vitæ, nobis largire ejusdem Spiritus consolationem. vouchsafe to enter into our upon them the Spirit of life; Once more let us listen to the devout Adam of Saint-Victor. His sequences were great favourites with our Catholic forefathers of the Middle Ages. The triumph of our Redeemer over death was a subject which this great liturgical poet has often treated in a most masterly way. Mundi renovatio Cœlum fit serenius, Gelu mortis solvitur, SEQUENCE The world's renovation creates new joy. All creatures rise together with their Lord. The elements obey him, and feel their Creator's mighty power. Fire is impetuous in its flight; air is swift; water is flowing; earth is firm; light things tend aloft, and those that are heavy seek their centre: but all are now renewed. Heaven is more serene, the sea more tranquil, the winds breathe softer. Our valley is filled with flowers; and now that gentle Spring is come, the dry things have put on green again, and the cold a genial warmth. The frost of death is thawed, Princeps mundi tollitur, The prince of this world is made captive, and has no longer power over us: by striving to take Him over whom he had no claim, he lost his own. Life conquers death; man now regains what he had lost, the joys of heaven; the Angel sheathes his twoedged sword, and leaves the passage free. Jesus opens heaven, and liberates them whom sin had made captives of death. For this great victory, be glory to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. THE ANNUNCIATION OF THE EVER BLESSED VIRGIN Ir very frequently happens, that the twenty-fifth of March falls between Palm Sunday and Low Sunday on these occasions, the feast of our Lady's Annunciation, being out of keeping both with the dolourous mysteries of Holy Week and with the splendour of the Resurrection, is deferred to the Monday following Low Sunday. For the convenience of the faithful, we have here repeated the Vespers and Mass of this great Feast. As to the instructions we gave upon the mystery of the Annunciation, our readers must refer to our volume of Lent. FIRST VESPERS The Office of First Vespers is always the commencement of a feast. The Antiphons of the Vespers, at which we are going to assist, are taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, where the Evangelist reveals to us the sublime interview between the Angel and the Virgin. The Psalms are those which tradition has consecrated to the celebration of Mary's glories. We have elsewhere1 shown how each of the five refers to the Mother of God. ANT. Missus est Gabriel Angelus ad Mariam Virginem desponsatam Joseph, alleluia. ANT. The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a Virgin espoused to Joseph, alleluia. 1 See our volume for Advent, in the Vespers for the 8th of December. PSALM 109 Dixit Dominus Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis. Donec ponam inimicos tuos: scabellum pedum tu orum. Virgam virtutis tuæ emittet Dominus ex Sion: dominare in medio inimicorum tuorum. Tecum principium in die virtutis tuæ in splendoribus sanctorum: ex utero ante luciferum genui te. Juravit Dominus, et non pœnitebit eum: Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Dominus a dextris tuis: confregit in die iræ suæ roges. Judicabit in nationibus, implebit ruinas: conquassabit capita in terra multo rum. De torrente in via bibet: propterea exaltabit caput. ANT. Missus est Gabriel Angelus, ad Mariam Virginem desponsatam Joseph, alleluia. The Lord said to my Lord, his son: Sit thou at my right hand, and reign with me. Until on the day of thy last coming, I make thy enemies thy footstool. O Christ! the Lord thy Father, will send forth the sceptre of thy power out of Sion: from thence rule thou in the midst of thy enemies. With thee is the principality in the day of thy strength, in the brightness of the saints: For the Father hath said to thee: From the womb before the day-star I begot thee. The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent: he hath said, speaking of thee, the GodMan: Thou art a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech. Therefore, O Father, the Lord thy Son is at thy right hand: he hath broken kings in the day of his wrath. He shall also judge among nations: in that terrible coming, he shall fill the ruins of the world: he shall crush the heads in the land of many. He cometh now in humility: He shall drink, in the way, of the torrent of sufferings: therefore, shall he lift up the head. ANT. The Angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a Virgin espoused to Joseph, alleluia. ANT. Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, alleluia. ANT. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, alleluia. PSALM Laudate pueri Dominum: laudate nomen Domini. Sit nomen Domini benedictum: ex hoc nunc et usque in sæculum. A solis ortu usque ad occasum: laudabile nomen Domini. Excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus: et super colos gloria ejus. Quis sicut Dominus Deus noster qui in altis habitat: et humilia respicit in cœlo et in terra? Suscitans a terra inopem: et de stercore erigens pauperem. Ut collocet eum cum principibus: cum principibus populi sui. Qui habitare facit sterilem in domo: matrem filiorum lætantem. ANT. Ave, Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum: benedicta tu in mulieribus, alleluia. ANT. Ne timeas, Maria; invenisti gratiam apud Dominum; ecce concipies, et paries filium, alleluia. 112 Praise the Lord, ye children: praise ye the name of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from henceforth, now, and for ever. From the rising of the sun, unto the going down of the same, the name of the Lord is worthy of praise. The Lord is high above all nations; and his glory above the heavens. Who is as the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high: and looketh down on the low things in heaven and in earth, nay, who cometh down amidst us? Raising up the needy from the earth, lifting up the poor out of the dunghill. That he may place him with princes: with the princes of his people. Who maketh a barren woman to dwell in a house, the joyful mother of children. ANT. Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, alleluia. ANT. Fear not, Mary; thou hast found grace with God: behold thou shalt conceive, and shalt bring forth a son, alleluia. |