasting Son of the Father's love begotten. He then briefly but graphically relates the chief wonders of His earthly life.  

Milfull: (in the English tradition): This hymn was in use at Christmas and Candlemas . . . for 1^st Vespers of St. Stephen and Compline of the Octave of Christmas, the Vigil of Epiphany, the Vigil of the Purification and the Purification itself.

Corde natus ex Paréntis

ante mundi exórdium,

Alpha et Omega vocátus,

ipse fons et cláusula

ómnium quæ sunt, fuérunt

quæque post futúra sunt.

  

Córporis formam cadúci,

membra morti obnóxia

índuit, ne gens períret

primoplásti ex gérmine,

mérserat quam lex profúndo

noxiális tártaro.

O beátus ortus ille,

Virgo cum puérpera

édidit nostram salútem

feta Sancto Spíritu,

et puer redémptor orbis

os sacrátum prótulit.

Ecce, quem vates vetústis

concinébant sæculis,

quem prophetárum fidéles

páginæ spopónderant,

émicat promíssus olim:

cuncta colláudent eum!

Glóriam Patri melódis

personémus vócibus;

glóriam Christo canámus,

matre nato vírgine,

inclitóque sempitérnam

glóriam Paráclito. Amen.

Born from the heart of the Father before the beginning of the world, called Alpha and Omega, himself the source and the end of all which exist, have existed and which afterwards shall exist. Clothed in the form of the frail body, his members subject to death, that the people not perish from the seed of the firstborn Adam whom the law of death submerged in deepest hell.  O blessed birth from the childbearing Virgin, made fertile by the Holy Spirit, which brought forth our salvation and the Child, the Redeemer of the world revealed his face. Behold him of whom the ancient seers sang through the centuries, him whom before the writing of the faithful prophets had promised, let all things praise him.  With melodious voices let us sing the glory of the Father, chant glory to Christ, born of a Virgin Mother and eternal glory to the great Paraclete. Amen.

Officium lectionis: saec. VII-VIII

The first part of this hymn, under the title Agnoscat omne saeculum (attributed by some to Fortunatus), was and is used for 2nd Vespers for the Annunciation. 

Radix Iesse flóruit

et virga fructum édidit;

fecúnda partum prótulit

et virgo mater pérmanet.

Præsæpe poni pértulit

qui lucis auctor éxstitit;

cum Patre cælos cóndidit,

sub matre pannos índuit.

Legem dedit qui sæculo,

cuius decem præcépta sunt,

dignándo factus est homo

sub legis esse vínculo.

Iam lux salúsque náscitur,

nox díffugit, mors víncitur;

veníte, gentes, crédite:

Deum María prótulit.

The root of Jesse has flowered and the branch has given forth fruit; the fertile Mother has borne a Son, yet remains a Virgin. He endures the manger, he who is the Creator of light; with his Father he created the heavens but he is clothed in diapers by his Mother. He who gave the Law to the world, the ten commandments, condescends to be made man, to be constrained by the chain of the Law.  Now light and salvation are born, night flees and death is conquered; come, you nations, believe: Mary has given birth to God.

Laudes: saec. IX

Walpole: a fragment of an alphabetical hymn the rest of which has been lost. In the Mozarabic use, to judge by the rubric: in alia festivitate non dicitur, only on die sanctae Mariae.

Fit porta Christi pérvia

omni reférta grátia,

transítque rex, et pérmanet

clausa, ut fuit, per sæcula.

Summi Paréntis Fílius

procéssit aula Vírginis,

sponsus, redémptor, cónditor

suæ gigas Ecclésiæ:

Honor matris et gáudium,

imménsa spes credéntium,

lapis de monte véniens

mundúmque replens grátia.

Exsúltet omnis ánima,

quod nunc salvátor géntium

advénit mundi Dóminus

redímere quos cóndidit.

Christo sit omnis glória,

quem Pater Deum génuit,

quem Virgo mater édidit

fecúnda Sancto Spíritu. Amen.

A path is made through the gate of Christ, Mary full of all grace, through her the King has passed and she remains closed, as it was and ever shall be. The Son of the most-high Father came forth from the Virgin’s womb, Bridegroom, Redeemer, Giant of his Church.  The honor and joy of his Mother, the great hope of believers, the stone falling down from the mountain, filling the world with grace. Let every soul exult, for now the Savior of the nations, the Lord of the world comes to redeem what he created. To Christ be all glory, whom the Father begot, whom the Virgin Mother brought forth, herself made fertile by the Holy Spirit. Amen.