VESPERS AND COMPLINE.
_Etymology_. The word _vespers_ comes directly from the Latin _Vesper_;
_Vespera_ or _Espera_ was a name given to the star Venus, which rising
in the evening was a call to prayer. This Hour is recited after None and
before Compline. In structure, it resembles Lauds, Pater Noster, Ave,
Gloria, Five Psalms with antiphons, Capitulum, Hymn, Versicle, antiphon,
Magnificat, antiphon and collect.
It had several synonymous names. It was called _Duodecima Hora_
(Antiphonary of Bangor), because it was said at the twelfth hour of the
day, six o'clock, or, perhaps, the name came from the twelve psalms
which made up the Hour in some churches. It was known, too, by the names
_Lucernarium, hora lucernalis_, the hour of the candles; because at this
hour a number of candles were lighted, not only to shed light but for
symbolic purposes. It was sometimes referred to as _hora incensi_, from
the custom of burning incense at this evening service, and sometimes it
is called _gratiarum actio_ (St. Isidore), because it gives thanks to
God for the graces given during the day. It came to mean not the evening
Hour, but the sunset Hour. And in the sixth century it was celebrated
before daylight had gone and before there was any need for artificial
light. In the fourth century it was recited by torchlight.
_Antiquity_. The Jews honoured God by special and solemn evening
service. Their feasts by God's command began in the evening. "From
evening unto evening you shall celebrate your sabbaths" (Lev. xxiii,
32). And David sang "Evening and morning and at noon I will speak and
declare" (Psalm 54:32). The eariy Christians faithfully followed
the practice.
"In the sixth century, the order of Psalms, etc., in Vespers differed
little from the Vespers in our modern Breviaries. Long before the sixth
century there were evening Offices in various forms. Its existence in
the fourth century is also confirmed by St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St.
Basil, St. Ephraem ... Before the fourth century we find allusions to
the evening prayer in the early Fathers, Clement I. of Rome, St.
Ignatius, St. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, the Canons of
St. Hippolytus, St. Cyprian (for texts see Baumer-Biron; 1. c.t. 20 seq.
73-74, 76, 78)"--(Dorn Cabrol, _Cath. Ency._, art "Vespers").
Why do we offer up public prayer in the evening? The old liturgists
reply:--
1. To imitate the devout Christians of apostolic times.
2. To honour Jesus, the true Sun of the world, Who hid Himself at His
Incarnation, and in His life, and Whose glory was hidden in His Passion.
3. To thank Christ for the Eucharist, which He instituted in the evening
of His earthly life, ... "and they prepared the Pasch. But when it was
evening (vespere autem) He sat down with His twelve disciples" (St.
Matthew, xxvi. 20). At this vesper meeting He gave to priests the power
to offer the sacrifice of the Mass, to change bread and wine into His
body and blood. At this vesper service, too, Christ and His apostles
celebrated the divine praises, "Hymno dicto" (St. Matthew xxvi. 30).
4. In the evening our Lord's body was taken down from the cross.
5. At the approach of evening Christ appeared to His disciples at Emmaus
and revealed to them His divinity. "Stay with us because it is towards
evening (_advesperascit_) and He went in with them. He took bread and
blessed and brake and gave it to them and their eyes were opened and
they knew Him" (St. Luke xxiv. 29-30). At Vespers we thank God for the
Eucharist.
The hymns at Vespers date for the most part from the sixth century. They
are of great beauty and have the peculiar characteristic of telling of
the days of creation. Thus St. Gregory's (?) fine hymn, _Lucis Creator
optime_, in Sunday's Vespers, refers to the creation of light; Monday's
hymn, _Immense coeli Creator_, refers to the separation of land and
water; Wednesday's hymn (written probably by St. Ambrose), _Coeli Deus
sanctissime_, refers to the creation of the sun and moon; the hymns for
Thursday's vespers, _Magnae Deus potentiae_, refers to the creation of
fish and birds; Friday's hymn, _Hominis superne conditor_ (St. Gregory),
refers to the creation of the beasts of the earth; Saturday's hymn (St.
Ambrose) is an exception, as it refers to the Trinity. All these hymns
have been beautifully translated into English and the text and
translations repay study.
Sunday's hymn, _Lucis Creator optime_, stands thus in translation:--
"O blest Creator of the light,
Who makest the day with radiance bright,
And o'er the forming world didst call
The light from chaos first of all.
Whose wisdom joined in sweet array
The morn and eve and named them day,
Night comes with all its darkening fears;
Regard Thy people's prayers and tears,
Lest sunk in sin, and whelmed with strife,
They lose the gift of endless life;
While thinking--but the thoughts of time,
They weave new chains of woe and crime.
But grant them grace that they may strain
The heavenly gate and prize to gain;
Each harmful lure aside to cast,
And purge away each error past.
O Father, that we ask be done,
Through Jesus Christ, Thine only Son;
Who, with the Holy Ghost and Thee,
Doth live and reign eternally. Amen."
(Translation by Dr. J.M. Neale).
_Structure._ Vespers, in structure, resembles Lauds and consists of five
Psalms. It begins with Pater Noster, Ave (said silently), Deus in
adjutorium,... Domine ad adjuvandum.... Gloria Patri.... Sicut erat.
Alleluia or Laus tibi.... Antiphon begun only if the feast be not
double; if feast be a double the antiphon is said in full before and
after each psalm. If feast be a semi-double or simple the antiphon is
intoned at the beginning and is said in full at end of each psalm and
then only. Then are said Capitulum, Deo gratias, Hymn, versicle and
response, antiphon to Magnificat, the canticle Magnificat, Gloria
Patri.... Sicut erat.... Dominus vobiscum.... Et cum spiritu tuo,
Oremus, collect, commemoration if any made by versicle and response and
antiphon of Magnificat proper to commemoration with collect, Dominus
vobiscum, Et cum.... Benedicamus Domino; Deo gratias, Fidelium
animae.... Amen. If Compline be not said immediately after Vespers,
Pater Noster is added.
At the opening words of the _Magnificat_, _Nunc Dimittis_ and
_Benedictus_, it is a practice with many priests to make the sign of the
cross from forehead to breast, as at _Deus in adjutorium_ (_cf._
Ceremoniale Epis. lib. II. i. 14). This custom, where it exists, should
be preserved (S.R.C., April, 1867).
Writers on liturgy tell us that the number of Psalms in Vespers have a
symbolic meaning, typifying the five wounds of the Saviour, the last of
which, the wound in the side, was inflicted on the evening of Good
Friday, and the others, as the Church says in the hymn _Vergente mundi
vespere_, at the waning of the day of the Old Law, before the dawn of
salvation (Honorius of Autun, circa 1130). Other writers say that these
five psalms should produce acts of contrition for the sins committed
during the day, by the five senses; and that they should be for us,
morally, what the five lighted lamps were for the wise virgins in the
Gospel parable (Amalare of Metz, circa 850).
_Magnificat._ Author. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the author of this
canticle. "The witness of the codices and of the Fathers is practically
unanimous for the Vulgate reading: 'Et ait Maria,' but apart from this,
the attribution of the _Magnificat_ to Elizabeth would in St. Luke's
context be highly abnormal" (Dr. H. T. Henry, _Cath. Encyc_., word,
_Magnificat_)--The Roman Breviary entitles it _Canticum Beatae Marine
Virginis_.
It is divided by commentators into three parts (St. Luke 1, vv. 46-49;
50-53; 54-55). It "is in many places very similar in thought and phrase
to the Canticle of Anna (I. Kings ii. 1-10) and to various psalms (Ps.
33, vv. 3-4; Ps. 39, v. 9; Ps. 70, v. 9; Ps. 125, vv. 2-3; Ps. 110, v.
9; Ps. 97, v. 1; Ps. 117, v. 16; Ps. 32, v. 10; Ps. 92, v. 7; Ps. 33, v.
11; Ps. 97, v-3; Ps. 131, v. 11). Similarities are found in Hab. c. III.
v. 18; Mal. c. III. v. 12; Job. c. 5, v. 11; Is, c. 41, v. 8; Is. c.
149, v. 3, and Gen. c. 17, v. 19. Steeped thus in scriptural thought and
Phraseology, summing up in its inspired ecstasy the economy of God with
His chosen people, indicating the fulfilment of olden prophecy, and
prophesying anew until end of time, the Magnificat is the crown of the
Old Testament singing, the last canticle of the Old and the first of the
New Testament. It is an ecstasy of praise for the inestimable favour
bestowed by God on the Virgin, for the mercies shown to Israel, and for
the fulfilment of the promises made to Abraham and the patriarchs" (Dr.
Henry, _loc. cit_.).
It is found universally in the ancient liturgies and affords a proof of
the apostolic and universal praise of the Blessed Virgin. Durandus
(thirteenth century) gives some reasons for the assignment of the
Magnificat to Vespers. Because Vespers is the grandest liturgical Hour;
because Mary probably arrived at the house of Elizabeth in the evening;
because it was in the moral evening of the world that Mary consented to
be the Mother of God; because she is the star of the sea, etc. The
following interesting reason for the use of the Magnificat at Vespers is
given by St. Bede (works 5, 306). "It comes to pass, by the bounty of
the Lord, that if we were at all times to meditate upon the acts and
sayings of the Blessed Virgin, the observance of chastity and the works
of virtue will always continue with us. For, the excellent and salutary
custom has grown up in Holy Church that all shall sing her hymn (the
Magnificat) every day with the Vesper Psalms, in order that the
recalling of the Lord's incarnation, by this means, may the oftener
incite the souls of the faithful to devotion and that the consideration
of the example set by His Mother may confirm them in the stability of
virtue. And it is meet that this should be done at Vespers, so that the
mind wearied in the course of the day, and distracted by various
opinions, may, at the approach of the season of quiet, collect itself in
oneness of meditation and through the wholesome reminder may hasten to
cleanse itself, by the prayers and tears of the night, from everything
useless or harmful which it had contracted by the business of the day."
_Suffrages of the Saints_. (Title XXXV.) In Sec.2 of rubrics of the new
Breviary we read, "Deinceps, quando facienda erunt suffragia sanctorum,
unum fiet suffragium, juxta formulam propositam in Ordinario novi
Psalterii." Thus were abolished the old formulae of suffrages and a new
one inserted.
Antiphon Beata Dei Genitrix.... V. Mitificavit .... R. Et exaudivit....
Oremus, A cunctis....
This will be said at Lauds and Vespers outside Paschal time (1) on all
Sundays and ferias, (2) on semi-doubles and simples, except (_a_) in
Advent and Passiontide, (_b_) when there is a commemoration of a double,
a day within an octave. In Paschal time the Commemoration is of
the Cross.
In this prayer the names of the Holy Angels and of St. John the Baptist,
if they be titulars, are inserted before the name of St. Joseph. At the
letter N. in the prayer, the name of the titular saint of the particular
church should be inserted; but churches dedicated by the title of a
mystery (e.g., the Ascension) are not to be named in this prayer
(S.R.C., March, 1912).
TEXTS AND INTENTIONS TO AID THE PIOUS RECITATION OF VESPERS.
1. "Woman, behold thy Son; Behold Thy mother" (St. John, c. 19),
2. "I thirst" (St. John, c. 19).
3. "And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar about hyssop, put it to
His mouth" (St. John, c. 19).
_General Intentions_. The conversion of sinners; the wants of the
Church; those in death agony; spread of Eucharistic devotion; daily
Communion; priest adorers; reparation for bad Communions; reparation for
impieties and irreverences towards the Eucharist.
_Personal Intentions_. Regularity in visits to Blessed Sacrament;
Fervour in Mass and in administering Holy Communion; a happy death; true
and deep devotion to Mary.
_Special Intentions_. The Irish Daily Mass Crusade; Total Abstinence;
devotion to the Passion; devotion to the agonising Heart of Jesus.
COMPLINE.
_Etymology and synonym_. The word compline comes from the Latin word
_complere_, to complete, to finish, because this Hour completes or
finishes the day Hours of the Office. It bore several names, _Completa_
(St. Isidore), _Initium noctis_ (St. Columbanus), _Prima noctis hora_
(St. Fructeux).
_Antiquity_. The origin of this Hour has given rise to a great deal of
controversy. Both Baumer and Battifol in their histories of the Breviary
attribute the origin of this Hour to St. Benedict (480-543). Other
scholars attribute its origin to St. Basil, and hence date it from the
fourth century. It is admitted that before the time of St. Basil, Bishop
of Caesarea (370-379) this Hour was in existence. Some hold that St.
Basil established the Hour in the East and St. Benedict in the West. The
latter certainly invested the Hour with the liturgical character and
arrangement which were preserved by the Benedictines and adapted by the
Roman Church. The Compline of the Roman Church is more ornate and solemn
than the liturgy assigned to this Hour by St. Benedict, which was very
simple. The addition of the response _In manus tuas Domine_, the _Nunc
dimittis_ and its anthem of the Blessed Virgin make this Hour one of
great beauty.
_Structure_, The structure of the Hour seems to point to its monastic
origin, "The reader begins, 'Pray, Father, a blessing' (jube, domne
benedicere); the blessing, 'The Lord Almighty grant us a quiet night and
a perfect end. Amen.' 'Noctem quietam....' Then follows a short lesson,
which the Father Abbot gave to his monks. 'Brethren, be sober and watch;
because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about,
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist ye, strong in faith. But Thou, O
Lord, have mercy on us.' And the monks answer 'Thanks be to God.'
'Fratres sobrii estote et vigilate....' Then the _Pater Noster_
(silently), and the presiding priest, who was the Abbot or his deputy,
said the confiteor and the choir answered _Misereatur_.... 'May Almighty
God have mercy upon thee and forgive thee thy sins, and bring thee to
life everlasting.' The choir then repeats the Confiteor and the priest
replies 'Misereatur vestri....' 'May Almighty God have mercy upon you,
forgive you your sins and bring you to life everlasting.'" Of course, in
private recitation, or where two or three recite the Office, these
prayers are said only once, and in the Confiteor, _tibi pater_ and _te
pater_ are omitted, and _nostri, nostris, nos, nostrorum, nobis_, are
said in the Misereatur and Indulgentiam.
Then the _Converte nos Deus.... At averte iram tuam.... Deus in
adjutorium.... Domine ad adjuvandum.... Gloria Patri_.... Antiphon
(begun only) and three psalms, which vary, are said, _Gloria
Patri_.... _Sicut erat_... being said at the end of each. _In
manus tuas_... is said twice. _Redemisti nos_. ... _Commendo
spiritum meum_; _Custodi nos_ ... _sub umbra_.... _Salva
nos_; _Nunc dimittis_.... _Gloria Patri, Salva nos Domine
vigilantes, custodi nos_... _pace_. (Preces are said here if
rubric orders; i.e., _Kyrie eleison, Christie eleison_... _ad te
veniat_); _Dominus vobiscum, Et cum_.... _Benedicamus Domino,
Deo gratias_; _Benedicat et custodiat nos omnipotens_. Amen;
then the anthem of the Blessed Virgin, _Alma Redemptoris Mater_
(from Saturday before first Sunday of Advent to the feast of the
Purification, inclusive) with its antiphon; in Advent, _Angelus
Domini_, response, _Et concepit_, Oremus and prayer, _Gratiam
tuam_, or with antiphon (after Advent) _Post partum_... and
response, _Dei genetrix, Oremus, Deus qui salutis_. After the
Purification, until Holy Thursday the anthem is _Ave regina
coelorum_, with versicle _Dignare me_ ..., _Da mihi_, Oremus,
_Concedemisericors_. From Holy Saturday until Saturday after
Pentecost, the anthem is _Regina coeli_ with versicle, _Gaude_... and
response, _Quia surrexit_.... _Oremus_ and prayer, _Deus qui per
resurrectionem_. From Holy Trinity Sunday to the Saturday before
Advent, the antiphon is _Salve Regina_ with versicle, _Ora pro
nobis_... response, _Ut digni, Oremus_ and prayer, _Omnipotens
semipeterne Deus_. Then the versicle _Divinum auxilium_.... Amen.
_Pater Noster, Ave, Credo_, in silence, are said. The _Sacro-sanctae_
is added (see pp. 133-135).
The study of the component parts of this Hour are of great interest.
After the Abbot had given his blessing and begged of God to grant the
two-fold favour of a quiet night and a good death, a monk read from Holy
Scripture, and when a suitable portion was read, or at the end of a
Scripture chapter or theme, the Abbot said, "Tu autem," and the reader
"Tu autem, Domine, miserere nobis." This was to ask God to pardon faults
both of reader in his reading and of monks, who, perhaps, were drowsy
and inattentive. The Abbot terminated the exercise by the _Adjutorium
nostrum_ (the _Pater Noster_ is of more recent introduction). Monks who
were absent substituted for the Scripture lesson which they had missed,
the pithy extract from St. Peter, "Fratres; sobrii estote," which we now
read. The whole company of monks and their abbot then proceeded to the
chapel where each made his examination of conscience, and at a sign from
the abbot, the monks, two by two, in a subdued tone of voice, said the
_Confiteor, Misereatur, Indulgentiam_ and _Converte nos_. Gavantus and
Merati hold that the _Converte nos_ does not belong to this introductory
matter, but formed part of Compline proper. This prayer is very
beautiful: "Convert us, O God, our Saviour. And turn away Thine anger
from us. Incline unto my aid, O God; O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory be to the Father,... Praise be to God."
The new arrangement of the Psalter did not retain the old traditional
psalms, 4, 90, 133, in Compline, except for Sundays and solemn feasts.
But the selection of psalms accords well with the idea of the
hour--night prayer--and with the other prayers, which go to make up the
close of the Office of the day. The hymn, _Te lucis_, so chastely
simple, has ever been admired. Its ideas suit so admirably for the
prayer before sleep and for reminding us of sleep and her sister death
and the solemn petition made to God to be our guardian and defence in
the solemn hour of death, are simply and solemnly set out in this daily
hymn. How beautiful it reads in Father Caswall's translation:--
"Now with the fast departing light,
Maker of all, we ask of Thee
Of Thy great mercy, through the night,
Our guardian and defence to be.
Far off let idle visions fly,
No phantom of the night molest:
Curb Thou our raging enemy,
That we in chaste repose may rest.
Father of mercies! hear our cry;
Hear us, O sole-begotten Son!
Who, with the Holy Ghost most high,
Reignest while endless ages run."
In Passiontide, the Breviary gives us the last verse, Deo Patri, and the
translation renders it:--
"To Thee, Who dead again dost live,
All glory, Jesus, ever be,
Praise to the Father, infinite,
And Holy Ghost eternally."
_Little Chapter_. This is a beautiful call to our Lord to remind Him, as
it were, that we are His own, that we bear His name. In this invocation
we express our confidence in Him and ask Him not to abandon us, but to
dwell with us. "But Thou, O Lord, art among us, and Thy holy name is
invoked upon us; forsake us not, O Lord our God"; and for past
protection the Church adds to their invocation, taken from the prophet
Jeremias, the words of gratitude, "Thanks be to God."
_The Response_. "In manus tuas, Domine, commendo spiritum meum... nos."
"Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Into Thy hands I commend
my spirit. For Thou hast redeemed us, O Lord God of Truth. I commend my
spirit. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Keep us, O Lord, as the
apple of Thine eye. Protect us under the shadow of Thy wings." No more
sublime prayer exists in the liturgy than this response, which the
Church orders us to say nightly. She wishes, in its daily recital, to
prepare us for death, by reminding us of the sentiments and words of our
dying Lord on the cross, "Into Thy hands I commend my spirit" (Ps. 30,
v. 6), and by asking Him Who redeemed us on the bitter tree, to keep us
safe as the apple of His eye and to protect us "under the shadow of His
wings" (Ps. 40, v, 6). These solemn words of our dying Saviour have
been, in all ages, and in all lands, the death prayer of many of those
whom He redeemed, with the great price. St. Stephen, the proto-martyr,
prayed "Lord Jesus receive my spirit." "Into Thy hands I commend my
spirit," prayed St. Basil in his death agony. "Into Thy hands I commend
my spirit," prayed thousands of God's servants, heroes and heroines,
e.g., Savanarola, Columbus, Father Southwell, the martyr Mary, Queen of
Scots, and countless other servants of God.
_Nunc Dimittis_. The canticle _Nunc dimittis_ is the last in historical
sequence of the three great canticles of the New Testament. It was
spoken at the presentation of Christ, by Simeon, "This man was just and
devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Ghost was in
him. And he had received an answer from the Holy Ghost, that he should
not see death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came by
the spirit into the temple. And when His parents brought the child Jesus
to do for him according to the custom of the law. He also took Him in
his arms and blessed God and said 'Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O
Lord, according to thy word in peace....'" (St. Luke ii. 29-33). This
sublime canticle uttered by the holy old man at the close of his days is
placed fittingly in the priest's Office at the close of the day. It
breathes his thanks, expresses his love and his wish to die, having seen
the Saviour.
Before the canticle are said the opening words of the antiphon, "Salva
nos"; and it is repeated in full at the end. "Save us, O Lord, while we
are awake, and guard us when we sleep, that we may watch with Christ and
rest in peace."
The prayers, Kyrie eleison, Christie eleison, etc., are said always
except when a double office or a day within an octave has been
commemorated at Vespers. The prayer, _Visita quaesumus_ is found in
Breviaries of the thirteenth century and was introduced probably by the
Friars Minor. The words _habitationem istam_ are said to indicate that
it is a prayer not only for the chapel of the friars, but for their
dwellings on journeys. It was said in choir by the abbot or presiding
priest. Like all prayers for Compline it begs God to drive far away the
snares of the enemy; it begs Him to let His angels dwell in that house
to keep the dwellers therein, in peace; and finally, it begs Him to "let
Thy blessing be always upon us. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God,
world without end. Amen."
After the Dominus vobiscum and its response, the abbot or presiding
priest gave the solemn blessing "Benedicat et custodiet..., May the
Almighty and merciful Lord, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
bless and preserve us. Amen."
Then one of the anthems of the Blessed Virgin Mary is said. From the
Saturday before Advent until the feast of the Purification, inclusive,
is said the anthem "Alma Redemptoris Mater"; translated by Father
Caswall, it reads:--
"Mother of Christ, hear Thou thy people's cry,
Star of the deep and portal of the sky,
Mother of Him who Thee from nothing made,
Sinking we strive and call to Thee for aid.
Oh, by that joy which Gabriel brought to Thee,
Thou Virgin first and last, let us Thy mercy see."
The Latin hexameters are attributed to Hermanus (circa 1054). It has
been translated by several poets great and small, and is well known in
Newman's translation, "Kindly Mother of the Redeemer." It was a popular
hymn in Norman Ireland and in Catholic England, as we see in Chaucer's
"Prioress's Tale." After this anthem are said its versicle, response,
and prayer _Oremus, Gratiam tuam quaesumus_.
From the first Vespers of the Nativity, the versicle, response and
prayer said are "Post partum ...; Dei Genetrix.... Oremus, Deus qui
salutis." ... From the end of Compline on February 2nd until Holy
Thursday exclusive the antiphon is "Ave Regina coelorum." It appears to
be of monastic origin, and St. Jerome attributes it to St. Ephraem. Its
expressions are borrowed from the works of St. Ephraem, of St.
Athanasius and of other doctors, and its theme is Mary, as Queen of
Heaven, the dawn of our salvation, and an extolling of her beauty.
From Compline of Holy Saturday, inclusive, until None of the Saturday
after the feast of Pentecost, inclusive, the "Regina coeli" is said. It
is a very old composition, but its author is unknown. Some authors
attribute it to St. Gregory the Great (590-604). Others, following a
venerable tradition, say that the three first lines were the composition
of angels, and the fourth, Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia, was added by
Pope Gregory. The legend tells us that when in the year 596 Rome was
desolated by the plague, Pope Gregory the Great exhorted his people to
penance and prayer, and carrying in his hands the picture of the Blessed
Virgin, said to be painted by St. Luke, he led them in procession to the
church, Afa Coeli, on Easter morn. When the procession was passing
Adrian's Mole, angel voices were heard chanting the Regina Coeli, and
the Pope astonished and rejoiced added the words "Ora pro nobis Deum,
Alleluia," and immediately a shining angel appeared and sheathed his
sword, the plague ceased on that very day (Gueranger, _Liturgical
Year_, "Paschal Time," Part I., p. iii; Duffy, Dublin). Attempts at
translation have been indifferent.
From the first Vespers of the feast of the Most Hoiy Trinity to the None
of the Saturday before Advent, the Salve Regina is said. The authorship
was assigned to St. Bernard (1091-1153). But scholars reject this
theory. It is assigned to Petrus de Monsoro (circa 1000) and to
Adehemar, but the claims of both are doubtful. In 1220 the general
chapter of Cluny ordered its daily chanting before the high altar, after
the Capitulum. The use of the anthem at Compline was begun by the
Dominicans about 1221 and the practice spread rapidly. It was introduced
into the "modernised." Franciscan Breviary in the thirteenth century.
The Carthusians sing it daily at Vespers; the Cistercians sing it after
Compline, and the Carmelites say it after every Hour of the Office. It
is said after every low Mass throughout the world. It was especially
obnoxious to Luther, who several times denounced it, as did the
Jansenists also. It is recorded in the lives of several saints that the
Blessed Virgin, to show her love for this beautiful prayer, showed to
them her Son, at the moment they said "Et Jesum ... nobis post hoc
exilium ostende."
Speaking of these antiphons of the Blessed Virgin, Battifol, in his
_History of the Roman Breviary_ (English ed.), writes: "We owe a just
debt of gratitude to those who gave us the antiphons of the Blessed
Virgin ... four exquisite compositions, though in style enfeebled by
sentimentality."
After the antiphon of the Blessed Virgin the versicle and response are
said. Then Oremus and prayer "Omnipotens sempiterne Deus ... Divinum
auxilium ... Amen," are said. Then the Pater Noster, Ave and Credo are
said silently, and this finishes the Hour. The prayer Sacro-sanctae et
individuae.... V. Beata viscera ... R. Et beata ubera ... Pater Noster
and Ave are generally added though not of obligation. They are to be
said kneeling. The reading of this well-known and oft-repeated prayer,
in its English translation, may bring fresh and fervent thoughts to
priests, for it is a sublime prayer:--
"To the most holy and undivided Trinity, to the
humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified, to the
fruitful virginity of the most glorious Mary ever a
Virgin, and to the company of all the saints, be
given by every creature, eternal praise, honour,
power and glory, and to us the remission of all our
sins. Amen. Blessed be the womb of the Virgin
Mary, which bore the Son of the Eternal Father.
And blessed be the breasts which gave suck to
Christ our Lord."
TEXT AND INTENTIONS TO AID THE PIOUS RECITATION OF COMPLINE.
1. "Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."
2. "It is finished."
3. "For this Thou hast redeemed us, O God of truth."
_General Intentions._ The spread of the faith; the Pope; the Church in
France and in Spain; for the Church in Australia.
_Personal Intentions._ A happy death; fervour in administering the last
sacraments; devotion to St. Joseph, patron of a happy death.
_Special Intentions,_ For the sick poor of Ireland; for persons dying
without the last sacraments; for those dying all alone; for
dying sinners.
THE LITTLE OFFICE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN, (TITLE XXXVII.).
_Origin._ This Office dates from the eighth century at least. Pope
Gregory II. (715-731) and Pope Gregory III. (731-741) ordered the monks
to say this little Office in addition to their great Office. The
practice was observed by St. John Damascene (676-787) and by St. Peter
Damien (1007-1072).This usage was confined to monasteries only. At the
end of the eleventh century the practice became almost universal. Pope
Urban II. (1088-1099) besought the special aid of the Blessed Virgin in
his crusade against the Turks and recommended all clerics to recite the
little Office. Provincial councils prescribed its use and some canonists
held it to be obligatory. However, the Bull _Quod a nobis_ of Pope Pius
V. (9 July, 1568) removed all obligation of the private recital of this
Office, but he exhorted all to continue the practice and granted
indulgences for its recitation.
PART IV.
NOTES ON SOME FEASTS.
CHAPTER I.
PROPER OF THE TIME.
ADVENT.
_Advent_ (Latin, _advenire_, to come to) is a period beginning with the
Sunday nearest to the Feast of St. Andrew (November 30) and embracing
four Sundays. In the early Church there was a divergence of date and
practice in Advent celebration. Thus, in France it began on St. Martin's
Day (11 November) and ended with Christmas, France kept Advent with
tri-weekly fasts. Rome did not, in very early days, observe the Advent
fasts, but maintained the shorter period, containing only four Sundays.
(Father Thurston, _The Month_, No. 498).
Several authors stated that this period of preparation for the
celebration of Christ's birthday was instituted by Gregory the Great. It
is now traceable to the fourth century in France; in Rome it was of
later date. The Church, as is seen in the Advent Offices in the
Breviary, instituted this part of the liturgical year to honour and to
recall the two comings of Christ--His first coming in human form at
Bethlehem, as Saviour; and His second coming, as Judge of all mankind.
In her liturgy she expresses repeatedly both sentiments, a sentiment of
joy and a sentiment of sorrow. The former she expresses by her
_alleluias_ and the latter by her omission of the _Te Deum_ and by her
recital of the ferial prayers, the prayers of tears and grief.
In the Advent Offices are many phrases which were fulfilled at the
Incarnation: "Rorate coeli desuper et nubes pluant Justum; O Adonai,
veni ad redimendum nos; Emitte Agnum, Domine, Dominatorum terrae;
Orietur sicut sol Salvator mundi et descendet in uterum Virginis."
Centuries have passed since the Saviour came, and yet the Church wishes
us to repeat the sublime prayers and prophecies which associate
themselves with the coming of the Word made Flesh, and by our repetition
to be animated with the ardent longings of olden days; and that by them
we may awaken our faith, our hope, our charity, and obtain and augment
God's grace in our souls.
_Rubrics_. The first Sunday of Advent has the invitatory hymn and the
rest of the Office proper. The lessons are from Isaias, the prophet of
the Incarnation. The first response to the lesson is unique in the
Breviary for it has three verses (see p. 164). These three verses are
spoken in the names of the holy people who lived before the law, during
the law, and after the law. The Gloria Patri is added to honour the Holy
Trinity, who has at length sent the long-watched-for Messias (Durandus).
And the response is repeated from the beginning because the second
coming of Christ is watched for, by His faithful (Honorius d'Autun). The
_Te Deum_ is not said, in order thereby to mark the sad thought of the
second coming of Christ, then our judge.
_Lessons_. From the first Sunday of Advent until the first Sunday of
August the lessons of the first and second nocturns are given in the
Breviary in the Proprium de Tempore, after the Psaltery. The lessons of
third nocturn for same period are given after those of second nocturn.
The suffrages are not said in Advent. In Advent the lectio brevis is
"Domine miserere." In Sunday Matins special versicles are given. The
preces are said at Lauds and Vespers in ferias of Advent and at the
small Hours; preces are said, too, if they be said at Lauds.
The great antiphons are the antiphons of the Magnificat which begin on
the 17th December. They are sometimes called the great O's, or the O
antiphons, as each begins with this letter. They begin "O Sapientia,
quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti ..." and continue "O Adonai, O radix
Jesse," etc.... They are the most beautiful antiphons in the liturgy,
expressing the prayers and ardent hopes for the coming Saviour. They
have formed the subjects of study for poets, scholars and liturgists,
ancient and modern. It is asked why these antiphons introduce the
Magnificat and not the Benedictus. And liturgists reply: Because the
Incarnation was of Mary, and hence these heralds of the Infant King more
appropriately introduce Mary's canticle rather than that of Zachary. And
the old liturgists add that these antiphons are said at Vespers, the
evening Hour, because the Messias was expected and watched for in the
world's evening. They tell us, too, why there are seven great antiphons.
They are to excite our piety during this octave preparatory to the
birthday of Christ. This number seven typifies the seven gifts of the
Holy Ghost; it represents the seven miseries of mankind, ignorance,
eternal punishment, the slavery of the devil, sin, gloom and exile from
our fatherland, which is Heaven. And those wonderful men of mediaeval
days tell us why we have need of a Teacher, O Sapientia; of a Redeemer,
O Adonai; of a Liberator, O Radix Jesse; of a Guardian, O Clavis David;
of a brilliant Instructor, O Oriens; of a Saviour to bring us, Gentiles,
back to our Great Father, God; O Rex gentium; a Herald to the Jews.
Honorius of Autun tells that these antiphons refer to the seven gifts of
the Holy Ghost and are arranged in the well-known order in which these
gifts are always arranged in works of piety. He says that Christ came in
the Spirit of Wisdom, O Sapientia, that in the word "Adonai" is
indicated that Christ redeemed us in the Spirit of Understanding. He
says, too, that the antiphon "O Radix" signifies the sign of the cross,
and that Christ redeemed us in the Spirit of Counsel. "O Clavis"
indicates that Christ opened Heaven and closed Hell in the Spirit of
Strength or Fortitude. "O Orient" shows forth Christ enlightening us in
the Spirit of Knowledge. "Rex gentiam" points out the holy King who
saved men by the Spirit of Piety. "O Emanuel" refers to Christ coming in
the Spirit of Fear, but giving us also the Law of Love.
These antiphons have formed the theme of the oldest Christian poem in
Europe--Cynewulf's "Christ," a work which is the admiration of modern
scholars. They were celebrated with great pomp and joy in monastic life,
the monks carrying their congruous symbolism into their recitation. For,
to the gardener-monk was assigned, the chanting of "O Radix Jesse," and
to the cellarer-monk, the "O clavis David"--typifying their work of
root-growing and key keeping. (See _The Month_, No. 489; _The Irish
Ecclesiastical Record_, December, 1918).
_Christmas. Antiquity._ "It was formerly taken for granted that Christ
had actually been born on this day, and, accordingly, the learned were
of opinion that the Church had observed it from the beginning, as the
day of His birth. Even at the present day it will be dfficult for many
to give up this idea. But there is no Christmas among the Christan
feasts enumerated by Tertullian ([died] 220), Origen (185-254), and the
recently published Testament of Jesus Christ. On the contrary, there is
clear proof that even in the fourth and fifth centuries it was unknown
in some parts of the Church, where its introduction, at a later period,
can be proved historically" (_vide_ Kellner, _op. cit._, pp. 127-158).
Christmas is one of the great festivals. In Rome there were two night
Offices. The first, celebrated at nightfall in the Papal chapel, begins
with the antiphon of the first psalm in the nocturn. It has nine lessons
and the _Te Deum_. About midnight a more solemn Office began, this time
with the invitatory and psalm _Venite_. The first of these Offices
became the Office of the vigil.
In the Office of Christmas Day the lessons are read without the title of
the book (Isaias) from which they are taken, because their author's name
was so often repeated during the Advent that each one knew their source,
or because at Christmas God speaks to us by His Son, rather than by His
prophet. In the first response the Gloria Patri is said, to thank God
for the great favour He has bestowed on us--His Son, the Christ. In the
third nocturn, _Alleluia_ is added to the antiphons, because the third
nocturn typifies the time of grace, in which we should express the joy
that is ours in the birth of the Saviour. In this nocturn, too, are
given three Gospel extracts, corresponding with the Gospels in the Mass
of Christmas. Matins are separated from Lauds by the first Mass because,
it is said at midnight, and Lauds is a day Office. At Prime the versicle
of the little response is _Qui natus est_.
_Rubrics_. Christmas is a primary double of the First Class. The third
of the new _Tres Tabellae_ (S.C.R., January, 1912) in the new Breviaries
gives the rules for concurrence of Vespers in the Octave of Christmas.
_Feast of St. Stephen_. The worship of St. Stephen may be said to be as
old as the Church herself, since St. Paul gave him the title of Martyr
of Christ (Acts XXII. 20). His name is to be found in the earliest
liturgical sources, e.g., the Arian martyrology belonging to about 360
and in all calendars, ancient and modern, excepting the Coptic. His
cultus received great impulse from the discovery of his relics at Kaphar
Gamala, on the shore of Lake Genesareth, and the wonderful miracles
wrought by them, A basilica in his honour was erected, in Rome in the
fourth century.
_St. John the Apostle_. The commemoration of St. John on the 27th
December was formerly united with that of St. James the Less. In time,
St. John's feast only was celebrated on this date, and such was the
case as early as the time of Bede.
_The Circumcision._ This festival was originally called _Octava Domini_,
and hence it may be inferred that it was not an independent festival and
passed unnoticed if it fell on a week day. Thus, in the _Homilarium_ of
Charlemagne (786) it is referred to by this name. But very shortly after
this, the name which we now use for the festival of the 1st January was
used in Rome, and spread through the Church. In the early days of
Christianity the first day of the civil year was given over to
rejoicings, dancing, feasting and rioting. And these abuses lingered in
France, though stripped of their pagan character, until the later middle
ages. A remnant of them is found in the so-called Feast of Fools, which
was held in churches, and which mocked several religious customs and
ceremonies. These feasts lasted till the middle of the fifteenth century.
_Epiphany_. The name is derived from a Greek verb employed to describe
the dawn, and the adjective derived from the Greek verb was applied in
classic Greek, to the appearances of the gods bringing help to men. In
Christian liturgy, the feast was instituted to celebrate the appearance,
the manifestation of Christ, to the Gentiles, in the persons of the
Magi. In later times, there were added to this commemoration of Christ's
manifestation to the Gentiles, two further commemorations of his
wonderful showings of His divine mission, viz., His manifestation in His
baptism in the Jordan, a manifestation to the Jews, and His miracle at
Cana, a showing forth to His friends and disciples. This feast is of
early origin. Suarez thinks it should be attributed to the Apostles (_De
Relig_. L.2. ch.5, n.9); and Benedict XIV. held that it was established
by the infant Church at Rome to draw off the Christians from the profane
and sinful revelry which marked the pagan feast of this date. However,
these statements are hardly accurate. "With regard to the antiquity and
spread of the feast, it was unknown in North Africa during the third
century, for Tertullian makes no reference to it; and even in the time
of St. Augustine, it was rejected by the Donatists as an oriental
novelty. In Origen's time, at least, it was not generally observed as a
festival in Alexandria, since he does not reckon it as such. For Rome,
evidence is wanting for the earliest times, but since the daughter
Church of Africa knew nothing--of the festival at first, it may be
inferred that originally it was not kept at Rome, but was introduced
there in course of time. In Spain it was a feast-day in 380, in Gaul in
361 ..." (Kellner, _op. cit._, p.172).
In the antiphons for the Magnificat and the Benedictus it may be noticed
that the three manifestations are given not in the same order. "This day
is the Church united to the Heavenly Spouse, for Christ, in the Jordan,
washes away her sins; the Magi run to the royal nuptials with their
gifts, and the guests of the feast are gladdened by the water changed
into wine" (Ant. of Benedictus). The Magi, seeing the star, said to
each other: "This is the sign of the King: let us go and seek him, and
offer him gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh" (Ant. of Magnificat, 1st
Vesp.), "We celebrate a festival adorned by three miracles: this day, a
star led the Magi to the manger; this day water was changed into wine at
the marriage feast; this day Christ vouchsafed to be baptised by John,
in the Jordan of our salvation" (Ant. of Magnificat, 2nd Vesp.). Now,
the baptism is the special event commemorated by the Easterns on this
feast, and on account of its connection with the baptism, this feast
has, amongst the Greeks, the secondary title of the feast of lights.
And, in Ireland (Synodus II., St. Patricii, can. 20), contrary to the
ancient custom of the Church, solemn baptism was administered on this
feast day. This subject of the baptism forms the only theme of the
ancient sermons bearing on this feast. On the other hand, the visit of
the Magi is the sole event commemorated by St. Augustine in his six
sermons delivered on this feast day. The third event, the marriage
feast, is of later commemoration; and Maximus of Turin doubted if they
all actually happened on the same day.
The Octave to the feast dates from the eighth century. It was customary
on this date, in the Eastern Church, to read publicly the epistola
festalis of the Patriarch of Alexandria arranging the date of Easter and
the practice was ordered by the fourth Council of Orleans in 541.
In Epiphany the invitatory is not said in the beginning of Matins, in
order, say the liturgists, not to repeat the inquiry made by Herod from
the scribes about the birthplace of Christ, an inquiry and invitation
inspired by hatred and anger. The invitatory is omitted, they tell us,
that we, like the Magi, may come to Christ, without other than a silent
invitation. Teachers of olden time used to urge those who were slow to
believe to imitate the Magi. But, the invitatory is not quite omitted.
It is read in the third nocturn, which typifies the law of grace, in
which the Apostles and their successors invite all to praise and worship
God. The psalms of the feast are taken from the psalms of each day of
the week, but chiefly from Friday's psalms, perhaps because the Magi's
visit was on that day.
SEPTUAGESIMA.
"During the age of the persecutions it was scarcely possible for
Christians to observe any other festival than Sunday, and so it is not
surprising that the two writers who have occasion to speak of the
institution of the festivals of the Church, mention only Easter and
Pentecost, both of which fall on a Sunday. To these Christmas was added
in the fourth century and Epiphany somewhat earlier. These chief
festivals, along with others soon added to their number, formed the
elements for the organisation of a festal system in the Church, as
centres round which the lesser festivals grouped themselves. The last
step of importance, however, in the development of the Church's year was
to connect these chief festivals with one another, so as to make them
parts of a whole. The Sundays afforded a convenient means for effecting
this. They were associated with the festal character of the nearest
feast and were connected with it as links in a chain. The way for this
development had been prepared by the season of preparation for Easter,
and the Sundays in the fifty days between Easter and Pentecost--
Quinquagesima--were marked with the festal character with which
antiquity invested the whole period. All that was needed was, first of
all, to connect Christmas, Easter and Pentecost; and, in the second
place, the institution of a season of preparation before Christmas. This
was accomplished between the sixth, and the eighth centuries.
"During the first six centuries the ordinary Sundays of the year had
neither liturgical position or character, since they were not even
enumerated. There was a sort of _commune dominicarum, i.e._, a number of
Masses existed from which one could be chosen at will for each Sunday.
To these Sundays, which were called simply _dominicae quotidianae_,
those after Epiphany and Pentecost belonged.
"They numbered altogether twenty-nine or thirty, according as the
calendar gave fifty-two or fifty-three Sundays in the year.... The
smaller number of these, six at most, come between Epiphany and
Septuagesima, but the larger, twenty-three to twenty-eight, between Whit
Sunday and Advent. The variation depends on the date of Easter. There is
no historical circumstance forthcoming to give these a specially festal
character. ..." (Kellner, _op. cit_., pp. 176, _et seq_.).
Septuagesima Sunday comes nine weeks before Easter. It cannot come
before the 18th January, nor after the 22nd February. It is the first
day of a period of mourning and penance, preparatory to the great
penitential period of Lent. On the Saturday preceding Septuagesima two
_alleluias_ are added to the Benedicamus and Deo Gratias, to intimate
that the period of rejoicing in the Saviour's birth has passed. Violet,
the penitential colour, is used at Mass, and the chapters in Genesis
recording the fall of Adam, warn man to think well, to humble himself
and to do penance. Every part of the Office, the lessons, antiphons and
hymns, bear the notes of mourning and penance.
LENT.
_Lent_.--The Teutonic word, _Lent_, originally meant the spring season.
It has come to mean the forty days preceding Easter. Scholars used to
maintain that this season of penance was of apostolic origin; but,
modern scholars noting the diversity of practice and the diversity of
duration in different churches and the Easter controversy, hold that it
is not of apostolic origin, and that it dates from the third century or
even from the fourth century. It is not mentioned in the Didascalia
(circa 250 A.D.), but was enjoined by St. Athanasius upon his flock
in 331.
EASTER AND PASCHAL TIME.
Easter is the chief festival of Christendom, the first and oldest of all
festivals, the basis on which the Church's year is built, the connecting
link with the festivals of the old covenant and the central point on
which depends the date of the other movable feasts. Some of the very
early Christian writers call it feast of feasts (festum festorum).
The English word Easter is from _Eastre_, the goddess of spring. In the
liturgy we never find the word _Pascha_, always the words _dominica
resurrectionsis_. Pascha has no connection with the Greek [Greek:
Pascho], but is the Aramaic form of _pesach_.
Some points regarding this festival are to be noted, its antiquity, its
connection with Jewish feasts and Christian feasts, its preparation,
character and duration.
_Antiquity_. No mention of this feast is in the _Didache_, in Justin's
Dialogue with Trypho, or in his apologies. But in the year 198 A.D. an
exchange of letters between Pope Victor, Bishop Narcissus of Jerusalem,
Polycrates of Ephesus, shows that the feast had been for years in
existence. Many references are found in Tertullian and writers of his
time to this festival.
_Connection of the Christian Festival with the Jewish_. "The connection
between the Christian and the Jewish feasts is both historical and
ideal--historical because our Lord's death happened on the 15th Nisan,
the first day of the Jewish feast; ideal, because what took place had
been prefigured in the Old Testament by types, of which itself was the
antitype. The Jewish rites and ceremonies (Exodus XII.) are referred to
in the prophecies of the Messias. Thus, Isaias calls Him the Lamb chosen
by God, who bears the iniquities of others. The Baptist called Jesus,
the Lamb of God. The Evangelist refers to the typical character of the
Passover rites, when he applies, 'a bone of it shall not be broken'
(Exod. XII. 46), to Christ on the Cross. Justin and Tertullian see in
the Christian sacrifice the fulfilment of the imperfect sacrifices of
the old law. Hence, there is no doubt that the Jewish Passover was
taken over into Christianity. Thereby its typical ceremonies found their
due fulfilment.
"To the real and historical connection between Easter and the Passover
is due the explanation of a striking peculiarity in the Church's year,
viz., the moveable feasts of which Easter is the starting point. Easter
falls on no fixed date, because the Jewish 15th Nisan, unlike the dates
of the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, varied year by year.
"The preparation for Easter was the Lenten fasts. The fare on fast days
consisted of water and soup made with flour; fruit and oil and bread
were also eaten. The catechumens also fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Among the faithful there were some who ate nothing from their repast on
Sunday until the following Saturday, e.g., for five days, and who all
the year round took only one meal a day. Others abstained in Lent from
all food for two consecutive days, but others fasted by taking nothing
to eat all day, until the evening" (Kellner, _op. cit._, p. 93).
The Easter celebrations were in the early ages chiefly noted for the
great and solemn ceremonies of baptism conferred on a large number of
catechumens, with solemn procession from the baptistry to the cathedral.
The Easter Octave celebrates by festivals the supper at Emmaus, the
appearance of our Lord (St. Luke xxiv.), His appearance by the sea (St.
John xxi. 1-14), His appearance to Magdalen (St. John xx. 11-18), His
appearance on the mountain (St. Matthew xxviii. 16-20), and His
appearance just after He had risen (St. John xx, 1-9),
THE ASCENSION.
This day was kept as a festival in very early times, although it is not
mentioned in the lists of Church festivals given by Tertullian (+220),
nor by Origen (185-254). St. Augustine (354-430) (Epist. ad Januarium,
54, c.l.) attributes the institution of this festival to an apostolic
ordinance or the injunction of a general council. But neither can be
proved. But the festival dates from the days of the early Church, and as
it was natural that the concluding act of our Saviour's life should be
remembered and honoured, the celebration of the feast of His Ascension
spread widely and rapidly. The feast was noted for the solemn
processions held, to imitate and to commemorate our Lord's leading of
the Apostles out of the city to the Mount of Olives.
WHIT SUNDAY.
Pentecost or Whit Sunday extends back to the early days of the Church.
From Tertullian, it is plain that the festival was well known and long
established. In the _Peregrinatio Silviae_, we read a detailed account
of how the feast was kept in Jerusalem at her visit (385-388). "On the
night before Whitsunday the vigil was celebrated in the church of the
Anastasis, at which the bishop, according to the usual custom in
Jerusalem on Sundays, read the Gospel of the Resurrection, and the
customary psalmody was performed. At dawn, all the people proceeded to
the principal church (Martyrium) where a sermon was preached and Mass
celebrated. About the third hour, when the psalmody was finished, the
people singing accompanied the bishop to Sion. There, the passage from
the Acts of the Apostles describing the descent of the Holy Ghost was
read, and a second Mass was celebrated; after which the psalmody was
resumed. Afterwards, the archdeacon invited the people to assemble in
the 'Eleona,' from whence a procession was made to the summit of the
Mount of Olives. Here, psalms and antiphons were sung, the Gospel was
read and the blessing given. After this, the people descended again into
the 'Eleona,' where Vespers were sung, and then, with the bishop at
their head, proceeded in a solemn procession, with singing, back to the
principal church, which was reached towards 8 p.m. At the city gate the
procession was met by torch bearers, who accompanied it to the
Martyrium. Here, as well as in the Anastasias, to which the people
proceeded in turn, and in the chapel of the Holy Cross, the usual
prayers, hymns and blessings took place, so that the festival did not
conclude until midnight." (Kellner, _op. cit._, pp. 112-113). In most
churches, the principal services were solemn baptism and processions. In
some places it was customary to scatter roses from the roof of the
church, to recall the miracle of Pentecost. In France, trumpets were
blown in church, in memory of the great wind which accompanied the Holy
Spirit's descent.
TRINITY SUNDAY.
The first Sunday after Pentecost, for centuries, was not called Trinity
Sunday. Pope Alexander II. (circa 1073) was questioned about a feast in
honour of the Holy Trinity and he replied that it was not the Roman
custom to set apart any particular day in honour of the Trinity, which
was honoured many times daily in the psalmody, by the _Gloria Patri_.
But an Office and Mass, dating from a hundred years earlier than this
Pope's time, were in use in the Netherlands and afterwards in England,
Germany and France; and in 1260 were spread far and wide. In 1334, Pope
John XXII. ordered uniformity and general observance of this feast on
the Sunday after Pentecost. The Office in our Breviaries dates from the
time of Pius V. It is beautiful and sublime in matter and in form.
Whether this is a new Office or a blending of some ancient offices, is a
matter of dispute. Baillet, _Les Vies des Saints_ (Tom ix. c. 2, 158)
thinks it a new Office. But Binterim, _Die Kirchichle Heortology_, Part
I., 265, and Baumer-Biron, _Histoire du Breviaire_, 298, take a
different view. The Roman rite follows the older form of enumeration,
second Sunday after Easter and so forth, and not first Sunday after
Trinity. The latter form of enumeration is adopted in the Anglican
church service books.
THE PROPER OF THE SAINTS.
_December. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception._ The discussion of
the question of this feast lasted for more than a thousand years. A
feast of the Conception was celebrated in the Eastern Church in the
early part of the eighth century and was celebrated on the 9th December
(Kellner, _Heortology_, p. 242, _et seq._). The feast was celebrated in
England before the Norman Conquest (1066) (Bishop, _On the Origins of
Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary_, London, 1904).
But there is an earlier codex than those mentioned by Bishop, and from
it, it is argued that the feast is of Irish origin. In a metrical
calendar, which is reasonably referred to the time of Alfred the Great
(871-901), there is the line "Concipitur Virgo maria cognomine senio";
and this calendar exhibits, says Father Thurston, S.J., "most
unmistakable signs of the influence of an Irish character." It was
written, Dr. Whitely Stokes believed, by an Irishman in the ninth
century or thereabouts. The script appears to him to be "old Irish,
rather than Anglo-Saxon, and the large numbers of commemorations of
Irish saints and the accuracy with which the names are spelt, point to
an Irish origin." This calendar places the feast of our Lady's
Conception on the 2nd May. In the metrical calendar of Oengus, the feast
is assigned to the 3rd May, and in his _Leabhar Breac_, the scribe adds
the Latin note, "Feir mar Muire et reliqua, _i.e._, inceptio ejus ut
alii putant--sed in februo mense vel in Martio facta est illa, quae post
VII. menses nata est, ut innaratur--vel quae libet alia feria ejus."
Again, in the martyrology of Tallaght, from which Gorman, a later
martyrologist, says that Oengus, the Culdee, drew his materials, is
found under date May 3rd, a mention of the celebration of the Conception
of Mary. This evidence seems to show--although it is not perfectly
conclusive--that the conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary was
celebrated in the Irish Church in the ninth and tenth centuries, but not
on the 8th December (see Father Thurston, S.J., _The Month_, May and
June, 1904; Father Doncoeur, S.J., _Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique_,
Louvain, 1907, p. 278, et seq.; Baudot, _The Roman Breviary_, pp.
253-255; Kellner, _op. cit._).
It is to be regretted that even in the new Breviary the lessons for the
second nocturn of this feast are taken from the composition, _Cogitis
me_, falsely attributed to St. Jerome, and rejected by critics, from the
days of Baronius, as spurious (Baudot, _op. cit._, p. 236).
_February. The Purification._ Candlemas. According to the Gospel
narrative, Mary fulfilled the commands of the Law (Lev. XII. 2-8), and
on the fortieth day brought the prescribed offering to the Temple, where
she met Simeon and Anna.
The first reference found in Christian writers to this festival is found
in the famous _Peregrinatio Sylviae_, the diary of a Spanish lady who
visited Jerusalem about 385-388. She tells us that the day began with a
solemn procession, followed by a sermon on St. Luke II. 22 seqq., and a
Mass. It had not yet a name, but was called the fortieth day after the
Epiphany; and this naming shows that at Jerusalem the Epiphany was
regarded as the day of Christ's birth. The lady's words show that the
feast was not then observed in her own country. The feast was observed
in Rome in 542; and Pope Sergius I. (687-701) ordered a procession on
this festival. The opinion that is so often met with in pious books,
that this feast with its procession of candlebearers was established by
the Church to replace the riot and revels of the Pagan _Lupercalia_, is
now rejected by scholars. For, processions, with or without lights, were
so common amongst Pagans and Christians that any connection between
these two feasts is negligible.
_March. St. Joseph_. In the Western Church the cultus of St. Joseph is
not found in any calendar before the ninth century, although numerous
traces of the esteem and veneration paid to him by individuals are
found. The public cultus of St. Joseph was introduced by the private
devotions of great servants of God, such as St. Bernard, St. Gertrude,
St. Bridget of Sweden, John Gerson, St. Bernardine of Sienna, and other
Franciscan preachers. The spread of the devotion in several countries
led Pope Sixtus IV. (1471-1484) to introduce St. Joseph's feast, as a
simplex, having only one lesson. Clement XI. (1700-1721) changed it into
a feast of nine lessons. Two centuries previously the feast is found in
Breviaries under date 19th March.
_The Annunciation_. Devotion to the Mother of God was continued by the
apostles after the death of her Son. Fervent and widespread devotion is
traceable in the Church's early days, but the organising of our Lady's
feasts was a work of some time and difficulty. A great difficulty was
the fear of blasphemy from pagans, and of error amongst pagan converts,
so trained in myths and genealogies of the gods. Then the festivals
commemorating the facts of the life, death and resurrection were
primarily commemorative of the Redeemer and secondarily of His Mother.
Long before the institution of her feast, the cultus of Mary was almost
universal. The feast of the Annunciation falls on the 25th March with
us. Its date depends entirely on the date of Christmas, but the birth of
Christ was not always placed in calendars on the 25th December.
In early days the feasts of martyrs and other saints were not celebrated
in Lent, and hence this feast of the Blessed Virgin was set down in some
calendars as transferred, and was celebrated in Advent. In Spain, it was
celebrated eight days before Christmas. In the East, the feast was
generally celebrated on the 25th March, and gradually this date was
fixed, and was sanctioned by several councils in the eleventh century.
_May. The Finding of the Holy Cross_. The history of the finding of the
true cross by St. Helena is well known. The Alexandrine Chronicle gives
the day as the 14th September, 320. This September feast of the holy
cross is of earlier origin than the feast of May. The latter was
established to commemorate the act of the emperor in 629, when he
brought back to Jerusalem the true cross, from the Persian conquerors.
On 3rd May, he handed it over to the Patriarch Zacharias, and, strange
to say, this festival of May spread rapidly in the Western Church,
whilst in the East only one feast, (the September one), of the finding
of the cross was celebrated for centuries. In Milan, for instance, the
September feast was received in the eleventh century, whilst the May
feast was rooted in the Western Church very many years before that time.
The antiphons and hymns of this Office are, it is said, amongst the
most beautiful and sublime prayers of our liturgy.
_The Apparition of St. Michael_. The cultus of the holy angels is of
Jewish origin and existed in the Christian Church from the beginning. In
St. Paul's Epistle to the Colossians (modern _Khonus on the Lycus_) he
speaks of this devotion and of the attempts of a Gnostic sect to spread
false doctrines on this point (Col. ii, 18). Although the evil wrought
was long lived, true devotion to the angels was practised in Colossae
and there the Archangel Michael appeared. In honour of this apparition,
the festival of St. Michael in September was established. Devotion to
the Archangel was of very early date in Rome and in the Western Church
generally. Masses in his honour are found in the oldest Roman
Sacramentary (483-492); and in these he is mentioned by name in prayers
and prefaces. The May feast was instituted in the sixth century, to
commemorate a second apparition near Sipontum on Monte Gargano, which
took place on the 8th May, 520.
_June 29. Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul_. There always has been a
constant tradition in Rome that these two saints suffered martyrdom on
the same day, 29th June, and it is only natural that this day should be
kept with great devotion and solemnity at Rome. In the East, feasts in
honour of these martyrs were held at different seasons, Christmas,
February and Epiphany. The day was kept in many places as a solemn
holiday, servile works being prohibited. But in Rome, devotion was
closely connected with the date and with the exact places of martyrdom.
"Owing to the distance which separated the two churches of the apostles
from each other, it was most fatiguing to celebrate Mass at both places,
and so in course of time the festival was divided into two parts, and
the Mass in honour of St. Paul took place on the 3Oth June."
_July. The Visitation_. This feast was probably originated by the
Franciscans in the thirteenth century. It certainly was preached and
spread by their zeal. It is mentioned amongst Franciscan records bearing
date 1263. It was kept in different places at different dates. In Paris
it was kept in April. In 1850 Pius IX. raised this feast to the rank of
a double of the second class, to thank God for having, on this day, 2nd
July, freed Rome from the revolutionary yoke.
_Feast of St. Mary Magdalen_. Commentators on Sacred Scripture are not
agreed whether Mary of Magdala was the sister of Lazarus or whether
there were two or three Marys connected with our Lord--Mary the sister
of Lazarus, Mary of Magdala, and Mary the sinner named in St. Luke's
Gospel vii. 27. The Roman liturgy seems to favour the opinion that Mary
of Magdala was the sister of Lazarus, and that she was a sinner and was
possessed by seven devils. The history of Mary Magdalen after our Lord's
death has been written, with large and varied additions of adventure, by
pious mediaevalists. In the Western Church, traces of the saint's cultus
are met with in Bede and his contemporaries. But devotion far and wide
begins with mediaeval times. The many legends which have grown up
around her name and history have so obscured historic truth that the
Breviary gives no historic lessons on her feast day, but gives as a
lesson part of a homily from St. Gregory. Some of the legends may be
found in the Office of St. Martha (July, 29th).
_August. The Assumption._ "In all probability this is the earliest of
our Lady's festivals" (Kellner, _op. cit._, p. 235). Early writers
mention the Garden of Gethsemani as the place of Mary's burial and the
third year--some say the twelfth year--after our Lord's death as the
year of her death. St. John Damascene relying on the writings of
Euthymius tells us what we know of the Assumption. He tells that the
wife of the Emperor Marcian (450-457) wished to transfer our Lady's
relics from Jerusalem to Constantinople and was informed by Juvenal,
Bishop of Jerusalem, that such relics were not in Jerusalem. The Blessed
Mother had been buried there, in the Garden of Gethsemani, in the
presence of the Apostles, Thomas alone being absent. On his arrival he
wished to venerate the Mother of God; the tomb was opened for him, but
nothing was found save the linen grave-clothes, which gave forth a sweet
perfume. The Apostles concluded that Christ had taken to Heaven the body
which had borne Him. The Emperor Maurice ordered the date, the 15th
August, long and widely recognised, to be the date of this annual
festival. However, some churches celebrated it on other dates. In the
Gothico-Gallic missal of the eighth century, the feast is fixed for the
18th January. The festival was called sometimes _dormitio Mariae,
pausatio Mariae_. It was celebrated in Rome at the end of the seventh
century, but how long it had been in existence there, and in the West
generally before that time, no one can say.
_Feast of the Name of Mary._ This feast owes its origin to the devotion
of the faithful and was first authorised by the Pope in 1513. It was
extended to the universal calendar in 1683, on the occasion of the
deliverance of Vienna from the Turks.
Over the derivation and meaning of the name _Maria_ much scholarship and
conjecture have been lavished. It is said to mean (1) _stella maris_
(Eusebius); (2) lady, from the Syrian _Martha_ (St. John Damascene);
this is the Breviary meaning, but the Breviary uses the first meaning,
_stella maris_, too; (3) stately, imposing one (Bardenhewer); (4) from
the Egyptian, _merijom_, friend of water, bride of the sea (Macke).
_October. Feast of the Holy Rosary._ It is not necessary to speak of the
origin of the Rosary. This feast was established by Gregory XIII. in
1573, as a thanksgiving for the victory of Lepanto (October, 1571).
Clement XI. extended the feast to all Christendom in consequence of the
victory gained at Peterwarden by Prince Eugene in 1716.
_November. Feast of all Saints._ This feast was "instituted to honour
all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV., to
supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts
during the year. In the early days, the Christians were accustomed to
solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ, at the place
of martyrdom. The neighbouring dioceses began to interchange feasts, to
transfer them and to divide them, and to join in a common feast; ...
frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally
led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the
number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be
assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be
venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of it we find
in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentecost. ... At first only martyrs and
St. John the Baptist were honoured by a special day. Other saints were
added gradually, and increased in number when a general process of
canonization was established; still, as early as 411 there is in the
Chaldean calendar a 'commemoratio Confessorum' for the Friday after
Easter. ... Gregory IV. (827-844) extended the celebration on 1st
November to the entire Church" (_Cath. Ency._, art, "All Souls").
_Feast of All Souls_, "The theological basis for the feast is the
doctrine that the souls, which, on departing from the body are not
perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past
transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the
faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsdeeds, and especially by
the holy sacrifice of the Mass. In the early days of Christianity the
names of the departed brethren were entered in the diptychs. Later, in
the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a
commemoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide, In Spain, there
was such a day before Sexagesima or before Pentecost, at the time of St.
Isidore (d. 636). In Germany, there existed (according to the testimony
of Widukind, Abbot of Corvey, c. 980) a time-honoured ceremony of
praying for the dead on 1st October. This was accepted and sanctified by
the Church" (_Cath. Ency._, art. "All Souls").
The psalms and lessons of this Office are especially well chosen, and
the responses to the lessons--said to be the work of Maurice de Sully
(d. 1196)--are greatly admired by liturgical experts.
It may be noted here, that, in the recitation of this Office, which is,
for most priests, the only choral recitation of liturgy, care should be
taken to select the proper nocturn or nocturns. "In the general rubrics
of the Breviary (Tit. XIX. n. 2) it is stated that the invitatory is not
to be said in _Officio Defunctorum_ per annum, excepto die
Commemorationis omnium fidelium defunctorum, ac in die obitus seu
depositionis defuncti et quandocunque dicuntur tres nocturni. When,
therefore, only one nocturn is recited, the invitatory is to be omitted
except on the dies obitus seu depositionis." In this latter case, even
though the body is not present--for some special reason, such as
contagious disease--the invitatory is not to be omitted.
"On any other occasion, no matter how solemn or privileged, such as the
seventh, thirtieth, or anniversary day, when only one nocturn is
recited, the invitatory must not be included. This is clear, not only
from the rubrics of the Breviary and Ritual (Tit. VI., cap. IV.) but
also from certain answers of the Congregation of Rites" (_Irish Eccles.
Record_, December, 1913).
Dom Baudot's _The Roman Breviary_ gives in an appendix, pp. 239-252,
"tables showing the date at which each saint was inserted in the Roman
Breviary, the rank given to his festival, and the variations it has
undergone. It is often difficult to give precise dates."
ROGATION DAYS, EMBER DAYS AND LITANIES.
"Litanies were solemn supplications instituted to implore the blessing
of Heaven on the fruits of the earth. It was customary to recite them in
the spring, that is, the season of late frosts, so much dreaded by the
cultivators of the soil.... The people marched in procession to the
spot, chanting the while that dialogue prayer which we call a litany,
elaborated, according to circumstances, into a long series of
invocations, addressed to God and to angels and saints."
"The day set apart for this purpose at Rome was the 25th April, a
traditional date, being that on which the ancient Romans celebrated the
festival of the Robigalia....
"The most ancient authority for this ceremony is a formulary for
convoking it, found in the Register of St. Gregory the Great, which must
have been used in the first instance in the year 598" (Duchesne,
_Christian Worship_, chap, viii., n. 9).
Ember days, a corruption from Latin Quatuor Tempora (four times). "The
purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all
prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach
men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The
immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans
were originally given to agriculture and their native god belonged to
the same class. At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting
religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their
deities; in June for a bountiful harvest, in September for a rich
vintage, and in December for the seeding.... The Church when converting
heathen nations has always tried to sanctify any practice which could be
utilised for a good purpose." The fasts were fixed by the Church before
the time of Callixtus (217-222). The spread of the observance of Ember
days was slow; but they were fixed definitely and the fast prescribed
for the whole Church by Gregory VII. (1073-1085). (_Cf. Catholic
Encyclopedia_, word, Ember Days; Duchesne _Christian Worship_, chap,
viii.; Dom Morin _Revue Benedictine_, L'Origine des Quatre Temps, 1897,
pp. 330-347.)
NOTE A.
THE BREVIARY HYMNS.
Of all the many and varied branches of Christian art, there is none
which offers to the researches of criticism a field so extensive as does
the hymnography of the Roman Breviary. No other source of liturgical
study, if we except the antiphonarium, has received such attention from
studious men. But never, in any age, did this study receive such careful
treatment and give rise to such patient and laborious research as in
our own. (Pimont, _Les hymnes du Breviare Romain_, Introduction.)
In this note, an attempt will be made to define a hymn, to tell of the
introduction of hymns into the Roman Breviary, and to note briefly the
character of these hymns.
St. Augustine, commenting on Psalm 122, defined a hymn as a song with
praise of God, cantus est cum laude Dei. It may, however, be more
strictly defined as a spiritual song, a religious lyric (v. _Cath,
Ency._, art. "Hymn").
In the early Christian assemblies great use was made of the psalms and
canticles in their congregational singing. St. Paul wrote: "Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual canticles, singing and
making melody in your hearts to the Lord" (Ephes. v. 18) "...teaching
and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles,
singing in grace in your hearts to God" (Col. iii. 16). The Jesuit,
Father Arevalo, in his _Hymodia Hispanica_, cites many witnesses, such
as Clement of Alexandria, the Apostolic Constitutions, Pliny the
younger, to prove that hymns were used in the first and second
centuries. But a much-debated question is, whether those hymns were
really made part of the Office, as hymns stand there to-day. Some
scholars deny that they were; others assert that they were certainly
part of the Church's Office. All agree that they were certainly in use
formally and substantially in the Office in the third and fourth
centuries in the Eastern and in the Western Church. The Council of
Antioch (269-270) wrote to the Pope that Paul of Samosate had
suppressed some canticles recently composed in honour of Jesus Christ.
St. Dionysius of Alexandria composed some hymns, to win over an erring
bishop. In the fourth century the Council of Laodicea spoke of the
introduction of some hymns, which were not approved; and St. Basil tells
us that hymns were in universal use in the Eastern Church.
In the Western Church, St. Hilary of Potiers (370) composed a hymn book
for his church. Its existence is known from the words of St. Jerome. St.
Augustine states that St. Ambrose (340-397), shut up with his people in
the church in Milan by the persecutors, occupied his flock by their
singing of hymns which he himself had composed, and some of which are in
our Breviaries. The Church of Milan certainly had hymns in its Office
and in its Office books then, for St. Paulinus in his life of St.
Augustine wrote: "Hoc in tempore, primum antiphonae, hymni ac vigilae in
Ecclesia Mediolanensi celebrari coeperunt; cujus celebritatis devotio
usque in hodiernam diem, non solum, in Ecclesia Mediolanensi verum per
omnes pene Occidentis provincias manet."
But the question arises, when did Rome introduce hymns into her liturgy?
The learned Jesuit, Father Arevalo, held that the Roman Office had hymns
as an integral part from the time of St. Ambrose, and he called the
opinion of those who held that they were of later introduction an
inveterate error, _errorem inveteratum (Hymnodia Hispanica_ XVIII., n.
95). The introduction of antiphonal chanting was introduced into Rome at
the time of St. Ambrose and liturgical hymn singing, too, was
introduced about the same time. This we know from the Milanese priest
Paulinus, St. Augustine, Pope Celestine I., and Faustus, Bishop of Riez.
But formal, official and systematic hymnody was not introduced in Rome
until centuries after the death of St. Ambrose. Mabillon (Suppl. ad IV.
lib de div. off. Amalarii, t. 11) and Tomasi (In annot, ad Resp. et
antip. Rom. Ecc.) place the date of the introduction of hymns into the
Roman liturgy, in the eleventh or twelfth centuries. But scholars now
agree that hymns were formally recognised in the liturgy of Rome in the
latter half of the ninth century. "To judge of what Amalare of Metz
says, there was no sign of it at the beginning of the ninth century, but
from the middle of the same century onwards hymns must have been
introduced into the Office used by the Churches of the Frankish empire,
and shortly afterwards in Rome" (Baudot, _op. cit._, pp. 67-68). Wilfrid
Strabo agrees with Amalare. Rabanus Maurus testifies that hymns were in
general usage in the second part of the ninth century. (Migne, Pat. Lat.
clx. 159, cxiv. 956). This is the opinion of Gueranger, Pimont, Blume
and Baumer.
Dom Gueranger explains why Rome, the mother and mistress of all the
churches, did not adopt the practice of hymn chanting in her liturgy for
centuries; why she did not precede or quickly follow the Eastern and
many parts of the Western Church in this matter of liturgical hymns.
"The Church," he says, "did not wish to alter by religious songs the
simplicity, or the meaning, of her great liturgical prayer. Nor did she
wish to adopt quickly any innovation in her liturgy or discipline"
(_Inst. Liturg._ I. 1, pp. 170-171).
No part of the Church's liturgy has met with such persistent, abusive,
and often ignorant criticism as her hymns have received.
The renaissance clerics, the Gallicans, the Jansenists, and the
Protestants poured forth volumes of hostile and unmerited criticism on
the matter and form of Rome's sacred songs. Becichemus, rector of the
Academy of Pavia in the sixteenth century, in his introduction to the
work of Ferreri, wrote of the hymns: "sunt omnes fere mendosi, inepti,
barbarie refecti, nulla pedum ratione nullo syllabarum mensu
compositi.... Ut ad risum eruditos concinent, et ad contemptum
ecclesiastici ritus vel literatos sacerdotes inducant.... Literatos
dixi: nam ceteri qui sunt sacri patrimonii helluones, sine scientia,
sine sapientia, satis habent, ut dracones stare juxta arcam Domini." The
remarks of the rector recall the saying of Lactantius, "literati non
habent fidem." Ferreri, who had been commissioned by Pope Clement to
revise and correct the Breviary hymns, wrote in his dedication epistle:
"I have given all my care to this collection of new hymns, because
learned priests and friends of good Latinity who are now obliged to
praise God in a barbarous style, are exposed to laugh and to despise
holy things." Santeuil (1630-1697) characterised the Breviary hymns as
the product of ignorance, the disgrace of the Latin language, the
disreputable relics of the early ages, the result of lunacy.
Violent attack leads to violent defence. Both are generally born of
ignorance, a partizan spirit, and exaggeration. Pious Catholic defenders
write that the Roman Breviary has hymns far superior to the classic
lyrics of ancient Rome; that they have an inimitable style; that they
are far superior to Horatian poetry; that there is nothing to compare
with their style and beauty in pagan classics, Indeed, zeal has led some
holy men to censure Pope Leo X., Clement VII., and. Urban VIII. for
their attempts to correct these compositions, which they hold to have
been perfect.
Truth seems to hold the place of the golden mean between the bitter
critics and the over zealous defenders of our Breviary hymns. The
following propositions, drawn from Father Barnard's _Cours De Liturgie
Romaine_, may be taken as a fair and accurate statement of the views of
scholars, views which may be safely held by all students of this portion
of liturgy.
_First Proposition_:--Many of the hymns of the Roman Breviary have not
the elegance of the Odes of Horace, of the hymns of Santeuil and
of Coffin.
Proof:-(1) The holy Fathers had outlined in a rough sketch rather than
perfected their hymns (Pope Urban VIII., Bull Quamvis, 17th June, 1644).
(2) Speaking of the new Hymnal of Ferreri, Pope Clement VIII. says that
the new work could only add to the splendour of worship and help to the
common interest, implying that the new hymns helped religion by their
accuracy and grace of correct poetic forms.
(3) Pimont, the author of a classic work on the Breviary Hymns, in a
number of comments, notes the crudities of the Breviary hymns, even in
their revised forms. Thus, in the hymn for Prime, he notes apparent
ruggedness. He passes similar comments on the hymns assigned to the
little hours.
(4) Bacquez states that all the hymns do not join beauty of expression
to the merit of the thought expressed, and that a certain number lack
style and good prosody.
These opinions should not be extended to all, nor even to very many of
the Breviary hymns. All serious critics agree about the beauty of such
hymns as the _Aeterne rerum Conditor_, the _Somno refectis artubus,
Splendor Aeternae gloriae, Verbum supernum prodiens_, and a good number
of others.
The greater part of the Breviary Hymns are composed according to the
rules of prosody, and their form is lyric, the popular form of Latin
song, which preceded in Italy the prosodical system borrowed from the
Greeks, and used by the classic pagan poets. The critics of the
Renaissance period are very loud and very wrathful over the form of
these hymns. Some of them accuse St. Ambrose, Prudentius and Gregory the
Great of gross ignorance of the rules of Latin verse and, what to the
critics was worse, ignorance of the ways of pagan classical models. But,
was the rhymed, tonic accented lyric, which was to be sung by all sorts
and conditions of men, in public, such an outrageous literary sin? Was
it ignorance or prudence that guided the early hymn writers in their
adoption of popular poetic form? It is not certain by any means that the
early hymn writers wished to copy or adopt the classic forms of the
Augustinian age. Nor is it clear that such men of genius as St. Ambrose,
Prudentius, St. Gregory the Great, were ignorant of the rules and models
of the best Latin poets. It seems that they did not wish to follow them.
They wilfully and designedly adopted the popular lyric forms, so that
they might give to their flocks in popular and easily remembered forms,
prayers and formulas of faith.
_Second Proposition_:-The Breviary hymns have the principal elements of
poetic beauty.
Briefly, these elements are sublimity of thought, beauty of sentiment,
aptness of expression, unction of form. In these matters the Breviary
hymns are not inferior to the classic poetry of paganism, nor to the
much-belauded beauties of the Gallican Breviary hymns (_vide_ Bacquez,
_Le Saint Office_, notes vi. and viii. in finem).
The composition of the hymns is in perfect harmony with the end for
which they are intended, that is, liturgical prayer, chanted prayer.
Their phrases do not display the vain and superfluous literary glitter
of the much-lauded Gallican hymns, but their accents go out from the
sanctuary and live in the hearts of the people. Their language is, like
the thought and expression of the psalms, the word of a soul praying to
God and adoring Him in fervour, in simplicity, and in faith. Of the
piety and expression of the French hymns, Foinard, an ardent apostle of
the French liturgical novelties, wrote: "Il ne parait pas que ce soit
l'onction qui domine dans les nouveaux Breviaries; on y a la verite,
travaille beaucoup pour l'esprit; mais il semole qu' on n'y a pas
travaille autant pour le coeur." Letourneux, the fierce Jansenist, wrote
to the Breviary-poet, Santeuil, his co-worker: "Vous faites fumer
l'encens; mais c'est un feu estranger qui brule dans l'ensenoir. La
vanite fait en vous ce que la charite devrait faire." And the Catholic
De Maistre, so famed for his fair-minded criticisms, wrote of the new
hymn-makers' works: "They make a certain noise in the ear, but they
never breathe prayer, because their writers were all alone (_i.e._,
unaided by the grace and guidance of the Holy Spirit) when they composed
them." Of the Roman Breviary hymns he wrote: "They always pray and
excite the soul to prayer." "Train your hearts to attention, and hear
all their prayers. You will in them see the true religion, as clearly as
you see the sunbeams."
_Fourth Proposition_:--The characteristic of the Roman Breviary hymns is
to express with lively sentiments and with unction the noble ideas and
beautiful sentiments of the supernatural order, in a simple manner,
without prosodical pretension, yet having ever a true rhythm which
sometimes vies with better compositions.
The characteristic mentioned in this proposition, which comes as a
corollary from the three preceding propositions, is one which is clearly
noted in our Breviary hymns. For by their very position in the Breviary,
side by side with the Psalms, Scripture extracts and words of the
Fathers, the Church shows her esteem and her use of these lyrics of
prayer and praise. Again, the Church's mind is shown by her retention of
her hymns in her liturgy, notwithstanding the many efforts made to
substitute a new hymnal. Up to the sixteenth century these Breviary
hymns were universally esteemed. They were admired by St. Augustine.
They are quoted and praised by St. Thomas in his Summa. Deays the
Carthusian {1402-1471} wrote a beautiful commentary on them. Amongst all
priests, secular and regular, the hymns were venerated and loved.
Although there were many men of genius in every age and in every part of
the Christian Church, the hymns escaped until the renaissance under Leo
X. (1475-1521).
The lovers of everything classic and pagan were pained and exasperated
at the venerable simplicity, the lack of prosody, the vagueness and
crudity of the wording of the liturgical hymns. In 1531, Wimpheling, a
priest of the diocese of Spire, produced a work, _Himni de tempore et de
sanctis_ ... _secundum legem carminis diligenter emendati_. Leo X.,
yielding to his own taste and the wishes of the learned innovators who
were ardent students of pagan antiquity, commissioned Ferreri to compose
a new hymnal for liturgical use. His book was allowed for liturgical
use, but was not prescribed. It omitted all the old hymns sanctioned by
the Church for centuries, and sung with fervour by thousands down the
ages. "There are found in the work of Ferreri," wrote Dom Gueranger,
"all the images and all the allusions to pagan beliefs and usages which
we find in Horace. Sometimes, it is only fair to say, his hymns are
beautiful and simple ... but they follow generally and too servilely the
pagan models ... but they are the work of strong and clear inspiration,
which under the mask of classic diction shows itself in every part."
(_Inst. Liturg._ t. I., p. 370.) During the reign of Pope Paul III. new
hymnals were issued, but the Breviary hymns were not removed. St. Pius
V. in his reform of the Breviary did not touch the Breviary hymns.
Clement VIII. in his reform added new hymns but did not remove nor
retouch the old ones. This work remained for Pope Urban VIII.
(1623-1644).
Urban VIII., Maffeo Barberini, was a poet of no mean rank. Before his
election to the papacy, he was a recognised lover of classical
literature and an adept in following classic themes and classic forms.
Our Breviaries contain some few of his compositions and they show
correctness of form, poetic merit, and piety. They are the hymns,
_Martinae celebri, Tu natale solum_ (January 20); _Nullis te genitor,
Regali solio fortis_ (April 13). His great desire was the correction of
the Breviary hymns. This work of correction was not beyond the personal
power of the Pope himself, if we judge him by his hymns. His views are
expressed in the Bull _Divinam Psalmodiam_, issued to promulgate the
corrected hymns. It found a place in all copies of the Roman Breviary in
the last century. To carry out the corrections outlined by the Pope,
four Jesuits were appointed, and whether the result of the corrections
is the Pope's or the Jesuits' is a highly and hotly disputed point.
First of all, the task set to the Jesuits was a very difficult one, and
one demanding much prudence as well as learning. It may seem to us that
to begin the correction, mutilation and reconstruction of the works and
words of men so great in church history and liturgy as Prudentius,
Sedulius, St. Ambrose, St. Paulinus, was a work of rashness, a sort of
sacrilege, attempting to remodel the glowing piety of their poems to the
pattern of Horace's verse. But the Jesuits had got their commands and
they were bound to obey. They were chosen on account of their classical
scholarship, which was kept sharp by their daily teaching in college,
and they were specially bound by a vow of loyal obedience to Papal
orders. "It is only fair to give them the credit that out of respect for
the wishes of Urban VIII, they treated these ancient compositions with
extreme reserve and, while they made some impressions clearer, they
maintained the primitive unction in a large number of passages" (Baudot,
_op. cit._, p. 185).
They corrected more than nine hundred false quantities found scattered
through the Breviary, 58 in the psalter per hebdomadam, 359 in the
proper de Tempore, 283 in the proper of Saints, and 252 in the common of
Saints. They changed the opening words of more than thirty hymns. Some
hymns were untouched--e.g., the three hymns of the Blessed Sacrament,
the _Ave Maris Stella_, which is rhythmic prose, not verse, and the hymn
of the Angels, which was sufficiently perfect. The metre of three hymns,
_Tibi Christe splendor Patris_, and the _Urbs Jerusalem_ and _Angularis
fundamentum_ were changed.
The Jesuits have been censured very bitterly for their work of
correction. Perhaps they merited some censure, but surely they did not
merit the censures heaped on them by hostile critics like Thiers, Henri
Valois, and the Franciscan, Cavalli. They answered their critics
splendidly and triumphantly by the works of Father Arevalo, S.J. But the
wordy war lasts to the present day. Students who wish to see the
unrevised and the revised hymnal of Urban VIII. may consult Daniel's
_Thesaurus hymnologicus_ for examples. Other examples are given in
Monsignor Battifol's work, and others in Dom Baudot's. If the reader
read in the Breviary, the hymn _Te lucis ante terminum_, he may note a
difference in that, the revised form, and this, the unrevised:--
Te lucis ante terminum,
Rerum Creator poscimus,
Ut solita clementia
Sis praesul ad custodiam.
Praesta pater omnipotens
Per Jesum Christum Dominum
Qui tecum in perpetuum regnat
Cum Sancto Spiritu
Again, see Lauds for Passion Sunday, _Lustra sex_, second verse,
unrevised reads:--
Hic acetum fel arundo
Sputa clavi lancea
Mite corpus perforator
Sanguis unda profluit
Terra, pontus, astra, mundus
Quo lavantur flumine.
_Iste Confessor_, unrevised reads:--
Iste confessor domini sacratus
Festa plebs cujus celebrat per orbem
Hodie laetus meruit secreta
Scandere coeli.
Qui Pius, prudens humilis judicus,
Sobrius, castus fuit et quietus
Vita dum praesens vegetavit ejus
Corporis artus.
The imitation of Breviary hymns has for centuries formed a notable part
of sacred Latin poetry. A great amount of Latin poetry dealing with
sacred themes finds no place in Missal or Breviary. Every nation has
ancient Latin hymns, generally modelled on the then existing liturgical
models; and these hymns are found in national hymnals and in works
dealing with Christian antiquities, but they find no place in modern
liturgy. Thus the Latin poetry of the ancient Irish Church is formed for
private and not choral use. The oldest purely rhythmical Latin hymn is
that of St. Sechnall (1448), "Audite omnes amantes Deum, sancta merita."
But neither it, nor any other of the old Latin hymns by Irish writers,
finds place in the Breviary. Collections of Latin hymns by Irish writers
of early Christian Ireland are to be found in Todd's _Book of Hymns of
the Ancient Irish Church_ (Dublin, 1885-1891); the _Irish Liber
Hymnorum_ (London, 1898), the _Antiphonary of Bangor_ (Warren's Edition,
London, 1893).
One of the most difficult works for a scholar to attempt and to carry
out to his satisfaction is the translation of prose or poetry into
another language. The work of translating the Latin of the Roman
Breviary into English was attempted and completed years ago. The work
was great and creditable, but not renowned as a feat of translation. The
hymns of the Breviary have been translated by several authors in every
country of Christendom, and with different degrees of success. The study
of the Breviary hymns is a highly interesting one, and when it is
supported by the different efforts of different translators, it yields
new delights, and new beauties are discovered in verses which are
sometimes said too rapidly for earnest thought and attention. In the
list of books given in the bibliography below, there are given the names
of books of translated hymns. Any one of them is of great interest.
NOTE B.
PARTICULAR EXAMEN ON THE RECITATION OF THE DIVINE OFFICE.
I. How preparation for saying the Hours is to be made:--
(a) Have we before commencing to recite the Breviary made a fervent act
of faith in the presence of God and in the sovereign majesty of Him to
Whom we are going to speak?
Have we endeavoured to purify our hearts by an act of contrition, in
order that we may escape the terrible reproach which God addresses to
the sinner--"to the sinner God hath said, 'Why dost thou declare my
justices and take away covenant in thy mouth?'" (Psalm 49, v.16)?
Have we taken particular care to clear off from our souls everything
which can distract us, and above all others these things to which we are
attracted and to which our minds may return during our prayer?
"Ante debes facere quod ait propheta: scopebam spiritum meum donec
incalescat spiritus tuus ex devota meditatione et affectum et
desiderium concipiat" (D. Gerhard Zutp. de spir. Ascen.). "Studeat
oratione devota et recollectione animi interna divinum praevenire
officium" (St. Bona. spec, di., p.2, c.7).
Have we recollected ourselves and remained silent for a time,
particularly when passing from study or from a secular business, in
order to banish vain or worldly thoughts, and to make ourselves ready to
receive the Holy Ghost?
Have we united ourselves to Jesus Christ, Who is the perfect praise of
God, the Father? Have we united ourselves in spirit to the Church, in
whose name we are going to praise God? "In unione orationum ac meritorum
Christi Jesu gratiam ad officium debite persolvendum petat" (St.
Bona. _ibid_.)
Have we begged the Holy Ghost by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin
and the saints, whose offices we read, that we may be allowed to join
our praises to those which they give God?
Have we always formed intentions general and particular, not forgetting
to form intentions embracing the intentions of Christ and His Church?
Have we adopted some pious thought prior to our reading, so that
distractions may be excluded and fervour fostered during our recitation?
Have we chosen suitable time and place to pray?
Have we taken pains to mark the places in the Breviary and looked over
the rubrics? Has not negligence in these matters caused innumerable
distractions?
II. Dispositions which we should have in saying the Office:--
Let us find out with what dispositions we recite the Divine Office, and
if we say it in the manner in which the Church wishes it to be said,
digne, attente, ac devote. (Orat. rec. ante offic.).
1. Have we considered well that God is present and that we speak to Him?
Do we look on ourselves as instruments which need to be animated with
God's holy spirit in order to bless His holy name? Have we said the
Office with all the respect and all the veneration which His almighty
majesty calls for? Cum timore et humilitate, tanquam Deo visibiliter
presente, psallant (S. Bona, spec, discip., p. 1, c. 15).
2. In order to say it attentively have we taken great pains to put away
all kinds of distractions?
"Munda cor meum ab omnibus vanis perversis et alienis cogitationibus"
(_ibid._).
Have we rejected even good thoughts which were unsuitable for the time
of recitation, and above all have we banished idle or indifferent ones?
Have we tried, following the example of the saints, to excite in
ourselves the different sentiments expressed by the Psalms, or to dwell
on some perfection of God, or on some mystery of our Lord, or on some
virtue of the saint whose office we read? Have we piously dwelt on
these, or on some other subject proper to the Church's season or
according to our needs?
"Si orat psalmus, orate; si gemit, gemite; si gratulatur, gaudete; si
timet, timete" (St. Aug. in Ps. 30).
In order to say the Office devoutly, have we said it with love, having
our hearts and souls fully alive to the advantages and the excellence
and the beauties of the Divine Office?
Have we said it with fervour, abandoning ourselves to a good emotion, to
holy affections, and to joyous transports, which the Holy Ghost usually
works in fervent souls? Have we done this work with joy, taking a
peculiar pleasure in this holy labour, recognising the great honour it
is to be a partaker in the songs of praise offered to God by the
heavenly company, whose hosts are filled with His glory?
III. How we must keep watch over ourselves in reading the Office:--
Let us examine ourselves to find out if in reading the Breviary we keep
the rules of good recitation, as laid down by the saints--Distincte,
integre, continue, reverenter, ordinate (St. Bonav., spec. discip. p.
1, c. 16).
1. _Distincte_, Do we recite distinctly, observing the ordinary pause at
the middle and at the end of each verse, not hurrying the one on the
other? Do we articulate every word, not adopting a careless or too
speedy pronunciation?
"Non in gutture vel inter dentes, seu deglutiendo et syncopando
dictiones vel verba" (Con. Basil, sess. 22).
2. _Integre_. Do we say the Office in its entirety, being scrupulously
careful not to omit the smallest part, and taking great care that a part
that we should wish or try to say by heart shall not slip out of our
recitation altogether or be mutilated?
"Integre, ut de dicendis nihil omittant" (St. Bona., spec, discip.,
p. 1).
3. Continue. Do we say our Hours without interruption? Do we love this
holy exercise? Or do we easily interrupt our prayer on any trifling
pretext, and on the first opportunity?
"Interruptiones in eo non fiant, nisi urgente necessitate" (_ibid_.).
4. _Ordinate_. Do we say our Office with order, that is, order both in
substance (not substituting one Office for another) and in manner,
according to the rubrics arranging the several hours?
"_Ordinate in substantia, tempore et modo_" (St. Bona. spec., _ibid_.).
5. Have we said our Hours piously, with all the modesty and all the
reverence which so holy an action demands? With becoming attitude, not
lying prone, not crossing our legs; without saluting or speaking to
those passing by?
"In officio curando magnopere reverentia et honestas, cum ubique sit
eadem cui tune loquimur et adstamus Deitas et majestas" (_ibid_.). (From
_Examens Particulers sur l'Office Divin_, par M. Tronson).
NOTE C.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Priests are provided in their text-books of College days with reliable
guides dealing directly and indirectly with liturgy. Hence, some of the
books quoted here may already be favourites with many readers; but,
perhaps, some books in the list may be brought to the notice of
students of liturgy for the first time, and may be useful in introducing
priests and church students to easy, pleasant paths in liturgical
studies. The prices quoted may be useful to book-buyers,
1. Dom Gueranger, _The Liturgical Year_ (1895, Duffy, Dublin, 16 vols.
£3 9s.)--This work is a favourite with all lovers of liturgy, It studies
and comments on the Church's liturgy day by day, week by week. It gives
readers of the Missal and the Breviary a new interest and an additional
fervour in their daily prayers. It is a standard work and holds its own
wonderfully against all competitors.
2. _Cours De Liturgie Romaine Le Breviare_, L'abbe Bernard, Sulpician
(Paris. 1887, 2 vols, 7 francs). This is a text-book written with great
care, showing fine scholarship and deep piety. It is the work of a
skilled teacher.
3. _Le Breviare Romain, Commente_ par L'abbe Maugere. Paris. 1887, 6
francs.--A very concise and useful work, which I have used often in
compiling my book.
4. The articles in the _Catholic Encyclopedia_, on the Breviary and
liturgy generally.
5. Duchesne, _Christian Worship_ (London. 1904. 10s.). Very readable and
serviceable to students of early Church history.
6. Battifol, _History of the Roman Breviary_. (London, 1912. 15s.)
7. Biron-Baumer, _Histoire du Breviaire_. (Paris. 2 vols. 11 francs.)
8. Baudot, _The Roman Breviary_ (London. Cath. Truth Society. Price
4s.6d.)
Monsignor Battifol's book is well and favourably known. It is in
English, and has had a large circulation. It received searching and
severe criticism from Dom Baumer, the author of _Geschichte des
Breviers_. Baumer's work (translated into French by Biron) is a work
showing wonderful industry, learning and critical acumen. The great
German Benedictine was aided in several parts of his work by Mr. E.
Bishop, the English liturgiologist, who intended to translate the work
into English. Dom Baudot's book gives in concise form the results of the
labours of Battifol and Baumer. The book is readable, accurate, and is
excellent value for the price.
9. _The Calendar_. The introductory matter given in the Breviary
suffices for the wants of the ordinary student of liturgy. But those who
wish for an exhaustive study of times and seasons may safely read
_Kalendarium Manuale_, Pars I. _Festa immobilia_, Editio secunda; price
9 lire; and Pars. II. _Festa Mobilia_, price 13 lire, by Rev. N. Nilles,
S.J. Calendar study is highly interesting, and the articles in the
_Catholic Encyclopedia_ and Father Thurston's articles in the _Month_ on
Calendar affairs are always instructive.
_The New Psalter_ (Myers and Burton. London. 1915. 3s.6d.) is a very
useful and practical help to the understanding and application of the
new rubrics. I have quoted several times from its pages,
_Heortology_, a History of Christian Festivals from their Origin to the
Present Day, by Dr. Kellner, Professor of Catholic Theology in Bonn, is
a translation of a text-book written for German students preparing to
pass Government examinations. It is a fine book, and if a student of
liturgy knew its contents well he would have no poor knowledge of this
and, incidentally, of other questions of liturgy. Gueranger, Duchesne
and Kellner constitute the beginnings of a student's liturgical library
(London, Keegan, Paul. 1908. Price 10s. 6d.). An excellent little volume
by Father McKee, dealing with the same subject, is published by Catholic
Truth Society, London, 2s, 6d. It is introductory and elementary.
10. Thousands of works on the Psalms have been published. But any priest
or student who studies Steenkiste's work on the Psalms learns nearly all
that is needed to recite his psalms digne, attente ac devote. His work
is a mine of useful, pious, and, in the main, accurate comment on the
inspired text. Breviary students studying this commentary need little
else to help them to admire, to understand and to use their psalmody in
a prayerful manner. Steenkiste, _Liber Psalmorum_ (3 vols, Bruges. 1886.
Price 15s.).
_The New Psalter of the Roman Breviary_, by Fillon, S.S. (London,
Herder. 1915. Price 6s.).
Father Fillon was consultor to the Biblical Commission. His notes are
short and useful to those who, having studied the psalms, can recall
their meaning by a few brief hints. Its comments are too brief, but it
gives the Latin text, English translation, notes on psalms and newly
added canticles, and is arranged in the order in which they stand in the
Pian psaltery.
_Sing Ye to the Lord_, by Rev. R. Eaton (London, Catholic Truth
Society. 2 vols. 4s. each).
In these books the leading idea or ideas of the Psalms are taken up, and
beautiful explanations and spiritual readings given. The books are
delightful reading, and give Breviary readers, old and young, fresh
thoughts on psalms which through familiarity and constant repetition may
have lost some of their pious meaning and prayerfulness.
Books of Scripture commentary by non-Catholic writers should be read
with caution, and often ecclesiastical permission for their perusal must
be sought. Neale and Littledale's _Commentary on the Psalms_ (6 vols.
London. 1867) is a compilation by two Anglican scholars, from the
commentators of the Middle Ages. The wonderful piety of these men of
old, saints and scholars, their beautiful comments, their glowing
fervour, and above all their knowledge and love of the Bible text,
surprise us all. Sometimes, of course, these mediaevalists run into
far-fetched, outlandish comments, but the compilers give always the
comments of the Masters, St. Thomas, St. Bede, etc.
Very many metrical arrangements of the Psalms by non-Catholic authors
exist in English. Most of these metrical efforts are very poor,
unreliable in giving the sense, and awkward and ungainly in poetic
forms. An interesting book is Prothero's _Psalms in Human Life_. The
author was a Protestant, hence his numbering of the Psalms may at first
sight be confusing,
Sermons fresh and beautiful, full of unction, and full of texts, sublime
and practical, are to be found in the Psalms. A work, little known in
our islands, is Monsignor Doublet's fine work, _Psaumes etudies en vue
de la Predication_ (3 vols. 8th Edition. 12s.).
A charming booklet, dealing chiefly with the Psalms as prayers, is
Rolland Gosselin's _Prieres et Meditations bibliques_ (Paris. 1917.
Bauchesne. 3s.).
_10. Hymns._ Immense labour has been devoted to the study of Latin
sacred poetry. The _Analecta Hymnica_ in 60 huge volumes testifies to
the learning and zeal of its Jesuit authors. Ordinary mortals content
themselves with lesser works, such as Pimont's _Hymnes du Breviare
Romain_ (Paris Poussielgne. 2 vols, 12-1/2 francs), or with _La Poesie
du Breviaire, Les Hymns_, by l'abbe C. Albin. Price 6 francs. The
opinions and judgments in neither book are infallible; and some of
Pimont's findings have been roughly criticised and sometimes rejected.
But both books give good, sound knowledge of Breviary hymns and thus
help to make their recitation a pious and a rational exercise, not a
mechanical, soulless labour.
Translation of poetry has ever been a study and a pastime. Every cleric
is familiar with the prose translations which aided his boyhood's
labours in rendering the poetry of Horace and Euripides into modern
speech. But prose efforts are one thing, and poetical efforts are
another, and just as many have laboured to present Virgil and Homer in
modern language, in metre, in rhyme, in rhythm; so, many poets and
verse-makers, in different ages and in different climes, have laboured
to turn into modern poetic form and into their own national tongue the
poems of the Breviary. The Breviary hymns have met with several good,
kind, translating poets; but very often they have been rudely handled by
well-meaning verse builders. Passing over in charitable silence the
indifferent efforts of those people, it may interest some students of
the Breviary to read the efforts of well-known authors to translate the
liturgy, its anthems, responses, collects, hymns, into good English.
(1) _The Day Hours of the Church_.--A translation of the Horae Diurnae,
with the psalms, etc., arranged according to the reform of Pope Pius X.
This is a good book, giving in parallel columns on the same page, Latin
and English translations. It includes the very best hymn translations by
Catholic authors, John Dryden, Cardinal Newman, Father Caswall, etc.
(Burns & Gates. 8s.). This book is intended for the use of the laity,
and, owing to the strict regulations issued for the printing of the new
Roman Breviary, this book may not lawfully be used to replace the
Breviarium Romanum. But, as it is a complete translation of the little
Hours of the Church, it is a very useful aid to the attentive and devout
recitation of the Hours. A look at its pages before each hour's
recitation, or a glance to see the meaning of some verse of psalm or
hymn will repay anyone. It is a wonderfully careful production, has a
beautiful _format_, and is good value at the price marked.
(2) _Annus Sanctus_, by Orby Shipley (Burns & Oates. 1884). This book
contains the work of many Catholic translators, and their translations
of Breviary hymns vary in merit. It contains a good introduction, the
translations attributed to Dryden, and it gives some things which are
always interesting, the efforts of several minds, poets and
verse-makers, to render the same Latin hymn into English verse. It
includes verses from several Irishmen.
(3) _Hymns from the Roman Breviary_, translated (Catholic Truth Society,
London. Price 1s. 6d). A good selection from Catholic and non-Catholic
translators. The translations of Dr. Neale, Anglican--held to be
superior in fidelity and in poetic form to that of any English
translator--are given in this booklet. Neale's _Collected Hymns_ (Hodder
& Stoughton, 6s.) are useful for translators and composers of vernacular
hymns. But his work is, I think, over-rated.
(4) Other translations of Breviary hymns are found in the collections of
hymns used in Anglican churches: _Hymns, Ancient and Modern; The English
Hymnal; The Hymner from the Sarum Breviary_ (Plain-song and Mediaeval
Society, London); _Songs of Sion_, by Woodward, etc.
For advanced study of liturgy, Dom Cabrol's _Dictionaire D'Archeologie
Chrietienne Et Liturgie_ (Paris: Letouzey et Ane) is indispensable. Its
study delights and consoles those who possess it.