Roman Text taken from "The Liturgical Year",
by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by
Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 10, Time After Pentecost, Book I.
Re-published by St. Bonaventure Publications,
July 2000.
www.libers.com
Italic Text taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.
(Papacy 199 A.D. - 217 A.D.).
Description: English: from [1].
Date: 24 March 2006 (original upload date).
Matins is the Monastic night-time Liturgy, ending at Dawn, of the Canonical Hours. As standardised in the Roman Catholic Liturgy of the Hours, it is divided into three Nocturns. The name "Matins" originally referred to the Morning Office, also known as Lauds.
When the nocturnal Monastic Services, called Vigils, or Nocturns, were joined with Lauds, the name of "Matins" was applied at first to the concluding Morning Service and, later still, to the entire series of Vigils.
In Eastern Orthodoxy, these Vigils correspond to the All-Night Vigil, comprising the Midnight Office and the Daybreak Service of Orthros (in Church Slavonic: Oútrenya).
Mattins, often spelled in the Anglican Tradition with a double "t", is the Morning Prayer, which consolidated the Hours of Matins, Lauds and Prime. Lutherans preserve recognisably Traditional Matins, distinct from Morning Prayer, but "Matins" is sometimes used in other Protestant denominations to describe any Morning Service.
The Night Office of Matins, for the Feast of Corpus Christi, has a special interest of its own; it is the memory of that Holy Night, when, as the Church expresses it, Faith shows us Our Lord presiding, for the last time, at the figurative Pasch, and following up the Feast of the typical lamb with the Banquet of His own Body.
In order to induce the Faithful to prefer the Prayers of the Liturgy to all others, we would remind them that the Sovereign Pontiffs have solemnly opened the treasures of the Church in favour of such as, being contrite, and having confessed their sins, shall assist at any of the Canonical Hours, either on the day of the Feast, or during its Octave.
Pope Martin V, by his Constitution, "Ineffabile Sacramentum", which allows this Feast and Octave to be celebrated with the ringing of Bells and Solemnity, even in places which are under an Interdict, confirmed and added to the Indulgences granted by Pope Urban IV, in the Bull, "Transiturus".
Finally, Pope Eugenius IV, mentioning the Acts of these two Pontiffs [Constitution, "Excellentissimum".], doubled the Indulgences granted by them. These Indulgences are as follows: Two hundred days are granted for Fasting on the Eve, or for any other good work substituted for the Fast, at the discretion of the Confessor; on the day of the Feast, four hundred days for assisting at First Vespers, Matins, Mass, or Second Vespers; two hundred days for Holy Communion, over and above those granted for assisting at Mass; a hundred and sixty days for each of the Hours of Prime, Terce (Tierce), Sext, None, and Compline; two hundred days for the Procession, on the day of the Feast, itself, or during the Octave: Two hundred days, likewise, for assisting at Vespers, Matins, or Mass, during the Octave, and eighty days for each of the other Hours.
After the Pater, Ave, and Credo, have been said silently, the Church commences her Office by her usual Matins supplication:
Domine, labia mea aperies.
O Lord ! Thou wilt open my lips.
Then follows, with its glad refrain, Christum Regem, the Invitatory Psalm, whereby the Church invites her children, every night, to come and adore the Lord.
On this Feast, she, as bride, addressing herself to us the faithful subjects and courtiers of the King of Glory, invites us to pay our homage to Him, whose goodness towards us is all the more telling, because of His infinite majesty.
Then follows Psalm 94:
Venite, exsultemus Domino . . .
Come, let us praise the Lord with joy . . .
After the Invitatory, in which we have commemorated the transfer of Christ's kingdom to the Gentiles, the Church intones the triumphant Hymn, which, in its noble verses, recounts the Last Supper, and celebrates the wonderful favours bestowed upon men that glorious night.
Hymn:
Sacris solemniis juncta sint gaudia . . .
Let our joys blend with this Sacred Solemnity . . .
These preludes having been made, we begin the Solemn Office of the Night, which is divided into Three Vigils, or Nocturns:
The First Nocturn:
Christ is the just Man by excellence; He is the tree which brings forth its fruit in due Season, the fruit, that is, of Salvation, which the Lord gave to us to taste at the time of His death.
