Te Deum. Hymn of Thanksgiving (Part Three).

Italic Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Non-Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

      unless otherwise stated.

Jesus, I trust in Thee.

Painting representing the famous apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 
to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Italiano: Cortemilia. Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Michele. Rodolfo Morgari: 
Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque e la devozione al Sacro Cuore.
Photo: 6 June 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Giovanni Destefanis
(Wikimedia Commons)

The Te Deum (also known as Ambrosian Hymn or A Song of the Church) is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered as "Thee, O God, we praise".

The hymn remains in regular use in the Catholic Church in the Office of Readings found in the Liturgy of the Hours, and in thanksgiving to God for a special blessing such as the election of a pope, the consecration of a bishop, the canonization of a saint, a religious profession, the publication of a treaty of peace, a royal coronation, etc. It is sung either after Mass or the Divine Office or as a separate religious ceremony. The hymn also remains in use in the Anglican Communion and some Lutheran Churches in similar settings.

In the Traditional Office, the Te Deum is sung at the end of Matins on all days when the Gloria is said at Mass; those days are all Sundays outside Advent, Septuagesima, Lent, and Passiontide; on all feasts (except the Triduum) and on all ferias during Eastertide.

Before the 1962 reforms, neither the Gloria nor the Te Deum were said on the feast of the Holy Innocents, unless it fell on Sunday, as they were martyred before the death of Christ and therefore could not immediately attain the beatific vision. A plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions, to those who recite it in public on New Year's Eve.

In the Liturgy of the Hours of Pope Paul VI, the Te Deum is sung at the end of the Office of Readings on all Sundays except those of Lent, on all Solemnities, including the Octaves of Easter and Christmas, and on all feasts. It is also used together with the standard canticles in Morning Prayer as prescribed in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, in Matins for Lutherans, and is retained by many other churches of the Reformed tradition.

Part of the setting of the Te Deum by Marc-Antoine Charpentier is the anthem of Eurovision. The instrumental prelude is played at the opening, intervals and closing of the show.

Authorship is traditionally ascribed to Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine, on the occasion of the latter's baptism by the former in 387 A.D. It has also been ascribed to Saint Hilary, but Catholic-Forum.com says "it is now accredited to Nicetas, bishop of Remesiana; (4th-Century)".

The petitions at the end of the hymn (beginning Salvum fac populum tuum) are a selection of verses from the book of Psalms, appended subsequently to the original hymn.

The hymn follows the outline of the Apostles' Creed, mixing a poetic vision of the heavenly liturgy with its declaration of faith. Calling on the name of God immediately, the hymn proceeds to name all those who praise and venerate God, from the hierarchy of heavenly creatures to those Christian faithful already in heaven to the Church spread throughout the world. The hymn then returns to its Credal formula, naming Christ and recalling his birth, suffering and death, his resurrection and glorification. At this point the hymn turns to the subjects declaiming the praise, both the universal Church and the singer in particular, asking for mercy on past sins, protection from future sin, and the hoped-for reunification with the elect.

The text has been set to music by many composers, with settings by Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, Bruckner, Furtwängler, Dvořák, Britten, Kodály, and Pärt, among the better known. Jean-Baptiste Lully wrote a setting of Te Deum for the court of Louis XIV of France, and received a fatal injury while conducting it.

The prelude to Marc-Antoine Charpentier's setting (H.146) is well known in Europe on account of its being used as the theme music for some broadcasts of the European Broadcasting Union, most notably the Eurovision Song Contest. Sir William Walton's Coronation Te Deum was written for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Other English settings include those by Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Henry Purcell, and Edward Elgar, as well as three settings each by George Frideric Handel and Charles Villiers Stanford. Puccini's opera, Tosca, features a dramatic performance of the initial part of the Te Deum at the end of Act I.

A version by Father Michael Keating is popular in some Charismatic circles. Mark Hayes wrote a setting of the text in 2005, with Latin phrases interpolated amid primarily English lyrics. In 1978, British hymnodist, Christopher Idle, wrote God We Praise You, a version of the text in 8.7.8.7.D meter, set to the tune "Rustington". British composer, John Rutter, has composed two settings of this hymn, one entitled Te Deum and the other Winchester Te Deum. Igor Stravinsky set the first 12 lines of the text as part of The Flood in 1962. Antony Pitts was commissioned by the London Festival of Contemporary Church Music to write a setting for the 2011 10th Anniversary Festival. The 18th-Century German hymn, Großer Gott, wir loben dich, is a free translation of the Te Deum, which was translated into English in the 19th-Century as "Holy God, we praise thy name."

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE TE DEUM

Te Deum. Hymn of Thanksgiving (Part Two).

Italic Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Non-Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

      unless otherwise stated.

Jesus, I trust in Thee.

