The Lily Of Israel By The Abbe Gerbet. Part 36.

CHAPTER XXXIV. THE LAST SUPPER

Jacopo Tintoretto - The Last Supper

THUS passed this night, and the whole of the day following.

The Virgin wished to go to the Temple, where Jesus was giving His last instructions. She set out, but so dense was the crowd that she could make no headway. She remained, however, until her Son had passed, wishing once more, if possible, to look upon His face. This wish was granted.

His beautiful countenance was so calm, so joyful, that Mary's heart was weighed down with grief in her bosom. It was so serene, she knew, because the God-man realized that the great Sacrifice was oh the verge of being accomplished, and only her unalterable submission to the will of God was able to sustain her.

With the women who accompanied her she turned back to Magdalen's dwelling, and there all united in prayer, in order that, on this day of sorrow and mourning, the name of the Lord might be remembered.

Toward evening the Virgin seemed exhausted by sorrow. Magdalen's tender heart felt that it must do something to assuage her grief, or ease her anguish.

"Do you.not wish me to pass through the town and discover what is being said or done? In former days my friends were many here—they may be able to give me the information I seek."

Mary looked at her kind comforter.

"Do you think that I could remain away from His side if I knew not what was transpiring? Ah, Magdalen, one by one the prophecies are being accomplished. The voices of the prophets are sounding in my ears. . . . All, all that has been said by vision is now about to be verified."

* * * * *

Voice of Isaias

"And He shall grow up as a tender plant before Him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground. There is no beauty in Him, or comeliness, and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of Him.

"Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity.

"Surely He hath borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows: and we have thought Him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.

"But He was wounded for our iniquities, He was bruised for our sins; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His bruises we are healed. . . .

" The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all," (Isaias liii, 2-6.)

Voice of Jeremias

" To what shall I compare thee, or to what shall I liken thee, O daughter of Jerusalem? to what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Sion?" (Lamentations ii, 13.)

Voice of Isaias

"He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and He shall not open His mouth." (Isaias liii, 7.)

Voice of Jeremias

"O Daughter of Jerusalem, to what shall I equal thee, that I may comfort thee, O virgin daughter of Son?"

Voice of Isaias

"For the wickedness of My people have I struck Him. And He shall give the ungodly for His burial, and the rich for His death; because He hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in His mouth." (Isaias liii, 8, 9.)

Voice of David

"O praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him, all ye people. For His mercy is confirmed upon us; and the truth of the Lord remaineth forever." (Psalms cxvi.)

"The Lord hath been mindful of us, and hath blessed us; He hath blessed all that fear the Lord, both little and great." (Psalms cxvii; cxiii, 12, 13.)

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us be glad and rejoice therein." (Psalms cxvii, 24.)

Silence reigned. Deep and profound silence.. Magdalen sat at the Virgin's feet, her long hair partly shading her face, her head resting upon her hand. The other women gathered near. There wa3 something momentous in the quiet. No one knew what was passing in the Virgin's mind, but the rapt expression of her face filled them with awe, for they felt they were in the presence of one who looked upon heavenly things.

Meanwhile, our blessed Lord having desired to eat of the Paschal supper with His disciples, was with His chosen ones in the supper room. They were seated at the low Eastern table, reclining on couches, disposed along three of its sides. St. John was at the Saviour's right, and Judas near His left. Then Jesus, as the head of the party, "took the chalice, gave thanks, and said, Take and divide it among you." ( St. Luke xxii, 17.)

This was the first cup of the Paschal supper. When it had passed round, the next ceremony was the washing of the hands. But our blessed Lord transformed this into the washing of the feet.

And now for this menial office, usually performed by slaves, Jesus put aside His garments, poured water into the basin placed as usual at the end of the table, and came first to Peter. But Peter, the impetuous, shrank from allowing his beloved Master to perform so humiliating an action. Finally Peter was prevailed upon to yield, and the Son of God washed, in succession, the feet of all. And when He had resumed His garments, He explained the meaning of this mysterious conduct. He had given them an example of humility, which they must imitate, so as to secure for themselves eternal bliss.

But one of the chosen Twelve would be excluded from the promised reward because of his own actions, and to this Jesus referred when He spoke of the predictions made long centuries before that He would be betrayed.

* * * * *

The moment was at hand.

"He took bread, and blessed and brake, and gave to His disciples, and said, Take ye, and eat. This is My Body.

"Then taking the chalice, He gave thanks and gave to them, saying, Drink ye all of this, for this is My Blood."

Our Lord's Last Supper was over, but on Mary s face seemed to glow a wondrous light. Her uplifted eyes vied with the stars in brilliancy; her beautiful countenance, her parted lips, her folded arms, her whole body, expressed her worship. And even as the women gazed upon her, a sublime exaltation seized upon them.

"O precious Blood of my Son!" breached Mary. "O adorable Blood of my God!

''I adore Thee I I adore Thee for the entire earth, which as yet does not know the gift Thou hast conferred upon it!

"God, Redeemer of the world, I love Thee! Jesus, strong God, true Light! Author of life! Strength in the combat! Behold me—I am ready to suffer with Thee! All, all . .

The Virgin lowered her head. Her eyes rested upon the transported faces of her friends near and dear. A sweet smile played about her lips. Rising, she approached each in turn, and gave them the holy kiss of peace. And strength seemed to enter their limbs; and joy seemed to thrill their hearts; and love, mighty love filled their souls, so that they felt they could endure all with the Mother of the Saviour; comfort her in her sorrows, sustain her in her griefs.

"What aileth thee, O thou Sea, that thou didst thee? And thou, O Jordan, that thou wast turned back? Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams, and ye hills like lambs of the flock?" (Psalms cxiii, 5, 6.)

It is because the Lord has redeemed His people from servitude, and comes to establish a holy, an eternal covenant. His name is mighty. But His mercy extendeth from generation to generation upon those that fear it.

Let us rejoice!

And yet . . . while the Angels, the Prophets, and all the just of the Old Law exulted over these wonders, and Adam himself felt his repentance turned into joy, the Evil One, full of hatred and revenge, urged Judas on to the consummation of his crime.

Behold Your Mother By Matthew Russell S.J. Part 9. Jesus and Mary.

A Visit to the Blessed Sacrament on the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady.

Glory be to the Father and to Thee, O Lord God, Jesus Christ, my Redeemer, and to the H0Iy Ghost- Thou art here present, O Jesus, in Thy sacred Humanity and Divinity, true man and true God, Thou who with the Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest one God through all the ages of an unbeginning and never ending eternity. Out of this year of our mortal life, which is slipping away at every instant, this is the day on which we call to mind that glorious and happy day in the past on which Thou didst take up into Thy heavenly home Her who had made a home for Thee at Nazareth, Her term of weary waiting was over at last. It seems strange to us, poor ignorant creatures, that Thou couldst be content to leave Thy Blessed Mother so long after Thee, but even we can dimly conjecture the immense additions made to her inconceivable stores of grace and merit by the prayers and patience of those long years during which, the sigh of her Immaculate Heart must have been at every instant that pathetic cry of the Psalmist : "Woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged ! " (Ps. cxix. 5). But at last, on the first Feast of the Assumption, Thou didst bid her come to Thee over the waters ; or rather Thou didst come for her, and, as a loving son, didst embrace her tenderly and lift her up to her high throne in heaven. There she has reigned ever since, and there she shall reign for ever, Queen of Angels, Queen of all Saints, in the enjoyment of the ineffable joy and glory which are Thy Mother's share of heaven. Ah, if I had the pure, unselfish love that I ought to have for Thee, O Lord, and for Thy Blessed Mother, it ought to make me happy to think of Thy infinite happiness, and hers, as near to infinite as the highest and purest of creatures can attain. A holy man who did much by word and work for Thy glory, (Frederic Ozanam, founder of the St Vincent de Paul Society) O Lord, when he was on earth, and who must now be with Thee in heaven, wrote once : "When I consider how short life is, and how near may be the time of reunion with those who are now separated from us by death, I feel all the temptations of self-love and other evil inclinations pass away.'' Not alone Thy holy human creatures, O Lord, with whom we have been linked during our earthly pilgrimage, but still more the heavenly citizens to whom we have prayed during life, and, most of all, Mary our Mother, and Thou her Divine Son. In Thy merciful love Thou wiliest her to take an interest in each of us, her poor exiled children. Would that she, my heavenly Mother, could turn the eyes of Thy mercy upon me with those words that the Father spoke of Thee : " This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." The first part is true, I am dear to her, I am her child, she has a mother's heart for me—but ah ! how much is there in my life and in my heart that must displease her sadly ! May her prayers obtain for me the grace to wipe out all the sinful past with the tears of true contrition, and to use my little remnant of life in fitting myself a little better for the heavenly life that I hope for, that I must dare to hope for, but which I must labour for more earnestly than alas! I have hitherto done. " O Jesus, grant that I may always love Thee, and then do with me what Thou wilt.'' Always. In life, in death, and for all eternity : for, as long as Thy love is in my heart, it must be well with me. Amen, amen!—for ever, Lord Jesus, my God

The Excellence Of The Rosary By Rev. M. J. Frings. Part 6. The Glory be to the Father.