The First Psalm offers us this beautiful symbolism, which the Fathers have so often dwelt upon in their writings:
Antiphon:
Fructum salutiferum gustandum dedit Dominus . . .
The Lord gave us to taste of the fruit of Salvation . . .
Psalm 1:
Beatus vir, qui non abiit in consilio . . .
Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly . . .
The Second Psalm of this Nocturn tells us of the peace and abundance enjoyed by the man who puts his confidence in the God of Justice. Corn, wine and oil are the riches of God's House. It is mainly by these three elements, that the Church confers a daily increase of Holiness on them that have become her children by the water of Baptism. What, indeed, has she, to be compared with the beautiful corn of the elect, and wine that produceth virgins ? [Zach. ix. 17.]
Antiphon:
A fructu frumenti et vini multiplicati . . .
The Faithful, multiplied by the fruit of corn . . .
Psalm 4:
Cum invocarem exaudivit me Deus . . .
When I called upon Him, the God of my justice . . .
We have already seen how the Holy Eucharist was the bond of union between the Holy Faithful, and the centre of Catholic communion. What the Sacrifice of the New Testament is for Christians, from a social point of view, that same were the mosaic sacrifices, heretofore, for the Jews, although in a manner wholly external and figurative.
The following Antiphon tells us the reason of the Church's selecting Psalm XV for the Third Psalm of the First Nocturn: It is, that she might remind us of her own superiority, in this respect, over the rejected Synagogue. The Lord Himself is the glorious portion of her inheritance and the cup of her joy.
Antiphon:
Communione calicis quo Deus ipse . . .
The Lord hath brought us together, by the communion . . .
Psalm 15:
Conserva me, Domine . . .
Preserve me, O Lord . . .
The Priest begins the Lord's Prayer:
Pater noster (the rest is said in silence, as far as the last two petitions) . . .
Our Father . . .
The First Nocturn Lessons are taken from one of Saint Paul's Epistles. After chiding the Faithful of Corinth for having allowed abuses to creep into their religious meetings, the Apostle recounts the institution of the Blessed Eucharist.
He tells them the dispositions they should bring with them to the Holy Table, and speaks of the grievous crime committed by him who approaches unworthily.
First Lesson:
De Epistela prima Beati Pauli apostoli ad Corinthios . . .
From the first Epistle of Saint Paul . . .
Second Lesson:
Ego enim accepi a Domino . . .
For I have received of the Lord . . .
Third Lesson:
Itaque quicumque manducaverit panem hunc . . .
Therefore, whoever shall eat of this bread , , ,
The Second Nocturn:
The
Fourth Psalm of our
Matins speaks of the all-powerful efficacy of the Christian Sacrifice. The Lord's protection and help in the battles of this life; joy, exaltation, abundance. All are assured to the man who will but have recourse to it.
For the Victim is Christ, with which no other can compare for perfection; it is a whole-burnt offering, whose sweet odour ascends, from our Earthly altar, to Heaven's Sanctuary, and thence brings down the Salvation of the right hand of the Most High. It is to Christ Himself that the Psalmist here makes his Prayer for victory.
Antiphon:
Memor sit Dominus sacrificii nostri . . .
May the Lord be mindful of our sacrifice . . .
Psalm 19:
Exaudiat te Dominus in die tribuiationis . . .
May the Lord hear thee in the day of tribulation . . .
The Soul that follows her Lord wants for nothing. Happy sheep ! Its Shepherd's crook leads it to such rich pastures, to such refreshing water springs ! Let us join the Saintly servant of God, and sing the praises of the Chalice which inebriateth, and of the Table prepared for him against all enemies; when he leaves that Table, he goes forth like a lion breathing fire: He has been made an object of terror to the devil [Saint John Chrysostom.
In Joan.].
Antiphon:
Paratur nobis mensa Domini . . .
The Lord's Table is prepared . . .
Psalm 22
Dominus regit me, et nihil mihi deerit . . .
The Lord ruleth me, and I shall want nothing . . .
The
Sixth Psalm of these
Matins was inspired into David's Soul, when he was obliged to keep far off from the Tabernacle and the Holy Ark, because of Saul's angry persecution, which necessitated his hiding in the mountains near the Jordan.
It is the beautiful Canticle, already cited by us, as so strongly expressing man's thirst, even in this mortal life, after his God. The mere recollection of the Feasting, which awaits him in the wonderful Tabernacle in the House of God, comforts him amidst his troubles, and rouses his hopes. Let us get the spirit of this celestial poetry into us; it will kindle within us the flame of love.
Antiphon:
In voce exsultationis resonent . . .
Let them that Feast at the Table of the Lord . . .
Psalm 41:
Quemadmodum desiderat cervus ad fontes aquarum . . .
As the hart panteth after the fountains of water . . .
After the
Pater noster, which is said as prescribed, above, in the First Nocturn, the Priest says:
Ipsius pietas et misericordia nos adjuvet . . .
May His goodness and mercy help us . . .
The Angelic Doctor [Thomas Aquinas] provides us with the Second Nocturn Lessons: His own words are going to be read to us, words which will aid our Faith to enter into the science of the Divine Sacrament, "as far as it can be understood by man whilst on the way, and humanly be defined."
These were the words of Our Lord, when approving the Doctrine "of Thomas, on the Sacrament of the Body" [Act. SS.
ad diem 7 Martii; cap. ix. 53.]. Three cities, Paris, Naples, and Orvieto, had the honour of being, each in its turn, the scene of these manifestations of Christ to His faithful servant, the Angelic Doctor. There is still venerated in the Church of Saint Dominic at Orvieto, the Crucifix by which Our Lord spoke, when giving His Divine approval to the Office we are actually celebrating.
Let us, then, listen with veneration to the following passage, which the Church has selected from one of the Saint's treatises. As to its scholastic phraseology, let us remember that, although in itself it is not learning, yet it was the war-dress wherewith our forefathers of the 13th-Century deemed it necessary to accoutre Theology, when she had to come to close argument with dry logicians.
Benedictio:
Deus Pater omnipotens sit nobis . . .
May God the Father Almighty be propitious . . .
Fourth Lesson:
Sermo Sancti Thomae Aquinatis.
Sermon of Saint Thomas of Aquin.
Immensa divinae largitatis beneficia . . .
The immeasurable blessings of divine bounty . . .
Benedictio:
Christus perpetuae det nobis gaudia vitae.
May Christ grant unto us the joys of eternal life.
Fifth Lesson:
O pretiosum et admirandum convivium . . .
O precious and wonderful banquet . . .
Benedictio:
Ignem sui amoris accendat Deus in cordibus nostris.
May God enkindle within our hearts the fire of His love.
Sixth Lesson:
Nullum etiam sacramentum est isto salubris . . .
Again, there is no Sacrament more health-giving than this . . .
The Third Nocturn:
The
Seventh Psalm of these
Matins is a sequel to the one immediately preceding it in the Psalter. The two are inspired by the same trying circumstances; there is the same idea running through both; and several of the expressions are identical.
We have the cry of the poor Soul when, being harassed by her enemy, she is longing for her God; she has her wish and the confidence of at last seeing the Holy Mount, and that the Altar of God, where God gives Himself in the Person of the Incarnate Word, of Christ, Who comes for the purpose of restoring their youth to His happy adorers and guests.
Antiphon:
Introibo ad altare Dei . . .
I will go in to the Altar of God . . .
Psalm 42:
Judica me, Deus, et discerna causam meam . . .
Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause . . .
The
Eighth Psalm celebrates, with enthusiasm, the sovereign goodness of the God of Jacob. He had, by numberless prodigies, worked the deliverance of His people. Open thy mouth, He said, and I will fill it; and He this day keeps His word, notwithstanding the frequent sad frowardness of His unworthy children.
He feeds them with the fat of wheat; He fills them with honey out of the rock; that is to say, He gives them to taste the ineffable sweetness of Christ, Who is the wheat of the elect and the rock of the desert [Zach. ix. 17; 1 Cor. x. 4.].
Antiphon:
Cibavit nos Dominus ex adipe frumenti . . .
The Lord hath fed us with the fat of wheat . . .
Psalm 80:
Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro; jubilate Deo Jacob.
Rejoice unto God, our helper; sing aloud to the God of Jacob.
Christ is that living God, who makes my heart and my flesh rejoice. Let us take this next Psalm, and sing the praises of the Altars of the Lord of Hosts, our King and our God. Those Altars are a house for the sparrow, and a nest for the turtle-dove. Happy they who dwell in those lovely Tabernacles !
Antiphon:
Ex altari tuo, Domine, Christum sumimus . . .
We receive Christ from Thine Altar, O Lord . . .
Psalm 83:
Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum . . .
How lovely are Thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts . . .
After the
Pater noster, which is said as in the first two Nocturns, the Priest says:
A vinculis peccatorum nostrorum absolvat nos omnipotens et misericors Dominus. Amen.
May the Almighty and merciful Lord deliver us from the chains of our sins. Amen.
Here is read the first sentence of the Gospel of the Mass of this Feast; and the interpretation of it, as given by Saint Augustine, is immediately added. The Holy Doctor dwells particularly on the unity which Our Lord intended to produce among His followers by the august Sacrament.
He shows the necessity of the interior dispositions required for receiving this Sacrament with fruit; and lays special stress on this one effect: That it is to make man live for Christ, just as He lives for His Father.
Benedictio:
Evangelica lectio sit nobis salus et protectio. Amen.
May the reading of the Gospel bring us salvation and protection. Amen.
Seventh Lesson:
Lectio sancti Evangelii secundum Joannem. In illo tempore, dixit Jesus . . .
Lesson from the Holy Gospel according to John. At that time, Jesus said . . .
Homilia sancti Augustini Episcopi. Cum cibo et potu id appetant homines . . .
Homily of Saint Augustine, Bishop. Seeing that man desire this, by the food and drink . .
Benedictio:
Divinum auxilium maneat semper nobiscum. Amen.
May the Divine assistance remain always with us. Amen.
Eighth Lesson:
Qui manducat carnem meam, et bibit meum sanguinem . . .
He that eateth my Flesh, and drinketh my Blood, abideth in me . . .
Benedictio:
Ad societatem civium supernorum perducat nos Rex angelorum. Amen.
May the King of Angels lead us to the fellowship of heavenly citizens. Amen.
Ninth Lesson:
Sicut, inquit, misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo propter Patrem . . .
As, says He, the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father . . .
Hymn of Thanksgiving:
Te Deum laudamus: Te Dominum confitemur . . .
We praise Thee, O God ! We acknowledge Thee to be Our Lord . . .
The three Vigils of the night are over. The Church has kept watch for her Spouse; and, to beguile the hours, which seemed to go so slowly on, she has been singing the praises of her Beloved, and beseeching Him, with most ardent Prayers, to come quickly.
Blessed mother Church ! For, blessed are they whom, when the Lord returneth from the nuptials, He shall find watching, ready to open to Him at His first knocking. He will gird Himself, as Jesus says in the Gospel, and will make them sit down to meat; and, passing, will minister unto them; and, if He shall come in the Second Watch, or come in the Third Watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants ! [St. Luke xii. 36 - 38.].
These divisions, called Nocturns, which are so long a portion of the Divine Office, yet are independent of the seven Canonical Hours of the day, have been interpreted as signifying those long ages, when the human race, sitting as it was in darkness, and a prey to the anger of God, was asking for the Mediator, who was to justify the world by His Blood [Rom. v. 9.], and to bring back the light, by restoring that peace with Heaven which had been broken by Original Sin.
Equally with the Prayers of the Patriarchs and the desires of the Prophets, the supplications of the Church and of all the Just were being heard in anticipation, and were hastening the time when the Messias was to come, and to offer the great Sacrifice, whereby sin was to have an end, the Justice of God be made manifest, and the Covenant with many be confirmed [Dan. ix. 24, 27.].
But the dawn of our Feast is breaking. Turning towards the East, the Church knows, through the twilight, that her Spouse is preparing to visit her. She is all joy at this hour, when the King of the Day is about to shine on our Earth; she has her Solemn Office of Lauds, full of gladness and praise, as its name indicates; and in this Office she invites Earth, and sea, and firmament, to sing Canticles which are worthy of our Jesus, Who is the true Sun, for He is rising upon us, and, as the Psalmist tells us, is Himself rejoicing, as a giant [Ps. xviii. 6.], to come to the Altar of Sacrifice.
END OF THE NIGHT OFFICE OF MATINS FOR THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI.
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