Painting representing the famous apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 
to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Italiano: Cortemilia. Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Michele. Rodolfo Morgari: 
Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque e la devozione al Sacro Cuore.
Photo: 6 June 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Giovanni Destefanis
(Wikimedia Commons)

We praise Thee, O God; we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.

Thee, the Father everlasting, all the Earth doth worship.

To Thee all the angels, to Thee the heavens, and all the powers.

To Thee the cherubim and seraphim cry out without ceasing:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts.

Full are the heavens and the Earth of the majesty of Thy glory.

Thee, the glorious choir of the apostles.

Thee, the admirable company of the prophets,

Thee, the white-robed army of martyrs doth praise.

Thee, the holy Church throughout the world doth confess.

The Father of incomprehensible majesty,

Thine adorable, true, and only Son,

And the Holy Ghost the Paraclete,

Thou, O Christ, art the King of glory.

Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.

Thou, having taken upon Thee to deliver man, 

didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.

Thou, having overcome the sting of death, hast opened to believers the kingdom of heaven.

Thou sittest at the right-hand of God in the glory of the Father.

Thou, we believe, art the Judge to come.

We beseech Thee, therefore, to help Thy servants,

whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy precious Blood.

Make them to be numbered with Thy saints in glory everlasting.

O Lord, save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance.

And govern them, and exalt them for ever.

Day by day we bless Thee.

And we praise Thy name for ever;

yea, for ever and ever.

Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day,

to keep us without sin.

Have mercy on us, O Lord;

have mercy on us.

Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us;

as we have trusted in Thee.

In Thee, O Lord, have I trusted:

let me not be confounded for ever.

v.      Let us bless the Father, and the Son, with the Holy Ghost.

r.      Let us praise and exalt Him for ever.

Let us pray

O God, of whose mercies there is no number, and of whose goodness the treasure is infinite; we render thanks to Thy most gracious majesty for the gifts Thou hast bestowed upon us; evermore beseeching Thy clemency, that as Thou grantest the petitions of them that ask Thee, Thou mayest never forsake them, but mayest prepare them for the rewards to come. Through Christ Our Lord.

r.      Amen.

PART THREE FOLLOWS

Te Deum. Hymn of Thanksgiving (Part One).

Italic Text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Non-Italic Text is taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

      unless otherwise stated.

Jesus, I trust in Thee.

Painting representing the famous apparition of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 
to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque.
Italiano: Cortemilia. Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Michele. Rodolfo Morgari: 
Santa Margherita Maria Alacoque e la devozione al Sacro Cuore.
Photo: 6 June 2008.
Source: Own work.
Author: User:Giovanni Destefanis
(Wikimedia Commons)

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi Caeli et universae Potestates.
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt  caeli et terra majestatis gloriae tuae.

Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus;
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus;
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia:

Patrem immensae majestatis;
Venerandum tuum verum, et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae. Christe.

Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.

Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes in gloria Patris.
Judex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni,
quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.

Aeterna fac cum Sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine,
et benedic haereditati tuae.
Et rege eos et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum,
et in saeculum saeculi.

Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos,
quemadmodum speravimus in te.

In te, Domine, speravi:
non confundar in aeternum.

v.      Benedicamus Patrem et Filium cum Sancto Spiritu.

r.      Laudemus et superexaltemus eum in saecula.

Oremus

Deus, cujus misericordiae non est numerus et bonitatis infinitus est thesaurus, piissimae majestati tuae pro collatis donis gratias agimus, tuam semper clementiam exorantes, ut qui petentibus postulata concedis, eosdem non deserens, ad praemia futura disponas. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.

r.      Amen.

PART TWO FOLLOWS

Te Deum. 5th-Century Monastic Chant (Solemn).

The Feast of The Holy Family.

This Article can be found on ROME REPORTS at http://www.romereports.com/


The Feast of the Holy Family, according to Benedict XVI

Canterbury Cathedral (Part Four)

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Canterbury Cathedral Tower's Ceiling.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons).

Monastic Buildings

A bird's-eye view of the Cathedral and its monastic buildings, made in about 1165 and known as the "waterworks plan", is preserved in the Eadwine Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It shows that Canterbury employed the same general principles of arrangement common to all Benedictine monasteries, although, unusually, the Cloister and monastic buildings were to the North, rather than the South, of the Church. There was a separate Chapter-House.

The buildings formed separate groups around the Church. Adjoining it, on the North side, stood the Cloister and the buildings devoted to the monastic life. To the East and West of these, were those devoted to the exercise of hospitality. To the North, a large open court divided the monastic buildings from menial ones, such as the stables, granaries, barn, bakehouse, brew house and laundries, inhabited by the lay servants of the establishment. 

At the greatest possible distance from the Church, beyond the precinct of the monastery, was the eleemosynary department. The Almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great Hall annexed, formed the paupers' hospitium.

