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

The Little Office Of Our Lady – At Vespers or Evensong, pt 3. By E. L. Taunton.

THIRD ANTIPHON.

I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem: therefore hath the King loved me and brought me into His innermost chamber.

It is the Maiden-mother, smitten with grief and plunged in a sea of woe, that we contemplate in this Antiphon. Mary is at the foot of the Cross. Sorrow has discoloured her. Her compassion with her Divine Son has pierced her to the heart. She could have laid down her life for Him had He wished it: and she lives to see Him die ; and willingly sees she this (though it break her heart), for such is His will. Her perfect conformity with the Divine will in this supreme hour is the last test of that Mother beyond all compare. Therefore is she, in the peace of Jerusalem, the object of her Son's tenderest love.

PSALM CXXI.

This, the same as the third Psalm of Terce, will be found at page 343.

FOURTH ANTIPHON.

The winter is past, the rain is over and gone : Arise, My friend, and come away.

The chilly winter of sorrow is past, the rain of affliction is over and gone; Mary has been made conformable to the Image of her Divine Son. The exile is at an end. For twelve years has she helped on the infant Church ; and now the moment of reunion is at hand. Come, My beloved, arise and come away. And like she did after the Angel's first visit, Mary in those days arose and went with haste into the hill-country [Luke i. 39.], into that City among the mountains, whence cometh help, where the Son abides. It is the picture of Mary assumed into heaven we contemplate in this Antiphon, and of the sleep He giveth His beloved.

PSALM CXXVI.

This, the same as the second Psalm at None, will be found at page 365.

FIFTH ANTIPHON.

Thou art made beauteous and sweet in thy delights, O holy Mother of God.

In this Antiphon Mary crowned and rewarded in heaven is the joyful and hopeful picture set before us. The woman set in the heavens clothed with the sun with the moon beneath her feet, and about her head a crown of twelve stars [Apoc. xii. i.]. She is there for our sakes, in the King's house, as Esther, to beseech for her people, to do God's mercy towards them, to make His Word run swiftly in their hearts, to scatter the ashes of penance over their lives, to break up the icy-bound hearts and to be ever the monument and example to all Israel of God's righteousness and judgment.

PSALM CXLVII.

Title.— Alleluia.

Argument.

Tomasi : That Christ may fill His Church with peace and abundance of spiritual wheat. The voice of Christ to the Church that she may praise the Father : or the voice of the Holy Ghost by the Prophet to the same that she may not cease to praise Christ.

Venerable Bede : In the first part the Prophet accosts Jerusalem, that is, the City on high, that now, made secure in her citizens she ought to praise the Lord with continual rejoicing. Secondly he counts up at more length, in mystical expression, what great kindness the Loving and Merciful One hath bestowed on His people.

(1) Praise the Lord 0 Jerusalem : Praise thy God O Sion.

The two names denote the one Church under two aspects. St. Paul knew the first as the heavenly one, when He spoke of Jerusalem which is above, is free, which is the Mother of us all [Gal. iv. 26.].

And he knew what Sion meant who said : Ye are come unto Mount Sion and the Church of the first-born which are written in heaven [Heb. xii. 23.]. Both of them, the Triumphant and Militant Church, have the praise of God as their one occupation. But, says the Carmelite, they perform it in different ways. The Church Militant praises Him by persevering in works of mercy ; the Church Triumphant by pure enjoyment and delight in Him, an occupation full of sweetness : interrupted by no trouble, weakened by no fatigue, disturbed by no cloud. Our work will be to praise God and to love Him : Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, 0 Lord, they shall be always praising Thee [Ps. Ixxxv. 4.]. Why ? Unless that they shall be always loving Thee. Why ? Unless that they shall be always beholding Thee.

(2) For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates : and hath blessed thy children in thee.

The true bar of these gates , says St. John Chrysostom, that by which they are fastened on the right hand and the left, is the Cross to which He, Who is the Door, was nailed. It is the bar of the heavenly as well as of the earthly Church, and it was in the might of its strong resistance that the gates of hell did not prevail against the Gospel, when all kings and nations and cities and hosts of evil spirits endeavoured to sweep it away. The lesser, but still important, bars of the Church on earth are the keys of St. Peter, the doctrine of the Apostles, the bishops, doctors, and priests, by whose vigour and watchfulness the assaults of heresy and unbelief are driven back. The clear living Voice of the Church, speaking through its Infallible Head, teaches us what we have to believe and what we have to do, and guards us from wandering. Faith, Hope and Charity are three good bars against the devil and his angels ; but Faith faileth, Hope groweth feeble, and Charity waxeth cold, unless each and all be strengthened by the Gifts of the Holy Ghost.

And hath blessed thy children, that is, not only made them happy, but also (a frequent meaning in Scripture) numerous ; granting to the Church to increase and multiply and fill the earth.

In thee. The promise is confined to the Church. St. Augustine asks, if the Lord has strengthened the bars of the gates, how comes it to pass that there are so many scandals in the Church ? Because here the wheat and tares are mingled together ; this world is the threshing floor, not the garner. It is not said that God has shot the bars of the gates, but that He has strengthened them and that for future use ; for the time when the Bridegroom comes, and they that be ready to go in with Him to the Marriage. Then shall the door be shut. Then, says the Carthusian, no foe may enter, for the law of absolute holiness keeps sin aloof ; no friends shall pass out, for the blessed are confirmed for ever in grace, according to the saying : Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more [Apoc. iii. 12.],

And hath blessed thy children within thee, since Blessed ate they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter through the gates of the City [Apoc. xxii. 14.].

(3) He maketh peace in thy borders : and with the fat of wheat satisfieth thee.

Jerusalem is too strong to be assailed, and no foe may cross the frontier of her territory. In that City on high there is peace even in the borders, for the last and lowest saint in heaven is filled with tranquil rejoicing. Here, in the Church below, although without are fightings and within alarms, yet being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord [Rom. v. i.]. There is another sense in which we can understand peace in thy borders; and that is as a prophecy of the Reunion of Christendom when those sects which border on the Church in doctrine and worship shall no longer make war against her, but be reconciled in purest friendship.