VI. THE EXCELLENCE OF THE VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ROSARY

(c) The Glory be to the Father

"Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honor, and power: because thou hast created all things."—Apoc. iv, II.

Dear Brethren, we know that the "Glory be to the Father" occurs very frequently in the prayers of the Church and in our private devotions. In the Rosary it is repeated with every decade. This prayer of praise is of great significance for the Christian life. In order to understand its meaning better we must join in spirit the choirs of the blessed before the throne of God. Isaias, the great prophet of the Old Testament, to whom was vouchsafed a profound insight into the mysteries of God, had a vision of heaven, and he says, "I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated, and his train filled the temple; upon it stood the seraphims: . . . and they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts; all the earth is full of his glory" (Is. vi, I). So also did John, the beloved disciple of Jesus, have the grace to see heaven, and he saw the angels of heaven, and with them the whole army of the saints and all the nations, tribes and peoples, standing before the throne in sight of the Lamb, and with a loud voice they praised God, who sat upon the throne, and the Lamb, who is the Lamb of God (Apoc. vii, 11).

Thus God has made known to us, through both these prophets, in what the unceasing occupation of the blessed in heaven consists. They behold the magnificent beauty of God and praise Him on account of His majesty, power and love, and this occupation of the dwellers in heaven should also be the task of the dwellers upon earth. It is indeed the duty of mankind, and an indispensable obligation. King David acknowledged this when he said: "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall be always in my mouth" (Ps. xxxiii).
Therefore, our whole life and endeavor should be one uninterrupted "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."
We will make this obligation the subject of our consideration.

I. The happy inhabitants of heaven as they behold God in His indescribable splendor extol Him with hymns of praise. To know God and to serve Him, to glorify Him, this is the supreme end of man, not only when he is admitted to heaven, but even here on earth. God himself tells us this through the Prophet Isaias. "In order," thus He speaks, "that man should glorify me, therefore have I created him and brought him forth from nothing."
We mortals as yet can not behold God as the blessed do in heaven; but we do behold Him in His works, and know Him from His revelation given us through the prophets, and through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
The works through which God has revealed Himself to us are creation, redemption and sanctification. Creation is a vast book which speaks to us unceasingly of God, and it is intelligible to all. If we contemplate the magnificence of the starlit sky we must exclaim with David: "The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of his hands" (Ps. xvlii). Yet not only the heavens, but also the earth shows us, at every step, the omnipotence of God, His wisdom and love. Mountain and valley, forest and field, river and ocean, they all remind us of God, their creator. Every flower of field and meadow is a great masterpiece, which no mortal man could create.
The animal world presents still greater marvels for our consideration. The waters teeming with millions of animals of all kinds, from the smallest jellyfish to the ship-destroying monsters, the beasts of the forest, the birds of the air, they all are called into existence by God, and God has not merely called all these creatures into existence, but His providence preserves them, and not even a sparrow falls from the roof without His knowledge.
But we have not yet considered the masterpiece of creation: man, the creature with an immortal soul, created according to God's own image and likeness. In man body and soul are joined together in a wonderful unity, so that man presents in himself a combination of the spiritual and material.
Man is the masterpiece of creation, and all creation is for his service. "Thou hast made him a little less than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor; thou hast set him over the work of thy hands" (Ps. viii, 6).
In very truth we may say, therefore, the universe speaks to our mind and heart in powerful and impressive language. This language is its beauty, its appropriateness, its greatness.
But yet more plainly than creation does the redemption proclaim the glory of God. It is "not the immensity of the heavenly bodies," says St. Gregory, "not the brilliancy of the stars, not the adornment of the universe, not the preservation of the world, that point so much to the glory of the divine power and omnipotence, as does that divine condescension to the feebleness of nature."
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descended from heaven and brought into the world a truer and fuller knowledge of God. The ancient people knew there was a God, but they knew Him not. The knowledge of the true God was drowned in paganism. Even among the Jews small had become the number of those who still possessed an undefiled knowledge of God. In the Old Testament there was only an intimation of the blessed Trinity, not a clear knowledge. Then Jesus Christ brought to us the knowledge of the Triune God. In Him the divine attributes of love, sanctity, justice, wisdom, omnipotence and mercy were presented to our minds so that we can comprehend them. He made known to us the merciful decrees which God had ordained for our temporal and eternal welfare. Through His bitter passion and death He reconciled us to the Father, and acquired for us the heirship of heaven. He founded the Church, the kingdom of God upon earth, and He rules it through the Holy Ghost, who proceeds from Him and the Father.

Through this Church are applied the glorious fruits of the redemption. Through this Church God would sanctify all mankind and lead them to eternal salvation. The Church and the communion of the saints reveal to us God's glory and love far more than all the wonders of the world. A single saint is a greater miracle of the divine grace than the whole universe. The redemption made of earth a preparatory school for heaven, and it behooves us, as St. Augustine says, in this life to give praise to God, because in heaven our work will be an eternal proclamation of the divine praises. Our whole earthly life, as a befitting preparation for heaven, should be an imitation of the life of the blessed in heaven. It ought to be a perpetual praise of God, until after a happy death we are admitted to the ranks of the celestial choirs.

II. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, who has brought to us the true knowledge of God, taught us also the true worship of God. After He had accomplished the work of the redemption and had founded the Church, He returned to heaven. Before this, however, He provided that He should also remain here upon earth. He instituted the most Holy Eucharist, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and thus remains in His Church until the end of time. Jesus, the Head of the Church, offers Himself to the Father unceasingly in the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thus the glorification of God takes place here upon earth as unceasingly as it does in heaven. The praise of God takes place here on earth, furthermore, through the' ecclesiastical hourly prayer, in which all the priests and religious of the Church unite throughout the world. The Church dedicates the Sunday exclusively to the praise and service of God. This day is to remind us of the creation accomplished by the Father, of the redemption accomplished by the Son, and of the sanctification accomplished by the Holy Ghost. On this day especially are the members of the Church invited to contemplate these great works of God, and praise and thank Him for the same.

The entire year has been divided by the Church into three great festival cycles, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, and thus is consecrated to the Triune God.
We are exhorted to receive the holy Sacraments, and thus participate in the fruits of the redemption, sanctifying ourselves by a Christian life. A truly Christian life is the best and highest worship of God here below, as it makes us worthy to be associated with the heavenly choirs, there to continue eternally our praises in the blissful vision of God.
We see then how the Church admonishes us to make our whole lives and all our works an unending "Glory be to God." In order that this may be accomplished we must above all things be faithful children and living members of the Church, brethren of Jesus Christ.
We must diligently and devoutly obey the Commandments, and receive the Sacraments. The light of faith should lead us and hope should draw us heavenward, the love of God and of our neighbors must fill our hearts. He who possesses these virtues is indeed in possession of all other virtues. Love is the bond of perfection, for who so loves God and his neighbor has fulfilled the law. We should make a good intention the first thing in the morning, and renew it frequently throughout the day. This certainly is not difficult. St. Paul exhorts us urgently to make this good intention in the words: "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do; do all things for the glory of God" (I Cor. x, 31)
To make this good intention, the "Glory be to the Father" is especially appropriate. If we utter the same frequently and devoutly we shall makes our lives a continual praising and glorifying of God, a perpetual prayer. Glory be to the Father, who has created us; to the Son, who has redeemed us; and to the Holy Ghost, who sanctifies us. Glory be to the Holy Trinity through all our thoughts, words and works, as glory was to God in the beginning, when He created heaven and earth, as now, and so too through all eternity in heaven. Yes, we will glorify God here below with the militant Church, so that we may be worthy to behold Him one day with the triumphant Church, and to praise Him in blissful rapture for all eternity! Amen.

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Compline Or Night-Song, pt 5. By E. L. Taunton.

THE COLLECT.

We beseech Thee, 0 Lord, that the glorious intercession of the blessed and glorious ever Virgin Mary may protect us and bring us to life eternal. Through our Lord, &c.

This short, simple, direct prayer includes everything and is a model for our own private prayers. It is only the second part of the Hail, Mary, that she may pray for us here and at the hour of our death. What can be simpler, more childlike and more true ?

This hour, unlike the others, ends up with a solemn invocation of the blessing of the Holy Trinity upon us now going to rest.

May the Almighty and merciful Lord, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, bless and guard us. Amen.

During Advent-tide.

The Little Chapter and Versicle are the same as at None during this season. And the Antiphon at the Nunc Dimittis as at Lauds, followed by the ordinary Advent Collect.

During Christmas-tide.

The Little Chapter and Versicle are as above ; the Antiphon at the Nunc Dimittis is the same as at the Magnificat during this season, together with the Christmas Collect.