Canterbury Cathedral Cloisters.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The group of buildings devoted to monastic life included two Cloisters. The Great Cloister was surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with the daily life of the monks: The Church to the South, with the Refectory placed, as always, on the side opposite; The Dormitory, raised on a vaulted Undercroft, and the Chapter-House adjacent, and the lodgings of the Cellarer, responsible for providing both monks and guests with food, to the West. A passage under the Dormitory lead Eastwards to the smaller, or Infirmary, Cloister, appropriated to sick and infirm monks.

The Hall and Chapel of the Infirmary extended East of this Cloister, resembling in form and arrangement the Nave and Chancel of an aisled Church. Beneath the Dormitory, overlooking the green court or herbarium, lay the "pisalis" or "calefactory," the Common Room of the monks. At its North-East corner, access was given from the Dormitory to the necessarium, a building in the form of a Norman Hall, 145 ft long by 25 ft broad (44.2 m × 7.6 m), containing fifty-five seats. It was constructed with careful regard to hygiene, with a stream of water running through it from end to end.

A second, smaller, Dormitory, for the Conventual Officers, ran from East to West. Close to the Refectory, but outside the Cloisters, were the domestic offices connected with it: to the North, the Kitchen, 47 ft (14 m) square, with a pyramidal Roof, and the Kitchen Court; to the West, the Butteries, Pantries, etc. The Infirmary had a small Kitchen of its own. Opposite the Refectory Door, in the Cloister, were two Lavatories, where the monks washed before and after eating.

Canterbury Cathedral Stained Glass Windows.

Photo: April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS

Beautiful.

This Article can be found on http://offerimustibidomine.blogspot.co.uk/

Therefore, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel.

This Article was created by catholicpeter
and can be found on YouTube by CLICKING THIS LINK.

Gaudete, Christus Est Natus.

This Article can be found on http://thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill.blogspot.co.uk/

Well done, Bones !!!

A Very Happy, Holy & Peaceful Christmas to all Readers.

"My Soul Doth Magnify The Lord".

This Article can be found on ENLARGING THE HEART at 

http://enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com/

Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels, by Sandro Botticelli.

Date: 1485 - 1490.

Source: [1]

Author: w:Botticelli

(Wikimedia Commons)

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord (Luke 1:38)….

If a handmaid is she who, with intent and with complete attention, beholds her Lord, then again the Most-Holy Virgin is the first among the handmaids of the Lord.

[...] She did not care to please the world, but only God; nor did she care to justify herself before the world, but only before God. She herself is obedience; she herself is service; she herself is meekness.

The Most-Holy Virgin could in truth say to the angel of God: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord".

The greatest perfection, and the greatest honour that a woman can attain on Earth, is to be a handmaid of the Lord. Eve lost this perfection and honour in Paradise without effort, and the Virgin Mary achieved this perfection and this honour outside Paradise with her efforts.


My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46).

Brethren, we have in total only a few words spoken by the Most-Holy Theotokos recorded in the Gospels.

All of her words pertain to the magnification of God. She was silent before men but her soul conversed unceasingly with God. Every day and every hour, she found a new reason and incentive to magnify God.

If only we were able to know and to record all her magnifications of God throughout her whole life, oh, how many books would it take!

But, even by this one magnification, which she spoke before her kinswoman, Elizabeth, the mother of the great Prophet and Forerunner, John, every Christian can evaluate what a fragrant and God-pleasing flower was her most holy soul.

This is but one wonderful canticle of the soul of the Theotokos, which has come down to us through the Gospel. However, such canticles were without number in the course of the life of the Most-Blessed One.

Even before she heard the Gospel from the lips of her Son, she knew how to speak with God and to glorify Him in accordance with the teaching of the Gospel.

This knowledge came to her from the Holy Spirit of God, whose grace constantly poured into her like clear water into a pure vessel.

Her soul magnified God with canticles throughout her whole life, and therefore God magnified her above the Cherubim and the Seraphim.

Likewise, small and sinful as we are, the same Lord will magnify in His Kingdom us who magnify her, if we exert ourselves to fill this brief life with the magnification of God in our deeds, words, thoughts and prayers.

O Most-Holy, Most-Pure and Most-Blessed Theotokos, cover us with the wings of thy prayers.

Nikolai Velimirovich.

Nikolai Velimirovich (1880-1956; Orthodox Church): 

Prologue from Ohrid, December 26th and 27th OS.

Lo ! All things are accomplished, that were said by the Angel, of the Virgin Mary (Antiphon at Lauds).

This Article was taken (in December 2012) from 

ARS ORANDI THE ART AND BEAUTY OF TRADITIONAL CATHOLICISM

The following Text is from

The Liturgical Year, Vol 1; Advent, 23 December,

by Dom Guéranger, O.S.B.