And with the fat of wheat satisfieth thee. St. John Chrysostom points out that here the Blessed Sacrament is meant. Its only home, according to the intention of God, is the Catholic Church. He who eats the Lamb outside the House is profane, says one of the Fathers. And observe how by these words peace and wheat we are taught, says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, how truly the Sacrament of the Altar is the bond of union and mutual charity among the children of Sion. The word satisfieth belongs, says Bellarmine, to Jerusalem above, not Sion below. Here we are indeed fed with the fat of wheat, but we feed on the Word of God under the Sacramental veils; we drink the water of wisdom, but only from the droppings of the Holy Writ; therefore we are not yet satisfied, nay, our very blessedness consists in hungering and thirsting after righteousness [Cf. Matt. v. 6.]. But there the saints shall know the sweetness of the Eternal Word with no type nor veil between them; there they shall put their lips to the very Source of wisdom, and no longer drink of the mere rills of droppings which come down to water the earth.

(4) Qui emittit eloquium He sendeth forth His com-

Suum terra : velociter currit mandment upon the earth : sermo Ejus. His Word runneth swiftly.

The commandment of the New Law of His kingdom upon earth was sent when He ordered it to be preached to every nation : His Word ran swiftly, rejoicing as a giant to run his course [Ps. xix. 5.], when the Only Begotten, the Almighty Word, leaped down from heaven out of the regal throne [Wisdom xviii. 15.], to be born of our ever dear and Blessed Lady, to show Himself for a brief time on earth, to renew the world by His Death, and to carry, by means of His Apostles, the glad tidings into all lands. His Word runneth swiftly in him who is free from sin and, giving himself up to God, widens his heart : I  have run in Thy commandments when Thou didst enlarge my heart [Mark ix. 3.].

(5) He giveth snow like wool: and scattereth hoar-frost like ashes.

The snow God sends is not merely like wool in its whiteness, but because it serves, in spite of its coldness, as a coverlet to keep the earth sheltered and warm from the keen blasts of winter. The hoar-frost, powdered lightly over the ground everywhere like ashes, also penetrates below the surface of the earth, and, expanding as it does so, breaks up the soil, making it friable and easier for plants to shoot upwards through ; it also kills most of the insect life that would destroy the vegetation if unchecked. St. Augustine points out that God takes sinners, cold and lifeless, with neither spiritual fervour nor practical activity and so transfigures them that, as Christ's raiment when He flashed forth His radiance for a moment on earth, they became shining, exceeding white as the snow [Ps. cxviii. 32.]. Conversely this chill snow becomes the raiment of Christ, without spot or wrinkle, and keeps His members warm in new-found charity. The frost which breaks up the hard ground, and the deeper it goes does more good, what is it save those salutary afflictions which God sends to soften sinners, and make them fit to receive the seed of His Word ; till they themselves are colder than the snow itself, but now kindled through and through with the fervour of Divine love, become like ashes, tokens alike of fire and repentance, the relics of a whole burnt offering upon the altar of God ?

(6) He casteth forth His ice like morsels : who is able to abide His frost ?

St. Augustine explains that ice, more solid and cold than snow or frost, denotes the most hardened sinners, not so much coarse and depraved ones, as hard, keen, clear enemies of truth, who are not ignorant of it, but deliberately resist it, like Saul of Tarsus; yet he, in God's providence, was cast forth to feed the Gentiles hungering for the Bread of Life ; himself, as a member of Christ, being a morsel of that Bread. And when God did so send forth the mighty preacher, who was able to abide His frost ? Another interpreter has it that as ice is pure and transparent, so that pure and crystalline substance which is sent forth as morsels of bread is the Blessed Sacrament of Christ's Body. Again, ice in its stern rigidity and coldness is an emblem of the Mosaic Law broken up by God's grace, since who could abide that frost ?

Who can abide His frost f Who is really in love with sin ? Who can bear to be cold and hard, unwarmed by the genial rays of the Sun of Righteousness ? Does any despair because he is snow and ice when he fain would be fire and heat ? Let him be of good cheer, for—

(7) He will send forth His Word and will melt them : His Spirit will blow and the waters will flow.

The remedy for sin is at hand, the prison of winter is unlocked by the bright sun, and warm breezes, by the Incarnation of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Ghost, the Southern Wind which blows through the garden of God and the perfume of its spices flows out [Cant. iv. 16.]. The waters will flow when the hard heart melts into tears of repentance; the waters flow when all the mighty powers of heart and head, but lately frozen up in unbelief, melt and come down in eloquent torrents of doctrine, and irrigate the fields below ; as they did when the Word, with His one cry of Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me ? [Acts ix. 4.] melted that persecutor; as they did when the Holy Ghost set him apart for the work of preaching to the Gentiles. Wherefore it follows :—

(8) He showeth His Word unto  Jacob: His statutes and judgments unto Israel.

(9) He hath not dealt so with any nation ; neither hath He  manifested His judgments to them.

The younger people, the Gentile Church, has had the Word manifested to it before its eyes : Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth [Gal. iii. I.]. The Word came first to the Jews, the literal but carnal Jacob : He came unto His own, and His own received Him not [John i. II.]. The new Jacob has supplanted his elder brother : For blindness in part is happened unto Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles is come in [Rom. xi. 25.]. St. Bruno remarks, the first part of God's grace is showing His Word, that we may embrace Him by faith while we are still struggling as Jacob; the next is the process of sanctification through obedience, when, after promising allegiance to our King, He explains to us the laws of His kingdom and makes us Israel, that is, princes of God.

He hath not dealt so with any nation; as in spite of their privileges, the Jews would not listen to the Word, these have been taken away and applied to the Christian Church gathered out of those very heathen to whom He had not manifested His judgments, but now are favoured by His grace ; while the carnal Israel is rejected even as they rejected Him.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who sendeth forth His Word; Glory to the Son Himself the Word that melteth sinners; Glory to the Holy Ghost the Spirit Who maketh the waters flow.

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 2. By E. L. Taunton.

SECOND ANTIPHON.

His left hand is under my head, and His right hand me. embraces me.