During Easter-tide.

The Antiphon at the Nunc Dimittis is Regina Caeli (see page 429).

THE ANTIPHONS.

The following Antiphons of our Lady are said according to the Rubrics for the various seasons of the year. These concluding hymns seem to have been introduced into the Office by the Franciscans, who began to add them to the daily recital. St. Bonaventure, about 1274, is credited with being the first to add them to the Liturgical Prayer. Among the English Benedictines the use seems to have been general at an early date ; for by the acts of the Chapter of the English Congregation, held at Northampton, 1444, a decree was renewed ordering their recitation every day at the end of Compline, " in order before sleep to implore her help by whom the serpent's head was crushed." They were made of obligation to the whole Church by St. Pius V. in his reform of the Roman Breviary.

I.

From Vespers on the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent to the second Vespers of the Purification inclusively.

Mother of Christ, hear thou thy people's cry,
Star of the deep and portal of the sky,

Mother of Him Who thee from nothing made,
Sinking we strive and call to thee for aid : 

O by that joy which Gabriel brought to thee, 
Thou Virgin, first and last, let us thy mercy see.

The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
And she conceived by the Holy Ghost.

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts: that we who know the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son by the message of the Angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same, &c.

From the first Vespers of Christmas to the second Vespers of the Purification (February 2nd) the following is said: —

After bearing thou didst remain a maiden undefiled.

Mother of God intercede for us.

followed by the ordinary Christmas Collect: Deus qui salutis aeternce, &c.

This Antiphon, made up of words borrowed from St. Fulgentius, St. Epiphanius, and St. Irenaeus, is said to have been composed by a Benedictine monk of the monastery of Reichenau, Herman Contractus, who died 1054. There is but little need for exposition as most of the expressions have been explained. Cadenti populo, the people, sinking beneath the black waters of sin, stretch forth their arms to Mary for help. Natura mirante. Nature struck with wonder at the unheard-of thing, a Virgin conceiving and bearing a Son, the Creature given birth to her Maker.

II.

From Compline on the Feast of the Purification till Easter.

Hail, O Queen of Heaven enthroned: 
Hail, by angels Mistress crowned :

Root of Jesse; Gate of Morn ! 
Whence the world's true Light was born.

Glorious Virgin, joy to thee ; 
Loveliest whom in Heaven they see,

Fairest thou where all are fair 
Plead with Christ our sins to spare.

Make me worthy to praise thee 0 Blessed Virgin.
Give me strength against thine enemies.

The prayer is the common prayer at Vespers : Concede misericors.

The author of this Antiphon is not known. Like the former, the various praises are to be found in the works of the fathers of the Church, and the expressions used have been already explained, i.e., Radix, the stem of Jesse; Porta, the Gate closed to all except the Lord, and also the Gate through which the Day-spring from on high hath visited us. Super omnes speciosa. The grace of the stainless Conception was increased by that of the Divine Motherhood ; and then, once more, by that of the Sanctification in the Pentecostal Fires. Thus, as the grace which possessed the soul of our ever dear and blessed Lady far exceeded that of any created being, so was her spiritual beauty above that of all others. " Thou art all fair, O Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in thee," sings Holy Church on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

III.

From Compline on Holy Saturday to None on the Saturday after Pentecost inclusively.

Joy to thee, O Queen of heaven,
Alleluia, 

He Whom thou wast meet to bear, 
Alleluia, 

As He promised hath arisen. 
Alleluia. 

Pour forth to Him thy prayer.
Alleluia,

Rejoice and be glad, 0 Virgin Mary,
Alleluia.

For the Lord is truly risen. 
Alleluia.

Let us pray.

O God, Who by the rising of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, hath vouchsafed to fill the world with joy : grant, we beseech Thee, that by His Mother, the Virgin Mary, we may attain the joys of eternal life. Through the same, &c.

In 596, during Easter-time, a pestilence was ravaging Rome, and St. Gregory the Great appointed a procession to be held to avert the scourge. On the day appointed he came with his clergy at dawn to the church of Ara Ccdi and, bearing in his hand the picture of our Lady attributed to St. Luke, he set out in procession to St. Peter's. But whilst passing what was then called the Castle or Mole of Hadrian, voices were heard high up in the air singing Regina Ccdi. The holy Pope, astonished and enraptured, replied with a loud voice : Ora pro nobis Deum. Alleluia. At that moment an Angel shining with a glorious light appeared and sheathed the sword of pestilence in its scabbard. The plague ceased from that day. The name was then changed from that of the Emperor to the Castle of San Angelo, and the heavenly words were inscribed on the roof of the church of Ara Caeli. In memory of the event the religious of that convent used to sing the Antiphon whenever any public procession passed their church. This simple anthem is one burst of joy which recalls the exultation which filled the heart of our ever dear and blessed Lady when, on that Resurrection Day, she first saw her Son in the glory of the new life. The Angels share in this joy and call upon us to join with them in the heavenly song of Alleluia.

IV.

From the first Vespers of Trinity Sunday to None on the Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent.

Mother of Mercy, Hail, 0 gentle Queen ; our Life, our Sweetness, and our Hope, all hail.

Children of Eve, to thee we cry from our sad banishment; to thee we send our sighs, weeping and mourning in this tearful vale.

Come, then, our Advocate; 0 turn to us those pitying eyes of thine. And our long exile past, show us at last Jesus, of thy pure womb the Fruit Divine.

O Virgin Mary! 

Mother blest ! 

O holiest!

O sweetest, gentlest, holiset !

Pray for us, &c. 

That we may, &c.

O Almighty and Eternal God, Who hath prepared by the cooperation of the Holy Ghost the body and soul of the Virgin-mother Mary as an abode worthy for Thy Son, grant that we who rejoice in her commemoration, may by her kind intercession be freed from present evils and from death eternal. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

This Antiphon is sung for six months in the year. It is generally attributed to the Benedictine monk, Herman Con-tractus. St. Bernard, it is said, added the last invocation during a visit to the Abbey of Affligheim. The Antiphon, which is expanded at length by St. Alphonsus, in " The Glories of Mary," is very sweet. Its fragrance lingers over our soul when, at the end of a long day, or at the end of any hour, we place our prayers in Mary's hands, that she, the pure and glorious one, may offer it with all the power of a Mother's love to her God, to that Son, the blessed Fruit of her womb. Thus do we put all under her care ; and we go to Jesus, the Door of Life Eternal, through her, the appointed Gate. All for Jesus through Mary, as one of her servants used to say. Our prayers coming through her hands will be doubly acceptable to her Son ; and we shall be the sooner heard for the reverence He has for His Mother.

At the end of the Antiphon is said :—

May the Divine assistance remain with us alway. Amen.

PATER. AVE. CREDO.

And this closes the Office. We began by calling on God to come to our aid. He has heard our prayer, now as always. So we conclude by asking that His help should be ever with us; for His grace is sufficient to free us from present evils and from death eternal, and to bring to us the joys of life eternal. This powerful assistance, which the Divine Goodness has given to men, is the love of Mary, the Mother of Divine grace, exalted by her Son to be the Refuge of sinners and the Help of the afflicted. She is the appointed channel of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to man ; for having given us our Saviour, she gives us all things in Him.

A PRAYER AFTER THE OFFICE.

In respect of which Pope Leo X. has granted to all persons who, after saying the Office, shall devoutly recite it on their knees, forgiveness of the shortcomings and faults of human weakness committed by them in saying the Office.

To the most holy and undivided Trinity :
To the Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified :
To the fruitful Virginity of the most blessed and most glorious Mary, always a virgin :
And to the whole body of all the Saints :
Be praise everlasting, honour and glory from all creatures :
And to us the forgiveness of all our sins. World without end. Amen.

Blessed be the womb of the Virgin Mary which bore the Son of the Eternal Father.

And blessed be the breasts that gave suck to Christ the Lord.

PATER. AVE.

FINIS.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Compline Or Night-Song, pt 4. By E. L. Taunton.

THE LITTLE CHAPTER [Eccle. xxiv. 24.].

I am the Mother of fair love and of fear and of knowledge and of holy hope.

Thanks be to God.

Pray for us O holy Mother of God.

That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

At the end of the day, when Sleep, the image of Death, awaits us, the Little Chapter comes to complete the work the Psalms have begun in us. It directs us to Mary, who is our example of all the virtues a creature can possess. Faith, Hope, Charity, and the Fear of God are the lessons she teaches us; and in them all is summed up. She is the Mother of the Knowledge of Faith, for without her we can never understand Jesus : Whom to know is Life Eternal [Cf. John xvii. 3.]. She is the Mother of hope; for she is the Mother of Him Who is our Redemption and our Advocate with the Father. She is the Mother of fair love; for she is the Mother of the Incarnate Love of God; and she, full of the love of God, loves us as her most dear children in Him. She is also the Mother of holy fear; of reverence and awe for Him Who has done such great things for her. She therefore teaches us Whom to believe in, Whom to hope in, Whom to love, and Whom to fear. So in the Versicle and Response we pray that she, God's Own Mother, may pray for us that we may be made worthy of receiving the promises Her Son has made to those who believe, trust, love, and fear Him.

ANTIPHON.

Beneath thy patronage we fly, 0 holy Mother of God: despise not our prayers in necessities, but from all dangers deliver us, O ever Virgin, glorious and blessed.

This Antiphon gives the keynote to the Song of departure, the Nunc Dimittis. It is under the safe patronage of God's Own Mother that we close our day's course of prayer and praise, and it is holding her hand we ask God to dismiss His servants in peace.

CANTICLE: NUNC DIMITTIS [Luke ii. 29-32.].

We sing the Song of Simeon, Nunc Dimittis, says Durandus, first, in order that, finding peace after his example, we may attain the true Light which is Christ; secondly, because as holy Simeon said these words, desiring to pass from this life to another, so when we are about to sleep it is as though we were to die ; for sleep is an image of death, and by the saying of this hymn we commend ourselves to the Lord. Thirdly, the Song of Simeon is sung in the seventh hour, by reason of the seventh age of the world, that is, rest. And the author of the Myroure adds another reason : " For by this Compline is betokened your death and by your going to bed your burial, as I said before ; therefore this song is said at Compline rather than at other hours, that ye should every night be ready to desire death as Simeon did." The reference to peace reminds us, too, of our Lord's visit on Easter Evening to His disciples and His gracious salutation, twice repeated : Peace be unto you [John xx. 19.].

St. Luke thus tells the history of the Canticle :—[Luke ii. 22-32.] And when the days of her purification according to the Law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem to Present Him to the Lord, (as it is written in the Law of the Lord : Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord [Exod. xiii. 2.]), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. And behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not sec death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by the Spirit into the Temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus to do for Him after the custom of the Law, then took he Him in his arms and blessed God and said : —

(1) Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace : according to Thy Word.

Says the pious author of the Myroure : " This man was now glad to die ; for the very Peace of Mankind was come by Whom he should be brought to endless peace. Before that time all went to hell [That is to hell in the same sense as in Creed : He descended into hell, i.e., Limbo.] and knew not when they would be delivered. But this man was surer of his deliverance, for he had his Saviour in his arms, and therefore joyfully he said : Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word; to the promise that he should not see death till he had seen the Christ [pp. 170-171.]."

Or again, his departure was to be in peace according to Thy Word Who is the King of Peace, and our Peace, and Who through His death was to overcome the sharpness thereof.

(2) For mine eyes have seen : Thy salvation.

" That was the same Child that he bore in his arms, which was and is the Saviour of all His true people. Him he saw with his bodily eyes in His Manhood, and Him he saw with his ghostly eyes by faith after His Godhead" [Ibid.].

Thus were the words of the Holy Ghost fulfilled. The promise was kept, and the old man had nought else to live for. He had seen Thy salvation, that salvation in which he was to share; and he had seen Him in the arms of that Virgin-mother, whose heart he foresaw was to be riven with sorrow.

(3) Which Thou hast prepared : before the face of all people.

" He that is before a man's face may be easily seen. So the faith and knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ was made open to him by His Apostles before all people. And therefore at the Last Doom He shall be seen in His Manhood as a merciful Saviour to all that in faith, and in dread, and in love behold Him there before their face. And to all others that turn their backs to Him here, by misbelief or deadly sin, and so die, He shall be seen as a most fearful Judge. Thus as this holy man saith : He is made ready before the face of all people, not only of Jews, but also of heathens : And therefore he saith further [Ibid.]:—

(4) A Light to enlighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of Thy people Israel.

Compare this verse with the last verse of the Benedictus. To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. It is the same thought, for it was said of Him Who is the Light of men, the Light shining in the darkness which did not comprehend it [John i. 5.]. "The heathen were then all in darkness of misbelief, and therefore our Lord Jesus Christ was to them Light, to bring them out of all darkness into the light of Faith and Grace, as the Apostle St. Paul said to them afterwards : Ye were sometime darkness but now are light in the Lord [Eph. v. 8.]. The Jews that were in the light of right belief had great worship of our Lord Jesus, in that He took His Manhood amongst them of their own kindred. And therefore Simeon calleth Him the Glory, that is, the joy and the worship of the people Israel. . . . . In this song our Lord Jesus Christ is called Salvation, Light and Glory. He is Salvation to sinners of mercy ; and whom He saveth from sin He enlighteneth by grace, and therefore He is called Light; and whom He enlighteneth by grace He rewardeth by endless bliss, and so He is called the Glory of His people [Myroure,]."

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who dismisses us in peace. Glory to the Son our Salvation. Glory to the Holy Ghost the Glory of Israel.

After the Kyrie and ordinary Versicles follows—

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Compline Or Night-Song, pt 3. By E. L. Taunton.

PSALM CXXX.

Title. —A Song of Degrees. 

Argument.

Tomasi : That Christ teaches us not to be lifted up in pride. The voice of Christ to the Father. This twelfth step is understood of the Blessed Virgin-mother of Christ and of every soul that rendereth not evil for evil, nor cursing for cursing, but contrariwise. The voice of the Church.

Venerable Bede : After penance comes sweetness. The whole of this Psalm concerns meekness and humility, that the sweetness of glorious devotion may refresh those whom the toil of previous confession hath wearied. In the first part the Prophet appoints a heavy punishment for himself if he does not receive God's command in all humility. In the second he bids Israel hope always in the Lord, that so we may be able to endure all the troubles of the world.

(1) Lord, my heart is not haughty : nor are mine eyes lifted up.

(2) I do not walk in great things : nor in things too wonderful for me.

In the first verse there is, says St. Bruno, a confession that only God's grace, not man's inherent strength, has enabled him to climb so far as this degree of ascent from the Valley of Weeping. Here, says Albert the Great, is a check put on inward thoughts of pride, and outward tokens of the same, such as are shown by uplifted glances and proud looks. The Pharisee looked up brazenly and boastingly; the Publican would not so much as lift up his eyes towards heaven [Luke xviii. 13.]. In saying My heart is not haughty, says St. Augustine, we must understand the Psalmist to say less than he means, for his intent is to declare his heart is contrite and humble, and therefore a sacrifice pleasing to God [Ps. 1. 17.].

I do not walk in great things. But while, as St. Hilary says, it is a very perilous thing to be content with walking in moderate things and not to dwell amidst wonderful things (for God's words are great and He is wonderful in the highest), we must note the words above me ; for they show how we are to understand the Psalmist. God's commandments are not beyond us, for He said : This commandment which I command thee, this day, is not above thee, nor far off from thee [Deut. xxx. II.]. The meaning is clear. We are to be contented with serving God in the Vocation He has called us to, and not waste our time in day dreams about the wonderful things of other Vocations ; as, for instance, for a Sister of Mercy to long after the silent, retired life of a Carmelite. The great art of the spiritual life is—to serve God as He wishes, not as we wish. The perfection we have to strive after is the perfection to which He calls us in our Vocation. Everything else is a wonderful thing above us. Again, we can take the verse of the homage that Reason pays to Faith. There are doctrines far above the comprehension of our Reason. They are not against it, but simply above it. Faith teaches us these doctrines; and the light of Faith enables us to believe them without doubting. These are the wonderful things that are above us, and the highest and most perfect act of our Reason is to know its own limits and to bow itself to the higher light of Faith.

(3) If I was not humbly minded: but exalted my soul.

(4) As a child that is weaned towards his mother: so be retribution upon my soul.

If I have been proud let God withdraw nourishment from my soul till it becomes weak, as an infant refused the breast, and unable to take any other food; or, as it has been taken : Let vengeance cling to me and lie as closely upon me as a babe does upon its mother's breast. But another interpretation, that of St. Bruno of Aste, is deeper and truer : God makes this world, with all its sorrows and disappointments, the training school of His servants ; so that whereas St. Paul saith to his imperfect converts : I have fed you with milk and not with meat, for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither are ye now able, for ye are yet carnal [I Cor. iii. 2.] ; Isaias, on the other hand, says : Whom shall He teach knowledge f And whom shall He make to understand doctrine ? Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn from the breasts [xxviii. 9.]. Here, says the Carmelite, we, newly born in faith, must be nourished with the Milk of Christ's Manhood before we are able to receive the Bread of His Godhead and see Him face to face.

(5) Let Israel trust in the Lord : from this time forth for evermore.

This ending of the Psalm, says Bellarmine, tells us whither true humility tends. The Psalmist, preaching the duty of holiness to the people, does not tell them to look to himself, to follow his teaching, to mould themselves to his will, but, as St. Augustine says, to trust in the Lord, and that not for a time only, nor at intervals, but through the whole of life on earth, and through the endless years of eternity.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who is the Hope of Israel. Glory to the Son Who lay a Child on Mary's breast. Glory to the Holy Ghost in Whose grace we are humble.

With this Psalm ends the recital, in the Little Office, of the Gradual Psalms, to wit, twelve out of fifteen. And it is not without reason that a pause is made here and we rest on the step of humility; for unless we are thoroughly practised in lowliness we shall never ascend the other three which lead into the presence of the King. So the fruit of each day's office is to be more humility as the foundation of all our spiritual life.

The Hymn is Memento rerum Conditor, as at Prime.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Compline Or Night-Song, pt 2. By E. L. Taunton.

PSALM CXXIX. [This Psalm, the eleventh Gradual Psalm, St. Augustine tells us, consisting
as it does of eight verses, teaches that no man can so live throughout the perfect
term of his working life here (denoted by the Six Days of Creation) without transgressing
the Ten Commandments, and so pass on to Eleven, the symbol of evil ;
but that by persevering in penance and prayer the sinner may at last reach that
Octave of the Resurrection, when Christ shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.].

Title. —A Song of Degrees.

 Argument.

Tomasi: That Christ may grant us forgiveness of our sins without marking our iniquities. The voice of Christ and of the Church. This Psalm is to be read with the Prophet Jonas. Wherefore this eleventh step denotes the voice of St. Peter weeping bitterly after his fall; hence it is that of repenting sinners.

Venerable Bede : The Prophet, placed on the eleventh step, prostrates himself to fulfil his penance, because no saint, so long as he is in the flesh, can be entirely free from sin. And this, too, is to be said, that every sin belongs, as it were, to the number eleven, because it over-passes the perfection of the Ten Commandments. The Prophet cries to the Lord for deliverance out of the depths of sin and from the troubles he experiences. Then, without delay, he comes to the joys of thanksgiving, that penitents may know with what favour they will be received, and how soon the remedy is bestowed on them.

(1) Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord: O Lord hear my voice.

Out of the depths. A cry of the Jews from the depths of their Captivity, seemingly without hope; for, as says St. Augustine, it is the cry of any one trying to ascend out of the abyss of sin ; even as Jonas cried unto the Lord out of the belly of the great fish [Jonas ii. I.]. The depths in which we find ourselves are the depths of this world. All who realise that they are in this abyss cry, groan, and sigh till they be freed from it, and come to Him Who sitteth over all the depths and upon the Cherubim. Whence, then, does this cry come ? Out of the depths. Who is it that cries ? A sinner. And with what hope does he cry ? Because He Who came to loose the bonds of sin hath also given hope even to a sinner in the depths of his iniquity. Man must needs call, too, out of the depths of humility, recognising the abyss of misery into which he is plunged, and call upon the depths of God's mercy : Depth calleth upon depth [Ps. xli. 8.]. Note, too, says St. Gregory the Great, it is not written " I am calling," but I have called, showing us thereby not to end our prayer until by perseverance it has been granted. God loves to be asked, to be constrained, to be overcome, as it were, by importunity ; for the loving repetition of His Name marks the affection and confidence of His client. It has been pointed out that this verse puts before us six conditions of a good prayer—it is humble, out of the depths ; fervent, have I cried ; direct to God, unto Thee; reverent, 0 Lord ; awed, Lord repeated ; one's very own, hear my prayer. This Psalm is used so frequently for the Dead that a reference here to it in that sense will not be out of place. It is the prayer of souls abiding in the depths of Purgatory, overwhelmed with the sense of their own impurity and imploring the Lord to take them to His rest.

(2) Let Thine ears be attentive: to the voice of my supplication.

It is not enough to be heard, says Bellarmine, that we should cry aloud; He Who is called upon must also listen. It is true God sees and hears everything; but when He remains silent it seems as though He heard not. So the Psalmist in the vehemence of his desire beseeches God to turn an attentive ear to his cry and grant him speedily his petition. God, says the Carmelite, is said to bow down His ear, that is, His readiness and mercy, to us ; but we, on the other hand, are to lift up ours to Him. And it is to be noted that the form of the human ear teaches three silent lessons : It is always open, not like the eyes or lips, signifying we should be more ready to hear than to see or speak ; it is small, not like that of the brute animals, warning us to take heed how we hear, and not to believe everything that is spoken; it is erect because we ought to listen for words coming from heaven rather than from earth.

(3) If Thou shalt mark iniquities ; Lord, who shall abide it ?

No man is safe from sins, which howl around him like angry beasts; none is of spotless conscience, none pure of heart because of his own righteousness. When God marks down in the Book of Doom all our sins and reads them out, who shall abide it, that is, endure the shame and the guilt ? Wherefore we beseech God not to act as Judge only, but to exert as King His prerogatives of mercy, and add :—

(4) For there is with Thee forgiveness: because of Thy Law I have waited for Thee, 0 Lord.

If Thou wast strict in judgment, and punishment fell swift upon the sin, all would perish. Therefore if Thou desirest to be feared, forgive, and drive not sinners into despair, wherein they cease to fear because they have lost all. There is with Thee forgiveness, since He Who is the propitiation for our sins [i John ii. 2.] is seated in glory at Thy right hand.

Because of Thy Law : God's Law, by which He rules us now, is Mercy and Love; confiding in this the Psalmist awaits His Coming, though well aware of his own unworthiness to abide it. I have waited patiently, bearing all chastisement because of Thy Law, knowing that Thou actest righteously and mercifully in all things, and in judgment forgetteth not mercy.

(5) My soul hath relied on His Word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

(6) From the morning watch even until the night: let Israel hope in the Lord.

God has promised mercy through the Incarnation and Sacrifice of the Word, His only-begotten Son; and the Psalmist declares that he is relying upon a promise which can never fail.

From the morning watch even until the night. St. Augustine takes these words of the trust of the Church in Christ from the early morning of His Resurrection until that Night in which no man can work [John ix. 4.], which is to be followed by that other Resurrection Morning for us all. Others take it of the breaking of the Light of Faith upon the soul till the close of life, working, as St. Hilary says, through all the burthen and heat of the day until the Reward we know is awaiting us is bestowed.

(7) Quia apud Dominum For with the Lord there is misericordia: et copiosa apud mercy: and with Him plentiful Eum redemptio. redemption.

Says Cassiodorus on this glorious verse : Here is the reason for Israel to hope in the Lord : because in His hand is Mercy which can make the sinner righteous, the weak strong, and give to the carnal the purity of angels. There is also the plentiful redemption which is the Precious Blood stored up for us in the Church and ready to do its healing work at every turn of our life. Daily and hourly It is being offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass on our behalf to the Eternal Father; daily It is washing away Original Sin and Actual Sin ; daily It is giving grace to all men by the Sacraments of the New Law, the channels by which It is brought to the soul. This Precious Blood gives the force and the Divine influence to all the Sacramentals of the Church, and covers her and all her members with a blood-stained robe, so that she can say to Her Head, Jesus, : Thou art a Spouse of blood to me [Exod. iv. 25.]. It is this Blood pleading for forgiveness and shed so abundantly in the Passion which is the plentiful Redemption which our good God in His mercy hath arranged for us.

(8) And He Himself shall redeem Israel : from all his iniquities.

No one else but God is our Redeemer; as the prophet said : God Himself will come and will save you [Is. xxxv. 4.]. Before He came on His errand of mercy the name of Saviour was given to Him : Thou shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His People from their sins [Matt. i. 21.].

From all his iniquities: not from temporal captivity and suffering, which is our appointed share in the work of release, but from the more bitter bondage of sin, a work He alone can do. And mark, iniquity is entirely taken away, blotted out: For He that sitteth on the throne said: Lo, I make all things new [Apoc. xxi. 5.].

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father unto Whom we call from the depths. Glory to the Son, His Word in Whom we rely. Glory to the Holy Ghost with Whom there is mercy.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Compline Or Night-Song, pt 1. By E. L. Taunton.

AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG.

The end of our day has arrived, and before seeking rest we come once more for our Father's blessing, and to pay the last tribute of love to our Mother. This Office, says the Myroure, " is the seventh and the last hour of Divine Service, and it is as much as to say, a ' fulfilling'; for in the end thereof the seven hours of Divine service are fulfilled ; and therewith also is ended and fulfilled speaking, eating, and drinking, and labouring, and all bodily business. So that after that time ought to be great stillness and strict silence, not only from words, but also from all noises and deeds save only quiet and private prayer, and holy thinking and bodily sleep. For Compline betokens the end of Man's life, or the end of the world when the chosen of our Lord shall be delivered from all travail and woe and be brought to endless quiet and rest. And therefore each person ought to dispose himself to bedward as if his bed were his grave. For as a man dieth or he be born to his grave and buried, right so at Compline tyme ye should be disposed as if ye were dying. And keep ye so sober and still afterwards as if ye were dead for all bodily deeds and words " [Pp. 164-5.].

The Office of Compline is due to St. Benedict, who made it the night prayer for his monks. The present office, however, dispenses with the monastic introduction of conference and mutual confession. Like the old English use of Sarum, it starts at once after a preparatory Ave with the following Versicles:—

Turn us 0 God our Salvation.

And turn away Thine anger from us.

O God come to my assistance, &c.

This Office, says Durandus, begins contrary to the manner of the other hours; for, because as we have been, as it were, singing Psalms all day, and it is well-nigh impossible but that we should have contracted some dust of pride, therefore we humble ourselves, saying : Turn us 0 God our Salvation; for, says the Apostle : If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves [I John i. 8.]. . . . We then proceed to call on the Divine help, saying : 0 God come to my assistance. Turn us refers to the taking away of past sins; 0 God come to the doing of future good works . . . And because all is done in praise of the Blessed Trinity, therefore follows the Gloria [See also the explanation of this verse in the second Psalm at Prime, p. 322.].

This is followed by three more of the " Gradual Psalms," which we may say in honour of the Blessed Trinity and of our Lady's relationship to the Divine Persons.

PSALM CXXVII.

Title. —A Song of Degrees.

Argument.

Tomasi: That Christ routs those who fight against us, lest we should be hurt by them. The voice of the Church. This tenth step contains the voice of Christ against the Jews who, fighting against Him on the Cross, are shown to have done Him no hurt, because it proved that He rose again from the dead.

Venerable Bede : Endurance in suffering is counselled in this tenth step. In the first paragraph the Prophet counsels Jerusalem to say what conflicts and fights she has endured from her enemies, lest any of the faithful should despair because of his own troubles. In the second he prays in parables against the enemies of the Church that there may come upon them that which he knows will happen in the future Judgment.

(1) Many a time have they fought against me from my youth up : may Israel now say.

(2) Yea, many a time have they vexed me from my youth up but they have not prevailed against me.

St. Augustine applies these words to the true Israel, the Church, in her struggles against sin from the Fall of Man, yet in his early youth ; from the days of the righteous Abel, and in the early days of the Christian Dispensation. And it is true of the Head as it was of His members ; for He was sought after as the King of Israel, by Herod to slay Him in the Cradle; driven by necessity into Egypt; harassed by the incessant plots of His enemies; and, finally, was put to death. It holds good, says St. Bruno, of every saint who, having put off the Old Man with his works and put on the New, has begun in this wise a spiritual youth ; for at once he becomes the mark for the hatred of the doer of iniquity.

Many a time; for, adds St. Hilary, when once the Tempter is overcome he does not therefore leave us, but returns and tries again and again to conquer.

But they have not prevailed against me; for, says St. Peter : Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good [I Peter iii. 13.] ; and St. Paul adds : If God be for us who can be against us? [Rom. viii. 31.].

(3) Sinners have wrought upon my back : they have prolonged their iniquity.

The figure which commentators have seen in the words is a mass of precious metal lying on the anvil and beaten out into greater breadth and length by the hammers of the smith until a costly vessel is produced by their labour. Some have it that the mention of the back implies what does not show itself before the face; and thus secret injury, calumny, and detraction ; but St. Augustine's view, that it is the sense of meekly bearing a burthen, seems to suit better with the mention of open violence in the preceding verses.

(4) But the righteous Lord hath broken the neck's of the ungodly: let them be confounded and turned backward, all they who hate Sion.

St. Augustine sees here the punishment of the proud and stiff-necked enemies of God's Church who refuse to bear His easy yoke, and loudly proclaim that they have done no wrong. The latter clause admits of a twofold interpretation : the one stern and literal, of a sense of punishment in this world and in the next; and in the other more gentle, which hints at repentance, reclaiming the sinner, and withdrawing him from the broad road leading to destruction, thus changing him from a rebel into a servant.

(5) Let them be even as the grass drum: upon the house-tops : which withereth away afore it be plucked up.

(6) Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand : nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom.

St. Gregory the Great says : That as grass growing on the roof has no firm root, so a hypocrite while making a show of doing great things is not established; for his heart is not sincere. And as grass on the roof withers before it can be rooted up, so, when a hypocrite undertakes any good work, without first making his conscience right, he loses all the merit thereof, and shows he was flourishing without a root. Upon which St. Augustine remarks it were wiser to grow lower down and thrive better. Such as these, proud, violent, hypocrites, unlike those sheaves the angel-mowers carry back rejoicing

from the field of this world, shall be left in the field, as they have borne no fruit and are fit for nothing but to be burnt. But, says Haymo, those who have passed their life in good deeds shall be led by the hands of the Mower, and those who have served God in contemplation shall be carried in angels' bosoms to their heavenly rest.

(7) And they that passed by have not said, The blessing of the Lord be upon you : we have blessed you in the Name of the Lord.

That is, remarks St. Augustine, as the mowers will take no heed of the worthless grass on the house-tops, there will be nothing to attract the passers-by, or draw from them a blessing. They that pass by are our fellow-pilgrims in this world who bless by their prayers those who help them along the way by giving a good example. It is especially here taken of the Prophets and Apostles who do not bless those whom they see striving after worldly honours and lacking the love of God which is the root of all real good. So, says the Carthusian, the teachers of the Old Law have no blessings, but only warnings and threats for their people if they refuse to hear their King and reject Sion, His new Covenant. Perez takes the whole Psalm as a prophecy of the rejection of the Synagogue, and compares its ceremonial law, bearing no fruit of itself, to grass on the house-top, withering away from want of grace and not being planted in the rich soil of the foundation which is our Lord. St. Hilary ends up his commentary on this Psalm with this advice: Let us, then, sow profitably, that we may make our labours ready for filling both hands and bosom and become sharers of that blessing of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who ever protects Israel. Glory to the Son, the Mower Who bears us in His bosom. Glory to the Holy Ghost Who blesseth His people.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Vespers or Evensong, pt 5. By E. L. Taunton.

THE ANTIPHON AT THE MAGNIFICAT.

Blessed Mother and Maiden undefiled, Glorious Queen of the world, intercede for us to the Lord.

We now reach the culminating point of Vespers. The Myroure gives us the following reasons for the Magnificat at Vespers : " One for in the Evensong time of the world our

Lady, by her singular assent, brought health to mankind. Another cause is that we should daily have in mind the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was wrought in the eventide of the world, for joy of which this song is made. The third cause is for our Lord is likened to appear in the eventide. The fourth cause is that the minds that have been laboured and wearied in the day with many thoughts and businesses should then be comforted with the song of joy of our Lady and be helped by her prayers against temptations of the night."

Explaining some of the ceremonial observances connected with this hour, Durandus says : To represent the rejoicing expressed in this Canticle, lights are lit at Vespers ; either because the Canticle is of the Gospel, or that we, being of the number of the wise virgins, may run with the lamp of good works in the odour of the ointment of the Blessed Virgin, entering with her into the joy of our Lord. And because our works are not radiant in lamps, except they be moulded by love, therefore the Canticle closes with the Antiphon whereby love is signified.

Incense is offered at the Magnificat [The solemn incensing of the altar, which typifies our Lord, is reserved to the priest when officiating at the Office. But there is nothing to prevent incense being burnt at the Magnificat in a choir of nuns. The smoking thurible set in the midst
of the choir at the Magnificat would preserve the symbolism of the " Hour of
Incense."]; and Origen thus explains its use : Behold how our High Priest standeth and offereth Himself, to separate the living from the dead. Rise to the loftier heights of His Word, and behold how the very High Priest, Jesus Christ, having assumed the censer of human flesh and set therein the fire of the Altar, that is, the glorious Soul wherewith He was born according to His Human Nature, and adding thereunto the incense, which is His Immaculate Spirit, stood between the living and the dead and suffered death to rule us no longer.

The preliminary Antiphon directs our minds towards her whose song we are about to sing, so that we may enter into all her dispositions. Our ever dear and blessed Lady ever kept singing in her heart the Magnificat. Even in the hour of her deepest sorrow she was magnifying the Lord Who had done great things for her. And we, with our Magnificat, in days of trial, sorrow and gloom, must never forget His mercy towards us, or lose that inward joy which inspired this heavenly Canticle. Let us therefore apply the words to ourselves and sing it with the love, gratitude and humility our Lady had, when at the Visitation she was greeted by St. Elizabeth as, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb [Luke i. 42], and accepted the blessing but referred it all to her Maker. Let us read the Gospel narrative of the Visitation :— And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda ; and entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she spake out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me ? For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leapt in my womb for joy. And blessed is she that believed : for there shall be fulfilled those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said [Luke i. 39-46.];—

(1) My soul doth magnify the: Lord:

(2) And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

" Here," says the Myroure, " we may learn of our Lady to forsake all vain joy. For after the Angel had been with her from heaven, after she had conceived the Son of God, and after Elizabeth had blessed her and praised her as most worthy Mother of God, in all this she was moved to no vanity, or to no presumption in herself, but to more meekness and to praising and rejoicing in God. And that not feignedly, only with the tongue, but of all the inwardness of soul. And therefore she saith not my mouth, but my soul praiseth and my spirit rejoiceth. And that not in herself but in God Who is Maker of all things and now is become Man and so Saviour of mankind, and also that of our Lady. And therefore He is specially and singularly her Saviour [on account of the preeminent grace of the Immaculate Conception], and none other in that wise. For by her health and salvation are come to Man. Therefore she saith my spirit, that is, my soul, hath joyed in God my Saviour : Here saith St. Bede, we note that his spirit joyeth in God his Saviour who delighteth in nothing that is on earth, neither is pleased with plenty of goods or of worship, nor is broken with grudging or impatience in any tribulation or disease, but only delighteth and joyeth in mind of his Maker, of Whom he hopeth to have endless health."