O Emmanuel !  King of peace! Thou enterest today the city of Thy predilection, the city in which Thou hast placed Thy temple - Jerusalem. A few years hence the same city will give Thee Thy cross and Thy sepulchre: nay, the day will come on which Thou wilt set up Thy judgement-seat within sight of her walls. 

But today Thou enterest the city of David and Solomon unnoticed and unknown. It lies on Thy road to Bethlehem. Thy blessed Mother and Joseph her spouse would not lose the opportunity of visiting the temple, there to offer to the Lord their prayers and adoration. 

They enter; and then, for the first time, is accomplished the prophecy of Aggeus, that great shall be the glory of this last house more than of the first; for this second temple has now standing within it an ark of the Covenant more precious than was that which Moses built; and within this ark, which is Mary, is contained the God whose presence makes her the holiest of sanctuaries. 

The Lawgiver Himself is in this blessed ark, and not merely, as in that of old, the tablet of stone on which the Law was graven. The visit paid, our living ark descends the steps of the temple, and sets out once more for Bethlehem, where other prophecies are to be fulfilled. We adore Thee, O Emmanuel !  in this Thy journey, and we reverence the fidelity wherewith Thou fulfillest all that the prophets have written of Thee; for Thou wouldst give to Thy people the certainty of Thy being the Messias, by showing them that all the marks, whereby He was to be known, are to be found in Thee. And now, the hour is near; all is ready for Thy birth; come then, and save us; come, that Thou mayst not only be called our Emmanuel, but our Jesus, that is, He that saves us.

Ero cras!

"Tomorrow I will Be!"

The Great O Antiphons. 23 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 

unless otherwise stated.

 Artist: Gerard van Honthorst (1590–1656).

The Adoration of the Shepherds.

Date: 25 December 1622.

Current location: Wallraf-Richartz-Museum.

 Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. 

Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1] 

(Wikimedia Commons)

 23 December: Isaias vii. 14, xxxiii. 22.

O Emmanuel,

Rex et legifer noster,

exspectatio Gentium,

et Salvator earum:

veni ad salvandum nos,

Domine Deus noster.

O Emmanuel,

our King and Lawgiver,

the expected of the nations 

and their Saviour,

come to save us,

O Lord our God.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."

"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Great O Antiphons. 22 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal,
unless otherwise stated.

 

Artist: Guido Reni (1575–1642).
Deutsch: Anbetung der Hirten, Detail.
Date: 1630 - 1642.
Current location: Deutsch: Museo di San Martino.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. 

Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1]

(Wikimedia Commons)

 22 December:  Aggeus ii. 8;  Ephesians ii. 14, 20.

O Rex Gentium,

et desideratus earum,

lapisque angularis,

qui facis utraque unum:

veni, et salva hominem,

quem de limo formasti.

O King of the Gentiles,

and the desired of them,

Thou cornerstone that makest both one,

come and deliver man,

whom Thou didst form out of 

      the dust of the earth.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."

"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Community-In-Formation of The Oratory of St Philip Neri in Cincinnati

Taken from the Web-Site of The Community-In-Formation 
of The Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Cincinnati 
at http://www.spncincinnati.com/

The High Altar of The Oratory of St Philip Neri in Cincinnati.

The Congregation of the Oratory of St Philip Neri is a “society of Apostolic life” founded under the guidance of the Confederation of the Oratory (based in Rome) and with the permission of the local Ordinary.  The definitive foundation of an Oratorian Congregation is actually done by the Roman Pontiff directly, which makes a Congregation what is called a “Pontifical Right” foundation.  

An Oratory provides an opportunity for Priests to live their vocation in a more structured community than what is typically experienced by Diocesan Priests, but with more flexibility than a Religious Order.  Above all, it is a Community of Charity in the Spirit of St Philip Neri, the “Joyful Saint”.

The Great O Antiphons. 21 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 
unless otherwise stated.

Artist: Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510).
Deutsch: Madonna und zwei Engel
English: Madonna and Child with two angels.
Italiano: Madonna con due angeli.
Date: 1468 - 1469.
Current location: Galleria Nazionale di Capodimonte.
Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. 

Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.
Permission: [1]
(Wikimedia Commons)

 21 December:  Psalm cvi.  10.

O Oriens,

splendor lucis aeternae,

et sol justitiae;

veni et illumina sedentes in tenebris,

et umbra mortis.

O Dawn of the East,

brightness of the light eternal,

and Sun of Justice;

come and enlighten them that sit in darkness,

and in the shadow of death.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."
"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Great O Antiphons. 20 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 
unless otherwise stated.

English: Workshop of the Della Robbia (early 16th-Century)

Madonna with Child, the Holy Spirit and two cherubims, enamelled terracotta.

Français: Atelier des Della Robbia (début du XVIe siècle.

Vierge à l'Enfant avec le Saint Esprit et deux chérubins, terre cuite émaillée.

Current location: Louvre Museum, Paris, France.