The gracious vision of the Maiden Mother bearing in her arms her Son Who tenderly embraces her is at once suggested by this Antiphon. If He in all the weakness and helplessness of babyhood clung to her and caressed her, how much more now does He in heaven reward her with His unspeakable love for all she did for Him on earth ? The thought of the dignity accruing to our Lady through the Divine Maternity gives a point to the Psalm which follows ; for she has been taken from her humility and set above the princes of heaven. She, the Virgin, has become the joyful mother of children, having borne us all in Jesus Christ. Therefore, as says St. Bernard, is she the happy soul resting on the heart of Christ and reposing in the arms of the Divine Word !

PSALM CXII.

Title.— Alleluia.

Argument.

Tomasi: That Christ turneth the Church, long barren, into the fruitfulness of holiness. The voice of the Church with praise. The voice of the Church concerning her faithful ones.

Venerable Bede : The Prophet in the first part exhorts the devout children to offer praise to God and to proclaim Him in all the world. Secondly he does himself what he exhorts others to do. The calling of the New People.

(1) Praise the Lord ye children : O praise the Name of the Lord.

(2) Blessed be the Name of the Lord : from this time and for evermore.

A triple utterance of the Divine Name, the triple call to praise it, veils here the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Ye children: St. Augustine bids us note purity, innocence, and docility are here denoted, not any special time of life ; as the Apostle says : Brethren, be not children in understanding; how-be it in malice be ye children; but in understanding be men [I Cor. xiv. 20.]. It is out of the mouths of such babes and sucklings as these that He hath perfected praise, as He accepted that of the children in the Temple when the voices of men were silent.

From this time forth, God's praises are not to cease with our advancing years. The words do not mean that He begins to be praised only now; but that each of us makes a beginning of joining in the hymn of creation ; while if we only persevere in His service our song shall go on for evermore in heaven.

(3) From the rising of the sun to the going down : the Lord's Name is worthy of praise.

Here is a further instruction. God's praise is to be not merely ceaseless but universal; not restricted by the limits of Judea, but extending to the utmost bounds of the earth. This is achieved by the Sacrifice of the Mass which was foretold by the prophet Malachias : From the rising of the sun till the going down of the same My Name shall be great among the Gentiles: and in every place incense shall be offered to My Name and a clean oblation : For My Name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts [Mal. i. II.]. In which prophecy there is exactly the same three-fold proclamation of the Holy Name, pointing, as in the Psalm, to the same mystery. And we, too, says Cardinal Hugo, in life and in death, in the morning and the evening of our mortal career, praise the Lord Jesus for His arising as the Sun of Righteousness in His Nativity, His setting in the ruddy glow of His Passion.

(4) The Lord is high above all the heathen : and His glory above the heavens.

By the preaching of the Gospel the Lord is high above all the heathen, for His Name is known and loved by those who heretofore were darkness, but now are light.

His glory above the heavens. We may here see a reference to the angelic songs at the Nativity, and again to the renewed paean of triumph at the Ascension, as well as to His Mission of the Paraclete thereupon to the lower heavens, the Apostles, who brought the Gentiles to confess His Name.

(5) Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high : and regardeth the things that are lowly in heaven and earth ?

What are the things that are lowly in heaven f There is not a creature there who is not penetrated through and through with humility. Now humility or lowliness means an acknowledgment that we are creatures having nothing of ourselves and owing all to God's love. The Prophet says : Thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity: Whose Name is Holy ; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite ones [Is. Ivii. 15.]. If these words are true of God's saints, how much more perfectly are they fulfilled in her who, filled with the same Spirit that inspired this Psalm, said : He hath regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden [Luke i. 48.] ; and how much more of Him Who, as God, ceased not to be in heaven while as Man He was the pattern of humility : Learn of Me because I am meek and lowly of heart [Matt. xi. 29.].

(6) He taketh the needy out of the dust: and raiseth up the poor man from the dunghill.

(7) That He may set him with the princes : even with the princes of His people.

These words are taken almost without variation from the Song of Anna [I Kings ii. 8.], and are recalled in the Song of our Lady. The needy — the poor man. Some commentators take these of Christ Himself, that Poor One Who had nowhere to lay His head, and Who was abased to the lowest in His Passion, becoming a worm and no man [Ps. xxi. 6.], and then by His Resurrection was set on high. The earth and the dunghill are taken by some to refer respectively to the Jews and Gentiles; and they tell us that Christ chooses His elect from both these indiscriminately, to set them with His angels and saints in heaven. Referring the verse to our Lord, St. Bernard reminds us of His Birth in the manger. He was literally brought down to the humiliation of the dunghill, whence He was exalted again to riches and honour. So we are reminded that humility and penance are the first steps towards being lifted up by the Lord and set among His princes. These verses find a special echo in the souls of those who have been called to the religious life. Taken out of their own nothingness and misery, God has set them among His chosen ones; here on earth ruling, as princes, their bodies by enlightened Reason, and in heaven reigning with Him for ever. A Vocation is indeed a fellowship with the saints and a principality exceeding all earthly honours.

(6) He maketh the barren woman to keep the house : a joyful mother of children.

This verse is taken in three senses. The first refers to the Gentiles brought into the Church. Isaias prophesies thus : Sing 0 barren, thou that didst not bear: break forth into singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child : for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations : spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. For thou shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited. Fear not; for thou shall not be ashamed : neither be thou confounded: for thou shall not be put to shame: for thou shall forget the shame of thy youth, and shall not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more; For thy Maker is thine husband: the Lord of Hosts is His Name: and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel: The God of the whole earth shall He be called [liv. 1-5.]. The second interpretation is of a soul hitherto unfruitful in good works, but now wedded to Christ by penance and love and bringing forth abundant fruits to Christ; as we see in the religious orders and the lives of the saints. The third interpretation is of the fruitful virginity of our ever dear and blessed Lady who has become, at the foot of the Cross, the Mother of Christians.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who dwelleth on high ; Glory to the Son Who lifts us up from the dunghill ; Glory to the Holy Ghost Who maketh the barren to keep house.

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 1. By E. L. Taunton.

AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG.[Vespers is the hour of the Evening Incense, and together with Lauds forms the original office. It follows the general lines of the Morning Song. Says Durandus: The Church in this hour says five Psalms—first, on account of the five wounds of Christ Who offered His sacrifice for us at the Vespertide of the world. Secondly, because we pray for forgiveness of those sins which in the course of the day we have committed through the five senses of our bodies. Thirdly, by those five Psalms the Church protects herself against nocturnal tribulations. For this hour brings to mind the weeping of those on whom the Sun of Righteousness hath set and who therefore are in darkness."]

FIRST ANTIPHON.

While the King was at His repose my spikenard gave forth its odour of sweetness.

The Antiphons of this office form a series of pictures of Our Lady's relations with our Lord. This first one refers to the Incarnation. While the King was reposing in the unspeakable joy of the Father He was attracted to earth by the immaculate soul of Mary, which, like spikenard, gave forth its odour. Mary was thus a sharer in the sacrifice of the Lamb, which was the purpose of the Incarnation ; and this thought must be borne in mind while saying the following Psalm which treats of the Eternal Priesthood of her Son.

PSALM CIX.

 Title.—A Psalm of David.

Argument.

Tomasi : That Christ was born from the spiritual womb of God the Father, before the morning star. The voice of the Church and of Christ to the Father. The voice of the Church concerning the Father and the Son. The Promise of the Father to the Son. A prophecy of future victory and concerning the Incarnation. It is sung concerning Christ the Lord.

Venerable Bede : This Psalm sings most fully and briefly of the Incarnation and Divinity of our Lord. In the first verse the Prophet narrates what the Father said to the Son ; in the second the Father to some extent, according to the measure of our captivity, declares the nature of the Godhead. In the third part the Prophet speaks until the end, showing the form of His manhood.

(1) The Lord said to my Lord : Sit Thou at My right hand.

(2) Until I place Thine enemies : as a footstool for Thy feet.

The beginning of this Psalm can only be compared in sublimity to the opening words of St. John's Gospel: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God [John i. I.]. The Father said unto the Son, that which the One did not utter with the mouth, nor the Other hear with the ear. The Father willeth, and the Son knoweth it: the Son willeth, and the Father knoweth it. We are in the presence of the awful mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Let us fall down and worship. The words are not spoken to the Eternal Son in respect of His Godhead ; but as incarnate in time, and therefore inferior to the Father as touching His Manhood. The Psalmist calls Him my Lord, because He is flesh of our flesh, our Brother, our very own in right of His Mother.

Sit thou at My right hand. Our Lord, as Man, occupies the highest place in heaven, and to Him is committed the judgment of the world, as it is written : They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [Matt. xxiv. 30.]. The word sit denotes the Human Nature of Christ, inasmuch as sitting cannot be predicated of the incorporeal Godhead ; and in contrast to the prominence of standing, it implies His present invisibility. St. Augustine says on these words : Sit Thou, not only on high, but also in secret, exalted that Thou mayest rule, hidden that Thou mayest be the object of belief; for what reward can there be for faith unless that which we believe be hidden ? The Carmelite observes that it also denotes His perfect rest after all His sufferings, in contrast to the time when weary with His journey [John iv. 6.] He sat beside Jacob's well; and still more to that day when He was exalted on the painful throne of the Cross; so that He, Whom His mother called Benoni, Son of my sorrow, is called by His Father, Benjamin, that is, Son of My right hand [Gen. xxxv. 18.]. Sit Thou, rest Thyself beside Me, rule with Me, enjoy My glory, be nearest unto Me, partake of My Majesty and power, reign with Me in co-equal power, as to Godhead with the same, and nearest, as to Thy Manhood. Until I make Thine enemies as a footstool for Thy feet. The word until is often used in Scripture without implying cessation when the point of time indicated as future has been reached. But in this case there seems to be a limit implied, for St. Paul says : Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is Death. For He hath put all things under His feet. . . . And when all shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be subjected unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all [I Cor. xv. 24-28.]. From this we must not suppose, as Lorin points out, that our Lord's Human Nature will be absorbed in His Divine, or that He will cease to bear Rule ; whereas it is said of Him : Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever [Ps. xlvi. 7.]. The true meaning is that His Mediatorial Office and task of administering the government of the Church Militant will then cease, as there will be no more sin requiring His intercession, no more war demanding His invincible leadership. But His Priesthood is eternal and He always will be the mouthpiece of Creation, worshipping the Father with a perfect and complete adoration. His enemies, sin and evil, shall be made His footstool, whether trodden in His anger and trampled in His fury, as in the case of the finally impenitent, or voluntarily humbling themselves to worship at His footstool; for He is holy [Ps. c. 5.]. Bellarmine notes that it is the Father Who speaks these words ; not as implying the Son cannot do it for Himself, since whatever the Father doth the Son doth likewise, but because this is part of the Son's reward for His obedience as Man : Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him [Phil. ii. 9.], By reason of the close union which exists between Jesus and Mary, we may now read this verse of her set at His right hand and given the victory. May we be her willing captives !

(3) The Lord shall send forth the rod of Thy power out of Sion : Rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.

Christ Himself is the Rod out of the stem of Jesse [Is. xi. i.], but as He in His Manhood went forth not from Sion, but from Bethlehem, commentators take the words generally of the Gospel Law preached first from Jerusalem, and more especially of the Cross, the sceptre of Christ's Kingdom, His strong staff and beautiful rod [Jer. xlviii. 17.] ; wherewith He, as with a bar of iron, bruises His opponents to make their hearts contrite; wherewith He, by the hands of the Apostles, subdued the world.

In the midst of Thine enemies, that is to say, in the very hearts of those who were once Thy bitterest foes. And therefore it is said Rule —not slay—because the Kingdom of Christ is enlarged not by destruction but by the conversion of sinners.

(4) With Thee is the beginning, in the day of Thy power, in the splendours of the saints : from the womb before the morning star have I begotten Thee.

With Thee, inherent in Thy Nature. In the day of Thy power, when taking on Thee our flesh. In the splendours of the saints, when Thou shalt give light unto the world by the beauty and radiance of Thine Apostles and disciples; or when Thou shalt come to judge and display Thy force and power in marvellous fashion and make the splendours of Thy rising saints more glorious than that of the sun. Such exalted power is in Thee, because Thou art of the same substance with Me and partake of the same Nature, seeing that I begot Thee from the womb before the morning star. From the womb. The Sonship of our Lord is not an adoption, but natural and inherent. Some see here a reference to that " Fruit of the generous womb" of which the Angelical sings in the Pange Lingua, and to the Immaculate Conception, which made of Mary's womb a sanctified tabernacle for the operations of the Holy Ghost. The Birth of our Lord was in the splendour of the saints, because of the glorious vision of the angelic hosts which proclaimed His Nativity, because of the presence of the Queen of Saints, and St. Joseph, the just man. St. Augustine thus explains this difficult verse : The beginning means the Eternal Father, the Source of all things, even of the Son and Holy Ghost; and that His union with the Son, always perfect, though hidden, will be disclosed and revealed in the day of the Son's power at the Judgment, amidst the glories of the risen saints. The Doctor of Grace takes the last clause to denote not only the eternal Generation of the Word before the stars of heaven, but also the miraculous Birth of Christ in the early morning of Christmas day ; or, as others will have it, of her who looketh forth as the morning [Cant. vi. 10.] in her beauty and purity.

(5) The Lord swore and will not repent Him: Thou art a Priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.

Father Lorin points out that we have an Apostle, St. Paul, to explain this glorious revelation. The Lord swore. The Apostle dwells on the exceeding solemnity of this rite of inauguration, distinguishing Christ from the Aaronic ministry. For those priests were made without an oath, but this with an oath made by Him thai said unto Hun: The Lord swore and will not repent: Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech : by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament [Heb. vii. 21.]. Next the Apostle emphasises the words for ever, as forming another ground of distinction. And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death ; but this Man, because He continueth ever, hath an eternal Priesthood: wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them [Ibid. 23.]. And thereby the mystical character of Melchisedech and his superiority over Abraham are pointed out, in that his name and office indicate Him as King of Righteousness and King of Peace; and as being a type of an Eternal Priest, having no earthly origin, no beginning nor ending; and that by receiving tithes from the ancestors of Levi he must rank, of necessity, above the Levitical priesthood. Therefore, himself a Gentile, he typifies that King and Priest who should be the Ruler and Head of the Church made up of Jew and Gentile [Ibid. 2.]. The word order implies the union of the Priestly office with the Kingly rank, as in the prophet Zacharias : He shall be a priest upon His throne [vi. 13.]. From the offering of Melchisedech, Bread and Wine, we shall see here the obvious reference to the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

(6) The Lord at Thy right hand : He shall wound even kings in the day of His wrath.

The Psalmist here directs his words to the Eternal Father at Whose right hand is the Lord Who is to do these wondrous deeds. Although kings may rise up against the Anointed and strive to overthrow His Church, yet He will rout them. He has done so in the past and will do so finally at the Doom.

(7) He shall judge among nations, He shall fill the ruins :  He shall dash to pieces the heads in the land of many.

St. Augustine understands this verse of the dealings of God and Christ with the enemies of the Church in this world ; and takes the words as denoting His work in the conversion of souls. St. Bruno takes the first clause of our Lord's rule over Jew and Gentile alike; not judging them, but judging and overthrowing Satan's power among them ; the second clause of the restoration of His ruined Sion by building up again those who level themselves low in humility, or by filling up anew with men the heavenly ranks left vacant by the fate of the angels; while the last paragraph is taken as meaning that He makes Himself the one Head, overthrowing all rivals which set up many heads other than Himself in the world. Some of the Fathers take the verse of the Day of Judgment, and look upon our Lord as the Divine Conqueror and Avenger of God's insulted Majesty.

(8) He shall drink of the torrent in the way : therefore shall He lift up His head.

To the splendours of the Psalm, the pomp and majesty therein revealed, there comes now a minor chord of intense poignancy. The Divine King and Priest is to suffer ; for He is the pre-ordained Victim. Torrent, that is, an intermittent water-course temporarily swollen by storms which bring down the rains from the hills. And this is explained as typifying the hurried, turbid, noisy, yet brief course of human life, to which our Lord bound Himself by His Incarnation, from His throne in heaven ; drinking of the troubles of our mortal condition truly in the way; for He was a stranger and a pilgrim on earth, far from His country; nay, going down by His Passion, which He began by crossing over the brook Cedron [John xviii. i.], into the lowest depths of the torrent, so as not to drink for refreshment and pleasure, but allowing the waters to come in even to His Soul [Ps. Ixx. I.], when His Head was lifted up on the Cross as he drank the last drops of that cup His Father had given Him. For His obedience thus carried out God hath highly lifted Him up, first in the Resurrection and then in the Ascension, and hath given Him a Name above every other name [Phil. ii. 9.]. Thus St. Augustine.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory to the Father Who said unto my Lord : Sit Thou at My right hand; Glory to the Son, my Lord, the Priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech ; Glory to the Holy Ghost the Power amidst the splendours of the Saints.

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 None: The Ninth Hour, pt 4. By E. L. Taunton.

LITTLE CHAPTER [Eccle. xxiv.].

In the streets like the cinnamon and sweet-smelling balm did I give forth my odour; like choice myrrh I yielded a sweetness of smell.

Thanks be to God.

After bearing thou didst remain a spotless maiden.

Mother of God intercede for us.

We have heard these words in the Third Lesson of Matins. Here, coming after the Gradual Psalms, we may take them as words of encouragement. The sweet example of Mary attracts souls to follow her virtues, as the smell of rich spices attracts the passers-by in the streets. The spices mentioned are referred to our Lady in this way. St. Bonaventure says : The fragrance of Mary was like cinnamon in outward intercourse ; like balm in the interior unction of devotion ; and like myrrh in the bitterness of trouble. O rich indeed, says St. Bernard, is she who was filled with the balm of the Holy Ghost; this precious balm was given to thee in such superabundant measure that it overflows in all directions. The mention of myrrh, coming at this ninth hour when Jesus died, reminds us of the Mother of Sorrows. Taken altogether the Little Chapter is a fitting comment on the three preceding Psalms and is to be understood in reference to the thoughts they have suggested.

The Versicle and Response celebrate the Divine truth that Mary, in and after childbearing, remained ever a Virgin ; for she was the closed Door through which only the Lord could pass.

COLLECT.

We beseech Thee, O Lord,  pardon the sins of Thy servants : that we who cannot please Thee by our actions, may be saved by the intercession of the Mother of Thy Son, our Lord, Who, with Thee, &c.

This prayer sums up all the thoughts of this Office : the captivity of sin, our own helplessness, and the good things of Jerusalem, high among which is Mary, by whose intercession we hope to reach them.

During Advent.

The Antiphon and Prayer are from Lauds for this season. The Little Chapter is from Prime. The Versicle and Response commemorate the Annunciation.

During Christmas-tide.

The Antiphon and Prayer are from the Proper of Lauds ; the Little Chapter and Versicle as above.

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 None: The Ninth Hour, pt 3. By E. L. Taunton.

PSALM CXXVII.

 Title.—A Song of Degrees.

Argument.

Tomasi : That Christ bestows eternal blessedness on them that fear Him. The voice of the Prophet touching Christ and the Church. This, the ninth step, declares, under the type of a wife, that all who fear the Lord flourish about the table of the Altar, and that they see children's children of their own doctrine and example, and peace upon Israel in heaven is their end. The voice of all that fear the Lord.

Venerable Bede : In the first paragraph the Prophet, under certain figures, counts up the blessings of them that fear the Lord, that he may kindle the minds of the devout with the force of heavenly reward. In the second he blesses them that they may receive eternal joys ; lest every one should be afraid of this most sweet joy.

(1) Blessed are all they that fear the Lord: that walk in His ways.

St. Hilary remarks that where the Fear of the Lord is mentioned in Holy Writ it is never set by itself, as though sufficing for the consummation of our faith ; but it always has something added or prefixed by which we can estimate its due proportion of perfection. Of the Fear of the Lord, one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost, it is written : Come ye children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the Fear of the Lord [Ps. xxxv. II.]. Therefore, it is something we ought to learn. Our Fear of God, says St. Hilary, is to be pure and filial and is to be found in our love of Him. Love is the outcome of that awe, a love which makes us walk in His ways. And although there be only one Way, Christ Himself, yet here many ways are spoken of, to show us that entrance is easy and not limited to any particular calling or mode of serving God. Nevertheless all these subordinate ways are reducible to two; for all the ways of the Lord are Mercy and Truth [Ps. xxv. 10.]; both of which must be followed together, because Mercy without Truth leads to laxity, and Truth without Mercy degenerates into sternness.

(2) For thou shall eat the labours of thy hands ; happy art thou, and it shall be well with thee.

There is a fourfold literal sense here : Thou shalt live by honest, peaceful labour ; not by rapine and violence, nor yet indolently and luxuriously ; thou shalt eat, and not as a miser, stint thyself and others ; thy crops shall not be blighted, but shall bring forth abundantly; and no enemy shall destroy or carry off thy harvest.

Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands. But he who hates labour, does not eat of it, nor can he say: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work [John iv. 34.]. On the other hand, he to whom such labour is a delight does not merely look forward in hope to the future fruits or rewards of labour, but even, here and now, finds sustenance and pleasure in toiling for God ; so it is well with him in this world, even amidst all its cares and troubles, and it shall be well with him in that which is to come. Thus the Carthusian. There is in this verse also a reference to the Blessed Eucharist. Jesus, the great High Priest, is the One who consecrates at Mass. The Blessed Sacrament does indeed come from the work of His hands, and He is the Head of that Mystical Body which eats and drinks of Him daily therein; as He will be, in another fashion, the food of His elect in heaven : then shall be fulfilled that prophecy which Isaias spoke of Him : He shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied [liii. II.].

(3) Thy wife shall be as the fruitful vine: upon the sides of thy house.

The whole figure St. Augustine takes of the Church as the Bride of Christ, an interpretation enforced by Our Lord's styling Himself the Vine [John xv. I.], Close to Him, to His sides, those sacred walls of His human Body, His Bride clings ; there only can she flourish and bring forth fruit. Turning from the Head to the members, we find other interpretations. The wife is our bodily frame, subjected with all its affections to the Reason, and bearing, trained against the walls of thought and action, abundant fruit of holy aspirations and good work. Another view is that Wisdom is meant, as we read : I loved her and sought her out from youth, I desired to make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty [Wisdom viii. 2.]. This last is St. Hilary's.

(4) Thy children like olive plants: round about thy table.

The olive is the type of prosperity, because evergreen, strong, and fruitful. Round about, Bellarmine explains as all in their father's sight and as being ready to wait on him for any service. These earthly children are figures, says St. Augustine, of the spiritual children of the Church, who was herself born from the side of her dying Spouse; fruitful, peaceful, gathered round God's Altar to feed there, set about the table of Holy Writ to taste of the sweets it furnishes to to them. And observe that we have in the inner courts of the House Mystical both the vine and the olive; because, as Cassiodorus says, oil and wine are needful to be poured into the wounds of those whom the Good Samaritan brings to be tended there ; the strength and severity of the Old Testament, the softness and tenderness of the New. So, too, says the Carmelite, in those goods works of ours which are, as it were, our children, Justice and Mercy shall meet, and they should be gathered round Him Who is Himself the Table of the Lord's House, looking to Him only and waiting to minister to His wishes.

(5) Lo, thus shall a man be blessed: that feareth the Lord.

(6) The Lord from out of Sion bless thee : and mayest thou see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.

Here again we have the contrast between Sion, the Church Militant, and Jerusalem, the Church Triumphant. God shall so keep thee with the grace and strength stored up in His Church on earth for all the wants of every day of our life, that thou shalt overcome all enemies and obstacles in thy way and attain to the unending joys of Jerusalem which is above. Thus the Carthusian. And note, we are to seek God's blessing from the Church. This is His covenanted way. It is therefore wisdom to put ourselves in harmony with her practice, to make her prayers our prayer, and to do her work in her own way.

(7) And thou shalt see the children of thy children : peace upon Israel.

We shall one day, in heaven at least, see the fruit of our good works. For nothing done for God goes without its effect. And peace upon Israel, the crowning joy of the Beatific Vision, when, after we have ceased to wrestle as Jacob and have become the Israel of God, we shall see Him Who is our Peace, face to face.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who blesses us out of Sion ; Glory to the Son Who feeds us around His Table ; Glory to the Holy Ghost the Giver of Peace upon Israel.

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 None: The Ninth Hour, pt 2. By E. L. Taunton.

PSALM CXXVI.

Title. —A Song of Degrees.

Argument.

Tomasi : That Christ may build up what is good in us, and does build it up unto Himself. The voice of Christ to the coming Church. The voice of the Church to the faithful. Venerable Bede : The Prophet rejoicing in having foreseen by the Spirit the grace of the New Testament, teaches at the beginning (lest any hurtful presumptuousness because of so great a gift should seize thee) that no one should ascribe any good results to his own powers, since all things are placed under God's authority, nor desire to outrun the time appointed by the ordinances of the Lord.

(1) Unless the Lord hath built the house: they labour in vain who build it.

They who built the Tower of Babel built in vain. The true House of the Lord, says St. Hilary, is that Temple of God which is made up of ourselves, as living stones, wherein the Spirit is pleased to dwell. No human skill can rear it, nor is it planned by worldly art. It is not built upon the earth nor on the shifting sand. Its foundation is laid upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being Himself the Corner-stone [Eph. ii. 19.]. The whole building is the work of God, although under Him skilled workmen have laboured ; and not in vain, for He was with them. The Lord has come to us. He has ransomed us from captivity and the House and the City are being built up : but they who go up thither must know that He alone is Builder and Keeper : Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God Who giveth the increase [I Cor. iii. 7.]. No man can build up by his own unaided power even the single dwelling of his conscience; for, as St. Gregory says, God pulls down the human heart when He leaves it, and builds it up when He fills it. It is not by making war against the mind of man that He destroys it, but by leaving it; and when this is so and sin has dominion, the heart of a hearer is vainly counselled, because every mouth is dumb if He does not cry aloud in the heart.

(2) Unless the Lord keep the city :  in vain doth he watch who guards it.

Building, no matter how solid or lofty, is not sufficient for the protection of the house or city; and what is even more important, that the fact of being within the city, with its numerous houses, dense population and strong walls, does not secure the safety of one single dwelling. This teaches us that it is not enough to be in the Church of God; since all the sacraments, and God's ministers and our own will cannot protect one human soul, unless the Lord Himself be the Captain of the watch. And if so, how little can the soul of man avail to guard itself ? And note, that whereas it is said in the first verse Except the Lord build, yet it is not here said Except the Lord wake (since He that watcheth over Israel slumbers not nor sleeps), but except the Lord keep,' there can be no doubt of His power, and only our own sins can oppose His good will.

(3) It is vain for you to rise before the light: rise after ye have been sitting, ye who eat bread of sorrow.

Says St. Augustine : There is no use in rising, that is, in being proud and self-reliant, before the Light, which is Christ, arises on our souls. It is good to rise after Him, not before Him ; that is, not to set our own will before Him, as the mother of James and John did when she asked for the chief seats in His kingdom [Matt. xx. 22.]; as Peter did when he strove to dissuade Him from His Passion [Ibid. xvi. 22.]. After we have been sitting in humility at the Master's feet, it will be time enough for us to rise when we have eaten of that bread of sorrow which it is His will to give us.

(4) When He giveth His beloved sleep: lo, the heritage of the Lord, sons; the reward, the Fruit of the womb.

When He giveth His beloved sleep, that peaceful sleep of a holy death, whose waking is in heaven ; a gift given by the Father as the fruit of that time when He gave His beloved sleep upon the Cross.

Behold the heritage of the Lord, sons. Reading these two together we see that God's own special heritage are those saints who have fallen asleep in Jesus, the reward of the Fruit of the womb of Mary, the purchased possession of which the Incarnation and Passion were the price. Sons, born of water and the Holy Ghost, are the Lord's heritage ; and the reward, the priceless possession bestowed on these sons is Himself, the Fruit of the Virgin's womb.

(5) Like arrows in the hand of the mighty one: even so are children of the shaken.

Children of the shaken. These words are explained as meaning "shaken out," "rejected," or "shot swiftly" from the bow. In any sense, says St. Augustine, the word shaken means the Apostles themselves, shot as from the bow of Christ, the Mighty One, to pierce the hearts of the nations ; children mean the generation of teachers whom the same apostles sent in turn. Holy teachers, says Cardinal Hugo, are like an arrow, shapely, because humble ; slender, because poor; straight in charity; smooth in equity; long in long-suffering ; feathered with divers virtues; headed with the steel of patience; sharp in keen intellect: piercing in zeal ; swift in readiness of obedience ; motionless of themselves; but when shot forth by Him, in Whose hands they are, they go straight and surely to the mark.

(6) Happy is the man who filleth  his desire of them : he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

St. Augustine explains this verse as follows. The man who has taken to himself, or filled his desire with the teaching of the Apostles, will feel no shame or confusion at openly contending with the teachers of false doctrine in the gate, that is in the matter of Christ Himself, by boldly declaring the truth concerning Him, as the Apostles did themselves when brought before kings and governors. They who stand at His side are in the gate; they who are against Him are shut outside, and may not enter into the city until they have confessed Him in Whose Name He bids them knock and ask for entrance.

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father the Builder and Keeper of the House and City ; Glory to the Son the Fruit of the Virgin's Womb ; Glory to the Holy Ghost Who giveth His beloved Sleep.

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 None: The Ninth Hour, pt 1. By E. L. Taunton.

After the introductory Prayers, Versicle, Hymn and Antiphon, the recital of the Gradual Psalms is continued.

PSALM CXXV. 

Title. —A Song of Degrees.

Tomasi: That Christ may fill us with joy of eternal gladness. The voice of the Apostles to the Lord concerning the ungodly Jews. This, the seventh step, contains the consolation of the martyrs who, sowing in tears here for a time, shall reap eternal joys.

Venerable Bede : After captivity to sin, sweet is the ascent to the New Jerusalem. Delivered by the Divine pity the blessed souls in the first part of this Psalm give thanks for the grace which came after so much sin ; and in the second pray that future joy may crown their work of tears.

(1) When the Lord turned the captivity of Sion: then were  we made like men comforted.

Jerusalem above is free in the bliss of the angels ; but Sion here below is captive in the sins of men. When the Lord turned its captivity by proclaiming the forgiveness of sins, then were we as men comforted. Not altogether comforted, but only like it ; because comfort implies sorrow and tears which belong to our exile here and are not to be wiped away till we are again at home. Thus St. Augustine. In another sense the word is taken as telling of the wondering and hesitating joy of the Apostles in the Resurrection, when Christ had indeed turned the captivity of Sion, by His descent into hell bringing the waiting Patriarchs away with Him into the joy of Paradise, and still more when He ascended on high, leading Captivity captive. The Carthusian refers it to the coming of each ransomed soul out of the spiritual Babylon of sin, into the grace and glorious liberty of the children of God. In the word comforted we may see a reference to the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, Who acts as our Sanctifier in the sacraments and turns away the captivity of sin.

(2) Then shall our mouth be filled with joy : and our tongue with exultation.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh [Luke vi. 45.], says our Lord; and where the Holy Ghost dwells and rules there will be Liberty and the fruits of His presence. Now, according to St. Paul, the second of these fruits is joy [Gal. v. 22.] which is an inward consolation and gladness which comes to those souls who are united to God's will. Spiritual joy does not impede earthly sorrow, which comes from external objects. Our Lady at the foot of the Cross, although stricken with sorrow greater than any other creature bore, never lost her interior joy or allowed her will to swerve for a moment from its conformity to God's. It is this spirit of joy which is the secret of the happiness and light-heartedness of those who are really trying to serve God. Gloom and low spirits do not come from God. They show that something in ourself is at fault.

(3) Then shall they say among the heathen: The Lord hath done great things for them.

(4) Yea, the Lord hath done great things for us: we have become men rejoicing.

The return from the seventy years Captivity struck, indeed, the Gentiles as a wonder; but as St. Augustine says, the future shall they say implies what will yet come to pass : for neither at the first, nor at the Lord's Coming, nor in time to come, did or will all Gentiles accept the truth, but only certain among them who were moved by the holiness and works of His people.

Great things; not only as the Carmelite says, the miracles and preaching of the Apostles and the endurance of the Martyrs; but, as St. Bruno says, the obedience of body and soul to God, the heavenly conversation of those who truly turn to Him. Not only do these start the admiration of the Gentiles, but we ourselves, comparing our state in captivity with that under the Law of Liberty, are filled with astonishment and confess that the work is entirely God's, and contrary at once to our deservings and expectations. Thus Bellarmine. Gerohus makes a beautiful application of these last words by applying them to the souls in Purgatory and the saints above. These last without us, cannot be entirely perfect, and therefore follows :—

(5) Turn our captivity, 0 Lord : as a river in the south wind.

The primary sense shows that this Psalm was composed during the first migration after the decree of Cyrus, and that the first colony of the Jews, now safe at Jerusalem, pray that their brethren still in exile may be soon united to them. So in the mystical sense the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, together with us who are still exiles in the Babylon of this world, pray for our deliverance out of bondage and for the conversion of unbelievers.

As a river in the south wind. As a river frozen under the icy blasts of the north wind is set free by the genial warmth of the southern breeze and pours forth in a torrent, so here we get the idea of captivity broken, of sorrow turned into joy. This south wind, says St. Augustine, is the Holy Spirit Himself, of Whom it is written in the Canticles : Come Thou South Wind and blow upon -my garden, that the spices thereof may flow [iv. 16.]. And again : He bloweth with His Wind and the waters flow[Ps. cxlvii. 7.] What that means we learn in Ecclesiasticus: Thy sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fire and in the fair weather [iii. 15.]. Where shall the torrent flow? All rivers run to the sea; and therefore our cry to the Lord when He has stirred us from our wintry sleep is : Direct the channel of our waters in the one true course.

(6) They that sow in tears: shall reap in joy.

(7) Going forth they went their way weeping: casting their seeds.

(8) But returning they shall come back with joy : bearing their sheaves.

There are two sowings, says the Apostle : one in the spirit, and one in the flesh. Each man shall reap as he has sown : of the flesh, corruption; of the spirit, life everlasting [Cf. Gal. vi. 8.]. Our Lord has taught us, Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall turn into joy [John xvi. 20.]. Before Christ's coming, says Father Corder, the Jesuit, before He consecrated weeping by His own strong crying and tears, nothing but salt drops of bitter water flowed from the eyes of men, but now they are costly pearls, dear and precious in God's sight. Our tears are fivefold, says St. Augustine : tears of penance, tears of the fear of judgment, tears of weariness of exile, tears of compassion for others, tears of desire for heaven. St. Bernard in his sermon on St. Benedict says : O race of Adam, how many have been sowing in thee and what precious seed ! How terribly must they perish and how deservingly if such seed and the toil of the sowers at the same time should perish in thee. The whole Trinity sowed in our land, the Angels and Apostles sowed together, the Martyrs, Confessors and Virgins sowed too. The Father sowed Bread from heaven ; the Son, Truth ; the Holy Ghost, Charity. The Apostles went forth and wept, casting their seeds, but coming again they shall come with great joy bearing their sheaves. Two are the sheaves which thou seekest—honour and rest. They who sow and toil in lowliness shall reap honour and rest together. The Carmelite, with most commentators, refers the verse to the abundant reward and gladness of the righteous in the manifestation of the Son of Man, when the Sower, Who sowed the goodly seed of His Word in the field of this world, triumphs finally over the secret enemy who sowed the tares. In that day, the glad harvest time, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Sion ; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head : they shall obtain gladness and joy : and sorrow and mourning shall flee away [Is. li. II.]. We are to expect the fruit of our labour when God calls to the harvest home, not before. Ours is to work and to work for Him. The result is in His hands; and He will draw the profit out of our labour when and how He pleases. Cast thy bread upon the running waters; thou shall find it after many days [Eccles. xi. I.]; for, We know in Whom we trust [2 Tim. i. 12.].

GLORIA PATRI.

Glory be to the Father Who turneth the Captivity of Sion. Glory to the Son the Sower of good seed. Glory to the Holy Ghost the Joy of the ransomed people of God.

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