(3) For He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden : for lo! from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

" Here our Lady telleth why she praised, why she joyed in God, why God was so singularly hers. For He beheld her meekness, whereby you may see that meekness was the cause why God chose her to be His mother. And therefore, says St. Jerome, what is more noble and worthy than to be the Mother of God ? What is more bright and worshipful than she whom the brightness of the Father's glory chose to Himself ? What is more chaste than she that bore in her body the Body of Christ ? And yet she saith that God beheld only her meekness that is the keeper of all virtues. And what follows thereupon : Lo ! from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. All generations of heaven and of earth, of Christians and of heathen, of Jews and of Saracens, of men and of women, of poor and of rich, of men and of angels, of right-wise and of sinners, of wedded and of single, of sovereigns and of subjects ; all shall say me blessed, all shall praise the blessedness that God, my Saviour, hath wrought with me and hath given to them by me. For of every nation and people some are turned to the faith of Christ, [and] praise His holy Mother."

(4) For He that is mighty hath done great things to me: and holy is His Name.

" What be these great things that He did to her ? That He kept her clean from all sin. That He hallowed her and endowed her with gifts of the Holy Ghost; that He took His body from her. That she a creature brought forth her Maker ; she His servant bore her Lord; that she a Virgin is Mother of God. That by her He purchased mankind and brought His chosen to endless life. These great things did He that is mighty to reward above all that any man may deserve. And as He is mighty He hath done mighty and great things, and Holy is His Name; for He is more good and holy than may be thought or spoken. And for His holy Name, not for man's merits, hath He done great things for the health of man."

(5) And His mercy is from generation unto generation : to them that fear Him.

"This is that mercy that He hath wrought by our Lady and by His Incarnation and Passion to mankind. The mercy of salvation that David asked after when he said : Lord show us Thy mercy [Ps. Ixxxiv. 8.] ; as if he said : Thou hast shown Thy power in making all things out of nothing ; Thou hast shown us Thy wisdom in marvellously governing all things; Thou hast shown us Thy righteousness in punishing sinners both in angels and] in men; and therefore show us now Thy mercy, by the Incarnation of Thy Son for the Salvation of mankind. This mercy bringeth our Lady forth and saith : His mercy is from generation unto generation. From one kindred unto kindred, from the kindred of the Jews unto all kindreds of the world. For amongst the Jews Thy mercy was wrought, and afterwards spread abroad unto all people. But all take not profit and salvation by this mercy; for though it be more sufficient that all men needeth, yet it availeth not but to them that dispose themselves thereto. And what is that disposition ? The fear of God; for without that fear none may be saved. Not the fear of pain, but the fear of God; as our Lady saith : His mercy is to them that fear Him."

(6) He hath done might in His arm : He hath scattered the proud in will of His heart. [This is the old pre-reformation English translation of the Vulgate. Both St.Augustine and the Carthusian follow this reading instead of the more usual their hearts.]

"That is to say, His Son. For as the arm cometh from the body and the hand from both arm and body, so the Son hath His being from the Father, and the Holy Ghost from the Father and the Son. In this arm, that is, His Son, He hath done might; for by Him He hath made all things, and by Him He hath saved mankind, and by Him He hath thrown down the power of fiends. And therefore saith our Lady : He hath scattered the proud in the will of His heart. These proud are fiends, and Jews are all proud people. For as a host that is dispersed is not mighty to fight, right so the proud fiends are dispersed by the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and not mighty to war against Man as they were before. The proud Jews also that would not humble themselves to the faith of Jesus Christ are dispersed abroad in the world, so much that they have neither land nor country, nor city, nor town to dwell in all the earth. But some dwell in one land and some in another, and some in one city and some in another, under tribute and thraldom of Christian people. Thus are these fiends and Jews dispersed by our Lord in the will of His heart, that is to say, in the rightful judgment of His privy Doom. All proud people also are dispersed in the mind of their own heart; for as meek people live in unity and rest, right so proud people are both scattered in their own hearts by many vanities and unlawful desires, and also they are divided against others by trouble and envy and debate."

(7) He hath put down the mighty from their seat: and hath exalted the lowly.

"These mighty are they that have great power, temporal or spiritual, and misuse it against the Will of God, and against their fellow Christians, and against their own soul's health. And these mighty God throweth down from the seat of Grace; for by grace God should have His seat in their hearts ; and from the seat of dignity and power which they misuse ; and from the seat of knowledge and wisdom, for they are blinded in their own malice ; and at last from the seat of Doom where the apostolic power shall sit and judge with Christ them that shall be judged at the end of the world [Cf. Matt. xix. 28.]. From that seat shall such mighty be thrown down, and to that seat shall the lowly be lifted up. For He hath lifted up the meek here in grace and afterwards to bliss everlasting. These words our Lady spoke as prophecy of things to come, and yet she saith as if the fulfilling were passed ; for it was as sure to be fulfilled in time to come as if it had been already past. And for that cause prophets used often such manner of speaking."

(8) The hungry He hath filled with good things: and the rich He hath sent empty away.

" Bodily hunger is an appetite for meat, so ghostly hunger is a desire of grace and of virtue. He that is hungry hath need of meat; so he that is spiritually hungry thinketh that he hath nought that is good, namely, not of himself nor by his own merits. And because he feeleth himself needy of all goods, therefore he seeketh and desireth and laboureth fast to get them. And such hungry (ones) God filleth with goods spiritual in grace and endless in bliss. But the rich are they that presume of themselves and think themselves to be better than they are, and to have more than they have, or to know more than they can. And what they have, or can, or may, they count it to their own merits and worthiness as though it all came from themselves. These rich (ones) God leaveth empty of grace and glory. For they that are here wilfully poor of worldly wealth and comfort, and hunger and desire God's grace and heavenly comforts, their desire shall be fulfilled; but they that have here riches, and worldly property and take their joyous comforts therein and seek after none other, they shall be left void from all goods temporal and everlasting."

(9) He hath taken Israel His servant: being mindful of His mercy.

" Israel was one of the patriarchs that was called Jacob, of whose lineage our Lady came. And therefore she saith that God hath taken Israel, that is to say, a Body of mankind, of the lineage of Israel; which Israel is called God's child for He was meek and obedient to God as a child to His father. And in this deed God hath been mindful of His mercy, by which He promised to the patriarchs and prophets that He would become Man. And therefore saith our Lady further :—

(10) As He spoke to our fathers : to Abraham and to his seed forever.

"That is, to Abraham and to the people that came from Abraham by bodily generation, of whom came our Lady, and from her our Lord Jesus Christ, not only to the help of that people, but of all that truly follow the faith and living of Abraham unto the end of the world. For they are properly called the seed and the children of Abraham with whom they should be partners of the fruit of our Lord's coming endlessly in joy and bliss. Amen." [Myroure, pp. 157-163.].

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who regardeth the lowliness of His handmaiden. Glory to the Son Who is God her Saviour. Glory to the Holy Ghost Who hath done great things to her.

The Kyrie and Versicle as at Lauds (see page 303).

THE COLLECT.

Grant us Thy servants, we beseech, 0 Lord God, to rejoice in perpetual health in soul and body : and, by the glorious intercession of the Blessed Mary ever a Virgin, to be delivered from present sorrow and to attain eternal glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Perpetual health of soul and body. That is all we need for keeping our soul in God's favour, and our body fit to do the work He allots us. It is the same idea as the words in the Hymn, Bona cuncta posce : Ask for us all good things. Present sorrow is the need of this health of soul and body, sin and the various ills of life which impede us from serving God with a pure heart. Eternal joy is that state when our joy shall be made full and no man can take it from us ; the joy which here below was intermittent, which never ends or fades; the joy which the God of all joy has prepared for them that love Him.

Vespers, like Lauds, ends with the Commemoration of the Saints and the Versicles (see page 304).

During Advent.

The Antiphons for the Psalms are the same as at Lauds for this season. Also the Little Chapter. The Hymn and Versicle is as above. The Collect is that of Lauds, and the Commemoration of the Saints follows the same (see page 308).

During Christmas-tide.

The Antiphons for the Psalms are as at Lauds during this season. The Little Chapter is from the Common. The Hymn and Versicle are from the Common, but the Antiphon at the Magnificat is proper (see page 311).

A great mystery of inheritance : the womb of one not knowing man becomes the temple of God : taking flesh from her He is not defiled. All the Gentiles shall come, saying : Glory be to Thee, 0 Lord.

God's inheritance is the hearts of His people ; and in order to win it unto Himself He wrought the great mystery of the Incarnation. The Jews and Gentiles form the inhabitants of this inheritance and they all came testifying to the new-born King. The shepherds first, led on by the angels' song of Gloria in excelsis Deo; and the three Wise Men who came from afar to worship, with mystic gifts, Him Who was born King of the Jews.

The prayer is from Lauds and the Commemoration of the Saints that of the Common.

During Paschal Time.

The Antiphon at the Magnificat is Regina caeli, for which see after Compline.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Vespers or Evensong, pt 4. By E. L. Taunton.

LITTLE CHAPTER [Eccl. xxiv. 14.].

From the beginning and before the ages was I created; and for all eternity I shall never cease : and in the holy dwelling have I ministered before Him.

Thanks be to God.

These words apply in the first place to the Eternal Wisdom of God, the Second Person of the Adorable Trinity. But Holy Church, the only Mistress and Explainer of Scripture, also applies them to her who is the " Seat of Wisdom," and whose holiness is a mark of the great work which the Divine Wisdom has done. As in the five Antiphons and Psalms we have had our Lady in her five relations with God, so here we have her as for ever pre-ordained, the Mother of the Living ; God having decreed Creation, in the same decree were pre-ordained Jesus and Mary: He as the Head of Creation, she as the way by which He was to enter it. He is therefore the real Adam, and she the real Eve. Our first parents according to the flesh were created on the model of Jesus and Mary : For Whom all things were made, that He might have in all things the principality [Cf. Colos. i. 16, 18.] ; and as these models existed in the mind of God before the Fall was discerned, it follows that they were not included in it; Jesus on account of His Godhead, Mary on account of her Motherhood. We may believe that Jesus would have come in any case, so as to be able to give His Father that worship which Creation could not. But when the Fall was foreseen then did the Incarnation take its remedial character, and show us depths upon depths of God's infinite love. Without the Fall we might have had Jesus Incarnate, but not the infinite pathos of the Crucifix. We should not have known the Man of Sorrows, nor the Mother thereof. This is the teaching of Scotus on the Incarnation, and in it the dogma of the Immaculate Conception seems to find its natural place. The Myroure explains this Little Chapter : " The Chapter is said in the person of our Lady thus : ab initio. This is thus to mean: Endlessly, before all time, I was foreknown and ordained of God to be made. . . . And I shall never fail, neither in soul by any sin, nor in body by any corruption. For our Lady's holy body is not turned to corruption in earth, but taken up and knit with the soul in the glory of heaven. . . . Was it not a holy dwelling when our Lord Jesus Christ dwelt in His Mother's womb, where she ministered to Him the matter of His holy Body ? Was it not also a holy dwelling where our Lord Jesus Christ and our Lady, His Mother, and Joseph dwelt together in one house, where our Lady served her blessed Son Jesus Christ with meat and drink and clothes ? Full pleasant was that service before Him and before all the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. It is also a holy dwelling where God's servants dwell together in one congregation and in one charity; for there is our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst among them, as He Himself says in His Gospel [Matt, xviii. 20.] ; and there our Lady ministered her help and grace full busily that they may serve her Son to His pleasure" [pp. 141-2.].

HYMN.

Gentle star of ocean,
Portal of the sky,
Ever Virgin-mother
Of the Lord most high.

O by Gabriel's Ave,
Uttered long ago,
Eva's name reversing
'Stablish peace below !

Break the captives fetters,
Light on blindness pour;
All our ills expelling.
Every bliss implore.

Show thyself a Mother ;
Offer Him our sighs,
Who for us incarnate
Did not thee despise.

Virgin of all Virgins !
To thy shelter take us ;
Gentlest of the gentle!
Chaste and gentle make us.

Still, as on our journey,
Help our weak endeavour;
Till with thee and Jesus,
We rejoice for ever.

Through the highest heavens,
To the Almighty Three,
Father, Son, and Spirit,
One same glory be.

Amen.

Grace is poured forth on thy lips. Wherefore hath God blessed thee for ever. 

On this Hymn the pious author of the Myroure thus comments :—

" In the first verse you praise our Lady for four things. One is that she is called ' star of the sea'; for as that is comfortable to ship-men, so is our Lady comfort to all that are in bitterness of tribulation or temptation in the sea of this world [Says St. Bernard: "O whoever thou art, who knows that thou art tossed in the flood of this world amidst its storms and tempests, turn not thine eyes away from the shining of this Star, unless thou wishest to be overwhelmed in the storms. If the waves of temptation rise up, if thou founder on the rock of temptation, look up at the Star, call upon Mary. If thou struggle with the waves of pride, ambition, distraction, envy, look at the Star, call upon Mary. If wrath or avarice, or sensuality, shake the boat of thy mind, look to Mary. If terrified at the enormity of thy crimes and confused at the filth of thy conscience, thou art struck with fear of the Judge, and begin to sink into the depths of sorrow and slough of despond, think of Mary. In perils, in difficulties, in doubts, think of Mary, call upon Mary."-Hom. 2, super Missus est.]. And therefore her name, Maria, is as much as to say, 'star of the sea.' And so Ave Maria and Ave Marts stella is all one sentence. The second is that she is the Mother of God. The third is that she is everlasting Virgin. The fourth is that she is the gate of heaven. Her Son called Himself in His Gospel, the Door [John x. 9.] ; for as a man may not well come into a house but by the door, nor to the door but by the gate, so may there none come in to heaven but by our Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the Door; nor to our Lord Jesus Christ but by our Lady, that is, the Gate. Therefore you say thus to her, Ave Marts stella —Hail star of the sea, holy Mother of God, and always Virgin, the blessed Gate of heaven.

"In the second verse ye praise our Lady for two things, and one thing ye ask of her. For ye thank her that she assented to the greeting of Gabriel, for thereby began our salvation ; like as our perdition began by the assent of Eve to the fiend. . . . The second, for she hath turned that woe that Eve brought us into joy. And so she hath changed her name Eva into Ave; for Eva spelt backwards maketh Ave, and Eva is as much as to say, Woe, and Ave is a word of joy. Then ye ask of her stability of peace, and say thus : Taking that Ave of the mouth of Gabriel, ground us in peace, changing the name of Eve.

" In the third verse ye ask of her four things that man needeth to have help in, after he has fallen into sin. For by sin he falleth into four great mischiefs, one is that he is so bound therein that he may not of himself come out thereof. And as a man may yield himself bound to a lord, but he may not be free again when he will, right so is it of a man that maketh himself thrall to the fiend by deadly sin. And therefore ye pray our Lady that she will loose the bonds of sinners and make them free. Another mischief is that when a man is fallen into deadly sin, the fiend blindeth him so in his sight that he can neither see the peril in which he standeth in nor how to get him help of deliverance. And therefore in this ye ask our Lady's help. The third mischief is the great vengeance that man deserveth by sin, both temporal and everlasting. And the fourth is the loss of all goods of grace and glory. And therefore against all these four mischiefs ye pray to our Lady and say : Loose thou the bands of them that are guilty, for the first Give them light to them that are blind, for the second. Do away our evils, for the third. And ask all goods, for the fourth.

" In the fourth verse ye pray her to show herself a Mother to God and to the wretched. As a mother tendeth her child in all manner of perils and diseases that he is in, so she vouchsafes to show motherly tenderness to us in all our needs, bodily and ghostly. And as a mother may get of her son what she will reasonably desire of him, so she vouchsafed to speed our errands before God that it may appear well that that she is His Mother. Therefore ye say thus to her : Show thyself to be a Mother, and He must take prayers by thee That vouchsafed to be thy Son for us.

" In the fifth verse ye praise her in two virtues, that is, maidenhood and mildness; and ye ask of her three virtues according to the same, that is, deliverance from sin, meekness and chastity. Therefore ye say thus: Singular and mild Virgin amongst all, make us loosed from sin, and mild and chaste.

"In the sixth verse ye ask of her three things. The first is clean life. The second is true continuance therein unto the end that you may then have true passage. And the third is endless joy in the sight and beholding of God. Therefore you say : Grant us clean life, make ready a true way, that we, seeing Jesus, may evermore be glad.

"In the seventh verse ye praise the Blessed Trinity and say : Praising be to God the Father; to highest Christ be glory ; and to the Holy Ghost; One honour to the Three [The Doxology given here is a translation of the one used in the Office. The
one given in the Myroure varies somewhat from the Roman use.]. Amen."

The Versicle and Response are these favourite words so often repeated in this office. See the Versicle at the end of each of the three Nocturns, and Psalm xliv. 3 in the second Nocturn.

From - The Little Office of Our Lady; a treatise theoretical, practical, and exegetical - Taunton, Ethelred L. (Ethelred Luke), 1857-1907