Accession Number: Campana 32.

Source/Photographer: Jastrow (2006).

(Wikimedia Commons)

20 December: Isaias xxii. 22; Apocalypse iii. 7; Luke i. 79.

O Clavis David,

et sceptrum domus Israel;

qui aperis, et nemo claudit, 

      claudis, et nemo aperit:

veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris,

sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

O Key of David,

and Sceptre of the House of Israel,

who openest and no man shutteth,

who shuttest and no man openeth;

come and bring forth from his prison-house,

the captive that sitteth in darkness and

      in the shadow of death.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."
"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Great O Antiphons. 19 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.

Madonna and Child.

Artist: Marianne Stokes (1855 - 1927),

Date: 1907 - 1908.

Current location: Wolverhampton Art Gallery and Museum.

Source/Photographer: Own work, user:Rlbberlin

(Wikimedia Commons)

19 December: Isaias xi. 10.

O Radix Jesse,

qui stas in signum populorum,

super quem continebunt reges os suum,

quem Gentes deprecabuntur:

veni ad liberandum nos,

jam noli tardare.

O Root of Jesse,

who standest for an ensign of the people,

before whom kings shall keep silence,

and unto whom the Gentiles shall make their supplication:

come to deliver us, 

and tarry not.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."
"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Great O Antiphons. 18 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.

English: Christ is born.

Deutsch: Christi Geburt.

Artist: Lorenzo Lotto (1480–1556).

Date: 1523.

Current location: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. 

ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1]

(Wikimedia Commons)

18 December: Exodus iii. 2, xx. 1.

O Adonai,

et dux domus Israel,

qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,

et ei in Sina legem dedisti:

veni ad redimentum nos in brachio extento.

O Adonai,

and Leader of the House of Israel,

who didst appear to Moses in the flame of 

      the burning bush,

and didst give unto him the Law on Sinai:

come and with an outstretched arm redeem us.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."
"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Great O Antiphons. 17 December.

Text and Illustrations taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, unless otherwise stated.

Deutsch: Sixtinische Madonna, Szene: Maria mit Christuskind, 

Hl. Papst Sixtus II. und Hl. Barbara

Current location: Gemäldegalerie, Dresden.

Source/Photographer: The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. 

DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Permission: [1]

Madonna and Child by Raphael (1483 - 1520).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Boundless desire for the coming of Christ, which is a feature of the whole of Advent, is expressed in the Liturgy with an impatience which grows greater, the closer we come to Christmas and, so to speak, to the world's end.

"The Lord comes from far" (First Vespers, First Sunday of Advent).
"The Lord will come" (Introit, Second Sunday of Advent).
"The Lord is nigh" (Introit. Third Sunday in Advent).

This gradation will be emphasised throughout the whole Season, ever more and more.

Thus, on 17 December, begin the Greater Antiphons, which, from their initial letters, are called the "O Antiphons", and which form an impassioned appeal to the Messias, whose prerogatives and glorious titles they make known to us.

Dom Gueranger [Editor: He who was the author of "The Liturgical Year"] affirms that those Antiphons contain the "whole marrow" of the Advent Liturgy.

On account of their number, Honorius of Autun connects them with The Seven Gifts of The Holy Ghost, with which Our Lord was filled.



17 December: Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 5; Wisdom viii. 1

O Sapientia, 
quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom,
who camest out of the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from end to end and ordering all things
      mightily and sweetly:
come and teach us the way of prudence.

V. Rorate.

"Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant justium . . ."
"Ye heavens, drop down from above, and let the clouds rain down the Just One."

The Commencement Of The Church's Great O Antiphons Begins, Tomorrow, 17 December.

Text and Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

"Sapientia".

Picture: From Codex Gigas.

Date: 13th-Century.

Source: Web of The Royal Library, National Library of Sweden 

(Full page image), cropped for usage here.

Author: Benedictine monastery of Podlažice.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The O Antiphons are Magnificat Antiphons used at Vespers on the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions.

Each Antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture.

They are:

December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
December 18: O Adonai (O Lord)
December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the nations)
December 23: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

In the Roman Catholic tradition in which they originated, the O Antiphons are sung or recited at Vespers from 17 December to 23 December, inclusive (but see note, below, on alternative English usage).

In the Church of England, they have traditionally been used as Antiphons to the Magnificat at Evening Prayer during this period, and although not printed in the Book of Common Prayer, have long been part of secondary Anglican Liturgical sources, such as the English Hymnal. More recently, they have found a place in primary Liturgical documents throughout the Anglican Communion, including the Church of England's Common Worship Liturgy.

Fleury Abbey (Floriacum) in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Loiret, France, 

founded about 640 A.D., is one of the most celebrated 

Benedictine Monasteries of Western Europe, 

which possesses the Relics of Saint Benedict of Nursia.

Photo: July 2005.

Author: Christophe.Finot

(Wikimedia Commons)

Use of the O Antiphons also occurs in many Lutheran Churches. In the Book of Common Worship, published by the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Antiphons can be read as a Praise Litany at Morning or Evening Prayer.

The Hymn, O come, O come, Emmanuel (in Latin, Veni Emmanuel) is a lyrical paraphrase of these Antiphons.

The first letters of the titles, taken backwards, form a Latin acrostic of "Ero Cras" which translates to "Tomorrow, I will be there", mirroring the theme of the antiphons.

Isaiah's Lips Anointed With Fire.

Artist: Benjamin West (1738 - 1820).

Current Location: BJU Museum and Gallery.

Source/Photographer: BJU Museum and Gallery.

(Wikimedia Commons)

According to Fr. William Saunders:

“ The exact origin of the "O Antiphons" is not known. Boethius (480 A.D. – 524 A.D.) used language which may be a reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence in the 6th-Century A.D. At the Benedictine Fleury Abbey, these Antiphons were recited by the Abbot and other Abbey leaders in descending Rank, and then a gift was given to each Member of the Community. By the 8th-Century A.D., they were in use in The Liturgical Celebrations in Rome. The usage of the "O Antiphons" was so prevalent in Monasteries that the phrases "Keep your O" and "The Great O Antiphons" were common parlance. One may thereby conclude that, in some fashion, the "O Antiphons" have been part of Western Liturgical Tradition since the very Early-Church.

The Benedictine Monks arranged these Antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last Title and takes the first letter of each one—Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia—the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning: "Tomorrow, I will come". Therefore, Jesus, Whose coming Christians have prepared for in Advent and Whom they have addressed in these Seven Messianic Titles, now speaks to them: "Tomorrow, I will come." So, the "O Antiphons" not only bring intensity to their Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion. ”

A number of other Antiphons were found in various Mediaeval Breviaries.

The importance of the "O Antiphons" is twofold. First, each one is a Title for The Messiah. Secondly, each one refers to the Prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of The Messiah. The Latin Antiphons are from The Breviarium Romanum. The English versions, which are not always literal translations of the Latin, are from The Church of England's Common Worship Liturgy. Biblical quotations are from The NRSV.

Duke Paul of Oldenburg in Luxembourg before the country’s fatal legalisation of abortion on demand.

The National Flag of Luxembourg

(Lëtzebuerg - Grand Duchy of Luxembourg)

(Image taken from http://flagspot.net)

THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE  IS TAKEN FROM THE BLOG http://nobility.org

DATED: DECEMBER 6, 2012

Duke Paul of Oldenburg, distributing flyers in protest against Luxembourg's new abortion law.

LUXEMBOURG, November 23, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The tiny Principality of Luxembourg has adopted abortion on demand in a vote yesterday of 39 to 21 in the Chamber of Deputies.

The Bill’s promoters in the Chamber of Deputies of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg said that the relaxation of the law will provide “punishment-free termination” and the “self-determination of women.” It was also intended to bring the country into line with the demands of the Council of Europe to “decriminalize abortion” and “to provide barrier-free access to a legal abortion.”

Pro-Life groups demonstrated outside the Chamber of Deputies in Luxembourg, with small white coffins representing the children already killed in the Principality by abortion.

The new law allows a pregnant woman to have an abortion merely by declaring that the pregnancy is creating a situation of “distress.” Minor girls may abort their children without parental consent or knowledge, but the girl must be accompanied by a “trusted” adult.

Pro-Life groups demonstrated outside the Chamber on Thursday as the vote was taken. The Fédération Pro Europa Christiana, based in Brussels, was joined by other European Life Rights groups, including SOS LIVE from Germany. The Pro-Life groups were met with resistance from pro-abortion counter-demonstrators, who attacked and damaged some of the small white coffins meant to represent the children already killed in the Principality by abortion.

The Leader of the Fédération, Paul, Duke of Oldenburg, said, “The behaviour of abortion activists shows that they have a guilty conscience. They know that this is about the lives of unborn children.”

Small group of supporters of the new Abortion law

The Duke of Oldenburg described the method used in parliament to pass the Bill as a “cloak-and-dagger operation” in which key information about the vote was not issued until the last possible minute. If it had not been for this, the Duke said, Pro-Life groups could have “mobilised a much larger number of people against the liberalisation of abortion”.

“Still, that should be prevented. This procedure is contrary to the essential standards of a democratic legal system.”

Proponents of the new law said it is intended to reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies, which have risen steadily since the passage of the 1978 Abortion Act, “despite sex education and prevention”. A government commission has reported that gynaecologists in Luxembourg believe that between 1,500 to 2,000 abortions are committed in the Principality each year, out of a total population of about 500,000.

Member of the Fédération Pro Europa Christiana being interviewed by the media.

Parliamentary abortion activists have been promising for two years to sweep away the remaining restrictions on abortion. 

Until yesterday, the law allowed abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, provided the woman’s health would not be endangered by the abortion. 

Grounds included: 

To “save the woman’s life”; 

to preserve the woman’s “physical or mental health”; 

for pregnancies that are the result of rape or incest; 

for cases in which the unborn child is “severely physically or mentally impaired”; 

or for “economic or social reasons”. 

Abortions after 12 weeks were allowed for “serious” medical reasons with the approval of two physicians and parental or legal guardian consent for minors under 18.

Feminist and Leftist groups are expressing their anger that certain qualifications remain in the law, among which are the requirement for two consultations, one medical and one “psycho-social,” to ensure women are “fully informed” about their legal rights, the risks and available alternatives.

Duke Paul of Oldenburg and other Members of Fédération Pro Europa Christiana.

Meanwhile, European birth rates continue to fall, with Luxembourg following the general pattern of European demographics of extremely low fertility and rising median age. The overall fertility rate in Luxembourg, which remains 87 per cent Catholic, stands at 1.77 children born per woman. The Principality’s crude birth rate, the number of births per 1000 population, was 14.2 in 1968, down from 30.3 in 1905. This year’s statistics show it at 11.7 births/1,000 population.

Europe Needs Mary

THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN FROM THE BLOG http://thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill.blogspot.co.uk

Well done, Bones.

Europe Needs Mary

There. That's better.

You want to take on God's Holy Church ?

THIS ARTICLE WAS TAKEN FROM THE BLOG http://thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill.blogspot.co.uk

Well done, Bones.

Be Afraid, Dave...Be Very Afraid...

Seriously, though. We should. St Jude is patron of lost/desperate/helpless/beyond hope/despairing causes/cases and I believe the 'same-sex marriage' proposal might just qualify for that title. I know its St Lucy's Day, but all let's pray to St Jude for help against this proposal until its all over.

The Prayer to St Jude 

O most holy apostle, Saint Jude, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the Church honoureth and 

invoketh thee universally, as the patron of hopeless cases, and of things almost despaired of. 

Pray for me, who am so miserable. 

Make use, I implore thee, of that particular privilege accorded to thee, to bring visible and speedy help where help was almost despaired of. 

 Come to mine assistance in this great need, that I may receive the consolation and succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations, and sufferings, particularly (here make your request) and that I may praise God with thee and all the elect throughout eternity. 

I promise thee, O blessed Jude, to be ever mindful of this great favour, to always honour thee as my special and powerful patron, and to gratefully encourage devotion to thee. 

 Amen. 

Can't do any harm, can it?

The Mystery of Advent (Part Four)

Italic text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe “at St. Bernard.”, 328 West 14th Street, New York.

Taken from the Blog of The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny at http://sthughofcluny.org

In this way, the Church makes pass before our eyes the magnificent procession which, all down the ages, goes before Jesus Christ. There we see Jacob, Judah, Moses, David, Micheas, Jeremias, Ezechiel, Daniel, Joel, Zacharias, Habacuc, Osea, Aggeus, Malachias, and, above all, Isaias, Saint John The Baptist [with whom three out of the four Advent Gospels are concerned], Saint Joseph, and the glorious Virgin Mary, who sums up in herself all Messianic hopes, seeing that their fulfilment hung on her Fiat. "Be it done unto me according to Thy word. All these holy Souls yearned for the Redeemer, and in their fervent longing they besought Him to hasten the day when He would come.

As we follow the Masses and Office of Advent, we are impressed by these urgent and pressing appeals to the Messias:

"Come, Lord, nor tarry longer [Gradual for the Fourth Sunday]". 

"The Lord is nigh, come, let us adore Him." 

"Come, Lord, and save us." 

"The King who is to come; O come, let us adore Him." 

"Show forth Thy power, O Lord, and come [Collect for the Fourth Sunday]." 

English: Stained glass, St John the Baptist's Anglican Church, 

Ashfield, New South Wales, Australia. 

Illustrates Jesus' description of Himself: "I am the Good Shepherd" 

(from the Gospel of John, Chapter 10, Verse 11). 

[This version of the image shows a vertical section focusing on Jesus.]

The memorial window is also captioned: 

"To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. 

Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70."

Français : Vitrail de l'église anglicane Saint Jean Baptiste d'Ashfield (site de l'église), 

en Nouvelle Galles du Sud (Australie). 

Le vitrail illustre la description de Jésus par lui même dans le livre de Jean (chapitre 10, verset 11). On lit aussi sur ce vitrail: (« Dédié à la gloire de Dieu, et à la mémoire de William Wright, 

mort le 6 Novembre 1932 à l'âge de 70 ans »).

Source: A derivative work of File: St. Johns, Ashfield. StainedGlass, GoodShepherd.jpg

Author: Stained glass: Alfred Handel, d. 1946[2], Photo:Toby Hudson.

(Wikimedia Commons)

[All the following are from the Greater Antiphons] [the Great O Antiphons]

"O Wisdom, come and teach us the way of Prudence." 

"O God, guide of the House of Israel, come, stretch forth Thy hand and redeem us."

"O Root of Jesse; come to deliver us and tarry not."

"O key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel, come and release the captive plunged in darkness and the shadow of death."

"Morning Star; brightness of Eternal Light, come and enlighten those who are plunged in darkness and the shadow of death."

"O King and Desire of nations, come and save man whom Thou hast made from the slime of the Earth."

"O Emmanuel [God with us], Our King and our Lawgiver, O Lord, Our God."

Our Lady of Coromoto, 

(Spanish: Nuestra Señora de Coromoto,)

Patroness of Venezuela.

Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe “at St. Bernard.”, 328 West 14th Street, New York.

Taken from the Blog of The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny at http://sthughofcluny.org

The longed-for Messias is the Son of God, Himself, the Great Royal Deliverer, who is to conquer Satan and reign over His people for ever, whom all nations shall serve. The very reason why we should utter "Come", crying to Our Lord, "O, Thou corner stone, uniting in Thyself the two peoples, come," is that the Divine Mercy extends, not only to Israel, but to all the Gentiles as well.

"And when He comes, we shall all be guided together by this Divine Shepherd." "He shall feed His flock," says Isaias, ". . . He shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom." He, even our Lord God.

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE MYSTERY OF ADVENT.

The Mystery of Advent (Part Three)

Non-Italic text is taken from The Liturgical Year by Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B.
(Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.)
Advent. Volume 1. St. Bonaventure Publications, www.libers.com
Originally published 1949.
Republished by St. Bonaventure Publications, July 2000.

Italic text is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

The Saint Andrew Daily Missal is obtainable from Carmel Books, Blackford House, Andover Road, Highclere, Newbury, Berkshire, England RG20 9PF. Tel: (01635 255340).
E-Mail: enquiries.carmelbooks@gmail.com

Illustrations are taken from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The first three Great O Antiphons (which commence on 17 December) are shown on this Verso
 of folio 30 from The Poissy Antiphonal, a certified Dominican antiphonal of 428 folios from Poissy, written 1335-1345, with a complete annual cycle of chants for the Divine Office 
(Temporal, Sanctoral and Commons) and a hymnal. Date: 1335 - 1345.

Source: La Trobe University Library, Medieval Music Database, 

The Poissy Antiphonal, folio 30v.

Author: Unknown.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Church aspires also to the second coming, the consequence of the first, which consists, as we have just seen, in the visit of the Bridegroom to the bride. This coming takes place, each year, at the Feast of Christmas, when the new birth of the Son of God delivers the faithful from that yoke of bondage, under which the enemy would oppress them. [Collect for Christmas Day.]

The Church, therefore, during Advent, prays that she may be visited by Him who is her Head and her Spouse; visited in her hierarchy; visited in her members, of whom some are living, and some are dead, but may come to life again; visited, lastly, in those who are not in communion with her, and even in the very infidels, that so they may be converted to the true light, which shines even for them.

The expressions of the Liturgy which the Church makes use of to ask for this loving and invisible coming, are those which she employs when begging for the coming of Jesus in the flesh; for the two visits are for the same object.

English: Church of Saint-Étienne in Beauvais, France. 

Jesse Tree window by Engrand Le Prince, 1522-1524.

Français : Vitrail de l'église Saint-Étienne de Beauvais, France, 

représentant l'arbre de Jessé. Sa réalisation, par Engrand Le Prince, date de 1522-1524.

Source: Book "Stained Glass: An Illustrated History" by Sarah Brown.

Author: Engrand Leprince.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In vain would the Son of God have come, nineteen hundred years ago, to visit and save mankind, unless He came again for each one of us and at every moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing within us that supernatural life, of which He and His Holy Spirit are the sole principle.


The following is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

SEASON OF ADVENT.
(From the First Sunday of Advent to 24 December).

Doctrinal Note.

If we read the Liturgical texts which the Church uses in the course of the four weeks of Advent, we see clearly that it is her intention to make us share the attitude of mind of the Patriarchs and seers of Israel, who looked forward to the Advent of the Messias in His twofold coming of Grace and Glory.

During this Season, the Greek Church commemorates Our Lord's ancestors, especially Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. On the Fourth Sunday, she honours all the Patriarchs of the Old Testament; from Adam to Saint Joseph, and the Prophets, of whom Saint Matthew speaks in his genealogy of Our Lord.

The Latin Church, without honouring them in any special form of devotion, nevertheless speaks to us of them in the Office, when quoting the promises made to them concerning the Messias.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS