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 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY
 
 THE 
 
 Little Office of our Lady 
 
 A TREATISE 
 
 THEORETICAL, PRACTICAL, AND EXEGETICAL 
 
 BY 
 I 
 
 ETHELRED L. TAUNTON 
 
 Priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster 
 
 "/ have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, who shall never 
 hold their peace day or night." ISAIAS Ixii. 6 
 
 ILonbon 
 JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, Ltd., 83-89, Gt. Titchfield Street, W. 
 
 R. & T. WASHBOURNE, 4, Paternoster Row, E.G. 
 
 Dublin New York 
 
 BROWNE & NOLAN 1903 F. PUSTET & Co. 
 
 24, Nassau St. 52, Barclay St.
 
 TO 
 
 MISS C. P. BOYD, 
 
 FOUNDRESS OF THE ORPHANAGE OF THE INFANT SAVIOUR, 
 
 KILBURN, N.W. 
 IN REMEMBRANCE OF MUCH KINDNESS.
 
 NIHIL OBSTAT 
 
 Joannes Gilbertus Dolan, O.S.B., 
 Censor Debutatus. 
 
 IMPRIMATUR 
 
 4- Herbertus Cardinalis Vaughan, 
 
 Archiepiscopus Westmonasteriensis. 
 
 Die 1 6 Martii, 1903.
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I HAVE written this treatise especially for those who by 
 their vows are called upon to share in the public prayer of the 
 Church. To my knowledge no adequate treatise, such as 1 
 have aimed at, exists in any language. And when one con- 
 siders the thousands of souls who are bound to pay their 
 service to God through the Little Office of our Lady, it is 
 strange that the want has not been hitherto supplied by hands 
 more competent than mine. However, if the perusal of this 
 book help to a better understanding of words so frequently 
 on the lips of religious, if it make them value more and more 
 the priceless privilege of joining in the public prayer of the 
 Church, and if it cause them to realise some of the wider 
 doctrines of the spiritual life, then, indeed, the labour of 
 several years will have been well spent and my reward made 
 exceeding great. 
 
 But although this book has been written primarily for the 
 use of religious, I have borne in mind the wants of that ever- 
 increasing number of the laity who prefer to find their devo- 
 tion in the Church's prayers, where all is staid and sober 
 and short, rather than in the utterances of private individuals, 
 which are often the reverse. In days gone by the Little 
 Office in English was the favourite devotion of our Catholic 
 forefathers. Happy for England when our prayers once 
 more take such forms, and we build our spiritual life on the 
 simple direct spirit of Holy Mother Church, instead of on 
 those so-called devotions which the late saintly Cardinal 
 Manning was wont to count as some of the greatest evils 
 of the Church to-day.
 
 viii. INTRODUCTION 
 
 As to the book itself. I have divided the treatise into three 
 parts : 
 
 In the THEORETICAL part, I inquire into the nature and 
 excellence of Liturgical Prayer ; and then discuss the materials 
 which compose the Little Office ; lastly, I give an historical 
 account of the growth and development of the Prayer as we 
 have it to-day. 
 
 In the PRACTICAL part, I consider the best means of saying 
 the Office with fruit and according to the mind of the Church, 
 and I also make various suggestions to this end, and treat of 
 some difficulties. 
 
 The EXEGETICAL part consists of a full and complete 
 Commentary, drawn from the Fathers and great mystical 
 writers, on every verse of the Psalms, together with a full 
 explanation of the hymns, lessons, responsories, antiphons, 
 versicles, and prayers. To this is added by way of Appendix 
 a Ceremonial and the latest decrees of the Sacred Congregation 
 of Rites upon the subject. 
 
 As to the use to be made of this book. It is not intended 
 to be read through once and then laid aside, as a mere book 
 of reference. But, as the Office is a daily work, so should 
 this treatise be made a daily handbook for reading and studying 
 now one part, and then another. I recommend that first 
 of all the book be read through, in order to grasp the 
 general subject. Then that portions of the Third Part be 
 studied daily. On retreat days, the First and Second Parts 
 may be read with advantage. Again, a verse of a Psalm with 
 its commentary may be usefully taken as the subject of mental 
 prayer, and the lights which are gained during the recitation 
 will prove abundant food for this time. And for spiritual 
 reading, slow and thoughtful, what can be better than a com- 
 mentary on the Psalms ; for here we have the Holy Ghost 
 speaking to us directly in the words of the Scripture ; and His 
 saints explaining them to us. The main point I want to arrive 
 at with those who use this book is the value of the Public 
 Prayer above all private prayer, and the consequent necessity 
 of making a deliberate study thereof. 
 
 As regard the materials of this book. I have drawn them 
 from all manner of sources. Whatever is good I have made
 
 INTRODUCTION ix. 
 
 use of, according to my lights, irrespective of country and 
 person. One work, largely quoted, is The Myroure of our Ladye, 
 written by an unknown author in the old days for the 
 Brigittine nuns of Sion Abbey at Isleworth. This venerable 
 English community after three hundred years' exile on the 
 Continent have returned to England, and are settled at Sion 
 Abbey, Chudleigh, Devon. As their form of Office is entirely 
 different from the Roman use, I had to content myself 
 with extracting from the Myroure such parts as would apply 
 to the Little Office to-day. While preserving the pious 
 author's quaint phraseology I have modernised his spelling, 
 and in a few very few instances changed, here and there, 
 a word which would not be intelligible to most of my 
 readers. I have invariably quoted from the edition of The' 
 Myroure of our Ladye published by the Early English Text 
 Society. The Commentary on the Psalms is a cento made 
 up from all sources. Like the late Archabbat Wolter of 
 Beuron in his Psallite Sapienter, I have used largely that most 
 beautiful and complete work, Dr. Neale's Commentary on the 
 Psalms (1860). There are few who have had so intimate a know- 
 ledge of the devotional spirit and aspect of the Middle Ages, 
 or were so thoroughly imbued with their tone, as the lamented 
 author. Joining to this an immense patristic and scriptural 
 knowledge, he, with infinite patience, wrote before his death 
 a commentary on the first fifty-eight Psalms, which is all gold. 
 While borrowing largely and freely from this priceless work, I 
 have not hesitated to alter, to abbreviate, and often to enlarge 
 the matter wherever I thought proper. While the Commen- 
 tary I give is solely devotional, I have pointed out, without 
 being critical, the generally received opinion about the origin 
 of the Psalm and the circumstances under which it was written. 
 
 I must express my heartfelt thanks to my valued and well- 
 proved friend, Dom. J. G. Dolan, O.S.B., who in the midst of 
 mission cares has found time to be of great service to me, 
 not only by acting as Censor Deputatus for the ecclesiastical 
 authorities, but also by making excellent and thoughtful sug- 
 gestions, which I have gladly carried out. 
 
 It only remains to add my earnest prayer that those holy 
 virgins who, forsaking all things, follow the Lamb whitherso-
 
 x. INTRODUCTION 
 
 ever He goeth, and, by their good works, fill our land with 
 the sweet odour of Christ, thus recalling the days when a 
 Hilda, an Edith, an Ethelreda, a Mildred, a Werburgha, found 
 union with God by doing for Him a woman's work in the 
 world, that they, when using this book, will remember me 
 and mine, alive or dead, in their prayers before the Throne of 
 Grace. 
 
 London, E. L. T. 
 
 November 5, 1902.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... ... ... vii. 
 
 PART I THEORETICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. On the Nature of Liturgical Prayer... ... ... i 
 
 CHAPTER II. On the Formation of the Liturgical Prayer ... ... 17 
 
 Note on the Interpretation of the Psalms ... ... 34 
 
 CHAPTER III. On the History of the Little Office ... ... 37 
 
 PART II. PRACTICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. On Saying the Office as the Church wishes ... ... 48 
 
 CHAPTER II. On Recollection before Beginning... ... ... 55 
 
 CHAPTER III. On Particular Intention ... ... ... ... 59 
 
 CHAPTER IV. On Attention ... ... ... ... ... 67 
 
 CHAPTER V. On Some Aids to Attention ... ... ... 74 
 
 CHAPTER VI. On Distractions... ... ... ... ... 78 
 
 PART III. EXEGETICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Preparatory Prayer ... ... ... ... 84 
 
 CHAPTER II. At Matins, or Night-Song ... ... ... 88 
 
 CHAPTER III. At Lauds, or Morning Song ... ... ... 233 
 
 CHAPTER IV. At Prime: the First Hour ... ... ... 315 
 
 CHAPTER V. At Terce : the Third Hour ... ... ... 335 
 
 CHAPTER VI. AtSext: the Sixth Hour... ... ... ... 350 
 
 CHAPTER VII. At None: the Ninth Hour ... ... ... 361 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. At Vespers, or Evensong ... ... ... 375 
 
 CHAPTER IX. At Compline, or Night-Song ... ... ... 409 
 
 APPENDIX ON CEREMONIAL ... ... ... ... ... 433
 
 THE 
 
 LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY. 
 
 PART I. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER. 
 
 THE Little Office of our Lady is one of the liturgical prayers 
 of the Church ; and she imposes it on many of her children. 
 For them it takes the place of that greater office known by 
 the distinctive title of the Divine Office. Although the Little 
 Office of our Lady is considerably shorter than the ever- 
 varying Office which the clergy and religious of both sexes 
 in solemn vows have to say, yet, coming as it does from the 
 same authority which regulates and prescribes its use, it is as 
 much a liturgical prayer as the other, and has the same claims 
 to be considered as part of the public official worship which 
 the mystical Spouse of Christ, the Church, daily offers to her 
 Divine Head. 
 
 In these last words we have the whole idea of Liturgical 
 Prayer ; and, in order that it should be properly understood, 
 and secure in our heart its true value, we propose to consider, 
 somewhat at length, the nature of prayer, especially in its 
 relation to the recitation of the Office. 
 
 We cannot get a better definition of prayer than that 
 found in our catechism, which is the one given by the great 
 Angelical doctor St. Thomas : Prayer is the lifting up of the
 
 2 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 heart and mind to God. It is, in its simplest form, an act of 
 the soul which calls into play the powers of understanding 
 and will, or, in other words, the reason and the affections. 
 The understanding has to be directed to God ; the will has 
 to be moved towards Him. Faith must illuminate our under- 
 standing so that we may know Him Whom we address ; while 
 Hope and Charity must inflame our will so that we may love, 
 praise, adore, thank, and beseech Him in Whom we believe. 
 There can be no prayer, properly so-called, of the under- 
 standing without a resulting motion of the will ; neither 
 can there be a prayer of the will without the preliminary 
 exercise of the understanding. Both must be employed ; 
 for, as God is One, so is the soul. He has made man 
 to His Own image and likeness. He does not wish us to 
 have a dry knowledge of Himself, but such an understanding 
 as will make us turn to Him as the sole Object that can 
 adequately fill a creature's heart. Again, He does not ask us 
 to love Him blindly, not knowing Who or What He is. He 
 demands a reasonable service [i], a love based on knowledge. 
 Without the use of reason we debase His service into a mere 
 superstition. Hence it can be seen, from the definition of 
 prayer, that it is the work of the soul acting through under- 
 standing and will. It is well to get this principle deeply 
 rooted in the mind from the outset, for it proves how necessary 
 it is for each one, as far as means allow, to make a con- 
 scientious study of the subject of prayer; and especially of 
 the Liturgical Prayer. For those bound to its recitation 
 this must be a serious duty, since the Office is a daily task, 
 laid upon us by Holy Church under a grave obligation. 
 
 Prayer is divided into two great classes : mental prayer 
 and vocal prayer. Mental prayer is that in which the soul 
 itself works without the aid of any exterior instrument. Vocal 
 prayer, as its very name implies, calls in the use of the human 
 voice as an external means of praying. But there is this 
 important point to bear in mind. If the soul can pray 
 without the help of the body, the body cannot pray without 
 the help of the soul. Vocal prayer must find an echo 
 in the heart, otherwise it is but an empty form, and merits 
 
 [i] Rom. xii. 2.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 3 
 
 the contempt which our Lord shows for the prayers of the 
 Pharisees, who expected to be heard for their much speaking 
 [i]. It would be but a lip-service which He does not want : 
 These people know me with their lips and not with their hearts, 
 says the Lord by His prophet [2]. This strict dependence of 
 vocal prayer on mental prayer is in keeping with our human 
 nature. Our bodies can only be said to act in a reasonable 
 manner when prompted by the soul. There is nothing in the 
 nature of things that can prevent the soul from acting, that 
 is to say, from knowing and loving, without making use of the 
 organs of the body : a proof, by the way, making for the 
 immortality of the soul. It is on account of this truth that 
 Holy Church bids us, before beginning our Office, pray that 
 we may say it attentively and devoutly ; that is, with due 
 application of the body and the soul. 
 
 Of vocal prayer, which mainly concerns us in this book, 
 the division is two-fold public and private ; and both have 
 to be considered from the point of view of the prayer itself, 
 and the one who prays. Public vocal prayer, strictly so-called, 
 is that prayer which is the official act of the whole body of 
 the Church. Private vocal prayer is that which individuals, 
 by themselves or with others, say according to their own 
 private devotion. It, therefore, cannot be looked upon as the 
 public act of the whole body of the Church. Now as regards 
 those who pray : the individual may be either a public servant 
 of the Church who in her name is charged with making 
 intercession ; or a private individual [3] who bears no official 
 position, and is not appointed, like Aaron, to stand between 
 the living and the dead [4]. Those who, either by their state 
 or by vow approved of by the Church, are charged with 
 saying the Office, whether it be the Divine Office or the 
 Little Office of our Lady, say it as public servants of the 
 Church who, officially, stand before the Throne of God and 
 make intercession for the whole body of Christ's Church. 
 
 [l] Matthew vi. 7. [2] Isaias xxix. 13. 
 
 [3] Though forsaking his own fancies, he may find both his security and profit in 
 following the formulas which are publicly authorised by the Church, and thus 
 unite himself with the public praying of the Church. 
 [4] Numbers xvi. 48.
 
 4 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 When performing this duty, even when alone, they cease to 
 be private individuals : they are invested with the public 
 character of ambassadors to the heavenly court. He is consti- 
 tuted in those things which appertain to God [i]. But although 
 invested with a public character, those who recite the Office 
 do not lose the merit of their own personal action according 
 to the words of the Apostle : Who sows in blessings the same 
 also shall reap in blessings ; [2] or that other saying : From the 
 fruit of his month shall a man be filled with good things [3]. 
 And there is no prayer so efficacious as that of the Office, 
 for it has a peculiar and great merit before God for a reason 
 we shall give below. "A single psalm said well excites all 
 the powers of our soul and makes us produce a hundred 
 acts of virtue. One hour said with devotion implies at the 
 bottom of the heart a thousand good desires, a thousand 
 pious affections" [4]: thus St. Alphonsus. Is it any wonder 
 that St. Benedict tells his monks : " Let nothing be preferred 
 to the work of God " ? [5] 
 
 But there is a deeper view of the public prayer of the 
 Church and of those who are privileged to take part therein. 
 We must look more closely into the matter and endeavour to 
 search out honey and oil out of the Rock [6] . Now the Rock 
 was Christ [7] ; and He, the same yesterday, to-day and for ever- 
 more [8], is the soul of the Liturgical prayer. It is Jesus 
 Christ Who prays in us ; it is He Who prays by us ; it is He 
 Who prays with us. This is the great truth which gives the 
 value to Liturgical prayer and sets it so far above any private 
 devotions. It is this sublime truth which makes St. Alphonsus 
 say that one Pater Nosier said in the Office is worth a thousand 
 said out of private devotion. 
 
 We must go back to our baptismal Creed for the founda- 
 tion of all this. We profess our belief in the Almighty 
 Father, in the Incarnate Son, and the Holy Ghost ; and then 
 in the mystical Body of Christ, quickened by the Abiding 
 Presence, the Holy Catholic Church, which is the Commu- 
 
 [i] Heb. v. i. [5] Holy Rule, Cap. 43. 
 
 [2] 2 Cor. ix. 6. [6] Deut. xxii. 13. 
 
 [3] Prov. xiii. 2. [7] I Cor. x. 4. 
 
 [4] The Divine Office. Introduction. [8] Heb. xiii. 8.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 5 
 
 nion of Saints. This is the doctrine of the Mystical Body 
 which the Holy Ghost by St. Paul thus explains : 
 
 For as the body is one and hath many members, and all the 
 members of that one body, being many, are one body ; so also 
 is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptised into one Body, 
 whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; 
 and have been all made to drink of one Spirit. . . . Now yc 
 are the Body of Christ and members in particular [i], 
 
 And again : 
 
 For there is one Body and one Spirit, even as ye are called in 
 one hope of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one 
 
 God and Father of all (That) speaking the truth in 
 
 love (we) may grow up in all things into Him who is the Head, 
 even Christ, from whom all the body fitly framed and knit 
 together through that which every joint supplieth, according to 
 the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the 
 increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love [2]. 
 
 And once more : 
 
 And He is before all things and in Him all things consist. 
 And He is the Head of the Body, the Church. . . . for it 
 pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell [3]. 
 
 On these words of the Apostle the whole structure of the 
 Liturgical prayer is built. It is the outward manifestation of 
 the real life of the Church, the mystical Body of God the 
 Son. And in this way our Divine Lord has united to Him- 
 self, as members of a body to the head, all those who live by 
 grace. This forms what is called the Mystical Body of 
 Christ. As He has a real human body born of the Virgin 
 Mary so He has also a Mystical Body begotten by grace 
 born of the Water and the Blood [4] and quickened at Pente- 
 cost by the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Life- 
 giver. Those who are members of His Body live with His 
 life and act through with Him according to the saying : 
 / live; no longer I but Christ lives in me [5] ; and that other : 
 Of His fulness we all have received [6]. When this Mystical 
 Body acts it is always in union with its Divine Head, Jesus 
 
 [i] Cor. xii. 12, 13, 27. [4] I John v. 6. 
 
 [2] Eph. iv. 4, 5, 6, 15, 16. [5] Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 [3] Col. i. 17,18. [6] John i. 16.
 
 6 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Christ. Its acts become His acts, for they are guided by His 
 Spirit. They are thus invested with a dignity and a worth 
 far beyond their natural power. They become the acts of 
 the Infinite God Himself. On the other hand, when Jesus 
 Christ works He acts as the Head of the Church, of that 
 Mystical body which He has united so closely to Himself 
 and which only exists in Him. He makes use of the Body 
 Mystical for carrying out His Own gracious ends ; and plays 
 on it as a skilful harper who touches the strings of a well- 
 tuned instrument and is sure that they will respond to the 
 feelings which sweep over his soul. 
 
 What, then, is the work of Jesus Christ as the Head of the 
 Church ? He is the great Adorer of His Father, or, as the 
 saintly founder of St. Sulpice was wont to say, the Sole 
 Religious [i]. Through the Incarnation, God is able to 
 receive from Creation a homage and a worship which perfectly 
 befit Him, and which otherwise could never have been found. 
 Finite creatures, be they the holiest and highest, can never 
 worship God as He deserves ; for to Him is due a worship 
 without bounds. How, then, can creatures, who are limited 
 on all sides, pay such a homage ? No one but God Himself, 
 the Infinite One, can offer a worship which has the perfection 
 that is required. It was therefore necessary, if He is to have 
 a fitting worship, that God the Son, of the very same substance 
 and equal to His Father in all things, should become Man, so 
 that as the God-Man He, in His created nature, and in the 
 name of all creation, should pay a homage which, on account 
 of His Own Divine Person, is infinite and worthy of all 
 acceptance by the Eternal Father. But while on the one 
 hand God receives from Jesus Christ a worship without end- 
 ing, according to the words : Great is the Lord and exceed- 
 ingly to be praised [2] ; on the other, the life of the God-Man 
 is also destined for us, to supply the wants of our race. 
 He is decreed to be our Head in order to enable us through 
 Him to worship our Maker. Not only during the thirty-three 
 years of His mortal life was He to worship His Father, but 
 
 [l] Religion in its real meaning is that bond which binds the creature to the 
 Creator (Religo I bind). 
 
 [2] Ps. xlvii. i.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 7 
 
 that homage has to be paid for evermore. The life of Jesus 
 now in Heaven is concerned with the same work : Living for 
 ever to make intercession for us [i]. He is the Lamb slain 
 from the beginning of the world [2] ; the Eternal Sacrifice 
 to which we are associated. The Mystical Body ever needs 
 to pour forth its homage to the Eternal ; and Jesus Christ, 
 her Divine Head, is ever making intercession for us in Her 
 name. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, 
 the Righteous [3]. This position of our Lord, as the Mystical 
 Head of the Church, the Adorer of the Father in the name of 
 His brethren, must be understood if we are to appreciate 
 the Liturgical prayer at its proper value, and to understand 
 our share therein. Let us, then, with the eye of faith, pene- 
 trate within the veil and, with adoring look, gaze on the 
 worship of heaven. Let us enter into His courts with praise [4] 
 and listen to the morning stars singing together and the Sons 
 of God shouting for joy [5]. The Beloved disciple, St. John, 
 shall be our guide. 
 
 And after this I looked and behold a door was opened in 
 heaven ; and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a 
 trumpet talking with me ; which said : Come up hither and I 
 will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately 
 I was in the spirit : and, behold, a Throne was set in heaven and 
 One sat on the Throne. And He that sat was to look upon like 
 a jasper and a sardine stone ; and there was a rainbow round 
 about the Throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 
 
 And round about the Throne were four and twenty seats ; 
 and sitting upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders, sitting 
 clothed in white raiment ; and they had on their heads crowns 
 of gold. 
 
 And out of the Throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings 
 and voices : and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the 
 Throne which are the seven Spirits of God. 
 
 And before the Throne there was a sea of glass like unto 
 crystal : and in the midst of the Throne, and round about the 
 Throne, were four living creatures, full of eyes, before and behind. 
 
 [i] Heb. vii. 25. [4] Ps. c. 4. 
 
 [2] Apoc. xiii. 8. [5] Job xxxviii. 7. 
 
 [3] John ii. i.
 
 8 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 And the first living creature was like a lion, and the second 
 living creature like a calf, and the third living creature had a 
 face as a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying- 
 eagle. 
 
 And the four living creatures had each of them six wings 
 about him : and they were full of eyes within : and they rest not 
 day or night, saying : Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, 
 Who was, and is, and is to come. 
 
 And when those living creatures gave glory and honour and 
 thanks to Him that sat on the Throne, Who liveth for ever and 
 ever, the four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sat on 
 the Throne, and worshipped Him that liveth for ever and ever, 
 and cast their crowns before the Throne, saying: Thou art worthy, 
 Lord, to receive glory and honour and power : for Thou hast 
 created all things, and for Thy pleasure they were and arc 
 created [i]. 
 
 And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the Throne and of the 
 four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb 
 standing as if it were slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, 
 which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 
 And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him 
 that sat upon the Throne. 
 
 And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures 
 and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having 
 every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which 
 are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a New Song: Thou 
 art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for 
 TJwu wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood out 
 of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ; and hast 
 made us unto God kings and priests : and we shall reign on 
 the earth. 
 
 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round 
 about the Throne and the living creatures and the elders : and 
 the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and 
 thousands of tJiousands ; saying, with a loud voice : Worthy is 
 the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
 and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 
 
 [i] Apoc. iv. i-ir.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 9 
 
 And every creature which is in heaven, and on earth, and 
 under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that arc in 
 them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, 
 be unto Him that sitteth upon the Throne, and unto the Lamb 
 for ever and ever: and the four living creatures said: Amen. 
 And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped Him 
 that liveth for ever and ever [i]. 
 
 And the four and twenty elders who sat before God on their 
 seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, saying : We give 
 Thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, Who art, and wast, and 
 art to come, because Thou hast taken to Thee Thy great power, 
 and hast reigned. 
 
 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was 
 seen in His temple the ark of His testimony : and there were 
 lightning, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and 
 great hail. And there appeared a great sign in heaven : a 
 Woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and 
 upon her head a crown of twelve stars [2]. 
 
 And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and 
 with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His 
 Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a Voice 
 from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a 
 great thunder : and I heard the voice of harpers harping with 
 their harps : and they sang as it were a New Song before the 
 Throne, and before the four living creatures, and the elders : And 
 no man could learn that Song but the hundred and forty and 
 four thousand who were redeemed from the earth. These were 
 they who were not defiled with women for they are virgins. These 
 are they who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were 
 purchased from among men, the first-fruits unto God and to the 
 Lamb ; and in their mouth was found no guile, for they are with- 
 out ^blemish before the Throne of God [3], 
 
 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the taber- 
 nacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. . . And the temple 
 was filled with smoke from the Glory of God, and from His 
 power [4]. 
 
 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in 
 
 [l] Apoc. v. 6-14. [3] Apoc. xiv. 1-5. 
 
 [2] Apoc. xi. 16-19 ; xii. I. [4] Apoc. xv. 5, 8.
 
 io THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 heaven, saying : Alleluia I Salvation, and glory, and honour, 
 and power, unto the Lord our God. . . And the four and twenty 
 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped 
 God that sat on the Throne, saying: Amen; Alleluia. And a 
 Voice came out of the Throne saying : Praise our God, all ye His 
 servants, and ye that fear Him, both small and great. And I 
 heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice 
 of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, 
 Alleluia : for the Lord our God the Almighty reigneth. Let us be 
 glad and rejoice, and give glory to Him : for the Marriage of the 
 Lamb is come, and His Spouse hath made herself ready [i]. 
 
 And I heard a great Voice out of heaven saying, Behold the 
 tabernacle of God with men, and He will dwell with them, and 
 they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, 
 and shall be their God. 
 
 And He thai sat upon the Throne said, Behold, I make all 
 things new. And He said unto me : Write : for these words are 
 true and faithful. And He said unto me, It is done. I am 
 Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End [2]. 
 
 In this picture of the worship of heaven, which fills our 
 heart with a reverential awe, we have all the elements of the 
 Liturgical prayer. He Who sits upon the Throne is the object 
 of all worship ; the mystic living creatures are continually 
 pouring forth their adoration ; the elders are for ever casting 
 in abasement their crowns before the Throne ; the glorious 
 angelic host in their varied choirs, each a very world of beauty, 
 of intelligence and love, join in the mighty song of praise ; 
 the one Voice from all creation, animate and inanimate, is 
 always giving expression of their love and worship to their 
 Maker, harping as harpers on the mystical harp of the Heart 
 of the Lamb, Who has redeemed them to God and is in their 
 midst as the Leader and Director of all the adoration, and the 
 Voice Himself which comes from the Throne, the Alpha and 
 the Omega, the Beginning and the End. For it is deep down 
 in the Heart of the Lamb that are found all the prayers of 
 the Saints. He first conceives them as the expression of His 
 own worship to the Father, and then instills them into our 
 souls ; thus causing us to have the same mind that is in 
 
 [l] Apoc. xix. I, 4-7. [2] Apoc. xxi. 3, 5, 6.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER n 
 
 Himself [i]. He is the eternal Praise and the Glory of His 
 Father. It is through Him alone that we have access to the 
 Throne of Mercy [2]. 
 
 Thus the public prayer of the Church is nothing else but 
 the prayer which the Divine Head of the Church is ever 
 pouring forth on our behalf to His Eternal Father. Sharing 
 as we do in His life, forming but one body with Him, He 
 makes use of our souls as so many instruments by which He 
 can praise God. The words we utter are His in very truth ; 
 it is He Who prays in us and by us, if we place ourselves 
 wholly at His disposal. Hence no exaggeration can be found 
 in the words we say when we remember it is He Who is saying 
 them, and that on His lips they are perfectly exact and true. 
 But if we are His instruments, we are reasonable ones. To 
 refer to a former simile, we are not like a mute harp which is 
 responsive only when the musician touches it, but we are 
 like a harp of living strings of strings which willingly place 
 themselves under the master's power and share in his sentiment 
 as far as possible. We have to love God with our whole soul, 
 with our affections, and with our reason ; and so we must 
 know what is our part in the Divine worship the Head of the 
 Church is always pouring forth, and what part is His. Our 
 part is a deliberate purpose of praising God in union with 
 Jesus Christ, and it is all summed up in these glorious words 
 said in the Mass just before the Pater Noster : " In Him and 
 with Him and by Him, is all honour and glory to Thee, God, 
 Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, through the ages 
 of ages." 
 
 M. Olier has tried to bring out this great truth by means 
 of a seal made from the designs of the French artist Lebrun. 
 The upper part represents Heaven and the Holy Ghost, 
 the source of all homage and of every blessing of which 
 God is the object here below. Beneath, appears David with 
 his heart enlightened, and transported by the light of the Holy 
 Ghost. In him we recognise the face of his son, Jesus Christ, 
 upon Whom the Holy Ghost reposes with all fulness, and 
 Whose every aim is directed to the glory of the Divine Majesty. 
 The harp the King holds in his hand, and which bears the 
 
 [I] Phil. ii. 5. [2] Eph. ii. 18.
 
 12 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 words : Magnificate Dominum mecum (" Praise the Lord with 
 me "), represents the soul of Our Lord, Who, by a never-ending 
 love toward His Father, desires that every word of His should 
 be repeated by all His brethren. 
 
 Around David, but a little lower down, are priests clad in 
 their choral dress, kneeling, with eyes raised heavenwards ; 
 they also carry harps, upon which is inscribed the second half 
 of the verse, Exaltemus nomen ejus in idipsum (" Let us exalt 
 His name in the selfsame"). These represent the ministers 
 of the Church and others charged with praising God in the 
 name of their brethren ; they unite themselves to Our 
 Lord's Spirit and join in His tribute of praise. They wear 
 the surplice, to show the purity required in those whom Our 
 Lord deigns to use as His instruments. They are on their 
 knees, to show that they ought to live in the spirit of 
 worship. Their eyes are cast to heaven, and on their harps 
 are the words In idipsum (" in the selfsame "), because their 
 sole desire should be to praise God in and through Jesus. 
 On the lowest part of the seal are the words of the Apocalypse : 
 / heard a voice from heaven as the voice of many waters, as 
 of harpers harping on their harps. It was a voice, not voices 
 that were heard. Only one Voice goes up before the Throne 
 of God, only one worship does God attend to. It is the 
 Voice of Jesus which is heard for His reverence [i], "He 
 alone," says M. Olier, "has the right to intone the Song of 
 Zion, and to bid us, His children, join therein." 
 
 This, then, is the life of our Blessed Lord in heaven. 
 As our Head He gives to His Father and to our Father, 
 to His God and to our God [2], the worship we ourselves 
 are not able to give. "As in each man the head speaks, 
 sees, and thinks for the whole man, and thus makes up for 
 the weakness of the rest of the body, so does Jesus Christ 
 supply for the defects of the body of the faithful, the bulk of 
 Christians, who of themselves are blind, insensible, and dumb. 
 He lays before God the wants of the entire body. He speaks 
 for it, sees, and hears for it in a word, being its Head, He 
 does everything for it " [3], 
 
 To quote M. Olier, and applying his words to the public 
 
 [i] Heb. v. 7 [2] John xxi. i. [3] Bacquez: The Divine Office, p. 283.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 13 
 
 prayer of the Church : "This is what Jesus Christ does in- 
 visibly in heaven. This is what His ministers are called to 
 do in a visible manner here below ; or, rather, what our Lord 
 does unceasingly through them on earth. To this end He 
 places in their hands the Office, the expression of His senti- 
 ments, and of the duty of His members toward the Father ; 
 and whilst, as Head and High Priest, He communicates His 
 Spirit to enable them to perform it, His Church puts them 
 under the obligation of reciting it in His name. Thus the 
 priest, the representative of our Lord, is at the same time the 
 living symbol of the unity of the members of the Body 
 Mystical. The Church, represented in him, addresses herself 
 by Jesus Christ to the Eternal Father, and, by the power of 
 the Holy Ghost, our Lord gives life to the prayers of the 
 Church and makes them worthy of God, even as in the Mass 
 He uses His priest to consecrate the mystery of His Body 
 and Blood and offer them as a victim meet for the divine 
 regard." 
 
 This intimate union which exists between the Head and 
 the members of the Body Mystical, and which makes us, as St. 
 Paul says, One body and one spirit [i], is the fulfilment of 
 our Lord's promise made the night before He suffered : In that 
 day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I 
 in you [2]. And : Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also 
 who shall believe in Me through their word ; that they all may be 
 one ; as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee : they may also be 
 one in us [3]. Not only was it His parting wish, but it was 
 the subject of His last discourse : Abide in Me and I in you. 
 As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the 
 vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me. I am the Vine, ye 
 are the branches [4]. 
 
 This, then, is our position when, in the name of the 
 Church, we take up our Office book and say our hours. As 
 the Apostle says : We put on the Lord Jesus Christ [5]. We 
 become His mouthpiece, and give voice to the feelings of 
 adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and atonement which 
 
 [i] Eph. iv. 4. [4] Ibid. xv. 4, 5. 
 
 [2] John xiv.2O. [5] Rom. xiii. 14. 
 
 [3] Ibid. xvii. 20, 21.
 
 i 4 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 are for ever welling up from the Sacred Heart as Jesus lifts up 
 His five wounds before the Father and intercedes for us. 
 We give voice to that great cry which, amidst the toil and 
 bustle of the day, and in the stillness and solitude of the 
 night, is ever ascending from that same Sacred Heart in the 
 countless tabernacles where in sacramental life Jesus abides 
 in our midst. His prayer is ours ; ours is His. Thou art 
 my praise [i], says the Prophet. Christ is our life [2], 
 says the Apostle. Not only does He pray for us as our 
 High Priest, but He also prays in us, as our Head ; and, 
 filling us with His feelings, He joins our hearts to the 
 homage He pays His Father. As the flame consumes every 
 thread of wick in the same light and fire, so does our Lord's 
 Spirit spread throughout the Church, enlightening each soul 
 with the splendour of the one faith, and consuming it with 
 the ardour of the one charity. He maketh His ministers a 
 flaming fire [3]. This is why the Church always ends our 
 prayers with the words, " Through Christ our Lord " to 
 unite us with Him Who prays in us, and to remind us of 
 His promise that anything we ask the Father in His name 
 shall be presently granted to us [4]. 
 
 An important result follows from the consideration of the 
 doctrine of the Mystical Body. It is one that fills us with 
 great consolation. As long as we keep our mind and heart 
 lifted up to God that is to say, as long as we keep ourselves, 
 as it were, basking in the sunshine of His presence the weak- 
 nesses of human nature, such as distractions, cannot harm us 
 or take away from the value of our prayer. Our Lord con- 
 tinues to use us as His instruments until we, by a deliberate 
 act of our will, break off the union and, of set purpose, with- 
 draw ourselves from His influence. 
 
 That great Benedictine soul, St. Gertrude, being once, in 
 spite of all efforts, more than ordinarily distracted, lost heart, 
 and began to be much troubled. Our Divine Master vouch- 
 safed to appear to His servant and consoled her by saying : 
 Daughter, behold My Heart ; for the future look to it and 
 supply your defects. When you mould pray, ask it to help you 
 
 [i] Jeremiah xvii. 14. [3] Ps. ciii. 4. 
 
 [2] Col. iii. 3. [4] John xv. 16.
 
 ON LITURGICAL PRAYER 15 
 
 to give to My Father the worship you owe. I shall ever be ready 
 to second you as soon as you call Me to your aid. St. 
 Bernard learned the same lesson. " David rejoiced of old to 
 have found his heart to pray to his Master and to his God [i]. 
 " And I have found the Heart of the King, of the Brother, and 
 Friend, of the loving Jesus. And therefore shall I not adore ? 
 Yea, I will pray. For His Heart is with me, yea, boldly will 
 I say it, for my Head is Christ" [2]. 
 
 "The Spirit of our Lord," says M. Olier, "is like a river 
 that flows into the vast bosom of the Eternal, and in the 
 rapidity of its course carries along everything it meets with. 
 It is enough that by our will we give ourselves to Him, and 
 are sensitive under His touch. He will then carry us along 
 with Himself into the abyss of the Divinity, there to be 
 absorbed for ever." 
 
 To sum up, then, the Liturgical Prayer, such as we have it 
 in the Office, and is laid upon us by the Church, is no private 
 devotion, but it is the Prayer which the Word Incarnate is ever 
 pouring forth on behalf of the Mystical Body of which He 
 is the Head. Those who say it are the willing instruments 
 placed at His disposal by His Spouse, the Church. We abide 
 in Him and He in us. The words we speak, we speak not of 
 ourselves, but in His Person. In the Liturgical Prayer we 
 have the most perfect means of adoring, and thanking God, 
 and of making supplication, atonement, that the Eternal 
 Wisdom could provide. By Jesus Christ, therefore, let us 
 offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the 
 fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name [3]. From this 
 point of view there is nothing to be added to make us esteem 
 and love our Office. No one who knows what it is can 
 hesitate in putting it far above any private devotion ; for 
 nothing can compare with it, save and except the Mass, with 
 which it is so closely connected that one cannot be understood 
 without the other [4]. Therefore, to spend time over our 
 
 [i] 2 Kings vii. 27. 
 
 [2] Migne, P. L., vol. 184, p. 642. [3] Heb. xiii. 15. 
 
 [4] The Sacrifice of Prayer to be perfect must never be separated in thought from 
 the great Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law. The Office and the Mass form but 
 one whole, and one can understand the Office only when it is studied in the light of
 
 16 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Office, to taste more and more of its sweetness, to find in it 
 food for our souls, to form all our spiritual life on it, to get 
 the matter for our mental prayer from it, to make its phrases 
 those with which we habitually approach the Throne of 
 Mercy, to make it regulate our whole life, even if, for this 
 purpose, we have to abandon our self-willed and private 
 devotions, which, valuable in themselves for others, are per- 
 haps not fitted for us, into whose hands the Church puts the 
 Office book as her public servants ; to do all this is surely 
 the highest wisdom. 
 
 the Altar ; for it is the setting of rich gold which surrounds and sets forth the price- 
 less jewel of the Mass. When we consider that the Prayer of our Lord, like His 
 Sacrifice, has the same four ends, viz., adoration, thanksgiving, supplication, and 
 atonement, we can immediately see that the Mass must be steadily kept in view in 
 any study of the Office we may undertake. The whole Office must, therefore, always 
 be referred to the Mass either as preparation or thanksgiving, both for priests who 
 have to say it, and for others who take part in the offering by their presence.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER. 
 
 As my intention in writing this book is, above all, to 
 be practical, and to give what help I can for understanding 
 the Office, I must now treat of the formation of the Liturgical 
 prayer, and discuss the materials which the Church uses. A 
 knowledge of these points is of capital importance for all 
 who wish to enter intelligently into the mind of the Church, 
 and to use rightly the great privilege of being her represen- 
 tatives. The more we know about the Church and her ways, 
 the more shall we value everything she sets her seal upon. 
 Psallite sapienter ("Sing ye wisely"), says the Psalmist [i] ; 
 and wisdom is knowing. 
 
 Our Divine Master Himself has given us the form upon 
 which all public prayer must be based. The Pater Noster 
 is the simplest and most perfect expression of the relations 
 between a creature and the Maker. Thus shall ye pray [2] 
 said He in answer to the disciples' petition Lord teach us 
 how to pray [3]. The Divine Wisdom having deigned to 
 show us what manner of petition becomes us and is pleasing 
 in His sight, it follows that every other prayer, to be pro- 
 fitable, must be laid on the lines of the Lord's Prayer ; for, 
 as St. Augustine says : If we pray rightly and fittingly, then, 
 whatever words we may use, we offer no petition but those 
 that are found in this prayer of our Lord's. The Office, then, 
 is only the Pater Noster carried out into detail, expanded and 
 commented upon. 
 
 From the earliest ages of the Church Christians were 
 accustomed to meet together for religious exercises. Naturally 
 
 [I] Psalm xlvii. 7. [2] Matt. vi. 9. [3] Ibid.
 
 i8 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 they would take what was at hand and add to it certain features 
 of their own. It is certain that the form of worship which 
 prevailed in the synagogues (in centra-distinction to that 
 observed in the Temple) and in which the earliest Christians 
 were wont to join [i], consisted mainly of singing psalms, 
 reading Holy Scripture, exhortation, and common prayer. 
 These features the Christians retained what time they 
 separated from, or were driven out of, the synagogues. To 
 this liturgical form of prayer they joined, on the Lord's 
 Day at least, the Eucharistic Sacrifice of the New Law, and 
 grouped their vocal prayer around this central act of worship. 
 At early dawn and at eventide they assembled to sing praise 
 to God. Pliny the Younger, writing [2] to Trajan, says of 
 the Christians in his province of Bythnia, that they were a 
 law-abiding folk, and did no harm ; their only peculiarity 
 being to meet early in the morning of the first day of the 
 week and sing hymns to Christ as to a God. Thus Lauds, 
 the song of praise at day-break, and Vespers, the even-song, 
 are the two original Offices of the Church. These two hours 
 were to consecrate to God the whole day, the beginning and 
 the end : And the evening and the morning were the first day [3]. 
 David had said, To Thee do I watch at break of day [4] ; and 
 Let my prayer ascend to Thee, Lord, like incense in Thy sight, 
 and the lifting tip of my hands as an evening sacrifice [5]. In 
 the service of the Temple, too, there were the morning and the 
 evening sacrifices ; and so it was natural that at those two 
 hours the sacrifice of lips praising His name [6] should be also 
 offered. As time went on and Christians became more 
 numerous, when the custom arose of keeping festivals at the 
 tombs of martyrs on their anniversary, the pious lay-folk and 
 the religious of that time used, out of private devotion, to 
 keep vigil at the sacred spot ; and, by singing psalms and 
 reading the Scriptures, pass the time until the bishop and his 
 clergy arrived at dawn for the Lauds and subsequent sacrifice. 
 These Vigils, which were in the beginning entirely voluntary 
 and the spontaneous action of the laity and religious, were 
 
 [l] Acts ii. 42, 46; iii. I ; xv. 21. [4] Ps. Ixii. i. 
 
 [2] Book x., n. 97. [5] Ps. cxli. 2. 
 
 [3] Gen. i. 5. [6] Heb. xiii. 15.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 19 
 
 soon taken up by the Church and regulated ; while preserving 
 their popular form of psalm and spiritual reading with singing 
 of responsories, she turned this private and voluntary prayer 
 into an official act of her clergy. Hence the Matin service, 
 which to this day shows its origin by its close connection with 
 Lauds. When the monastic system developed in the Church, 
 the monks added, for their own private devotion, Prime, as a 
 prayer before the day's work began ; and prayer at the Third 
 hour, in remembrance of the descent of the Holy Ghost at 
 that time ; prayer at the Sixth and Ninth hours in remembrance 
 of the custom of the Apostles to pray at these times; Now 
 Peter went to pray about the Sixth hour [i] ; and Now Peter 
 and John went up together into the Temple at the hour of 
 prayer; being the Ninth hour \_2\. The Holy Father Benedict 
 in the Rule, which has been the guide for so many millions 
 of souls, and has perhaps done more to form the mind of 
 the Church than any other book save the Bible, instituted 
 the hour of Compline as the night prayer for his monks. 
 Thus was the cycle of prayer completed ; and what was 
 the private devotion of monks became in due time part and 
 parcel of the Church's public prayer. The historical order 
 then was : Lauds and Vespers ; Vigils or Matins, Prime ; 
 Terce, Sext, and None ; then Compline [3], 
 
 [i] Acts x.-9. [2] Acts iii. I. 
 
 [3] The public prayer in old Anglo-Saxon days in England is thus described by 
 the learned Dr. Rook : 
 
 " Like the rest of Christendom, then, seven times within the day did each church 
 bell ring and bid its clerks from the sub-deacon upwards to come thither and sing 
 God's praises, morning, noon, night ; and the parish priest who forgot either of 
 these duties was liable to be punished by a fine. Amongst those most conspicuous 
 for their learning or high position in the Church at that period, such men as Beda, 
 Ecgberht, and ^Elfric, we find telling this country, each in his own time, of this ritual 
 usage and how it ought to be followed. Beda's notice of the "hours " in general, or 
 of some particular part in them, is curious ; while the archbishop of York, and the 
 abbat who was afterwards called to the primatial chair of Canterbury, both lay down 
 the canon law upon this matter. So thoroughly do these prelates' opinions agree, 
 that Ecgberht's Latin ordinance seems to have been put into Anglo-Saxon by .^Elfric, 
 who says : ' Seven canonical hours they (the first four general Councils) appointed 
 for us to sing daily to the praise of our Lord ; as the Prophet David said in his pro- 
 phecy, Septies in die, &c. Seven times, my Lord, said he, / have said my praise in 
 one day, for the righteousness of Thy judgments,' The first canonical hour is uht-song
 
 20 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Counting Lauds, with the preparatory vigils as one, we 
 have seven hours of prayer ; " seven visits to the heavenly 
 Court," as the saintly Cardinal Manning said in his " Eternal 
 Priesthood" [i] Why was this number chosen ? It was not 
 of fixed purpose from the beginning ; but having so developed, 
 many reasons could be given why the number should not be 
 exceeded. Seven is a very mysterious figure, and seems to 
 represent God's dealings with mankind. Did He not make 
 the world in six days and rest on the seventh ? Are there not 
 seven gifts of the Holy Ghost ; seven sacraments ; seven spirits 
 standing before the throne of God [2] ; seven deadly sins ; 
 seven virtues, theological and cardinal ; seven petitions of the 
 Pater Noster ; seven ages of man, all to be sanctified with 
 prayer ; seven scenes in our Lord's passion ; seven sorrows 
 of Blessed Mary our Lady ? Did not David say, praise God 
 seven times a day ? [3] and did not Elias pray seven times 
 before the heavens opened and rain fell on the drought- 
 stricken earth ? [4] and does not even a just man fall seven 
 times a day [5] ? There are many other like reasons why 
 the Church cherishes the mystical number of seven and re- 
 gulates her prayers thereby [6]. 
 
 (or matins), with the after-song (lauds) thereunto belonging. Prime-song, undern 
 (terce) song ; mid-day (sext) song ; none-song, even-song, night-song (compline). 
 These seven canonical hours ye should sing with great attention to the praise of 
 your Lord, daily in church, always at the hour appointed, and in like manner 
 celebrate Mass at the appointed time." Church of our Father, vol. iii., p. 2. 
 
 [i] p. 62. [4] 2 Kings xviii. 43. 
 
 [2] Apoc. viii. 2. [5] Prov. xxiv. 16. 
 
 [3] Ps. cxviii. 164. 
 
 [6] Christian ingenuity has loved to occupy itself with rinding out in the mysterious 
 science of numbers something that recalls God and the spiritual life. Thus : 
 Otte (represents) the Unity of the Godhead ; two, the two natures of our Lord ; 
 three, the ever-blessed Trinity ; four, the four evangelists (hence the preaching of 
 the Gospel); five, on the one hand, a full knowledge of Christian mysteries (the 
 doctrine of the Trinity, that of our Lord's two natures), on the other, the state of 
 ordinary sinners, who break and observe half the law (compare the five brethren of 
 Dives) ; (also naturally the five wounds}; six, the Passion, from our Lord's being 
 crucified in the sixth hour of the sixth day ; also, temptation, from the peculiar 
 reference to that contained in the sixth day of the Creation ; seven, the sevenfold 
 graces of the Holy Ghost, and later, the seven Sacraments (and seven sorrows of our 
 Lady) ; eight, regeneration, as being the first number that oversteps seven, the 
 symbol of the old creation ; nine, the angelic choir ; ten, the Law ; eleven, iniquity 
 as transgressing the Law. And not only were simple numbers thus explained ;
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 21 
 
 And this seven-fold praise of God through our Lady is 
 particularly suitable. The pious author of the " Myroure of 
 Our Ladye " applies them in this manner : " Now in case ye 
 think that these are good causes why God should be served in 
 these hours, but since all your service is of our Lady ye would 
 wit (know) why her service should be said in these same hours. 
 And as to this ye ought to think that it is full convenient 
 (that) her holy service should be said in time according to 
 His, for her will was never contrary to His blessed will. And 
 furthermore some say that for at matin time there appeareth 
 a star in the firmament whereby shipmen are ruled in the sea 
 and bring themselves to (a) right haven, and for our merciful 
 Lady is that star that succoureth mankind in the troublous 
 sea of this world and bringeth her lovers to the haven of 
 health ; therefore it is worthy that she should be served and 
 praised at matin time. At prime time there appeareth a star 
 before the sun, as if it were the leader or bringer-forth of 
 the sun, and our Lady came before and brought forth to 
 mankind that Son of Righteousness that is our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. At (the) hour of terce labourers desire to have their 
 dinner, and our Lady hath brought forth to us Him that is 
 the Food and Bread of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, comfort 
 and refection to all that labour in His service. At (the) hour 
 of sext the sun waxeth more hot ; and by means of our Lady 
 the everlasting Son hath showed the heat of His charity more 
 largely to mankind. At (the) hour of none the sun is highest ; 
 and the highest grace and mercy that ever was done to man 
 on earth was brought in by means of our Lady. At evensong 
 
 compound numbers yielded a composite sense. Twelve was the Faith preached 
 throughout the world the doctrine of the Three dispersed into four quarters (by 
 the twelve Apostles) ; forty or eighty-eight, the struggle of the regenerate with the 
 old nature ; five into eight, or eleven into eight ; sixty~six t the extreme of wicked- 
 ness ; six, in the sense of temptation, into eleven (and compare this with the 
 number of the Beast in the Apocalypse xiii. 18, the quintessence of all temptation). 
 And even still more remarkably were numbers compounded ; as in the 153 fishes, 
 which in so many sermons (Migne, P. L., vol. xxxviii., p. 1170) St. Augustine always 
 explains in the same way of the whole congregation of the elect. Seven stands for 
 the Spirit, ten for the Law, seventeen is therefore the fulfilment of the Law by the 
 works of the Spirit : sum the progression, 1+2 + 3 + 4. . . .16+17 and 
 you get 153. Cf. Neatts Commentary on the Psalms (ed. 1860), vol. I, pp. 390-1.
 
 22 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 time the day faileth much ; and when all other succour faileth 
 our Lady's grace helpeth. Compline is the end of the day ; 
 and in (the) end of our life we have most need of our Lady's 
 help, and therefore in all these hours we ought to do her 
 worship and praising" [i]. 
 
 The chief and oldest part of the Office consists of the 
 Psalter, or book of Psalms ; and, in the mind of the Church, 
 the whole one hundred and fifty should be gone through once 
 a week. It is on this portion of the Office we shall chiefly 
 spend our time. The Author of the Book of Psalms is the 
 Holy Ghost, who made use of David, the royal singer, and of 
 others, to write the collection which has come down to us 
 under the general title of the Psalms of David [2]. 
 
 They have ever been the favourite formula of prayer for 
 both the Jewish and the Christian Churches, and are our most 
 cherished heritage. Says St. John Chrysostom : " If we 
 keep vigil in the Church, David comes first, last and midst. 
 If early in the morning we seek for the melody of hymns, 
 first, last, and midst is David again. If we are occupied with 
 the funeral solemnities of the departed, if virgins sit at home 
 and spin, David is first, last, and midst. O, marvellous 
 wonder ! Many who have made but little progress in litera- 
 ture, nay, who have scarcely mastered its first principles, have 
 the Psalter by heart. Nor is it in cities and churches alone 
 that at all times, through every age, David is illustrious. In 
 the midst of the forum, in the wilderness and uninhabitable 
 land, he excites the praises of God. In monasteries, amongst 
 those holy choirs of angelic armies, David is first, last, and 
 midst. In the convent of virgins where are the bands of them 
 that imitate Mary ; in the deserts where are men crucified to 
 this world, and having their conversation with God, first, 
 midst, and last is he. All other men are at night overpowered 
 by natural sleep. David alone is active, and congregating the 
 servants of God into seraphic bands, turns earth into heaven 
 and converts men into angels." 
 
 [i] pp. 14-15. 
 
 [2] It is admitted by all now-a-days that David is not the author of the whole 
 collection. The first fifty and most likely others are credited to him. Solomon and 
 Esdras are among the other authors.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 23 
 
 Let us try and get an exact idea of the purpose of the 
 Psalms, and then we shall be able to deduce certain principles 
 of interpretation which will be of use to us hereafter. Whose 
 voice do we hear in the Psalms ? It is a three-fold voice. 
 David, or the other authors ; Jesus Christ in His own person ; 
 and our Lord speaking in the person of His creatures. The 
 first voice is clear, and, generally speaking, can be recognised 
 easily. But David spoke in prophecy ; and he himself was 
 the type of Him who deigned to be called the Son of David. 
 So the literal and first meaning which applies to David 
 only finds its full significance in our Lord, Who is the real 
 speaker in the Psalm. St. Augustine says : " Let us commend 
 oftener and oftener, and it does not weary us to repeat what 
 is useful to you to know, that it is our Lord Jesus Christ Who 
 frequently speaks in His Own Person as our Head : often in 
 the person of His Body which is ourselves and His Church ; 
 yet as that the words seem to come from the mouth of but 
 one man, we may understand that the Head and the Body 
 are integrally one and cannot be separated : as that union 
 of which it is said: They shall be in one flesh [i]. If there- 
 fore we acknowledge Him in one flesh let us acknowledge 
 Him in the one voice " [2]. 
 
 " Thus do we explain," says the learned Sulpician, M. 
 Bacquez, " what the holy doctors teach : the Psalms are full 
 of Jesus Christ ; they are His instrument, His voice, His lan- 
 guage, they are the language of the members as well as of the 
 Head. It is a single, yet at the same time a manifold, Voice in 
 which are expressed and mingled all the blessings of heaven 
 and earth, all the yearnings of love, all the tones of gratitude, 
 all the prayers of the needy. In this way can we also under- 
 stand what our Lord says so clearly, that He is the object of 
 the Psalms, and that they speak of Him [3]. This also 
 explains why He makes such frequent use of them, particu- 
 larly on the Cross, and applies their words to Himself [4]. 
 . . . . Thus we see the aim, the object, the Divine reason 
 of the Psalms. We hold the key to them, and bear in hand 
 
 [i] Gen. ii. 25. [2] Migne, P. L., vol. xxxvi., p. 453. 
 
 [3] Which were written in the Psalms concerning me (Lukexxiv. 44). 
 [4] Matt, xxvii. 46 ; Luke xxiii. 46 ; John xv. 25.
 
 24 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the torch that sheds light upon all their difficulties. We 
 know now how to search out their depths, measure their 
 breadth, and comprehend their variety, harmony, and general 
 meaning. It is always Jesus Christ, the Mediator, the great 
 High Priest, the only worthy Adorer of His Father Who 
 stands before the Throne. It is always He Who prays, He 
 Who speaks through us. As the sweet Psalmist of Israel said : 
 The spirit of the Lord spake by me and His Word was through 
 my tongue [i]. Sometimes it is in His own name exclusively 
 as the only Son of God ; on these occasions His words taken 
 literally apply to Him alone, and His members can only 
 appropriate them so far as their union with their Head makes 
 them sharers in His greatness and destiny. Thus He Himself 
 explains His eternal generation, His birth in time, His priest- 
 hood, His kingdom and His different mysteries. More fre- 
 quently He speaks in the name of the Church and of all her 
 children, as the Head of the Body whose members are ever 
 undergoing the vicissitudes of their mortal life. The voice of His 
 words like the voice of a multitude [2]. Then His thoughts 
 expand and generalise as His language approaches ours. 
 Sometimes He seems to be referring to one nation only, or 
 limiting His words to some special circumstance or event. 
 But in truth His thought goes beyond His words. What 
 seems the object is only an image, a symbol or a type of the 
 widest significance. Israel means all God's faithful people ; 
 Jerusalem, seated on a mountain and set upon a rock, means 
 the Church ; Sion, where the tabernacle was, the holy of 
 holies, is Heaven, the eternal sanctuary wherein the Lord 
 dwells and is ready to listen to our prayers [3], He echoes 
 every feeling and prayer and places Himself in every possible 
 relation. One moment He humbles Himself before the 
 Majesty of the Father, and groans in sorrow bewailing our 
 sins, and beseeches pardon and forgiveness. He is the 
 World's Penitent, bearing the weight of our sins, and His 
 mighty Heart is broken for our repentance. Then, at the 
 
 [i] 2 Kings xxiii. 2 [2] Daniel x. 6. 
 
 [3] The generality of mystical writers takes those two, however, in the opposite 
 sense ; Jerusalem, the " vision of peace," meaning heaven ; and Sion, the fortiSed 
 rock, the Church Militant.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 25 
 
 thought of the goodness of God Whose mercy is without end, 
 He breaks forth into cries of joy and gratitude. Never 
 weary of thanksgiving, He calls upon all to rejoice with Him. 
 Then, mindful of our weakness, seeing our poverty and know- 
 ing our needs and dangers, He implores help from above, 
 beseeching His Father to listen to His cry. For there is none 
 other to fight for us, save only Thou, Lord [i]. Every Psalm 
 is a picture of the Soul of Jesus in Himself, and in His 
 Mystical Body. As M. Olier says, the Divine Word hidden in 
 the Church (which He has taken for His Spouse in order to 
 further His design and help Him to praise God) expresses 
 through her the beauty of God which she bears within her- 
 self. He clothes Himself with her to praise God more 
 tenderly ; and she clothes herself with Him in order to praise 
 Him truly ; so that the Word and the Church are one single 
 praise of God, and the Word and the Church are like a 
 voice repeated by as many echoes as there are saints. It is a 
 wonderful Word and a marvellous Praise ; a Harmony and 
 a Voice beyond understanding. Oh, that I may be lost in 
 lost in thee, O Divine Word ! " [2] 
 
 This exalted view of the Psalms sets them far above every 
 other formula of prayer, and explains why for so many thousand 
 years God's people have found in them the food of their 
 souls. Says an old writer : " If you are sad the Psalmist 
 weeps with you ; if you are joyful he gives your joy wings 
 that lift you up to heaven ? Do you mourn ? he is ready 
 to comfort you. Are you depressed, betrayed, forsaken, or 
 ill treated ? he is by your side ever ready to meet your want." 
 And is this any wonder when we remember they are the 
 words, the expression of the Sacred Heart, of Him Who was 
 acquainted with sorrow, and like to us in all things except 
 sin ? 
 
 There is another principle in reference to the Psalms to 
 be drawn from the doctrine of the Mystical Body, viz., that if 
 the words are absolutely true of our Lord they can also, in 
 measure, be referred to us who are His members. In measure, 
 I have said. For in proportion as we approach to Him and 
 
 [I] Ant. pro Pace. [2] The Divine Office, pp. 106-108.
 
 26 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the more we are likened to Him in all things, the clearer will 
 be the application of the Psalms to us and the nearer shall we 
 be to having the same mind that was in Christ. Following 
 out this thought and bearing in mind these other words : For 
 whom He foreknew He hath predestinated to be made con- 
 formable to the image of His Son [i] we may ask who, 
 out of all creation, has been predestinated to a higher 
 union with Him, and who bears the closest resemblance to 
 Jesus ? Surely, it is She who bore Him, who nursed and 
 tended Him, who cared for Him during all His mortal life, 
 who kept all His words in her heart, who stood by His Cross, 
 and was the object of His last love and care. Mary, our 
 blissful Mother and most gracious Lady, is the example of 
 what a creature can become by grace. She, as the Mirror 
 of Justice, shows to what a perfection a creature can attain, 
 and how far he can become an image of the Word made 
 flesh. If Jesus bears in His human form her likeness, so 
 that He can be recognised as the Son of Mary, His mother 
 bears His mark as being the chief work of the Author 
 of Grace, His very masterpiece. She is the great Sign ap- 
 pearing in the heavens a Woman clothed with the sun, and 
 the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars 
 [2] ; the wonder of all God's creatures, who marvel that 
 anyone can be raised so high, that anyone can be so great and 
 glorious, and yet remain what they are themselves, a mere 
 nothing in comparison with her Maker. To Mary, then, we 
 can make such application of the Psalms as can be referred to 
 the highest of all creatures ; and what is true of the Mystical 
 Body of Christ will be especially and more appropriately true 
 of her who is described as the Neck which joins the Body 
 on to the Head or, as Wordsworth says, " Our tainted 
 nature's solitary boast." 
 
 It must be remembered that, according to the mind of the 
 Church, the Office is a choral service : that is, a public service 
 sung or recited with a certain ceremonial. This should be 
 borne in mind carefully by those who, for any reason, are pre- 
 vented from joining in the recitation in choir. As regards 
 
 [i] Rom. viii. 29. [2] Apoc. xii. i.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 27 
 
 he Psalms, the practice of singing them antiphonally, that is, 
 by two choirs, each taking a verse in turn, is said to have been 
 first introduced by St. Ignatius, the third bishop of Antioch, 
 on account of a vision in which he had heard angels praising 
 the Blessed Trinity in alternate choir [i]. Compare the vision 
 of Isaias : / saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted 
 up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the Seraphim 
 . . . and they cried one to another and said : Holy, Holy, 
 Holy, the Lord of Hosts: all the earth is full of His glory [2]. 
 The custom appears to have been introduced into the West 
 by St. Ambrose at Milan [3]. 
 
 After the Psalms comes spiritual reading ; and this (as far 
 as concerns the Little Office) is from the Sacred Scripture. 
 This follows the same course of interpretation as the Psalms, 
 being, like them, the Word of God. Jesus is again the explana- 
 tion of the Scripture, both Old and New ; for they both refer 
 to Him. He was looked forward to in the Old and set forth 
 in the New. Many prophets and righteous men have desired to 
 see the things that you see and have not seen them [4], He said ; 
 and once more : Search ye the Scriptures .... for the 
 same are they that give testimony of Me [5]. And what is true 
 of Him is, in due measure, true of His members, and princi- 
 pally of our ever dear and blessed Lady. We need not, at 
 present, linger over the consideration of the extracts from the 
 Scriptures to be found in the Office, as they will be treated 
 fully in their proper place. 
 
 From an early time, at least from that of St. Ambrose, 
 hymns were introduced into the public prayer of the Church. 
 St. Hilary of Poitiers (368) is the earliest hymn-writer in the 
 West. St. Benedict makes use of them in his Office. Hymns 
 in the Office are employed to rouse the soul by their cheerful- 
 ness and jubilation. St. Augustine gives this definition of a 
 hymn : " A song in praise of God ; if it be not addressed to 
 God it is no hymn, nor is it a hymn except it set forth His 
 praise." The three hymns in our Office of our Lady answer 
 well to that definition ; for in singing the praises of God's 
 
 [l] Amalarius De eccles Off., iv. 7. [2] Isaias vi. I, 2, 3. 
 
 [3] Rabanus Maurus, Migne, P. L., vol. vii. p. 363. 
 
 [4] Matthew xiii. 17. [5] John v. 39.
 
 28 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 sweet Mother-Maid we are praising Him Who hath done such 
 mighty things to her [i] and has made her all she is. The 
 three hymns we make use of, the Ave Maris stella, Quern terra, 
 pontus, sidera, and gloriosa Virginum, are sometimes attributed 
 to Fortunatus, of Poitiers, who died 600. In the form used 
 at the present day the two last have suffered from revisions 
 made in the time of Urban VIII., and have lost something 
 of their old rugged beauty. For thirteen hundred years they 
 have been sung in God's Church, and are hallowed by the 
 memories of countless saints and servants of God who have 
 greeted Christ's Mother in their sweet strains. They seem 
 to sum up in their short, concise, lines thoughts too deep 
 for expression, thoughts that will only bear the slightest ex- 
 pression. We seem to treat her as she treated her Son ; in all 
 simplicity indicating her want. She said : They have no wine 
 [2] ; we say, Bona cuncta posce, Ask for us all good things. 
 
 Other features which need a word of explanation are : the 
 Antiphons, the Invitatory, the Responsories, the Versicles and 
 Responses, and the Prayers. "The object of the Invitatory is 
 to kindle within us the spirit of prayer by fixing our thoughts 
 upon Him Who is the object of our adoration and praise. It 
 is to the Office what a text is to a discourse, the primary 
 thought to which everything else is subordinated. We repeat 
 it many times, so that we may thoroughly understand it, grasp 
 all its shades of meaning and be penetrated deeply with it. 
 . . . The 94th Psalm is the development of the Invitatory ; 
 as this is the refrain of the psalm and its special application. 
 . . . . In it we hear Jesus inviting us and calling upon us 
 to bless with Him our Sovereign King. To kindle our fervour 
 He recalls the works of God and His infinite perfections, and 
 awakens in our heart reverence and love, two sentiments 
 which react one on the other and are essential to the spirit of 
 religion. The first part of the Psalm inspires a lively desire to 
 praise God, and the second cautions us against indifference 
 and heedlessness in His service" [3]. The Invitatory, as its 
 name implies, is an invitation or a calling. Its form, consisting 
 of a psalm (the 94th) with a short phrase repeated between 
 
 [i] Luke i. 49. [2] St. John ii. 2, 3. [3] Bacquez, pp. 336-8.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 29 
 
 each verse, is an interesting survival of the oldest way of 
 singing a psalm. The verses of the psalm were sung by a 
 lector, or cantor, and the people, who neither had books, nor, 
 at night-time, light, contented themselves with listening to 
 what he sang and repeating, after ;every verse, the phrase 
 which, as it were, gave the key to the whole psalm and kept 
 up the fervour of the listeners. In the case of the Little Office 
 the Invitatory is, Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus Tecum, 
 " whereby," says the devout author of the Myroure, " each of 
 you stirreth and exhorteth others to the praising of God and 
 of our Lady" [i]. 
 
 The Antiphons are to the Psalms what the Invitatory is to 
 the Venite ; they give the key to the application of the Psalm. 
 Durandus thus discourses on the Antiphon : "It is begun 
 before the Psalm, signifying action ; and this sets forth 
 the bond of charity or mutual love without which labour 
 avails not and whereby labour has its merit. Rightly, there- 
 fore, according to its melody is formed the tone of the Psalms ; 
 because love shapes our words. So the Psalm is intoned 
 according to the melody of the Antiphon, and the hand works 
 according to that which the spark of love hath excited. . . 
 . The Antiphon is said imperfectly before, and perfectly 
 after the Psalm, because Charity here below is imperfect ; here 
 it is begun ; but in heaven, our true country, it is made perfect 
 by good works which flow from love, according to the words 
 of Isaias : The Lord Whose fire is in Sion and His furnace in 
 Jerusalem [2]. Yet in the greater of our feasts the Antiphon is 
 said entire before the Psalms also, to teach us that in those 
 times we should shew ourselves more perfect in good works. 
 It is begun by one of one choir and ended by many of both 
 
 [i] P. 83, " After certain verses of the psalm the Invitatory is repeated entire; and 
 after others, imperfectly, because although all are thereby invited to the praise of God, 
 yet some accept this invitation perfectly, and some imperfectly. It is said six times 
 in its entirety because they receive the invitation entire who render perfectly praise 
 to God. Because six is the first perfect number, being formed by I, 2 and 3, there- 
 fore it is repeated six times entire. And it is repeated three times imperfectly on 
 account of those three sorts of men who did not accept the invitation to supper, viz., 
 the covetous, the haughty, and the unclean, or by reason of our three-fold imper- 
 fection of heart, word, and deed." Durandus, Rationale, Lib. V., cap. III. 
 
 [2] xxxi. 9.
 
 30 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 choirs ; first because love begins from one, that is Christ, and 
 through Him is perfected in His members. As He saith in 
 St. John's gospel : A new commandment give I unto you, that 
 ye love one another [i]. God first loved us, and therefore we 
 must correspond in common to His love. Moreover, the 
 Antiphons after the Psalms are sung by all in common, 
 because from common love ariseth joy. The song is of two 
 choirs alternately to signify mutual love or charity, which 
 cannot exist among fewer than two. Thus the Antiphon joins 
 the two choirs as love joins two brothers by good works. 
 Isidore saith the Greek word "Antiphon " signifies a reciprocal 
 voice, because two choirs answering each other alternate the 
 song of the melody as the two seraphims and the two 
 Testaments call one to another. Wherefore clerks singing 
 Antiphons turn not to the altar, but towards one another, 
 which manner of singing was introduced by the Greeks and 
 is from them derived " [2]. 
 
 The Responsories are the complement to the Lessons. " It 
 is a return of the soul or a lifting up of it to God on account 
 of what has been said. The Responsory is to the Lesson 
 what the Antiphon is to the Psalms ; but it has a more 
 practical motive. It serves to fix the soul upon the special 
 object of the Office, and it suggests useful application of the 
 words. It recalls an important truth, viz., it is not sufficient to 
 hear God's word, we must keep it, meditate on it, and try to 
 fathom it, and put it into practice." In the Office of our 
 Lady they form beautiful prose hymns in her honour and 
 are full of a peculiar sweetness. "The Responsory is 
 added to the Lessons ; and by it is signified that by good 
 works we must respond to the doctrine, that we may not 
 be cast into outer darkness with the slothful servant who 
 hid his Lord's money. They are, as it were, spiritual songs ; 
 for those things are called songs which are sung ; and they 
 are spiritual because they proceed from the jubilation of the 
 spiritual mind. But they are sung that in the recitation of 
 the Lesson our minds may be lifted up to the heavenly Father- 
 land, and therefore Gloria Patri is inserted [3]. The 
 
 [i] St. John xiii. 34. [2] Of. cit., cap. II. 
 
 [3] St. Benedict seems to have been the first to introduce the Gloria Patri into 
 the Responsories.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 31 
 
 Responsory is begun by one, to be joined in by others, 
 whereby we understand the mutual exhortation of brethren 
 to serve God. It is repeated imperfectly after the verse, to 
 signify that those who cannot attain to the Mountain, that is, 
 to the state of perfection, may yet be saved in Zoar, that is 
 in another way and in a state of imperfection [i]. It is also 
 repeated imperfectly to signify that what we do while being 
 in this world is imperfect . . . but on festivals it is again 
 repeated perfectly to signify the joy and perfection of the 
 saints [2]. 
 
 The Lessons said at Matins in the Office of our Lady 
 are three in number, and are followed by Responsories. The 
 same pious author says respecting the Lessons : " Three 
 things are needful to the common health of man. The first 
 is that the understanding be enlightened with knowledge of 
 the truth to know what is good or what is evil. And for this 
 knowledge is had by reading and hearing of wholesome 
 doctrine, therefore is it understood by the Lessons. The 
 second is good use of the free will that the will assent to love 
 that is known (to be) good, and to hate that that is 
 known (to be) evil. And for the will answereth thus to the 
 knowing : therefore it is to (be) understood by the Response, 
 that is as much (as) to say, an answer ; for it answereth in 
 sentence to the Lesson as is before said. The third is work, 
 so that that thing that the understanding knoweth (to be) 
 evil, and the will hateth, be fled indeed, and eschewed. And 
 that thing that the understanding knoweth (to be) good and 
 that the will ruled by grace loveth, be done indeed. And 
 this is understood by the Verse that is as much (as) to say as 
 a turning, for the knowledge and will ought thus to be turned 
 into deed ; and after the Verse a part of the Response is sung 
 again. For as good will causes good deeds, so good deeds 
 help to establish and to strengthen the good will. 
 
 " The Lessons are heard and the Response are sung sitting, 
 for knowing of truth and right ruling of the will may not be 
 put in a restful soul. But the Verse is sung standing, for 
 good deeds may not be done without labour. The Response 
 
 [i] Gen. xix. 22. [2] Durandus, Loc. cit.
 
 32 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 is sung of all, for every man may have a good will that 
 is understood by the Response. But the Verse is sung but 
 of a few, for all folk may not fulfil their good wills in deed, 
 that is understood by the Verse, so much so as the holy 
 Apostle St. Paul saith that he might not do the good that 
 he would [i]. The Lesson is read of one and heard of all, 
 in token that each congregation ought to live under one 
 governor that shall teach them and rule them after God's 
 Law. For each man, namely religious, ought not to do after 
 his own wit or knowing, but after the obedience and teaching 
 of Holy Church and of his sovereign " [2], 
 
 The Versicles and Responses are short ejaculations which 
 help us by a sudden change to recover our recollection if our 
 minds have wandered during the psalmody or after a long 
 hymn [3]. 
 
 The Liturgical prayer of the Church always ended with the 
 special petitions of those present. This was either in silence, 
 or with the Pater Nosier as St. Benedict orders ; or after an 
 interval of silence, heralded by the word Oremus let us pray ; 
 the one who presided collected, so to say, the aspirations and 
 petitions of all present into some short and comprehensive 
 formula, which he, in their name, presented to God. Hence 
 the name of Collect [4] often given to these prayers. They are 
 beautiful examples of vocal prayer, short, pithy, and to the 
 point. There is not much speaking [5] in them. That won- 
 derful series of collects in the Sunday Masses throughout the 
 year, is a very mine of sweetness and serves admirably as 
 a foundation for mental prayer in its true form. The form 
 of a collect is simple in the extreme ; it embraces but one main 
 petition, and consists of only one sentence : " Ordinarily we 
 
 [l] Rom. vii. 15. [2] Myroure, pp. 114-5. 
 
 [3] The word Versicle, a little verse, means a "turning" of the mind to 
 God. 
 
 [4] Most of the Collects in the Missal (whence those of the Breviary are 
 taken) are the arrangements of St. Leo the Great (461), St. Gelasius (496), and St. 
 Gregory the Great (604). A recent writer says : " The Collect form, as we have it, 
 is Western in every feature, in unity of sentiments and severity of style ; in its 
 Roman brevity and majestic conciseness, its freedom from all luxurious ornament, 
 and all inflations of phraseology." 
 
 [5] St. Matthew vi. 7.
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 33 
 
 address God the Father, because He is the origin of all things, 
 and all things flow from Him even in the Blessed Trinity ; 
 then He is only invoked through the Son according to our 
 Lord's recommendation, Whatsoever ye ask ask in My Name [i]. 
 We never directly invoke the Holy Ghost because we consider 
 Him as dwelling in the Church and praying by the mouth of 
 her ministers" [2]. 
 
 These collects are models for our own private prayers. 
 The long addresses to God, so much affected in modern 
 books of devotion, seem to savour of that much speaking repro- 
 bated by our Lord. In the prayers of the Church there is no 
 false sentimentality, no exaggeration ; but a sober, simple 
 statement of our want without going into close particulars, 
 and a mention of the grounds upon which we base our 
 prayers. 
 
 " Orisons (Collects) are said at the end of each hour ; for 
 the Apostles, whenever they were together, they knelt down on 
 their knees and prayed ere they departed asunder. And she 
 that sayeth the orison standeth turned to the East ; for Para- 
 dise, from whence we are exiled, is in the East, and therefore, 
 thinking what we have lost, and where we are, and whither 
 we desire, we pray turned towards the East " [3]. 
 
 Having thus treated of the general materials used in the 
 Office of our Lady, we proceed to indicate the form in which 
 they are used. 
 
 First as to Matins : after the introductory versicles and 
 invitatory with the hymn, three psalms, changing with the 
 day of the week, tpgether with their own antiphons, are 
 said or sung. Then follow three lessons with responsories. 
 The third lesson, however (out of Advent), being followed 
 by the hymn Te Deum. Then follows Lauds, which is com- 
 posed of the usual Sunday psalms of the Divine Office. 
 These are of immemorial use at this hour. There are eight 
 psalms altogether sung under five antiphons. These are 
 followed by the little chapter, or short lesson, which is in 
 turn succeeded by the hymn. After a short versicle, the 
 Gospel canticle Benedictus Deus is chanted, together with its 
 
 [i] St. John xiv. 13. [2] Bacquez, p. 414. [3] Myroure, p. 134. 
 
 3
 
 34 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 own antiphon. Then follow the prayers. The four Little 
 Hours are based on another plan. After the introductory 
 versicles a hymn, then three psalms under one antiphon. A 
 short lesson, versicles, and prayer. Vespers is developed on 
 the same lines as Lauds, but with only five psalms. The 
 formation of this hour shows its ancient connection with 
 Lauds as being with it the original public prayer of the 
 Church. Compline stands by itself ; special introductory 
 versicles, three psalms, without any antiphon, as in the Bene- 
 dictine use, a hymn, a canticle, with its own antiphon, which is 
 followed by versicles and prayer. Needless to say that the 
 formation of these hours is taken mainly from the Roman 
 pattern of the Office. It will be noticed how the number 
 three runs through the whole Office. In it we may see our 
 worship to the Blessed Three in One, or an incitement to 
 praise God for the threefold relationship of our Lady, as 
 Daughter of the Eternal Father, Mother of the Eternal Son, 
 and Spouse of the Eternal Spirit ; or as the expressions of our 
 Faith, Hope and Charity. 
 
 ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE PSALMS. 
 
 Holy Scripture admits of a four-fold interpretation : the Literal, or historical 
 sense ; the Allegorical, or that which refers to faith or the Church Militant ; the 
 Anagogical, referring to eternal life in the Church triumphant ; the Tropological, or 
 moral sense, concerning the manner of reaching heaven. Durandus gives this 
 example : " In like manner Jerusalem is understood literally of that earthly city 
 whither pilgrims journey ; allegorically of the Church Militant ; tropologically of every 
 faithful soul ; anagogically of the heavenly Jerusalem which is our country." 
 
 But these four may be reduced to two ; the literal and the mystical, and both of 
 these may be the sense originally intended by the Holy Ghost when inspiring the 
 writers. Our Lord Himself used the mystical interpretation when He took the case of 
 Jonas, and applied it to His own resurrection, and when He spoke of the Temple, His 
 Body. In the many parables He was intending a mystical sense, e.g., in the parable 
 of the Good Samaritan, or that of the Prodigal Son. The Apostles, following His 
 example, often give a mystical sense to the Scripture, and quote this sense as being, 
 without controversy, the real meaning of the text. For instance, St. Paul says : Let 
 the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour 
 in the word and doctrine ; for the Scripture saith : Thou shalt not muzzle the ox 
 that treadeth out the corn [l Tim. v. 17, 18]. And again : Saith not the law the same 
 also ? For it is written in the law of Moses : Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that 
 treadeth out the corn. Doth God care for oxen ? or saith He it not altogether for our 
 sakes? For our sakes no doubt this was written [l Cor. ix. 9, 10.] Then, again, in 
 that famous saying of Osee : When Israel was a child then I Ioi>ed him and called 
 my son out of Egypt [xL i] ; which St. Matthew unhesitatingly takes in a mystical
 
 FORMATION OF THE LITURGICAL PRAYER 35 
 
 sense and applies it to our Lord, saying distinctly that the return from the sojourn in 
 Egypt was its fulfilment. 
 
 This kind of interpretation the Church has always admitted ; and, guided by the 
 same Holy Spirit that inspired the writers, she has not hesitated to declare, in 
 certain cases, that the mystical interpretation is the primary one intended by the 
 Holy Ghost. For instance, the whole of the Canticle of Canticles, she takes as 
 referring to the mystical Espousals of God and the soul, although the literal sense 
 refers to an earthly bride and bridegroom. And the description of Wisdom Holy 
 Church applies officially in the Missal and the Breviary to our Lady. We are bound 
 to accept this interpretation, not only as lawful, but also as true, as it is given by her 
 who is the sole interpreter of Holy Writ. This is also an application of the old 
 principle that from the Church's prayers can be gathered the Church's belief. 
 
 The piety of Christians has been fed on mystical interpretation for hundreds of 
 years ; and souls have grown in holiness by its means. The work has been that of 
 God's saints and has resulted from their interior light and close union with God. It 
 may seem to us, at first sight, that a few of the writers have gone rather wide of the 
 mark and that their interpretations are somewhat far-fetched ; but a closer atten- 
 tion to their meaning and to the steps by which they arrive at their conclusions 
 will often show us that they have had a far deeper insight into the meaning of God's 
 Word than we have who criticise them. 
 
 Following out the theory that the Psalms all speak of Jesus, that they are His 
 words, we get at once into the mystical sense, and such phrases as these : The 
 righteous one ; the poor man ; thy servant ; the Word; the good thing will all 
 have new depths of meaning when we apply them to Him Who was on earth the 
 righteous man, and so poor that He had nowhere to lay His head ; the faithful 
 servant Who did his Father's will ; the Eternal Word which gives us here below the 
 Good Thing of the Blessed Sacrament and hereafter eternal life. 
 
 Again, we may take the case, so often occurring, of the names, Jerusalem and 
 Sion ; the first, " The Vision of Peace," being interpreted of the Church Trium- 
 phant ; the second " Expectation," of the Church Militant. As for example : That 
 they may declare the name of the Lord in Sion and His worship in Jerusalem, when 
 the people are gathered together and the kings also to serve the Lord [Ps. ci. 22]. Or 
 another : Deal favourably, Lord, in Thy goodwill with Sion ; and then, by a very 
 beautiful sequence, And the walls of Jerusalem shall be built up [Ps. 1. 18], 
 because through God's love and mercy to the Church here, those spiritual stones are 
 prepared by which the walls of the Eternal Temple are to be built on high [Neale, 
 vol. i., p. 451]. And once more. May the Lord from out of Sion bless thee that tkou 
 mayest see the good things of Jerusalem all the days of thy Life [Ps. cxxvi. 5], that is, 
 by the means of grace stirred up in the Church we may attain the good things of life 
 eternal. It is seldom in Scripture that these two words, either used separately or in 
 contrast, cannot be thus explained in the mystical sense. The same applies to Jacob 
 and Israel. The supplanter, he that has a hard struggle to attain his inheritance, is 
 a figure of the Church on earth ; while Israel, He that sees Cod, at once suggests 
 the Church in heaven. \ 
 
 This brief note will be enough to give us a warrant for a solid ground for inter- 
 preting the Psalms in a mystical sense as given in the Commentary which forms the 
 third part of this work. The holy writers, from whose work the Commentary is 
 woven, arrived at their interpretation, after years of prayer, after days of penance. 
 Is it too much to say that, if we wish to understand the Psalms as they understood
 
 36 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 them, we must follow some way, at least, along the path they trod ? God alone, 
 Who inspired the Scriptures, can open our understandings that we may understand 
 the Scriptures, as He did to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus ; and the 
 dignity of our work, when saying Office, demands that we should pray Him to give 
 us also light to penetrate the sense of the words we utter. 
 
 One last word. Except where the Church has officially adopted one meaning 
 before any others, and this is the mystical sense in the proper meaning of the word, 
 the interpretations given in the writings of the Fathers are not to be considered as 
 infallible ; they are only private explanations which we are free to use or reject as 
 they appeal to us. They are often based on analogy and explain the Scripture in 
 what is technically called an "accommodated" sense. The Angelical says: "It 
 belongs to the dignity of Holy Scripture to contain in one letter many senses . . . 
 Hence, if some things not understood by the author are fitted by interpreters of Holy 
 Scripture, it is not doubtful but that the Holy Ghost understood them in that sense, 
 for He is the principal Author of Holy Scripture."
 
 37 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE OFFICE. 
 
 BEFORE concluding the theoretical part of our study on 
 the Little Office, we must trace out its history ; for the lessons 
 of the Past are the best means of understanding the Present. 
 
 The earliest account of the Office is to be found at Monte 
 Cassino, of which Cardinal Bona says : " I have the testimony 
 of Peter the deacon, a Casinese. He wrote a remarkable 
 commentary on the rule of St. Benedict, the manuscript of 
 which is kept at Rome by Don Constantine Cajetan. In this 
 book Peter, speaking of the consecration of the abbat of 
 Monte Cassino, says : ' On this day the abbat must take 
 nothing but bread and water, and must not omit the seven 
 canonical hours in commemoration of holy Father Benet, 
 besides that which it is customary to perform in honour of 
 the holy Mother of God, which Zachary, the Pope, commanded 
 under strict precept to the Casinese monastery, ordering that 
 all the year round, in summer, as well as in winter, before 
 the night or day office, the brethren, as soon as they enter the 
 choir, should begin the Office of St. Benet, and that finished, 
 they should commence the Office which the Rule prescribes, 
 adding thereunto the Office of the holy Mother of God and 
 Virgin Mary.' This aforesaid Peter elsewhere refers the insti- 
 tution to Gregory II. But as Gregory, according to Baronius, 
 began his pontificate in the year of salvation 715, after whom 
 came Gregory III. in 731 ; and then Zachary, who succeeded 
 in 741 ; the use and ordering of this Office is therefore more 
 ancient than is commonly thought " [i]. 
 
 From the way Peter the deacon speaks of it, a form of 
 
 [i] Cf. Bona, De Divina Psaimodia, ed. (1677), p. 327.
 
 38 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Office of our Lady must have been already in use. In the 
 Acta Sanctorium we read that St. Ildephonsus, the great 
 servant of our Lady in Spain, composed an office in her 
 honour, the greater part of which is embodied in the modern 
 Liturgy for the feast of the Expectation. St. Ildephonsus 
 lived in the latter part of the seventh century. How much 
 further back the devotion can be traced we cannot safely say. 
 But the Carmelites, who claim to have kept up a continued 
 succession on Mount Carmel from the very days of Elias, may 
 have, traditionally, an earlier date for their Office. In the 
 Eastern Church the earliest example of an Office of our Lady 
 is that of the Greek Church, which, it is said, can be traced 
 back to St. John Damascene (730). It is called the Paracle- 
 tica, and consists of fifty-six sets of Vespers, each containing 
 several hymns, lessons, and prayers. 
 
 The above is sufficient to show that a liturgical form of 
 prayer in honour of our Lady is of early times ; but what 
 precise form it had we have not, at present, the means of 
 saying. For it must not be supposed that it was the same 
 as what we have to-day or anything like it. What, then, is the 
 origin of our Little Office ? Here we begin to tread on surer 
 ground. Mr. Edmund Bishop, the greatest living authority on 
 Liturgy, in the masterly essay which he wrote for the Early 
 English Text Society's edition of the "Primer or Layfolk's 
 Prayer-Book," has given a patient and masterly account of the 
 origin ; and, so far, he shall be our guide. It must be 
 remembered that the English " use " differs from the Roman 
 in certain particulars, such as antiphons, lessons, &c., but the 
 general structure is the same and points to a common origin. 
 
 In the great Benedictine revival which began in England 
 in the days of St. Dunstan, St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald, 
 we find introduced certain customs which had already found 
 place in continental monasteries. These are contained in the 
 Concordia regularis of St. Ethelwold, which represents the 
 practice of English monasticism of about the middle of the 
 tenth century. They consisted mainly of the addition of 
 prayers to the Divine Office. 
 
 In England, where we find customs taken from the great 
 abbeys of Fleury and Ghent, the additional prayers were :
 
 39 
 
 the Gradual Psalms said before Matins (during the longer 
 hours of winter extra psalms were said, sometimes to the 
 number of thirty) ; the Penitential psalms with the Litany of 
 the Saints said after Prime ; the Office of the Dead [i] ; the 
 Office of All Saints (lauds and vespers only) ; and after each 
 hour the psalmi familiares, that is, two psalms with Collects 
 said for the king and queen and other benefactors [2], " The 
 devotional accretions, whereby the Divine Office was so greatly 
 lengthened, were not said in full in Eastertide or on feast-days 
 of a high grade ; speaking technically, they were only said in 
 full on ferial days" [3]. 
 
 By the close of the tenth century, perhaps before, these 
 additional prayers were in use throughout the Benedictine 
 monasteries in England, France, Germany, and most likely 
 in Italy. But while here are the facts, how are we to account 
 for them ? Their origin is thus : 
 
 " It will be readily conceived that such devotional addi- 
 tions and accretions will not easily have found their origin 
 with the secular clergy engaged in the active duties of the 
 ministry and generally dispersed, or at most but loosely 
 organised ; whilst, on the other hand, such additions to the 
 prescribed divine service almost inevitably must ensue upon 
 the decrease of manual labour in the monasteries, such as 
 already had taken place by the ninth century ; and any revival 
 or reform of monastic discipline would, in such circumstances, 
 be naturally accompanied as a dictate of piety, by the adoption 
 of novel and extraordinary devotional practices in addition to 
 the traditional Office " [4]. 
 
 This we find, as a matter of fact, was one of the results 
 of the reforms made by St. Benedict of Aniane ; and it is 
 
 [l] " The origin of this office is obscure," says Mr. Bishop, " a recent writer 
 has declared it to be purely Roman and a creation of the beginning of the eighth 
 century. Extant testimonies by no means warrant so confident a tone ... It 
 is probable that these offices of the dead, at least in the general way, represent 
 practices prevailing in Italian monasteries also" (p. xvii.). "It is after all not 
 improbable that Benedict of Aniane may actually have introduced and practised the 
 devotion of a daily recital of the Office of the Dead " (p. xx.). 
 
 [2] Reyner's Apostolatus, iii. 77. It is worth noting the frequent use of the 
 Psalms as prayers for all occasions. The Psalter was the general Prayer-Book. 
 
 [3] p. xxiv. 5. [4] p. xiv.
 
 40 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 almost certain that the custom of saying the fifteen Gradual 
 Psalms before Matins dates from him. Some of his ideas had 
 a wide influence. " By the second half of the tenth century, 
 as has been observed, the testimony of monastic custom books 
 is uniform, that the recitation of the fifteen gradual Psalms 
 before Matins obtained everywhere " [i]. 
 
 It will be noted that some of these extra prayers took the 
 form of Offices, e.g., of the Dead, of All Saints. " Themselves 
 an imitation of the original Divine Office, or Cursus as it was 
 from long tradition called, such offices . . . once fairly 
 established, were in the then temper of men's minds sure to 
 call forth imitations. And in fact, ingenious piety invented 
 many a new cursus ; those of the Blessed Virgin and of the 
 Holy Cross are the first to appear ; to which by-and-bye were 
 added those of the Incarnation, of the Holy Trinity, and of 
 the Holy Ghost. Each represented a special devotional 
 attraction of some individual, and each was said in the same 
 way in which the customary recitation of the Office of the 
 Dead and of All Saints had made familiar, viz., as a private 
 daily devotional addition to the Divine Office itself, in strict 
 imitation of it, and like the Office, as a daily exercise through- 
 out the year [2], Of these numerous later products of an 
 exuberant piety, only one, the Office of the Blessed Virgin, 
 was destined to take its place as an additional cursus to the 
 Divine Office, alongside of the Office of the Dead, and, like 
 it, secure public recitation in the Church, eventually ousting, 
 even in the monasteries, the long-established, older cursus of 
 All Saints " [3]. This last only remained, as in the " Use " 
 of the Sarum, in the form of commemorations after Lauds 
 and Vespers, and in the present Roman use by the Com- 
 memoration of All Saints. 
 
 But when exactly are we to locate its origin ? When 
 
 [i] Reyner's Apostolatus. 
 
 [2] "The Einsiedeln Customs, drawn up not long after the year 970, as it would 
 seem, and certainly before 990 or 995, not only confirm the existence and the spread 
 of such a cursus of the Blessed Virgin in Germany at this time, but they also show 
 that the transition from the stage of a mere private devotion to an actual place in 
 the public office of the Church was already accomplished " (p. xxviL). 
 
 [3] PP- xxv.-vi.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE OFFICE 41 
 
 the Norman Conquest took place the English Church was 
 thoroughly reorganised according to the ideas of the new 
 masters. As part of the work, Lanfranc drew up a set of 
 Statutes for the use of the monks of the primatial Church of 
 Canterbury. These very Statutes are a clear proof that the 
 Office of our Lady was not introduced into English monas- 
 teries by Norman monks. They are a further proof that, if 
 it had been in vogue in these monasteries before the Conquest, 
 the foreigners, who posed somewhat as models of regular 
 observance, had not hesitated to abolish it as " mere Eng- 
 lishry." They did so, we know, as regards the purely English 
 feast of the Conception of our Lady, which took its origin at 
 Winchester [i]. There can be but little doubt that the Office 
 of our Lady is connected with that great spread of devotion 
 to her which was so marked a feature of the English Church, 
 from the days of SS. Dunstan and Ethelwold, and of which 
 the above-mentioned feast is a striking evidence. The trend 
 of all the evidence points to English Benedictism as one, if 
 not the one, origin of the Little Office of our Lady. 
 
 St. Udalric, Bishop of Augsburg (about 970), is an early 
 example of its use : " The daily cursus with his clerics he 
 carefully observed in the choir of the mother-church. More- 
 over, unless some inevitable necessity prevented him, he was 
 accustomed every day to say one cursus in honour of Holy 
 Mary, the Mother of God, a second in honour of the Holy 
 Rood, and a third in honour of All Hallows, besides many 
 other psalms, and the whole Psalter " [2]. 
 
 In the Chronicon of Hugh, Abbot of Flavignyfj] there is 
 a story of Berengarius, Bishop of Verdun (940-962), going one 
 night, as was his wont, to the Church of our Lady to pray 
 before the Office, and there, in the darkness, stumbling over 
 the prostrate form of the provost of that Church Bernerius 
 by name " who, then prostrate on the ground, was saying 
 the Matins of our Lady " [4]. 
 
 [i] Not only was the feast of the Conception of Our Lady kept in Anglo-Saxon 
 England on December 8th, but also those of St. Joseph (March iQth), and St. George 
 (April 23rd). The testimony of an Anglo-Saxon Calendar in the British Museum is 
 explicit on this point. The Normans abolished all three. 
 
 [2] Reyner's Apostolatus, xxvi. 
 
 [3] His life by his disciple Gerard (Migne, P. L., vol. cxxxv., p. 1016). 
 
 [4] Migne, P. L., vol. cliv., p. 197.
 
 42 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 But be this as it may, the devotion rapidly spread. In the 
 year 1095 Pope Urban II., the friend of St. Bruno, held a 
 council at Claremont for the purpose of stirring up Christen- 
 dom to undertake the Crusades. On this occasion, to obtain 
 a special blessing from heaven, he ordered that all clerics 
 should follow the example of the monks and add the Little 
 Office of our Lady to the Greater Office. And, at the same 
 time, he earnestly recommended its use to the faithful laity [i]. 
 
 St. Peter Damian, O.S.B. (1072), was a great promoter of 
 the Little Office of our Lady. Writing to the hermits of 
 Gamonium he speaks of the monastery of our Lady of 
 Monte Petra Pertusa, where, for three years the Little Office 
 had been daily added to the ordinary cursus ; and where at 
 the suggestion of a certain monk it was discontinued : but 
 presently, storms and attacks, and losses of all kinds fell on 
 the monastery in punishment, and only ceased when they 
 resumed the pious practice [2]. In a beautiful letter to one 
 Stephen, a monk, he exhorts him to say the Office of our 
 Lady every day ; and quotes the example of a certain French 
 cleric of Nivers who said it every day, and in reward was 
 specially helped by our Lady at his death [3]. 
 
 In the next century we can trace it somewhat further. 
 The White Monks (Cistercians) began to sweep away the 
 accumulations of extra prayers which had gathered round the 
 Greater Office ; and they were followed by the White Canons 
 of Premontre", but with different results, the White Monks 
 keeping only the Little Office of our Lady, and the White 
 Canons that of the Dead. 
 
 It seems to have come down to the clergy through the 
 Black or Austin Canons, a body that formed, as it were, the 
 link between the monks and the clergy. This was in keeping 
 with the past, as we have pointed out in the case of Matins, 
 which were adopted from the monks and imposed on the 
 clergy. These later accretions to the Divine Office were also 
 at first taken up by the clergy, in imitation of the monks, and 
 finally became an acknowledged part of their daily duty. The 
 
 [i] Mansi, torn, xx., p. 827. [2] Migne, P. L., vol. cxliv., p. 431. 
 
 [3] p. 420.
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE OFFICE 43 
 
 date of this was in the course of the twelfth and thirteenth 
 centuries, thus coinciding with the establishments of cathedral 
 Chapters on the new model, and with that magnificent outburst 
 which would naturally give rise to a revision of the Church 
 offices in general. By the end of the thirteenth century the 
 Little Office and that of the Dead were established in secular 
 use. Sarum and Lincoln bear witness to this; and from the 
 books of these two churches we learn that Matins, Lauds, and 
 Vespers of our Lady were said in choir ; the " LittleHours " in 
 the Ladye Chapel before the daily " Ladye Mass," while Com- 
 pline was said privately after the Compline of the day. When 
 the Council of Trent left the reformation of the Missal and 
 Breviary to the Pope, St. Pius V. in the bull Quod A. Nobis 
 (1568) released the clergy from an obligation which had for 
 so many hundred years been laid upon them. The Pontiff 
 says : " On account of the various businesses of this life and 
 indulgent to the occupations of many, we have thought it 
 well to remove the occasion of sin from this matter ; but, 
 warned by the weight of the Pastoral care, we vehemently 
 exhort all in the Lord, that seconding our remission as far as 
 can be done, by their own devotion and diligence, they should, 
 by these prayers, suffrages, and praises, endeavour to provide 
 for the salvation of themselves and of others." And he grants 
 to all who say the Office of our Lady, on the days mentioned 
 in the Rubrics, an indulgence of one hundred days for each 
 recitation. The days prescribed are on all simples and ferias 
 throughout the year, except Saturdays, which, from old custom, 
 had a special votive office in honour of our Lady [i]. 
 
 This Office of our Lady, the growth of many years, is 
 largely practised in the Church. The older order of monks 
 and friars keep up its recitation on fixed days ; and the 
 numerous congregation of women called to special active 
 work have no other office but this. St. Francis of Sales says 
 of it in the order which he founded that : " The Office of our 
 Lady is the soul of devotion in the Convents of the Visitation." 
 Many of the newer orders say the Office in choir, carrying out 
 as far as possible all the choral ceremonies. Some others, who 
 
 [i] In the customs of Einsiedeln, we find the Votive Office of our Lady assigned 
 to the Saturday.
 
 44 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 are called away for hours by the nature of their work, have to 
 content themselves with private recitation, keeping choir with 
 their guardian angels. 
 
 Having thus traced the origin of the Little Office, it will 
 not be amiss to see what evidence there is for its recitation 
 among the laity ; and, confining ourselves to England, we may 
 easily gather that in the Dowery of Mary it was a favourite 
 devotion. The rise of the art of printing naturally gave a 
 great impulse to the recitation ; for manuscript books of the 
 Hours, such as are still kept in our museums, would be too 
 costly for the generality of lay folk. But when printing made 
 it possible, we find an extraordinary growth ; and this, too, in 
 a remarkable way. Not only was the Little Office available 
 for the body of the faithful, but it was given them in the 
 vernacular, in books called the Primer or Lay Folks' Prayer- 
 Book [i]. 
 
 Caxton's " Boke of Courteseye" (1477) contains some 
 verses to " Little John " concerning his behaviour. Among 
 them is the direction : 
 
 " And while that you be about honestly 
 To dress yourself and do on your array, 
 With your fellow well and tretably 
 Our Lady matins look that you say ; 
 And this observance use ye every day 
 With praise and hours withouten drede 
 The Blessed Lady will quit you your mede " [2]. 
 
 The Eton statutes prescribes that the scholars, after rising 
 and making their beds, should say the Matins of our Blessed 
 Lady after " Sarum use." Henry VI., the munificent founder 
 of the College, had a special devotion to the Office, which he 
 said every day. Cardinal Fisher, in his funeral sermon on the 
 Countess of Richmond, mother of Henry VII., says : " First 
 in prayer every day at her uprising, which commonly was not 
 long after five of the clock, she began certain devotions ; and 
 so after them with one of her gentlewomen, the Matins of 
 
 [i] The one recently reprinted by the Early English Text Society is from a MS. 
 of about 1420. 
 [2] P. 5-
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE OFFICE 45 
 
 our Lady," besides the greater Office which she said with her 
 chaplain, and heard four or five masses [i]. 
 
 The Venetian Ambassador, in A relation of the Island of 
 England [2], about the year 1496, tells his Government about 
 the life of our Catholic forefathers and says : " Although 
 they all attend Mass every day and say many paternosters in 
 public (the women carrying long rosaries in their hands, and 
 any that can read taking the Office of our Lady with them, 
 and with some companion reciting it in the church verse by 
 verse after the manner of churchmen), they always hear Mass 
 on Sunday in their parish church and give liberal alms, 
 because they may not offer less than a piece of money of 
 which fourteen are equivalent to a golden ducat ; nor do they 
 omit any form incumbent upon good Christians." 
 
 About the period of the Reformation we find editions of 
 the Primers printed in 1538, 1546, and several between 1551 
 and 1558. When Elizabeth destroyed the work restored by 
 Mary, many of the people still clung to their old practices of 
 devotion. In 1569, "Thomas Wright, vicar of Seaham, con- 
 fesses that he says daily in his house, with certain others, the 
 Offices of the Blessed Virgin " [3]. One of the earliest pub- 
 lications of Dr. Allen was a Primer for the use of the perse- 
 cuted Catholics. This came out in 1571, and was followed in 
 1599 by Richard Verstegan's edition and many others [4]. It 
 was the favourite prayer of our brave confessors, and shows 
 that they formed themselves on the simple, bold, direct prayer 
 of the Church, and were thus able to cultivate a spirit of solid 
 catholicity which withstood all shocks from within and 
 without. 
 
 Nowadays, many pious lay-folk use the Little Office as 
 their daily prayer. It is part of the rule for Dominican, Car- 
 melite, and Augustinian Tertiaries. The Franciscan Third 
 
 [I] "The English works of John Fisher" [E.E.T.S.], p. 292. 
 
 [2] Camden Society's Publications, p. 23. 
 
 [3] " Depositions," p. 199, Surtees Society. 
 
 [4] Besides those in the text, there are editions of 1604, 1615, 1619, 1632, 1650, 
 1658, 1684, and 1685. All these were printed abroad. The first one printed in 
 London was 1687. In 1706 appeared one with hymns translated by Dryden, and 
 there are editions of the years 1717 and 1732.
 
 46 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Order used it; and when Leo XIII., by his late Letters 
 Apostolic, brought the tertiary rule more into harmony with 
 the state of modern society, although he does away with the 
 obligation of j its recitation and orders instead the recital of 
 twelve paters, he wishes that all who have time and oppor- 
 tunity should say the Little Office as heretofore.
 
 47 
 
 PART II. 
 
 PRACTICAL. 
 
 He who fears the Lord neglecteth nothing, says the Holy 
 Ghost [i]. The more important the work, the more necessary 
 is it that it should be done properly. And are we called to 
 any higher and more important work than that of being used 
 by the Incarnate Word in His worship of the Eternal Father ? 
 Yet, from the weakness of human nature, from the instability 
 of our minds, from the daily recitation of the selfsame words, 
 we often say the Office in a careless, perfunctory manner, our 
 lips repeating words which find but little or no echo in our 
 heart. 
 
 There is, and must be, this danger for every one ; and half 
 of the remedy is to recognise our liability to fall short of our 
 Lord's gracious designs. It will therefore be useful to gather 
 together various practices, examples and thoughts, which have 
 been found useful for guarding against the deadening effects 
 of routine. They will help us to make our Office a living 
 reality. 
 
 [i] Eccles. vii. 19.
 
 4 8 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 
 
 ON SAYING THE OFFICE AS THE CHURCH WISHES. 
 
 THE idea of the Office is that of a public prayer of the 
 Church ; public, not only because we are public ministers of 
 the Church ; but public, because it is designed to be said in 
 a public manner. Careful of St. Paul's words : Let everything 
 be done decently and in order [i], Holy Church has surrounded 
 the recitation of her Public prayer with a minute code of rules 
 and ceremonies, all of which are eminently calculated to help 
 our soul to retain or regain the thought of God's Presence. 
 In reciting the Office we should endeavour to make use of 
 all the ceremonial she has ordained ; and let these forms do 
 the work for which they are intended. Bowing the head 
 and the body, signing ourselves with the Cross, standing up, 
 sitting down, kneeling, facing the altar, or facing one another, 
 are all ceremonies full of life and meaning to those who use 
 them intelligently ; while those who neglect them, or carry 
 them out carelessly, are misusing a great means of entering 
 more perfectly into the dispositions of Jesus Christ. The 
 author of the Myroure says : "Therefore the holy observances 
 are not only to be kept of them that sing in the choir, but 
 also of all others, to their power ; wherever they say their 
 Service. For a religious person ought to be governed reli- 
 giously over all, whether he be alone or with others and 
 whatever he do, and namely, in the saying of this Holy 
 Service. Nevertheless, they that have no convenient place 
 to keep all observances and therefore say their Service in 
 continual and reverent kneeling, or sometimes standing, I 
 trow they are excused. But for to say it sitting or lying 
 
 [l] I Cor. xiv. 40.
 
 ON SAYING THE OFFICE 49 
 
 (without need of sickness), or walking up and down ; it were 
 a token of little love and of little reverence to God. For 
 our Holy mother, St. Brigit, had in revelation, and wrote 
 to a secular clerk that such walking to and fro in service 
 time is a showing of an unstable and a vacant heart, and of 
 a slow soul, and of little charity and devotion. And since it is 
 so in seculars much more is it blameable in religious. And 
 therefore the books that say how some have most devotion 
 sitting, or else whether it be sitting, or kneeling, or going or 
 standing, a man should do as he can feel most devotion ; such 
 sayings are to be understood of the prayers and devotions that 
 a man chooseth to say or to do after his own will. But in Our 
 Lord's Service we ought to labour for devotion in such manner 
 as Holy Church and religion hath ordained to be kept 
 therein " [i]. 
 
 The Carthusians, who say the Little Office every day, recite 
 it in their cells ; but strictly carry out all the choir cere- 
 monial. They know that they do not say it alone. For 
 when the bell rings the whole Charter-house turns into a 
 great choir and the monks in the sight of the angels [2] com- 
 mence to praise Him Whose mother was Mary. 
 
 There is a point to which special attention ought to be 
 drawn ; and that is, the fact that the first idea of the Office is 
 that it should be sung. It is a choral office, and there is good 
 reason for this. The author of the Myrourc says : 
 
 "And no marvel that the fiend be busy to hinder folks 
 from the song of this holy Service ; for in devout singing 
 and hearing thereof is manifold profit to man's soul. First, 
 for it stirreth a man's soul sometime to contrition and com- 
 punction of his sins. For the holy doctor St. Isidore saith 
 thus : ' Though the sweetness of the voice or song ought not 
 to delight nor stir a Christian man's heart, but the words of 
 God that are sung, yet I wot not in what wise more compunc- 
 tion ariseth in the heart than by the voice of singing. For 
 there are many,' he saith, ' that by the sweetness of the song 
 are stirred to wail and to weep their sins. And the sweeter 
 that the song is, the more they follow out in weeping tears.' 
 The second, it melteth the heart into more devotion, and 
 
 [i] pp. 62-63. W Psalm cxxxvii. 42. 
 
 4
 
 5 o THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 therefore saith Saint Augustine to God Himself in his con- 
 fession : 'Ah, Lord,' he saith, ' how I was stirred to joy and I 
 wept in hymns and songs of Thy Church that sounded sweetly. 
 The voices flowed into mine ears and truth was molten into 
 my heart, and thereby the affection of piety and of love was 
 made hot in me, and tears ran out of my eyes and I was full 
 well with them.' The third, it causeth sometime devout souls 
 to be ravished and to receive spiritual gifts from God, as ye 
 read in St. Maud's (Mechtildd) book, how she had many 
 of her revelations in time of God's Service. And therefore at 
 a time when Elias the prophet had not ready the spirit of 
 prophecy he got him a singer of psalms on the harp or on the 
 psaltery ; and while he sang the spirit of God came upon the 
 prophet, and then he told by the spirit of prophecy to them 
 that came unto him what they should do. The fourth profit 
 of Holy Church song is, that it doth away (with) indiscreet 
 heaviness. And therefore, saith the Apostle Saint James : // 
 any of you (he saith) be heavy ; let him sing and let him pray 
 with an even heart [i]. For as the Gloss saith there the 
 sweetness of singing and of psalmody putteth away noxious 
 heaviness ; and Isidore saith that devout singing in Holy 
 Church comforteth heavy hearts and maketh souls more 
 gracious ; it refresheth them that are weary and tedious ; it 
 quickeneth them that are dull, and it stirreth sinners to bewail 
 their sins. For though the hearts (he saith) of fleshly people 
 be hard, yet when the sweetness of that song soundeth in 
 them their souls are stirred to the affections of piety. The 
 fifth is, that it chaseth and driveth away the fiend ; and that 
 was figured in David when the fiend vexed King Saul and 
 David smote on his harp and the fiend fled away. And much 
 more he fleeth where the Psalms of David and other Divine 
 service is devoutly sung The sixth profit is, that it con- 
 foundeth and overcometh the enemies of Holy Church and of 
 God's servants as well bodily as ghostly ; and this is shown 
 in holy scriptures by King Josaphat that was King of Jeru- 
 salem [2]. For when his enemies came against him in so 
 great power that he knew well that he might not by man's 
 power withstand them, he ordained singers of God's service 
 
 [ij St. James v. 13. [2] II. Paralip. 20.
 
 ON SAYING THE OFFICE 51 
 
 to praise God and to go before his host singing. And when 
 they began to praise God, God turned the enemy each of 
 them against the other, and each of them slew the other, so 
 that none of them all escaped alive. A marvellous working 
 of God's service. . . . And thus you may see that there 
 is no better armour of defence against all enemies than devout 
 singing of our Lord's service ; wherefore David the prophet 
 said thus : Laudans invocabo Dominum et ab inimicis meis 
 salvus ero ; that is, I will call upon our Lord in praising, and 
 so I shall be safe from all mine enemies. For it hath not been 
 seen that ever any place was mischiefed where God's service 
 was devoutly kept. The seventh profit of Holy Church song 
 is, that it pleaseth so much God that He desireth and joyeth 
 to hear it. And therefore He saith to His spouse, Holy 
 Church : Sonet vox tua in auribus meis ; that is, Let thy voice 
 sound in mine ears [i]. Glad, then, ought ye to be to sing 
 that song that God Himself desireth to hear. But so it ought 
 to be sung that it sound well in His ears, for else it availeth 
 but little. For He taketh more heed of the heart than of the 
 voice ; but when both accord in Him then is it best. And if 
 either should fail it is better to lack the voice than the heart 
 from Him. Therefore, they that would praise God with voice 
 of singing and cannot or may not, our Lord will hold them 
 excused, so that they say devoutly such service as they can, 
 and keep their hearts clean in meekness and in obedience. 
 For as our Lady said to St. Brigit : A clean heart and a meek 
 pleaseth God in silence as well as in singing " [2]. 
 
 This will show that it is profitable to follow out the 
 Church's idea and to sing our Office ; and that it is a loss to 
 neglect it altogether. There are few convents that cannot aim 
 at singing each day or at least on Sundays and festivals the 
 Office, either wholly or in part. The practice of fervent com- 
 munities may here be recommended. If they cannot sing every 
 day the whole of the Office they at least sing a part such as 
 Vespers every day and on Sundays Lauds as well. On feasts 
 of the second class, the Invitatory, Hymn and Te Deum at 
 Matins, with the whole of Lauds and Vespers. On the Great 
 feasts the whole of the Office. Some make a point of at least 
 singing the Antiphon of our Lady after Lauds and Compline. 
 
 [l] Cant. 2. [2] Myroure, pp. 32-35.
 
 52 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 God does not want fine singing, but prayerful singing : 
 not singing which tickles the ear, but that which raises up the 
 soul ; singing which will not remind us, by earthly music, of 
 the passing joys of this world, but rather a kind of unearthly 
 music like that which is ever resounding through the heavenly 
 courts. The Plain Song of the Church is most perfectly 
 adapted to the spiritual needs of mankind when it is sung by 
 those who know and love it. Nothing could be better and 
 more fitting for religious than this chant which, we may add, 
 requires a religious person to sing it properly. It is, then, 
 indeed, a sweet echo of that New Song which no man can 
 utter, as it should be uttered, unless he be taught by the Lamb 
 Whose very Own Song it is. 
 
 Beautiful voices are God's gift and have to be used for 
 Him ; and the music of God's worship should be of the very 
 best. But loving hearts form a sweeter harmony before the 
 Throne than the rarest voices, if full of self-love. He sings 
 well, says St. Bernard, who sings to God. There is a beautiful 
 story, told in the annals of a certain monastery, where the 
 monks, all old men, sang as best their quavering, uncertain 
 voices would let them. But once, when some high feast came 
 round, they bethought themselves of getting the services of 
 a skilful singer to chant the Magnificat in honour of the 
 solemnity. He came. His voice, wondrously beautiful, 
 clear and pure, and round in tone, like a flute, soared upwards 
 and, ringing around the vaulted roof of the old minster, 
 enchanted the hearers. " Would that we could have that fair 
 singer with us every day," said the abbat to one of the ancients, 
 who nodded his approval. But that night as the abbat lay 
 a-bed, lo ! a great light, as of many suns, filled his cell, and in 
 the midst thereof a Vision of One stood before him. It was 
 the Mother of God, Mary ever blissful. " Why," said she, 
 " have you on this high festival omitted my song, the 
 Magnificat f " " Lady ! " said the abbat, " it was sung to-day, 
 and in strains sweeter than we have ever heard before ; for as 
 we be but a handful of feeble, croaking old men, with no music 
 in our voices, we sought the rarest and most beautiful voice in 
 the land to sing thy praise." " I heard it not," said the Vision. 
 '' No sound came from the minster at Even-Song, and mine
 
 ON SAYING THE OFFICE 53 
 
 ears missed the music they are accustomed to hear daily from 
 you and your brethren. That singer sang for himself and not 
 for me ; so his song could not rise to my throne, but fell back 
 earthwards again." 
 
 The liturgical spirit, so necessary to be cultivated now-a- 
 days, is, when we look at it simply, only that of mere obedience 
 to the Church. It consists in doing the Church's work in the 
 Church's way. If, therefore, occupations hinder us from 
 keeping choir still, in this spirit of desiring to carry out the 
 Church's ideas as far as possible, we should endeavour to say 
 our Office in church ; and for these reasons which the Myroure 
 gives : " This holy service ought also to be said in due place ; 
 that is, in the church ; except if sickness, or such reasonable 
 cause, hinder that you may not come thither. For churches 
 are hallowed and ordained for prayer and for Divine service to 
 be said and heard therein as our Lord saith Himself : Domus 
 mea domus orationis vocabitur [i], that is to say : ' My house, 
 that is Holy Church, should be called a house of prayer.' And 
 it is most profitable for you to pray in that place for many 
 causes, (i) One for more worship of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
 and of His blessed Mother our Lady in whose worship the 
 church is hallowed. (2) Another cause, for the blessing and 
 the prayer of the bishop at the time of the hallowing of the 
 church which helpeth and furthereth much the prayer of them 
 that pray therein. (3) The third cause, for the Angels of God 
 dwell there to help us in time of prayer, and to promote our 
 prayers towards God. . . . And, therefore, saith St. 
 Bernard : ' Oh, whoso had open eyes and might see with how 
 great care and joy angels are amongst them that sing devoutly 
 and pray ! ' [2] Wherefore he saith : ' I admonish you my 
 most loved friends that you stand purely in the praising of 
 God, and that you do it reverently and gladly. (4) The fourth 
 cause is, for the fiends have less power to hinder prayer there 
 than in any other place ; and therefore the patriarch, St. Jacob, 
 after he had seen the vision said : Quam terribilis est locus 
 iste [3], that is, How fearful is this place. For the holiness of the 
 church and the devoted prayers made therein, and, namely, 
 
 [i] Matthew xxi. 13. [2] Super. Cant. serm. 7. [3] Gen.xxviii. 17.
 
 54 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the presence of the holy Sacrament of the Altar ; rebuketh the 
 boldness of the fiend, and maketh him afeard. (5) The fifth 
 cause is, for our Lord will take heed of them and hear their 
 prayer that pray in holy church as He saith Himself : Oculi 
 mei erunt aperti et aures mece ad orationem ejus qui in loco isto 
 oraverit [i], that is to say, Mine eyes shall be open to see Him 
 and Mine ears dressed up to hear his prayer that prayeth in 
 this place, that is Holy Church " [2]. 
 
 And one more especial reason which should prompt us to 
 say our Office in Church is the Abiding Presence of Jesus in 
 the Blessed Sacrament. From the lowly tabernacle is ever 
 going up before the Father the most perfect worship of adora- 
 tion, of thanksgiving, of atonement, of prayer ; for Jesus is 
 verily and indeed there. As we are chosen to give expression 
 to these acts, as it is in union with Him as our Divine Head 
 that our prayers have value in God's sight, we should delight 
 to add our worship (which is indeed His) in union with 
 that Life, all glorious and immortal, which He lives in the 
 Sacramental state of the Eucharist [3]. Oh magnify the Lord 
 with Me [4], He cries to us from the tabernacle. And there 
 at His feet we can best obey His invitation. 
 
 [l] II. Paralip., vii. 15. [2] Myroure, pp. 27, 28. 
 
 [3] The idea which a false sentimentality is trying to introduce, of the Prisoner 
 of the Tabernacle is untrue, and against the very idea of the Adorable Mystery. 
 Christ rose again never to die, never to suffer ; Death shall no more have dominion 
 over Him (Rom. vi. 9). Therefore, in His sacramental Life the glory of light 
 inaccessible, in which God dwells, surrounds Him in the Tabernacle. He is on the 
 Altar, as He is in Heaven, the King of Glory ; but the manner of His presence 
 is otherwise. There He is present naturally ; here, sacramentally. The Church 
 has no other way for expressing His state in the Holy Eucharist but by saying it 
 is a sacramental state, that is, one after the manner of a Sacrament which is an 
 outward sign of inward grace. To bring in materialistic views into our ideas about 
 the Blessed Sacrament is sure to do harm ; and the history of the Church is full 
 of the mischief done thereby. St. Thomas the Angelical has set forth the dogma 
 as far as human wit can fathom. With him we are safe, mindful of the words 
 of Holy Writ, Search not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into 
 things above thine ability', but the things that God hath commanded thee t think 
 on them always, in many of His -works be not curious (Ecclesiasticus iii. 22). Faith 
 and adoration is all we can do, aught else is but failure. 
 
 [4] Psalm xxxiii.
 
 55 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ON RECOLLECTION BEFORE BEGINNING. 
 
 Before prayer prepare thy soul and be not like a man that 
 tempteth God [i]. Do not let thy heart be swift to pour forth 
 thy words before God. For God is in heaven and thou upon 
 earth [2], 
 
 The consideration of what the Office is, should be quite 
 enough to make us realise the necessity of due preparation 
 before we begin. "For by the wound of original sin and 
 by our own actual sin and evil custom, the corrupt body is 
 so heavy and loath to all virtue and the heart so unstable 
 that without great inward labour, and without we do a manner 
 of violence to ourselves, we can neither make the rebel and 
 disobedient flesh to do reverently ; nor gather the mind in 
 unity to (the) feeling of devotion " [3]. 
 
 The Abbat Cisneros of Montserrato (about 1500), says in 
 the " Directory for the Canonical Hours" : "When we have 
 risen from our beds and are dressed, staying awhile in our 
 cell and standing where we are wont to pray, we should 
 gather up our thoughts as best we can, and think thus within 
 ourselves ; what are we going to do, and why have we risen 
 from our beds? For whosoever does not think before acting 
 must needs be careless in his work. And what are we about 
 to do, brethren, at the time of the Office unless it is to appear 
 before the sight of God and His holy angels in the company 
 of our just and holy brethren ? Wherefore we must diligently 
 bear in mind that we are going to (i) adore God ; (2) give 
 thanks to Him ; (3) and pray to Him. . . . Therefore 
 after dwelling on the aforesaid three points let us on our knees 
 
 [i] Ecclesiasticus xviii. 23. [2] Ecclesiasticus v. I. [3] Afyroure, p. 63.
 
 56 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 humbly beseech the Lord to grant us worthily to adore Him 
 in the judgments of His justice, and devoutly to pay Him the 
 duty of our homage. When, therefore, the sound of the bell 
 has struck upon our ears, rising from prayer, we should say : 
 This is the sign of the great King ; let us go and seek His 
 face and offer Him gold, incense and myrrh, the gold of 
 devotion, the incense of attention, the myrrh of respectful 
 and manly demeanour." 
 
 St. Charles Borromeo attached so much importance to his 
 Office that he always spent at least a quarter of an hour 
 in mental prayer before he ventured to begin, and then said 
 it on his knees [i] ; and St. Bonaventure used to tell his 
 novices : " Never begin to say the Office without preparing 
 yourself by a collect and a prayer. We are tepid and slothful 
 in the Divine Office, because we have not roused ourselves 
 beforehand by acts of devotion; hence, as we have entered 
 cold, so do we leave the choir dissipated in heart " [2]. 
 
 As it is a special grace from God to say the Office well, 
 for we cannot, St. Paul tells us, Say the Lord Jesus except by 
 the Holy Ghost [3], we must ask for this grace humbly and 
 fervently. Origen writes : " We must beseech the Lord that 
 the Lamb of the tribe of Juda may come and deign Himself 
 to open the sealed book. For it was He who, opening the 
 Scriptures, set on fire the hearts of the disciples so that they 
 said : Did not our hearts bum within us while He opened to us 
 the Scriptures f " [4] 
 
 Now of the preparatory prayer. Our first should be to 
 make acts of the presence of God who abides in our heart if 
 we are in a state of grace. There is nothing that empties the 
 heart more of creatures than the thought that the ever adorable 
 Trinity is really and truly present with us. // any man love 
 Me. . . . We will come to him and make Our abode with him 
 [5] savs ur Divine Master. And St. Paul presses home this 
 truth : Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 
 
 [l] Giussano's " Life of St. Charles Borromeo," Eng. ed., vol. i. p. 90 ; 
 ii. p. 292. 
 
 [2] De Institutions Novitorum. [4] Migne, P. G., vol. xii. p. 385. 
 
 [3] I Cor. xii. 3. [5] John xiv. 23.
 
 ON RECOLLECTION BEFORE BEGINNING 57 
 
 Who is in you f [i] We need not go outside of ourselves to 
 find the Divine Presence. He is within us : The kingdom of 
 God is within you [2] . The thought of this Presence brings 
 a hush over our soul. God alone becomes our one object. 
 He and our soul are the two realities which stand out clear 
 and distinct. This act of faith in the Presence of God within 
 us cannot be made without reminding us of our utter un- 
 worthiness in His sight. It begets in our soul, therefore, acts 
 of sorrow for our sins. Purified by these we adore Him with 
 our whole soul and put ourselves at the disposal of Jesus our 
 Lord to pay that adoration, thanksgiving, atonement, and 
 prayer with which He worships the Divine Majesty. Such 
 acts as these before beginning our Office are the best form 
 of mental prayer. To these may well be joined such vocal 
 prayers as appeal to our own devotion. The shorter the better. 
 The Aperi Domine is excellent ; but at times, others may, with 
 advantage, be substituted for it. The hymn to the Holy 
 Ghost, the Veni Creator, was often used by St. Francis Xavier 
 before his Office. The prayer said by the deacon at high Mass 
 before singing the Gospel, the Munda Cor meum ; or else the 
 prayer before the Orate Fratres, the Suscipe Sancta Trinitas ; 
 or the Collect, Deus cui omne cor patet ; or the Gloria in 
 Excelsis Deo. Any of these may be used as our devotion 
 prompts. 
 
 We may make up a little list of such vocal prayers for our 
 own use together with short invocations of our Lady, our 
 Guardian Angel, and patrons ; and vary the prayers according 
 to the day of the week, or the feast day. By such pious means 
 we shall avoid that sense of routine which is one of the great 
 difficulties we have to contend against. 
 
 We may sometimes add to our mental prayer before the 
 Office considerations upon the excellence of our ministry ; 
 such as that we are the instruments by which Jesus the 
 God-Man worships His Father ; that we are representatives 
 of Holy Church ; that we are placed between the living and 
 the dead to supplicate for all the graces mankind stands in 
 need of ; that we are taking a part in the heavenly worship 
 
 [i] I Cor. vi. 19. [2] Luke xviii. 21.
 
 58 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 which goes on for ever before the great Throne, and are 
 lending our voices to all creation to praise Him Who sits 
 thereon. With such thoughts as these we shall enter upon 
 our Office with a heart attuned to the work we have to do 
 and we shall get from it the profit that our Lord intends.
 
 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON PARTICULAR INTENTION. 
 
 ALTHOUGH we are representatives of the Church we must 
 not forget that when in union with our Lord we deliberately 
 set ourself to do His work of worship, we are doing an 
 act not only good in itself and profitable to all the members 
 of the Body Mystical, but also one full of advantage to our- 
 selves. In other words, we have in the fruit of the Office 
 a special share which is wholly ours. This we can dispose 
 of as we please. From this comes the advantage of having 
 some special intention for which we say either the whole or 
 part of the Office. And, indeed, no better prayer can be used 
 for the special intentions we may have at heart ; for it is the 
 highest of all prayers and is said in the very best circum- 
 stances for receiving a favourable answer. Spiritual writers, 
 such as St. Bernard and St. Bonaventure, recommend us not 
 to neglect this practice of making intentions ; for long and 
 frequent prayers expose us to the danger of negligence, and 
 therefore the practice serves to guard our attention. 
 
 What intentions should we use ? There are, first, the four 
 intentions of our Lord's Prayer in Heaven and in the Blessed 
 Sacrament : adoration, thanksgiving, atonement, and suppli- 
 cation. We may sometimes say our Office or part of it as 
 a distinct act of adoration to the Eternal God. Prostrated 
 before His throne and abasing ourself in His sight, we confess 
 that He is all and we are nothing ; that all we are and have 
 is from Him ; that He alone is worthy of all honour, all glory, 
 and all worship, for He hath made us and not we ourselves. 
 Then there are many occasions when our heart is full of 
 gratitude for some favour which God has given us. Second
 
 60 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 to the Mass there is no act of thanksgiving so pleasing to Him 
 as the Office. And have we not much to be grateful for ? 
 Our vocation, our sacraments, our graces, our crosses, our 
 joys, our successes, our sorrows, our hopes, our losses ; all 
 these are distinct subjects for thanksgiving. What better act 
 of thanksgiving, for instance, than to say Lauds with this 
 intention ? Or does the remembrance of former sinfulness 
 oppress us ; or are we weighed down with the thought of our 
 own daily unfaithfulness to grace, or of our coldness and want 
 of love in God's service ; or are we moved by the shock that 
 comes from some fall more serious than usual ? There is 
 an atoning power in the Office said in union with our Lord 
 that is sure to win grace, forgiveness, peace, and purity. Or 
 do we hear of some great scandal and sin, of stars falling 
 from heaven [i], the interests of our Lord disregarded and 
 injured in various parts of the Church ? We have a perfect 
 means of making atonement to His dear glory by means of 
 Office. Or are we in want, or do we pray for others ? Is it a 
 conversion that we ask, saying as Esther said to the king : If 
 it please thee give me my life for which I ask and my people for 
 whom I beseech [2]. Or is it our daily occupation, whatever it 
 may be, that makes us anxious and full of care ? Or do we 
 wish to pour forth our prayers for our friends and relations, 
 our community and superiors ? We have no better means of 
 helping them than by saying our Office for these particular 
 intentions ; for we say it with Jesus, and He is heard for His 
 reverence [3]. There is, therefore, no better way than to say 
 our Office, whatever our intentions may be, in union with the 
 Glorious and Eucharistic Life of our Lord and with reference 
 to the ends for which He prays. Thus will our Office be 
 linked on to the Mass and will get its light and life from that 
 adorable Sacrifice, the centre itself of all light and life [4]. 
 
 [l] Cf. Apoc. viii. 10. [2] Esther vii. 3. [3] Heb. v. 7. 
 
 [4] The English mystic, Walter Hilton, died 1396 (?), says of the Office : 
 "This prayer is always heard by Jesus. It yieldeth grace unto Jesus and receiveth 
 grace again from Him. It maketh the soul familiar, and, as it were, companion 
 unto Jesus and all the Angels in heaven. Use it whosoever can ; the work is good 
 and grace-bestowing in itself. . . . This prayer is a rich offering filled with 
 all the fatness of devotion, received by Angels and presented before the face of 
 Jesus." The Scale of Perfection (ed. 1870), p. 244.
 
 ON PARTICULAR INTENTION 61 
 
 We can say the Office in union with the spirit of the feast 
 which the Church celebrates, to adore God in that particular 
 mystery or saint ; to thank Him for all the graces given 
 through that mystery or saint, or to that saint making him to 
 be what he is ; or offering that mystery or the holiness of the 
 saint in the spirit of atonement, or urging the mystery or the 
 patronage of the saint as an extra plea for our petition. And 
 how our ever-dear and blessed Lady enters into all this can 
 easily be seen. Under all circumstances, when saying her 
 Office we must place our hand in her's and, together with her, 
 approach the Throne of Grace. 
 
 It is useful to write in our Office books some general 
 intentions which we should observe, unless any special reason 
 makes us change our plan. As there are seven hours in 
 the Office and seven days in the week, we may make use of 
 these tables, either for a day or for a week, for the Office as 
 a whole, or for each separate hour. The following lists may 
 be altered and changed to suit each one's devotion. 
 
 I. GENERAL INTENTIONS. 
 
 (i) The Blessed Trinity : or the Incarnation ; (2) The 
 Holy Angels : or our Guardian Angel ; (3) The Apostles : or 
 our Patron ; (4) St. Joseph : or the Souls in Purgatory ; 
 (5) The Blessed Sacrament : or the Clergy ; (6) The Passion : 
 or all sinners ; (7) Our Blessed Lady : or all religious. 
 
 II. To HONOUR THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD. 
 
 (i) His wisdom ; (2) His omnipotence ; (3) His goodness ; 
 (4) His providence ; (5) His mercy ; (6) His justice ; (7) His 
 patience. 
 
 III. IN HONOUR OF THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 (i) For the gift of wisdom ; (2) For the gift of under- 
 standing ; (3) Lor the gift of counsel ; (4) For the gift of 
 knowledge ; (5) For the gift of fortitude ; (6) For the gift of 
 piety ; (7) For the gift of fear of the Lord.
 
 62 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 IV. OUR LORD'S LIFE. 
 
 (i) Our Lord's Nativity ; (2) His hidden Life ; (3) His 
 public Ministry ; (4) His Passion ; (5) His Death ; (6) His 
 resurrection ; (7) His Ascension. 
 
 V. THE PASSION. 
 
 " At Matins bound, at Prime reviled, 
 Condemned to death at Terce, 
 Nailed to the Cross at Sext, 
 At None His blessed Side they pierced, 
 They take Him down at Vesper tide, 
 In grave at Compline lay, 
 Who henceforth bids His Church observe 
 These seven-fold hours alway." 
 
 VI. OUR LADY, MIRROR OF JUSTICE. 
 
 (i) For knowledge of Mary ; (2) For more love of Mary ; 
 
 (3) For more confidence in Mary ; (4) For more union with 
 Mary ; (5) For more joy in Mary ; (6) For a larger share in 
 her compassion ; (7) For true devotion to Mary. 
 
 VII. FOR THE CHURCH. 
 
 (i) Our Holy Father the Pope ; (2) The cardinals ; (3) The 
 bishops ; (4) Our diocese ; (5) The clergy ; (6) missioners ; 
 (7) religious. 
 
 VIII. THE CHURCH'S INTERESTS. 
 
 (i) For good pastors ; (2) For the persecuted ; (3) For 
 unbelievers ; (4) For bad Catholics ; (5) For the conversion 
 of sinners ; (6) For foreign missions ; (7) For our schools 
 and children. 
 
 IX. FOR THE HOLY SOULS. 
 
 (i) For the most desolate soul ; (2) For the soul nearest 
 to its release ; (3) For the souls suffering through our sins ; 
 
 (4) For the souls of our parents, friends and benefactors ; 
 
 (5) For the soul that has to remain longest in purgatory ; 
 
 (6) For the soul most devout to the Passion ; (j) For the 
 soul most devout to our Lady.
 
 ON PARTICULAR INTENTION 63 
 
 X. FOR THE VIRTUES. 
 
 (i) Humility ; (2) Liberality ; (3) Chastity ; (4) Mildness ; 
 (5) Charity ; (6) Brotherly love ; (7) Diligence. 
 
 XI. AGAINST SINS OF 
 
 (i) Pride ; (2) Covetousness ; (3) Lust ; (4) Anger ; (5) 
 Hatred ; (6) Envy ; (7) Sloth. 
 
 XII. FOR OUR WORK. 
 
 (i) That it may be to God's Glory ; (2) That it may be 
 done thoroughly ; (3) That it may be blest ; (4) That it may 
 benefit others ; (5) That it may keep us humble ; (6) That it 
 may be done in the spirit of penance ; (7) That it may be 
 done in the Divine Presence. 
 
 Other tables we can make use of are the following taken 
 mostly from FF. Mayer and Drexel, S.J. 
 
 I. 
 
 (1) On Sunday, or Matins any day (i.) For the whole 
 church ; or (ii.) the clergy ; or (iii.) our own community. 
 
 (2) On Monday or at Prime (i.) For the conversion of 
 infidels ; or (ii.) forgiveness of sins ; or (iii.) a generous, 
 cheerful spirit. 
 
 (3) On Tuesday or at Terce (i). For the conversion of 
 unbelievers ; or (ii.) true mortification ; or (iii.) grace of the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 (4) On Wednesday or at Sext (i.) For all in mortal sin ; 
 or (ii.) the spread of Christ's kingdom ; or (iii.) grace to be 
 faithful. 
 
 (5) On Thursday or at None (i.) For the perseverance of 
 good ; or (2) grace to be heavenly-minded ; or (iii.) increase 
 of faith in the Blessed Sacrament. 
 
 (6) On Friday or at Vespers (i.) For parents, relations, 
 benefactors, friends and enemies ; or (ii.) grace of prayer ; or 
 (iii.) love of the cross. 
 
 (7) On Saturday or at Compline (i.) For the faithful 
 departed ; or (ii.) for peace ; or (iii.) for perfect charity.
 
 64 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 II. 
 
 Matins may be said in commemoration of (i) the Nativity ; 
 (2) the Betrayal in the Garden ; (3) the Last Judgment [i]. 
 
 Lauds in commemoration of the Resurrection. 
 
 Prime in commemoration of the Leading to Pilate. 
 
 Terce in commemoration of (i) the Crowning with Thorns ; 
 (2) the Scourging ; (3) the Coming of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Sext in commemoration of (i) the Fall of Man [2] ; (2) 
 the Crucifixion ; (3) The Calling of the Gentiles [3]. 
 
 None in commemoration of (i) the Death of Christ ; (2) 
 the Binding of Satan. 
 
 Vespers in commemoration of (i) the Burial of our Lord ; 
 (2) the Giving of the Holy Ghost [4]. 
 
 Compline in commemoration of (i) the Institution of the 
 Eucharist ; (2) Eternal Rest in Paradise. 
 
 III. 
 
 Matins, in honour of Our Lord before the high priest : 
 for the conversion of those in mortal sin. 
 
 Lauds, in honour of Our Lord in prison : for all enemies 
 and persecutors. 
 
 Prime, in honour of the Scourging : for pardon of one's 
 own sins ; for the virtue most needed. 
 
 Terce, in honour of the Crowning with Thorns : for all 
 Christian states and rulers. 
 
 Sext, in honour of the Crucifixion : for all afflicted and in 
 sorrow. 
 
 None, in honour of the Death of our Lord : for all in 
 their last agony. 
 
 Vespers, in honour of the Mother of Sorrows : for all that 
 have died to-day. 
 
 Compline, in honour of all Saints : for final preseverance. 
 
 But as " all your service is of our blessed Lady ; therefore 
 it is good that ye intend specially therein her praising and 
 worship, and that God be thanked and praised for all the gifts 
 
 [i] i Thess. v. 2. [3] Acts x. 9. 
 
 [2] Gen. iii. 8. [4] John xx. 19, 23.
 
 ON PARTICULAR INTENTION 65 
 
 and benefits that He hath given to her and by her to all 
 mankind "[i]. So we can say our hours in honour of her 
 Seven Joys : (i) The Annunciation ; (2) the Nativity ; (3) the 
 Adoration of the Magi ; (4) the Finding after the Three Days' 
 Loss ; (5) the Resurrection ; (6) the Ascension ; (7) the 
 Assumption. 
 
 Or at times her Seven Dolours will appeal to our devotion, 
 and we can say our hours in honour of (i) Simeon's prophecy ; 
 (2) the Flight into Egypt ; (3) the Three Day's Loss ; (4) the 
 Meeting on the Way to Calvary ; (5) the Crucifixion ; (6) the 
 Taking Down from the Cross ; (7) the Entombment. 
 
 Or at other times her Seven-fold Glory attracts us and we 
 say the hours in honour of (i) her Stainless Conception ; 
 (2) the Annunciation ; (3) her Maiden-Motherhood ; (4) the 
 Thirty Year's Life at Nazareth ; (5) our Lord's first Miracle ; (6) 
 her Sanctification at Pentecost ; (7) her Coronation in Heaven. 
 
 It is a good practice to have a series of these intentions 
 drawn up by week or by day, so that as each time comes 
 round we have something new to honour, something new 
 to ask. But we must be most careful not to let them 
 degenerate into mechanical aids and allow ourselves to think 
 that once having written them down, all is done. We are 
 intelligent beings and not machines ; and we must act by 
 reason and not by clockwork. Helps of the kind we have 
 suggested are only useful when used intelligently ; otherwise 
 they become superstitious, and hinder the influence of God 
 upon the soul. 
 
 I will conclude this chapter by some more words from 
 the Myroure of Our Lady : " It is also profitable that you 
 intend in saying of this holy service the fulfilling of your bond 
 and duty inasmuch as you are bound thereto by your rule and 
 by your holy profession" [2]. This injunction need not lead 
 to scruples. We always say our Office because it is our duty. 
 The mere fact of saying it is the fulfilment of a duty ; so the 
 taking up the book to read it out of and the very act of 
 recitation imply that we are doing it to fulfil our obligation [3]. 
 
 [i] Myroure, p. 61. [2] p. 6r. 
 
 [3] Scruples on this head can be easily removed by the question Why did I 
 say my Office ? Out of mere pleasure or duty, or because I have to say it f 
 
 5
 
 66 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Our pious author goes on : " And as the prayer of these 
 holy hours is rather sped and heard of our Lord than other 
 prayers, as I said before, therefore it is good that, in the saying 
 or singing thereof, ye intend to get the forgiveness of your 
 own sins and such help and graces and virtues as you feel 
 needful to you and also to the health and profit of all that 
 you are bound or have devotion to pray for. And the more 
 specially and often that you offer up these intentions to God 
 with meek and fervent desire in Him, the better profit shall 
 you have of that thing that you desire and pray for. Never- 
 theless you ought to dress your hearts after these intentions 
 before you begin, for in time of this holy service you ought to 
 stable your mind only on God and upon none other things, 
 as I have said before " [i] . 
 
 [i] pp. 61-62.
 
 6 7 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ON ATTENTION. 
 
 " IN order to perform the Office it is not necessary to have 
 in mind the precise sense of the prayers we say. The texts 
 are sometimes difficult, and the attention is not always under 
 our control. Besides, the mind may legitimately exercise 
 itself upon other suitable objects. Yet, speaking generally, 
 we cannot pay too great attention to the sense of the words : 
 Whoso readeth let him understand [i]. This is most natural, and 
 is conformable to the mind of the Church, and to the example 
 of the saints. In fact, when we address ourself to God and 
 bless Him, or when we utter certain forms of prayer, it is only 
 natural to attend to the words we pronounce and join to the 
 letter the thoughts and affections it expresses. To neglect 
 this source of inspiration and seek elsewhere for ideas does a 
 kind of violence to our mind by laying on it a double, needless 
 labour, and making it well nigh impossible to do either in a 
 proper manner. Again, by so doing we lower the dignity of 
 the Office and misunderstand its aim. For the Church has 
 only given us this book for some wise purpose ; and what 
 end can she have in putting her words on our lips except to 
 put her thoughts into our mind and her feelings into our 
 hearts ? " [2] 
 
 The example of the saints is clear upon this point ; they do 
 not seem to understand any meaning between strict mental 
 application to the words and distraction. St. Bernard tells 
 his monks : " During the psalmody think of nothing else 
 but what the psalmody suggests " [3]. St. Bonaventure says : 
 
 [l] Matth. xxiv. 15. [2] Bacquez, pp. 206-207. 
 
 [3] Migne, P. L., vol. clxxxiii. p. ion.
 
 68 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 "As far as possible say no word without attention and under- 
 standing it" [i]. St. Theresa, always so practical and full of 
 common-sense, gives the same advice : " When I say / 
 believe, it is proper, methinks, that I should understand what 
 I believe ; and when I say Our Father, love requires I should 
 understand who this Our Father is " [2]. 
 
 Now attention may be verbal or mental : that is, directed 
 to the words we pronounce or to the thoughts they express. 
 On the point of verbal exactitude, then, let us hear the author 
 of the Myroure : " And as it is so great peril to leave aught 
 of this holy Service, as is before said, therefore all that are 
 bound thereto ought not only to ascertain their heart to 
 have their mind thereon, but also to use their tongue to 
 say it, suitably and distinctly, without failing or over-skipping 
 of word or syllable. For like as a good harper smiteth all 
 the strings on his harp each in his own kind, and if he 
 smote the first and the last, or if he smote recklessly over 
 all at once, he should make no good melody, right so God's 
 service is likened to the song of a harp as the prophet 
 saith : Psallite Domino in cithara that is, Sing to God on 
 the harp [3]. And therefore in this harp of our Lord's 
 service ye ought to smite all the strings, that is to say, all the 
 words and syllables, each in his kind and in his place, and not 
 hurry them out together as though you would say them all 
 at once. For the praising of God in His Church ought to 
 accord to His praising in heaven, whereof St. John in the 
 Apocalypse after he had heard it, he said thus : Et vocem quam 
 audivi sicut citharcedorum citharizantium in citharis suis that 
 is, The voice that I heard in heaven was (as) the voice of 
 harpers harping on their harps [4]. Therefore, when Aaron 
 by our Lord's commandment offered a calf upon the altar, 
 he cut it up into pieces and then offered it up with the head 
 and with each member thereof. By this calf is understood 
 the source of our Lord's praising which is more acceptable 
 to Him than the offering of any calf, as the prophet saith : 
 Laudabo nomen Dei cum cantico et magniftcabo Eum in laude. 
 
 [i] Reg. Novit. [3] p s . xcvii. 5. 
 
 [2] Way of Perfection (ed. 1852), p. 118. [4] Apoc. xiv. 2.
 
 ON ATTENTION 69 
 
 Et placebit Deo super vitulum novellum ; that is, I will praise 
 the name of God with song, and I will make much of Him 
 in praising ; and it will please God more than the offering 
 of any young calf[i]. But when this calf of our Lord's 
 praising is offered it must be cut into pieces ; for all the words 
 and syllables ought to be said distinctly from the beginning 
 unto the end in each member and in each part thereof. For 
 like as clippers or falsifiers of the king's money are punished 
 by death, even so they that clip away from the money of God's 
 service any word or letters or syllables, and so falsify it from 
 the true sentence, or from the true manner of saying thereof, 
 deserve to be grievously punished against God. 
 
 "And therefore the fiend sendeth readily his messengers 
 to gather all such negligences together and to keep them in 
 accusation of the soul, as we read of a holy abbat of the order 
 of the Cistercians, the while he stood in the choir at matins 
 he saw a fiend that had a long and a great bag hanging about 
 his neck, and [who] went about the choir from one to another, 
 and waited busily after all letters and syllables and words and 
 failings that any made, and them he gathered diligently and 
 put them into his bag. And when he came before the abbat, 
 waiting if aught had escaped him, that he might have gotten 
 and put into his bag, the abbat was astonished and afeard 
 of the foulness and misshape of him, and said unto him : 
 ' What art thou ? ' and he answered and said : ' I am a poor 
 devil and my name is Titivillus and I do mine office that is 
 committed unto me.' ' And what is thine office ? ' said the 
 abbat ; he answered, ' I must each day,' he said, ' bring my 
 master a thousand bags full of failings, and of negligences in 
 syllables and words that are done in your order in reading and 
 singing, or else I must be sore beaten ' " [2]. 
 
 This quaint story of the " poor devil Titivillus " at any rate 
 will serve to remind us that, if at the Last Day we shall have 
 to give an account of every idle word we have said, we 
 surely shall have to account for, as worse than idle words, 
 all careless recitation of the Office. We must be on our 
 guard against " clipping the money of God's service." This, 
 
 [l] Ps. Ixviii, 35. [2] Myroure, pp. 52-54.
 
 7 o THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 again, need not generate scruples. All that is required is that 
 we should give to the verbal recitation that ordinary amount 
 of care and exactness we use in any important matter of our 
 daily life. St. Francis of Assisi used to punish himself very 
 rigorously for the least voluntary distractions ; and St. Joseph 
 of Cupertino, whenever he found himself drifting into careless- 
 ness, repeated the verse. These were not cases of scruple ; 
 but of a stern purpose which aimed at bringing the mind into 
 obedience according to the words of the Apostle : Bringing into 
 captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ [i]. 
 
 It is useful to recognise the cause of our faults from the 
 beginning ; the remedy then is easy. Now the faults that 
 beset us come chiefly from a desire to hurry over the Office. 
 " Dissipation of mind, routine, the desire for liberty, preoccu- 
 pation, and above all that restless activity which hinders us 
 from fixing our thoughts upon anything whatever and makes 
 us always long after some new object, all these go to make 
 the ' Office ' time inconvenient and to shorten it. To recite 
 the Office with suitable gravity and attention we must love 
 it and know its attractions ; and to love and relish it we must 
 have the spirit of prayer, of self -recollection and fervour. Any- 
 thing which tends to weaken this spirit tends also to lessen 
 our love for the Office and makes us hurry over it. ... 
 There is no fault more common and none more fatal, nor in 
 its effects more difficult to cure than hurry. ' Haste is the 
 destroyer of devotion ' says St. Francis de Sales. If we allow 
 ourselves to get into the habit, the interior spirit, which is the 
 source of all merit, becomes dried up ; and instead of the 
 highest use of our intellect, there is only a lip-worship, and 
 holy thoughts and noble feelings are replaced by a blind and 
 mechanical repetition. Once a slave to this habit, it is vain 
 to multiply words of prayer. . . . The words that rise to 
 our lips mean nothing to our heart and leave no impression 
 on our soul. They are nothing but a useless set of words 
 like those for which our Lord blamed the heathen : When ye 
 pray, speak not much as do the heathen, for they think in their 
 much speaking they may be heard [2]. . . . To reduce the 
 
 [i] 2 Cor. x. 5. [2] St. Matth. vi. 7.
 
 ON ATTENTION 71 
 
 highest function to a purely mechanical exercise, to turn to 
 harm what was meant to preserve and develop both prayer 
 and piety, cannot be indifferent and without reproach in God's 
 eyes. Let the awful imprecation of God warn us : Let his 
 prayer become sin ; and let us heed the woeful punishment 
 foretold by the psalmist : Let the labour of their own lips cover 
 them, let burning coals fall upon them " [i]. 
 
 If the cause of hurry is the whirl of many kinds of occupa- 
 tions which nowadays is heaped up upon us (as though our 
 salvation depended upon the amount we do, and not how we 
 do it !) the remedy is very easy. The Office is of obligation, 
 private prayers and special devotions are not. Rather than 
 say the Office badly, for hurried saying is bad saying, omit or 
 shorten every other private devotion and give the time thus 
 gained to the Office. It is most important that we should 
 realise that the devout saying of the public prayer is much 
 more useful to the Church than all the rosaries, medi- 
 tations, litanies, and novenas of private devotions. St. 
 Bonaventure tells us it is an illusion to think that we can 
 compensate by our private devotions for voluntary defects in 
 the prayer the Church imposes on us. If we say our Office 
 properly we have mental prayer in a most perfect form and 
 a vocal prayer we can apply to every intention. 
 
 But looking at the question from the point of time, what 
 is gained by a haste so unbecoming ? " Some short moments 
 in an hour ; ten minutes at most on the day's Office. Does 
 it compensate I do not say for the fault we commit, for the 
 merit of which we deprive ourself, for the scandal we cause, 
 or for the punishment we incur but for the happiness we can 
 feel in so sweet and consoling an exercise ? Is it reasonable 
 for so small a gain to dry up in our heart the fountain head 
 of grace and make the most precious hour of the day un- 
 fruitful, wearisome and painful ? " [2] 
 
 The example of the saints is to the point. St. Alphonsus 
 made a special vow never to lose time ; yet he never hurried 
 over his Office. He carried out what he recommended to 
 others, viz., to say it with calmness, attention, and respect. 
 
 [i] Ps. cviii. 7 ; cxxxix. 10 ; Bacquez, 230. [2] Bacquez, p. 234.
 
 72 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 St. Francis Xavier, too, although a whole world lay before 
 him to convert, never hurried over the Office ; he even added 
 special prayers to obtain the grace to say it well. 
 
 The Office should not be made a burthen. I do not 
 advocate the slow and measured recitation used by some of 
 the contemplative orders. This would not sort well with the 
 active life. The recitation should be grave, and so justly 
 measured, that the sense of the verse and the meaning of 
 the words can have a chance to penetrate our heart. When 
 the Office is made, as St. Benedict calls it, "the Work of 
 God," and nothing is preferred before it, then the times of 
 Choir are the happiest hours in the day. They are all too 
 short for the sweetness we can gain in the sacred psalmody. 
 And shall we sacrifice this by wasting our time upon other 
 works which are not so necessary or profitable ? 
 
 One remedy against hurrying is that followed by such 
 great saints of God, and such busy men, as St. Charles 
 Borromeo, St. Philip Neri, and St. Vincent de Paul. They 
 never said any part of the Office by heart, but read line by 
 line even the psalms and prayers they knew best. This prac- 
 tice, although it may not suit all persons, is useful to those who 
 are overburthened with exterior work ; " For by this means 
 the words, striking the eye and the ear at the same time, are 
 less exposed to pass unperceived, and the care taken to 
 discover the word we pronounce is one more safeguard 
 against the tendency to routine " [ij. 
 
 But attention is not confined to mere verbal accuracy. 
 Words are only the outward clothing of the thought. A 
 machine, such as the phonograph, can produce the mechani- 
 cal effect of words, but it cannot think. We are not machines ; 
 our mind has to go with our voice. St. Benedict says : " Let 
 the mind concord with the voice " [2] ; and the Psalmist 
 adds : To Thee hath my heart said [3]. Our heart must speak 
 to God if we would be heard. Therefore let the Psalmist 
 lead you : " If he pray, pray with him, if he sigh, sigh ye 
 also ; and if he rejoice, joy ye too ; should he express hope, 
 fill your heart with trust ; or if fear pervades him, tremble. 
 
 [i] Bacquez, p. 239. [2] Migne, P. L., vol. Ixvi. p. 476. 
 
 [3] Ps. xxvi. 8.
 
 ON ATTENTION 73 
 
 For all things what are written here are as a miroir for us " 
 [i]. Thus says St. Augustine : 
 
 "Let it not be objected that the words of the Office are 
 not our own, that the Psalms were not composed for us, 
 that they suppose thoughts, circumstances, and dispositions 
 that are not ours. For the Office has been compiled for us. 
 The Psalms (we repeat it again) have Jesus, the Incarnate 
 God, not David, as their first and principal object. What 
 they express is not the mind of any one man in particular, 
 but the mind of all Christians considered in Him Who is 
 their divine Head. The feelings contained in the Psalms are 
 those which were wrought first in the soul of our Lord by 
 the Holy Ghost, and then through Him in all those who are 
 members of His Mystical Body. Therefore they are ours as 
 well as David's, or any of the saints. So it was for us the 
 Psalms were written. The Holy Ghost had us in view when 
 He inspired them. He speaks of our perils, of our warfare ; 
 He mourns over our sins ; and in true and touching words, 
 He speaks of our repentance, our hope, our zeal, our gratitude 
 and our love. For, according to St. Paul : All things arc 
 yours; but ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's" [2] [3], 
 
 [i] Migne, P. L., vol. xxxvi. p. 248. [2] I Cor. iii. 22. 
 
 [3] Bacquez, pp. 209-210.
 
 74 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 ON SOME AIDS TO "ATTENTION. 
 
 No matter how careful we may be at the beginning of the 
 Office to fix our attention and secure our wandering thoughts, 
 we soon find, in spite of all precautions, that we become 
 distracted and our fervour dwindles away. Holy Church, as 
 far as she could, has tried to remedy this by weaving her 
 Office out of Psalm, Antiphon, Hymn, Versicle, Lessons, and 
 Prayers, in order to give variety. She, moreover, orders that 
 at one time we should sit, at another, stand, or kneel, or bow, 
 or cross ourselves. This variety of posture is one of the 
 practical advantages that saying Office in Choir has above 
 private recitation. But as these means fail when we say our 
 Office by ourselves, we want others to help the infirmity of 
 our minds. 
 
 A great means, and I am speaking now of private recita- 
 tion, is to be careful of the place in which we say the prayer. 
 There is no place where God cannot be found ; but there are 
 places where He is to be found more easily. The Lord is in 
 His holy Temple : The Lord's throne is in heaven [i]. But we 
 have already spoken of this in a preceding chapter. 
 
 Wherever we say our Office there is one thing we can always 
 control unless sickness or something exceptional makes it 
 impossible and that is our attitude. But there are few things 
 about which we feel less scruple or so easily listen to excuses. 
 And how glibly we quote to ourselves St. Theresa's saying 
 that one of the conditions favourable to a good prayer is a 
 comfortable position 1 Now, what the saint means is that a 
 physically uncomfortable position will naturally direct our 
 
 [i] Ps. x. 5.
 
 ON SOME AIDS TO ATTENTION 75 
 
 mind to the pain we feel [i] ; and, therefore, a position free 
 from these inconveniences should be secured before beginning 
 to pray. She did not mean that sofas or armchairs are the 
 best places for prayer, unless it is God's will we should occupy 
 them. 
 
 Sancta sancte : Holy things should be done in a holy 
 manner. Our body, as well as our soul, has to give its 
 meed of service to God. Our Divine Master gives us the 
 example of a reverent posture in prayer. The Evangelists 
 tell us : He raised His eyes to heaven [2] ; He prostrated on the 
 ground [3] ; And kneeling down He prayed [4]. And such of His 
 servants as St. Vincent Ferrier, St. Charles, St. Vincent de 
 Paul, St. Francis de Sales, the Venerable Cure d'Ars, said their 
 Office on their knees. St. Paul of the Cross always said his 
 Office bare-headed ; and one of the successors of St. Francis 
 de Sales, Mgr. de Bernex, used, at the end of his prayer, 
 to prostrate himself and kiss the ground out of piety and 
 humility. M. Bacquez states that the late Pope, Pius IX., 
 used to say all the Divine Office kneeling without any support. 
 
 But if we are not able to kneel for any length of time, and 
 have to change our position, we can always adopt one that is 
 reverent and recalls to our mind that we are speaking with 
 God. To get this, the real truth about the Office, well into 
 our mind, is a sure means of securing reverence, no matter 
 what position we are obliged to take up ; for where the heart 
 is regulated there the body will correspond. 
 
 As to the proper time for prayer, God is always ready 
 to hear us. However, as the Church has fixed seven hours 
 for prayers, the Office, as far as possible, should be said either 
 at these hours, or as near to them as possible. Happy he 
 who can (and how few there are who cannot if they would !) 
 snatch a few minutes every three hours to take part in the 
 prayer fixed for that hour. Custom has, however, sanctioned 
 a division into three parts. The three parts are Matins 
 
 [i] The unwise, I would almost say wicked, practice of giving as a penance 
 certain prayers to be said kneeling on the hands, or in some other hard position, can 
 only be tolerated by those who do not know what prayer is. Under such circum- 
 stances it is impossible to pray well, and what is said degenerates into a superstitious 
 gabble. 
 
 [2] John xvii. I. [3] Mark xiv. 35. [4] Luke xxii. 41.
 
 76 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 and Lauds said over night, the Little Hours in the morning, 
 and Vespers and Compline in the evening or afternoon. The 
 objection to this is, that it makes a night prayer of Lauds, 
 and thus loses sight of the fact that it is the original morning 
 prayer of the Church. We would therefore suggest as a 
 better division Matins over night, Lauds, Prime, Terce, and 
 Sext in the morning ; Nones, Vespers and Compline in the 
 evening. Compline might be said before Matins, with only a 
 short interval for mental prayer. 
 
 But when we foresee a day before us fuller of engagements 
 and occupations than usual, it will always be well to get all 
 our Office said at once in the early morning so as to secure 
 " that nothing be preferred to the work of God." The Office 
 must be our first care. An old writer says : " To pray before 
 the time is providence ; at the fixed time obedience ; but to post- 
 pone it is negligence." 
 
 " Is it useful to have a companion and say the Office aloud 
 and alternately ? " asks M. Bacquez. And he thus replies : 
 " It is good sometimes, to use this method, in order to prevent 
 the bad effects of habit and to stir up our fervour. If true 
 piety is present, each one is excited and edified like the 
 seraphim of whom Isaias speaks. The more they conform to 
 the usages of the Choir, the less difficulty also will they have 
 in entering into the spirit of the Office" [i]. 
 
 Another useful way of guarding our attention is to mark in 
 our books some fixed places, such as certain verses or words. 
 These will serve as signals to recall our soul if wandering. 
 For instance at the Gloria Patri, St. Mary Magdalene of 
 Pazzi told one of her sisters that she had been taught by her 
 confessor to make offering 'of her life to the Holy Trinity 
 whenever she bowed her head at these words : " As though I 
 were presenting my head to the executioner to undergo 
 martyrdom." The blessed Jordan, the second general of the 
 Dominicans, used at these words to implore in a special 
 manner the blessing of the Most Holy Trinity. Once at 
 Matins, when the Invitatory was being sung he saw our ever- 
 dear and blessed Lady coming down from heaven and bearing 
 
 [i] Op. at., p. 225.
 
 ON SOME AIDS TO ATTENTION 77 
 
 in her arms her Son. A throne was set up for them by the 
 Angels. During the Venite, our Lord and His blissful Mother 
 regarded the friars with great benignity, and whilst they were 
 bowing at the words Gloria Patri the holy man saw God's 
 Mother take the tiny hand of her Son and make the sign of 
 the cross over the brethren. 
 
 The word Oremus is a direct invitation to recollection ; 
 the Per Dominum nostrum, with which so many prayers end, 
 recall our union with Jesus Christ; the Amen, a word so 
 often used, and its meaning so little realised ; these and others, 
 at choice, are some of the obvious places at which we can 
 regain our attention. Then some verse or some particular 
 word sheds one day a special light into our soul. This should 
 be marked to recall the light we have had. Two of those great 
 spiritual writers in which the French Church has been so 
 prolific, Cardinal Berulle and Pere de Condren, tell us that 
 when saying the Office alone we are to remember that we do 
 not interrupt or distract ourself if we pause at some particular 
 passage which there and then affects us. We rather are obey- 
 ing Holy Writ, which tells us to meditate day and night upon 
 the Word of God and to find in it all the light we require. 
 The Holy Ghost has a message to give us, and we must listen 
 to it. How can we listen to His voice if we are always 
 speaking ?
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ON DISTRACTIONS. 
 
 DISTRACTIONS are the bane of prayer. Timid, scrupulous 
 souls often find them the destruction of all sweetness and 
 peace. In their case distractions change the light and sweet 
 burthen of the Office, into a daily weight and a painful yoke. 
 Now as a matter of fact, common sense tells us that this is 
 unreasonable. We must look at facts as they are, not as we 
 should like them to be. We often lose sight of this important 
 truth : God has not made us angels but human beings, with 
 all the weaknesses, not only of our nature, but of our fallen 
 nature, which is prone to evil from our childhood, often seeing 
 the good, yet not doing it, as St. Paul says [i]. The work 
 of sanctification consists in aiming at being good men and 
 women, not at making ourselves an indifferent sort of angels ! 
 Sanctification is to put on the Lord Jesus [2] ; to form His 
 image in our heart [3]. We must not strive after a perfection 
 which, in God's providence, is not destined for men and 
 women. We must not try to root out the nature which God 
 has given us. The whole work consists in raising ourself up 
 to the standard towards which He leads us. The work is not 
 one so much of repression as of education, that is, of bringing 
 out the details of the image of God given to us in Baptism, or, 
 in other words, of developing our good qualities. This will do 
 away with bad qualities. A gardener who sets his heart upon a 
 bed full of choice flowers, is, of course, careful to keep down 
 weeds and noxious insects. But his endeavour is not so much 
 to destroy these as to cultivate the other. So it is in the 
 spiritual life. The positive view, that is, the cultivation of 
 
 [i] Cf. Romans vii. 19. [2] Ibid. xiii. 14. [3] Cf. ibid. viii. 29.
 
 ON DISTRACTIONS 79 
 
 virtue, is the point ; the negative aspect, the repression of 
 vice, is a secondary result which follows naturally from the 
 first. Any other view sets all spirituality topsy-turvy ; and 
 is, as far as we are concerned, unreasonable and doomed to 
 end in failure. Now, to continue the simile. The gardener 
 who spends his time and labour in producing rare, choice 
 flowers, may see that in spite of all his care weeds make 
 their appearance along with the flowers. As a matter of 
 fact, he never can get rid of them entirely; the very richness 
 of the soil he cultivates with so much care conduces to their 
 growth. But he knows that even weeds have a use of their 
 own. Nature never works without reason. So, although he 
 is careful to prevent them from draining and impoverishing 
 the soil, yet their presence, if kept in check, does not alarm 
 him ; for, when killed, they add to the richness of the ground. 
 
 Now what has all this to do with distractions ? A good 
 deal ; for in the garden we have a picture of our soul. The 
 flower of prayer is what we are trying to cultivate ; distrac- 
 tions are the weeds. The sensible plan is to follow the 
 example of the gardener who, while keeping them under 
 check, realises that they are not without their use. 
 
 What does distraction mean ? It is " a drawing away " 
 of the mind from the object upon which our attention is 
 fixed. Whence come distractions ? Principally from the 
 very weakness of our human nature, which God made and 
 which He knows is weak. We are so constituted that appli- 
 cation, steady and prolonged, is both hard and painful to us. 
 We need frequent change. This, by the way, is a proof 
 that no created thing can satisfy us. How many of us can 
 for five minutes concentrate attention upon any one subject, 
 and not find our mind working out sideways and, perhaps 
 half unconsciously, following other trains of thought beside 
 the one we desire ? The work of attention, we make bold 
 to say, can never be perfect in this life ; for while, say, our 
 eyes are fixed upon a book, our other senses, which like the 
 eyes are avenues to the soul, are open and receptive of out- 
 side influence. Even if we do succeed in a measure (and it 
 can only be attained by dint of stern will and downright 
 hard, persevering work) in obtaining concentration of the
 
 8o THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 mind for some time, fatigue and weariness follow. This 
 shows that perfect attention (the absence of distraction) is 
 something beyond our present human nature, which revolts, 
 according to its own laws, against being driven to attempt 
 what is above its ordinary power. 
 
 Hence, in prayer, there are distractions which are purely 
 natural, and it is vain to hope to be ever free from them. It 
 is not God's will that we should be free. But if these dis- 
 tractions, which come to us without any fault on our part, are 
 deliberately entertained, that is to say, if we follow them with 
 our mind wide awake, realising, then and there, the fact that we 
 are not attending to our prayers, then, and only then, do they 
 become harmful to our souls. They must be entertained 
 deliberately before they become sinful. And the sinfulness 
 consists in this : when we are distracted wilfully (and every 
 reasonable person can know whether distractions are wilful or 
 not) we are mocking God by giving Him only a lip-worship, 
 while our heart is far away from Him. This is a pretence 
 and dishonours His attribute of Truth. We pretend to pray 
 and are not praying. 
 
 From what has been said it will be seen that wilful distrac- 
 tion is a deliberate undoing of the attitude of the mind towards 
 God in prayer. Prayer is the lifting up of our heart and mind 
 to God ; Distraction is the drawing away of our heart and 
 mind from God. The sinfulness, we must notice, consists in 
 the wilfulness which consents to the distraction, not in the 
 weakness of our nature which causes it. Going back, for a 
 moment, to what we have said about Prayer itself, it is 
 an attitude towards God, a basking in the sunshine of His 
 presence. Therefore, as long as we do not wilfully withdraw 
 ourselves from His presence, or from His sunshine, we remain 
 in a state of prayer. The easiest cure for distractions, when 
 we realise them, is to renew our act of Faith in God's 
 presence. So, then, common sense teaches us the following 
 conclusions about distractions : 
 
 (1) We must do our best to avoid the occasions of dis- 
 tractions. In the preceding chapters we have certain means 
 suggested for this end. 
 
 (2) We must have more confidence, and take a larger view
 
 ON DISTRACTIONS 81 
 
 of the subject. God is a loving Father ; He is not a task-master, 
 always on the look-out and laying traps to catch us tripping. 
 Let our heart be guided by reason, and we shall know that 
 there is little chance of us offending God by real distractions. 
 For why do we pray ? What is our very object in saying the 
 Office ? To please Him. We do not wish to displease Him. 
 Therefore distractions that occur, and which are not wilfully 
 entertained, do not displease Him, and do not rob our prayer 
 of its value in His sight. M. Bacquez says : " It depends 
 entirely upon ourself to avoid them ; if our will falters, our 
 conscience will warn us. There is no reason for being 
 uneasy about distractions which are not voluntary. He who 
 lives a pious life and adopts the ordinary precautions, may 
 live in peace ; and whilst deploring the instability of his 
 mind, and seeking perfect recollection [as far as he can], 
 he should see in the wandering of his mind only a natural 
 defect, or the result of the occupations which are lawful to 
 his state of life " [i]. 
 
 (3) There are some who fancy there must be in themselves 
 some fault to cause the multitude of distractions which 
 torment them so persistently. But this is an error, as we have 
 pointed out above. Common sense and experience tells us 
 this. St. Teresa wrote to her director that she was as much 
 distracted as he was doing the Office, but she tried to think it 
 came from the weakness of her head. And she added this 
 comfortable thought, that Our Lord knows that when we 
 perform this duty we wish to do it with all possible attention. 
 When one comes to look at it, there is nothing surprising in 
 distractions during prayer. What is really surprising is, that, 
 being what we are, we can ever attain to recollection for even 
 a few moments. 
 
 (4) " It is true that exercise of mind increases its in- 
 stability, and that many of our distractions are concerned 
 about our ordinary occupations, and may therefore seem to 
 be occasioned by them. Doubtless they are ; but does it 
 follow that we are responsible for them, or that they can be 
 imputed to us as a fault? By no means [2]. These volun- 
 
 [i] P. 571- [2] Bacquez, p. 573.
 
 82 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 tary occupations which cause the distractions are either law- 
 ful or unlawful ; and we are only bound to put away those 
 occupations which are unlawful. The question of distractions 
 is not bound up, then, with the lawfulness or unlawfulness 
 of the occupation, but of the consent we give to the distrac- 
 tion. We cannot expect one who, by following God's will, is 
 immersed in the cares of life and in the petty details of every- 
 day administration, to come to the Office with the recollection 
 of a Carthusian or a Trappist. But because we cannot attain 
 to their recollection, there is no reason why we should 
 abandon the work God has given us. To give way to such 
 ideas is to go against His will, by aiming at a perfection which 
 is not meant for us. Take to heart these golden words of St. 
 Thomas : ' He can be said to pray in spirit, and in truth, who 
 approaches prayer at the inspiration of the Holy Ghost ; even 
 if, on account of some infirmity, the mind afterwards wanders. 
 . A wandering mind which is not voluntary does not 
 take away the fruit of prayer," [i]. 
 
 (5) To fear whether distractions are voluntary or not, is 
 altogether foolish. Reason is given us as a guide. If we 
 ask simply, it will tell us plainly whether we have given con- 
 sent or no. It is a question of plain, common fact, and admits 
 of a plain, common answer. From this we can draw an 
 important rule of conduct. 
 
 We must never repeat any part of our Office on account 
 of these unreasonable fears. Unless we know for certain that 
 we have failed there is no failure on our part, and therefore 
 there is no necessity for repeating anything. Conscience is 
 the heaven-appointed director for all practical questions. St. 
 Francis de Sales is, as usual, matter-of-fact. Suppose, says 
 he, that at the end of the psalm you are not quite sure 
 whether, on account of distraction, you have said it or not ; 
 well now, don't trouble yourself about it. Because a distrac- 
 tion has lasted for a long time we must not always conclude 
 that it is the result of our own negligence. Such a state of 
 things might last all through the Office without any fault on 
 our part [2]. The Church does not require us to repeat 
 
 [i] Migne, P. L., vol. ii. p. 637. [2] Cf., Entretien, 18.
 
 ON DISTRACTIONS 83 
 
 what we fear may not have been said as might be. Prudence 
 forbids such a repetition. It is a bad habit to repeat the 
 Office ; and those who give way to this failing will soon find 
 it impossible to say it with satisfaction. Thus what ought to 
 be a comfort becomes only a subject of trouble and disgust. 
 
 (6) We said that weeds are not without their use, and that 
 a wise gardener can get profit even from them. So it is with 
 distractions. If we use them properly, they will do us two 
 good turns. Firstly, they will make us humble and force us 
 to recognise that the Gift of Prayer is a great grace, and that 
 we must guard it carefully. Secondly, by resisting these 
 distractions, when we become fully aware of them, they turn 
 to so much occasions of merit. 
 
 (7) The great ornament of the French Church in the 
 sixteenth Century, Bossuet, the Eagle of Meaux, writes : " It 
 is not necessary to bind our mind to the Breviary or to give 
 more attention to it than to Masses of obligation. We should 
 not hurry ; but putting away all scruples, set to work fairly, 
 cheerfully and simply as in other prayers" [i]. 
 
 (8) As to the preparation and dispositions for saying Office 
 given in this and other books, we must be careful to distinguish 
 between counsel and command. We can approve of what 
 is good without being obliged to follow it. " We should 
 aspire to perfection ; but we must not feel disquieted if we 
 find ourselves still far from reaching it "[2]. After all, per- 
 fection is a relative term, and though star differs from star 
 in glory, yet each is perfect in its own way. Then, as a matter 
 of fact, we shall never reach even our own degree of perfection 
 except through the gates of Purgatory. 
 
 (9) And lastly. The Office being an institution of the 
 Church, we are always certain to fulfil our obligation properly 
 when we set about it in the way She approves. The example, 
 I do not say of the saints, but of our fellow-men whom we 
 recognise to be in earnest in serving God, and who try to find 
 their delight in prayer, will be sufficient for us to imitate, 
 without worrying ourselves any more. Conscience will soon 
 tell us whether we are fulfilling our duty in a reasonable 
 manner ; and by Conscience we stand or fall in God's sight. 
 
 [l] Lettres de Piete et de Direction, N. 148. [2] Bacquez, p. 576.
 
 PART III.EXEGETICAL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PREPARATORY PRAYER. 
 
 A Prayer to be said for the Office. 
 
 Aperi, Ddmine, os meum ad 
 benedicndum nomen sanctum 
 ttium : munda quoque cor 
 meum ab dmnibus vanis, per- 
 versis, et alitnis cogitatidni- 
 bus : intellectum illiimina, 
 affectum infldmma : ut dignc, 
 attente ac devdte hoc Officium 
 recitdre vdleam, et exaudiri, 
 mtrear ante conspectum di- 
 vincB majestdtis tuce. Per 
 Christum Ddminum nostrum. 
 ~R}. Amen. 
 
 Ddmine, in unidne illtus di- 
 vtnce intentidnis, qua Ipse in 
 terris laudes Deo persolvfsti, 
 has Tibi Horas persdlvo. 
 
 Open, Lord, my mouth 
 that I may bless Thy Holy 
 Name : cleanse my heart from 
 all vain, perverse, and hurtful 
 thoughts : enlighten mine 
 understanding, kindle mine 
 affections, that I may say 
 this Office worthily, attentively, 
 and devoutly, and merit to be 
 heard before the Presence of 
 Thy Divine Majesty. Through 
 the Christ our Lord. B?. 
 Amen. 
 
 Lord, in union with that 
 Divine Intention wherewith 
 Thou Thyself, whilst on earth, 
 didst pay praises to God, I pay 
 these Hours to Thee. 
 
 (1) This prayer is not of obligation ; but it is useful for 
 it reminds us of the dispositions we should have in our hearts 
 when saying Office. 
 
 (2) Open, Lord, my mouth. We cannot do anything 
 towards our salvation without the help of God. We cannot 
 even pray to any purpose without His Grace. We are
 
 PREPARATORY PRAYER 85 
 
 before Him as the dumb child in the Gospel [i], or as 
 Jeremias when the word of the Lord came to him. A, A, A, 
 Lord God ! behold I cannot speak ; for I am a child [2]. He 
 opens our mouth by giving us grace to praise Him as He 
 desires. Our mouth is the instrument wherewith the Divine 
 Head of the Church worships the Father in our name ; 
 according to the word of Isaias : / have put My words in thy 
 mouth and I have covered thee in the shadow of My hands [3]. 
 
 (3) Cleanse my heart. For out of the heart, our Lord tells 
 us, proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, 
 false witness, blasphemies [4]. Having, then, been the seat of 
 all iniquities it must be cleansed by contrition, before being 
 filled with the feelings and intentions of our Lord. 
 
 (4) From vain, perverse, and hurtful thoughts. These are the 
 three kinds of thoughts that spoil prayer. Vain thoughts, as 
 the word implies, mean empty thoughts. At all times, but 
 specially in prayer, our heart ought to be filled with thoughts 
 of God. Perverse thoughts are those which are "turned away" 
 from their proper object. Hurtful thoughts are such as are 
 unfitting to the time, place and object of our prayer. 
 
 (5) Enlighten mine understanding. Four of the gifts of 
 the Holy Ghost, to wit : Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, 
 Knowledge, are given us for the perfection of our intellect by 
 knowing the things of God. They shed upon the soul a 
 light which sin, if mortal, quenches, or if venial, dims. This 
 is a prayer for a good use of these four gifts which are always 
 in our soul when we are in a state of grace. 
 
 (6) Kindle mine affection. That is, stir up my cold heart 
 to will the things which my Reason, enlightened by the Four 
 Gifts, tells me are right and fitting. To move the will is a 
 special work of the Holy Ghost, who gives us another Three 
 Gifts for the very purpose, viz., Fortitude, Piety, and the 
 Fear of the Lord. The word " kindle " suggests the idea of 
 a fire. It is the same thought that we have in the hymn Veni 
 sancte spiritus, " Warm with Thy fire our hearts of snow." 
 
 [i] St. Mark ix. 7. [3] Ibid. li. 16 
 
 [2] Jer. i. 6. [4] Matt. xv. 19.
 
 86 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The love of God, which is the perfect operation of our will, 
 is a fire that burns out all sin. We cannot have to do with 
 God without becoming better or worse ; more on fire with 
 His love, or colder : For He is like a refiner's fire [i]. 
 " Death to the wicked, Life to the good," as St. Thomas sings 
 in the Lauda Sion. So we pray that our heart may burn 
 within us, and that our will may be powerfully moved by 
 the Three Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 (7) That I may say this Office. Let these words remind us 
 that we have to put on the Lord Jesus Christ [2] when we 
 begin to praise God in our Office, for all the merit and power 
 of the Church's Prayer comes from the fact that it is said in 
 union with the Incarnate Word. 
 
 (8) Worthily, attentively, and devoutly. The three condi- 
 tions of public prayer are : That we should be worthy to appear 
 as representatives of the Church, that is, free from sin ; that we 
 should attend to the nature of our prayers ; and that we should 
 be devout, that is, acting in accordance with the will of Him 
 Who uses us. 
 
 (9) That I may merit to be heard. Speaking in the name 
 of Jesus and in His very Person, we merit to be heard as He 
 was for His reverence [3] . 
 
 (10) Through the Christ. The definite article has been in- 
 serted here to call attention to a point which is often over- 
 looked. Christ is an adjective, and not a noun or proper 
 name. It is one of the titles of our Lord and means "the 
 Anointed." Through the Anointed One our Lord. We get the 
 idea of the anointing of our Lord from the unction of the 
 Holy Ghost, which filled the Sacred Humanity, and made Jesus 
 the Priest, the King, and the Prophet of God's people. There 
 is a reference to this in one of the Psalms of the Little Office. 
 Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of glad- 
 ness [4] ; and in the prophecy of Isaias : The Spirit of the Lord 
 is upon Me ,' wherefore the Lord hath anointed Me to preach the 
 gospel unto the meek [5]. This thought, then, that Christ is an 
 adjective, reminds us of our Lord's Office of Priest, King, and 
 Prophet, by which He fulfils His mediatorship. 
 
 [i] Mai. iii. 2. [4] Ps. xliv. 9. 
 
 [2] Rom. xiii. 14. [5] Isaias Ixi. I. 
 
 [3] Heb. v. 7.
 
 PREPARATORY PRAYER 87 
 
 (n) Lord in union with that Divine Intention, &c. All 
 sanctity consists in having our will in union with that of 
 our Lord. This prayer brings us at once into harmony with 
 Him. As He deigns to use us, we are bound to enter 
 intelligently into His designs : otherwise, we are not giving 
 the reasonable service [i] He requires. His intention on earth 
 was to do His Father's Will, and to worship Him with 
 Adoration, Thanksgiving, Reparation and Entreaty. We 
 must share in these ends to do His work. Mark the words 
 didst pay praises. Jesus paid, on behalf of all Creation, the 
 debt of worship to His Eternal Father. 
 
 (12) / pay these Hours to Thee. The Office is a debt we 
 owe to God and man. Like St. Paul we must say : I am a 
 debtor to the Greek and barbarians, to the wise and the foolish [2]; 
 that is, as vowed to Christ, and set by His Church to offer up 
 her Prayer ; we have to pray in the name of all men, therefore 
 we are debtors to those who do not pray for themselves or 
 who know not how to pray. We come before the Throne 
 of Grace as representatives of all Humanity and we discharge 
 our debt by the Office. 
 
 [i] Rom. xii. i. [2] Rom. i. 14.
 
 88 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG. 
 
 MATINS, the night Office of the Church, is originally of 
 monastic institution, and was a private devotion in preparation 
 for the early morning Office of Lauds. During this solemn 
 hour we may think of some of the events connected with this 
 time. The Annunciation, the Birth of our Lord ; His Own 
 frequent prayers on the hill-tops of Judea ; St. Peter's denial 
 and repentance ; our Lord in the tomb ; the desolation of 
 our Lady ; the coming to judgment like a thief in the night 
 [i] ; the cry at midnight : Lo, the Bridegroom cometh [2], and 
 other such thoughts. 
 
 Ave Maria, grdtia plena, Hail Mary, full of grace, 
 
 Ddminus tecum : benedicta tu the Lord is with thee. Blessed 
 in milieribus, et benedictus art thou amongst women, and 
 fructus ventris tui, Jesus. blessed is the fruit of thy womb, 
 Sancta Matia, Mater Dei, ora Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of 
 pro nobis peccattiribus nunc et God, pray for us sinnets now 
 in hora mortis nostrce. Amen. and at the hour of our death. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 (i) After having united ourself to our Lord's intention, 
 the Church sets before us, as the most perfect model of the 
 union which can exist between the Creator and the Creature, 
 Mary, the Mother of God made man. The Church seems to 
 say to us, with St. Ambrose [3]: " May there be in every one 
 the spirit of Mary, that he may magnify the Lord." And what 
 this spirit was the Gospel tells us in these words : But His 
 Mother kept all these words in her heart [4]. 
 
 [i] i Thess. v. 2. [3] Migne, P. L. vol. xv., p. 156. 
 
 [2] Matt. xxv. 6. [4] Luke ii. 51.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 89 
 
 (2) Hail Mary. The pious author of the Myrourc thus dis- 
 courses on the Hail Mary : " The salutation is taken from the 
 gospel of the greeting of the angel Gabriel and of Elizabeth ; 
 and it was the beginning of our health. And therefore this 
 word Ave spelt backwards is Eva ; for like as Eve's talking 
 with the fiend was the beginning of perdition, so our Lady's 
 talking with the angel, when he greeted her with this Ave, 
 was the entrance of our redemption. And so Eva is turned 
 Ave ; for our sorrow is turned into joy by means of our Lady. 
 For Eva is as much [as] to say as ' Woe ' ; and Ave is as 
 much [as] to say as ' Joy,' or without woe. Therefore meekly 
 and reverently thanking this glorious Queen of Heaven and 
 Mother of our Saviour for our deliverance, say we devoutly 
 to her : Ave Maria, Hail Mary. Mary is as much as to 
 say ' Star of the Sea/ or ' enlightened,' or ' Lady.' For all 
 that are here in the sea of bitterness by penance for their 
 sins, she leadeth to the haven of health. Them that are 
 rightful she enlighteneth by [the] increasing of grace. And 
 she showeth herself ' Lady ' and Empress of power above all 
 evil spirits in helping us against them both in our life and 
 in our death. Therefore we ought often and in all our 
 needs call busily upon this reverend name, Mary" [i]. 
 
 (3) Full of Grace. " Divers saints had divers gifts of grace, 
 but never creature had the fulness of all graces but our Lady 
 alone. For she was filled in body and in soul with the Lord 
 and Giver of all graces." [2] From the first moment of her 
 being she was prevented and so girt about with grace that 
 original sin could find no place. The Lord possessed me from 
 the beginning of His ways [3]. The garden enclosed, the spring 
 shut up, the fountain sealed, that Solomon sings of, and likens 
 his beloved to [4], are types of our Lady's soul ; and the 
 grace within her was ever welling up in its fulness. The 
 Psalmist refers to her in these words : In the Sun He hath set 
 His tabernacle [5] ; for more glorious than many suns, was the 
 soul of her who for nine months was the living tabernacle 
 of God, and was adorned with the fulness of grace which was 
 possible to any creature. 
 
 [i] Pp. 77, 78- [4] Cant. iv. 12. 
 
 [2] Myroure, p. 79. [5] Ps. rix. 4. 
 
 [3] Prov. viii. 22.
 
 90 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (4) The Lord is with thee. " For with her He was in her 
 heart by excellence of grace, and in her reverend womb [by] 
 taking there a body of our kind" [i]. These words were 
 also used by the angel who appeared to Gideon when he 
 was threshing wheat by the vine-press to hide it from the 
 Midianites : The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour 
 [2]. They were also the greeting which Boaz gave to his 
 reapers: The Lord \be~\ with you [3] ; and they are enshrined 
 in the Mass and Office in the oft-repeated words Do minus 
 vobiscum. 
 
 (5) Blessed [art] thou amongst women. " For by thee both 
 men and women are restored to bliss everlasting" [4]. Other 
 women in Scripture have had these words applied to them : 
 Blessed above women shall Jael be [5], sings the inspired 
 prophetess, Debora, of Heber's wife, who with her hammer 
 smote Sisera, the foe of Israel [6] ; and Ozias, the high priest, 
 in like manner addresseth Judith after her triumph over 
 Holophernes : Oh, daughter, blessed art thou of the most high 
 God above all the women upon the earth [7] . These were 
 types of our Lady. The words were said to Blessed Mary 
 first by the angel at the Annunciation [8], and were repeated 
 at the Visitation by St. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy 
 Ghost [9], showing us that her blessedness is far above that 
 of other women who were declared so only by their fellow- 
 men. Our Lady receives the testimony not only of man, but 
 of an angel sent by God [10]. 
 
 (6) And blessed be the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. "Blessed 
 be the womb, and blessed the fruit thereof, which is life and 
 good to angels in heaven and to men on earth ; that is, Jesus, 
 that is to say, Saviour. For He hath saved us from sin and 
 from hell ; He saveth us daily from the malice of the fiend, 
 and from perils, and He hath opened to us the way of 
 endless salvation. Therefore, endlessly be that sweet fruit 
 blessed "[n]. 
 
 [i] Myrourf, p. 79. [7] Judith xiii. 18. 
 
 [2] Judges vi. 12. [8] Luke i. 28. 
 
 [3] Ruth ii. 4. [9] Mid. 42. 
 
 [4] Myroure, p. 29. [10] Ibid. 26. 
 
 [5l Judges v. 24. [ll] Myroure, ibid. 
 [6] Ibid. iv. 21.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 91 
 
 (7) Jesus. This, like the name " Mary," is an addition to 
 the words of Scripture, linking in one salutation the two 
 names. 
 
 (8) Holy Mary, Mother of God. These words are of Eccles- 
 iastical origin and should be very dear to us ; for they proclaim 
 that privilege for which all her graces were designed the 
 Divine Maternity. When Nestorius, Bishop of Constantinople, 
 taught that there were two persons in Jesus Christ, and that 
 therefore Mary should not be called the Mother of God, the 
 Council of Ephesus [431], held under St. Cyril of Alexandria, 
 representative of Pope Celestine, declared the true doctrine of 
 the Incarnation and that Mary, by rightful title, was to be 
 called " Mother of God." These words are, therefore, an act 
 of faith in the Incarnation ; for the Mother is ever the guardian 
 of the Child: And they found the Child with Mary His 
 M other [i]. 
 
 The remainder of the prayer is a natural act of the heart, 
 and was formulated about the sixteenth century. The Francis- 
 cans, in 1515, seem to have been the first to add them to the 
 Breviary. 
 
 y Ddmine Idbia mea aptries. Oh, Lord open Thou my lips. 
 
 E? Et os meum annuntidbit And my mouth shall show forth 
 
 laudem tuam. Thy praise. 
 
 y Deus in adjutdrium meum Lord, incline to my aid. 
 
 intende. 
 
 ty Ddmine ad adjuvdndum Lord make haste to help me. 
 
 me festina. 
 
 Y Gldria Patri, et Filio, et Glory be to the Father, and to 
 
 Spirttui sancto. the Son, and to the Holy 
 
 Ghost. 
 
 ~Bf Sicut erat in princtpio, et As it was in the beginning, 
 
 nunc, et semper : etinscecula and now, and always ; and 
 
 sceculdrum. Amen. in ages of ages. Amen. 
 
 Alleluia, (vel) Laus Tibi Alleluia (or), Praise to Thee 
 
 Ddmine, Rex ceternce\gldrice. Lord, King of 'eternal glory. 
 
 (i) Lord open thou my lips are words taken from the 
 great Psalm of penitence, the Miserere . " This verse is only 
 
 [i] Matt. ii. II.
 
 92 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 said at Matins, and is the beginning of God's service, in 
 token that the first opening of your lips or mouth should be 
 to the praising of God ; and all the day after they should abide 
 open and ready for the same and be so occupied and filled 
 therewith that nothing contrary to His praising might enter 
 us" [i]. The sign of the Cross is here made on our lips, 
 to consecrate them to the service of Him Who was crucified. 
 It reminds us, too, of that fiery coal which purified the lips of 
 Isaias in the vision, the year King Uzzias died : Woe is me ! 
 for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I 
 dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : for mins eyes have 
 seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim 
 unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with 
 the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and 
 said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is taken 
 away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the Voice of the Lord, 
 saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us ? Then said 
 I : Here am I; send me\_2~]. The prophet gained courage 
 after his purification ; so do we when the love of God, known 
 to us by the Cross, touches our heart and kindles the fire 
 within us. 
 
 (2) Lord incline to my aid are words from Psalm Ixix. i. 
 " As we cannot do anything well any time of the day without 
 His help, as He says Himself in His gospel : Without Me you 
 may do right nought [3], therefore both at Matins and at the 
 beginning of each hour you ask His help and say : God take 
 heed unto my help. And forasmuch as he that is doing of 
 a thing and cannot bring it about hath need of hasty help, 
 therefore feeling your need you pray our Lord to haste Him 
 and say : Lord haste Thee to help me. And take heed that 
 all this verse, both that part that is said by one alone and that 
 that is answered by all together, is said in the singular number, 
 as when you say 'mine' or 'me,' and not 'our' and 'us,' in 
 token that you begin your praising and prayer in the person 
 of Holy Church, which is one and not many. For though 
 there be many members of Holy Church as there are many 
 Christian men and women, yet they make but one body, that 
 
 [i] Myroure, p. 81. [2] Isaias vi. 5-8. [3] John xv. 5.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 93 
 
 is, Holy Church, whereof Christ is the Head. And because 
 that prayer that is said in the person and unity of Holy Church 
 is never left unsped ; therefore, trusting that our Lord hath 
 heard your prayer and is come to help you, you begin 
 all together, lowly inclining, to praise the Blessed Trinity, and 
 say : Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy 
 Ghost. One glory to all Three. For the Three Persons are 
 one God. This word 'Glory' is no common English, and 
 therefore you shall understand that 'glory' is called a good 
 fame spoken of with praising. Therefore when you bid ' glory ' 
 to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, you ask 
 and desire that the Blessed Trinity should always be praised 
 and thanked, and worshipped, for His endless goodness that 
 is in Himself, and for all the benefits that He hath done and 
 shall do to His creatures, both in making of creatures in the 
 beginning and continually keeping of them in their being, and 
 in the perfect end He shall bring all things to ; and, therefore, 
 you add to, and say : As it was in the beginning, and now, 
 and always, and without end " [i]. 
 
 (3) Alleluia. "And you shall not in praising delight you 
 in [the] melody of the song nor of the notes, nor in your own 
 voices ; but all your joy and delight must set only in God ; 
 therefore anon after Gloria Patri you say Alleluia [2] which is 
 a word of joy and praising ; and especially it betokeneth that 
 unspeakable joy that is in heaven endlessly in praising and 
 lauding of God. Therefore praising our Lord with such 
 ghostly joy as you can have in Him here and desiring to 
 praise Him in everlasting joy, you say Alleluia. Doctors say 
 
 [l] Myroure, pp. 8l, 82. 
 
 [2] Alleluia is a word supposed to be of Hebrew origin. It is one of those terms 
 which cannot be translated. It is a cry of joy, admiration, and triumph, and is 
 equivalent to Praise the Lord, Some writers have looked upon it as a word escaped 
 from heaven : as in the hymn Alleluia duke carmen, sung in former days on the 
 Saturday before Septuagesima, when Alleluia ceases until Easter. 
 
 '* Alleluia, song of sweetness, 
 
 Voice of joy that cannot die ; 
 Alleluia is the anthem 
 
 Ever dear to choirs on high ; 
 In the house of God abiding 
 
 Thus they sing eternally."
 
 94 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 that Alleluia is as much to say as 'Praise God,' or 'The 
 Praising of God/ or ' Lord make me safe,' or ' Sing praising 
 to God,' or 'Father and Son and Holy Ghost,' or 'Light, 
 Life, and Health.' But because it is a word of joy therefore 
 in times of penance, that is from Septuagesima till Easter, it 
 is left, and instead thereof you say : Laus Tibi Ddmine, Rex 
 aterncz gldrice, that is, Lord, praising be to Thee, King of 
 endless bliss. For though penance doing be praising to 
 God, yet it is done in sorrow of heart and sharpness of body, 
 and not in gladness and joy, namely, for sinful people. And 
 therefore, in time of penance we say Laus Tibi not in joy, but 
 in praising of God, and not Alleluia, which is a word both 
 of praising and joy " [i]. 
 
 THE INVITATORY. 
 
 Ave Maria, grdtia plena : Hail Mary ! full of Grace, 
 
 Ddnrinus tecum. the Lord is with thee. 
 
 " But for it sufficeth not to you to praise and to joy in 
 God alone but you must stir others to the same. Therefore, 
 after Alleluia, or Laus Tibi, you begin the Invitatory, that is as 
 much as to say, a ' calling ' or a ' stirring,' whereby each of you 
 stirreth and exhorteth others to the praising of God and of 
 our Lady. And thereby also you call them that hear you and 
 desire the others that are absent to come and praise with you. 
 And thereto accordeth the Psalm Venite that followeth and is 
 sung with the Invitatory" [2]. 
 
 As these words were said by the Angel, it will be well to 
 say them with the same feelings of joy, love, and reverence 
 with which he greeted our Lady. 
 
 PSALM XCIV. 
 Title A Prayer of a Song for David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Cardinal Tomasi [3] in the collection of arguments 
 collected from Origen, gives the following as meanings of 
 this psalm. That Christ, the Good Shepherd, predestinates 
 
 [l] Myroure, pp. 82, 83. [2] Ibid. [3] Opera omnia, vol. ii. p. 46.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 95 
 
 His sheep with eternal rest. The voice of the Church to the 
 Lord touching the Jews. The voice of Christ to the Apostles 
 touching the Jews. The voice of the Church advising to 
 repentance. 
 
 Venerable Bede (?) (735) in his exposition of the Psalms 
 [i] says concerning this one : " Praise denotes devotion of 
 voice ; song, cheerfulness of mind, for David, Christ our 
 Saviour, to the end that we may come together and rejoice, 
 not in vain delights, but in the Lord. The prophet foreseeing 
 the rejection of Christ, invites the chosen people to come and 
 praise God. Secondly, the Lord Himself speaks that the 
 aforesaid people should not harden its heart lest that befall 
 them which befell their fathers who did not reach the Land 
 of Promise." 
 
 (i) Venite, exsult/mus Oh, come let us sing unto 
 
 Ddmino, jubilemus Deo salu- the Lord. Let us heartily 
 tdri nostro : prceoccuphnus rejoice in God our Saviour. 
 fdciem Ejus in confessidne, et Let us come before His Face in 
 in psalmis jubittmus Ei. confession, and in psalms let 
 
 us rejoice before Him. 
 
 St. Augustine (430) [2], commenting on this verse, remarks 
 that the prophet invites us to rejoice, not in the world, but in 
 the Lord. In saying Oh come, he means that those who are 
 far off are to draw near. But how can we be far off from 
 Him Who is present everywhere ? By unlikeness to Him, by 
 an evil life, by evil habits. A man standing still in one spot 
 draws near to God by loving Him, and by loving that which 
 is evil he withdraws from God. Although he does not move 
 his feet, he can yet both draw nigh and retire ; for in this 
 journey our feet are our affections. Come, as sick men to 
 a doctor to obtain relief, as scholars to a master to learn 
 wisdom, as thirsty men to a fountain, as fugitives to a sanc- 
 tuary, as blind men to the sun. Thus writes the Carmelite,. 
 Michael Angriani [3]. Let us sing unto the Lord. Why then do 
 
 [l] Migne, P. L. vol. xciii., p. 478. 
 
 [2] St. Augustine's Ennarationes in Psalmos are to be found in Migne, P. L. 
 vol. xxxvi. 
 
 [3] Angriani was General of the Carmelites, died 1416. He wrote a very 
 beautiful Commentary on the Psalms (published in 1581), the authorship of which 
 was for a long time unknown. He is followed by Father Le Blanc, S.J., in a 
 Psalmorum Davidicorum Analysis in six volumes. 1744.
 
 96 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 we find it said : Blessed are they that mourn [i] and Woe to 
 you that laugh [2]. Surely because they are blessed who 
 mourn to the world, and the woe is to them that laugh to 
 the world ; but blessed are they who exalt unto the Lord, 
 who know not how to be glad of rapine, of fraud, of their 
 neighbour's tears. He joys in the Lord, who in word, deed, 
 and work, exults not for himself but for His Maker. Thus 
 St. Peter Chrysologus (d. 450) [3]. Our Saviour. St. Jerome in 
 his version of the psalms translates these words simply as 
 " Jesus our Rock." 
 
 Let us come before His face, that is, says St. Augustine, 
 let us make haste to meet Him, not waiting till He sends 
 to call us before Him. Not that we can in any way fore- 
 stall His grace and bounty to us, but that we may offer 
 our thanksgiving with sufficient promptness to avoid the 
 charge of ingratitude. 
 
 In confession, which may either be the confession of God's 
 might and goodness, or of our frailty and sin, the confession 
 of praise, or the confession of grief. In this second sense we 
 are called upon to come away from our sins, to come in 
 penance to God before He comes in judgment. Confession 
 in the psalms is often used as equivalent to thanksgiving, for 
 if we confess our unworthiness we must be filled with gratitude 
 to God for His mercy in granting us forgiveness and restoring 
 us to His favour. The Face of God often stands in Holy Writ 
 for His wrath, e.g., Turn away Thy Face from my sins [4] ; and 
 also for offering sacrifice, e.g., Wherewith shall I come before the 
 Lord and bow myself before the high God ? shall I come before 
 Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old ? [5] The 
 sacrifice of thanksgiving under the Mosaic code was an obla- 
 tion of cakes of fine flour and wafer bread ; and thus h. this 
 place, says Fr. Lorin, S.J. [6], we see a prophecy of the 
 Sacrifice of the New Law, that Eucharistic oblation of praise 
 and thanksgiving wherein Christ is Himself offered to the 
 Father. 
 
 [i] Matt. v. 4. [3] Migne, P. L. vol. lii. p. 328. [5] Michias vi. 6. 
 
 [2] Luke vi. 25. [4] Ps. 1. 9. 
 
 [6] Fr. Lorin, a learned French Jesuit (1634), wrote a large and most valuable 
 Commentary on the Psalms, taken chiefly from the Greek and Latin Fathers. It is 
 in three volumes, and was published 1611 1616.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 97 
 
 And in psalms let us rejoice before Him. Psalms, says St. 
 Ambrose (397) denote the combination of will and action in 
 good works because the word implies the use of an instru- 
 ment as well as of a voice [i]. And, says Denis, the Carthu- 
 sian, [2] we may rejoice in psalms when we are alone, as well 
 as when joining with others in the offices of the Church, 
 saying, Oh come all ye powers of my soul, my whole being 
 and all that is within me, especially my reason, memory and 
 will, let us be glad together in the Lord. 
 
 (2) Quoniam Deus Magnus For the Lord is a great 
 
 Dominus, et Rex Magnus God and a great King above 
 super omnes deos : qu6niam all gods : For the Lord will 
 non repellet Dominus plebem not repel His people, for in His 
 suam, quia, in manu Ejus sunt hands are all the ends of the 
 omnes fines terrce, et altitu- earth, and the heights of the 
 dines Montium Ipse cdnspicil. mountains doth He behold. 
 
 Says Fr. Corder [3], To us the words teach the mystery 
 of the Eternal Son, pointing out that our Lord even in His 
 mortal body is a great God, by reason of the Hypostatic 
 Union, and also because He is the express Image of the 
 Father ; whence we find this very title given Him by the 
 Apostle saying : Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious 
 appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ [4]. Christ, 
 says St. Bruno (1125), is moreover the King whom all the gods, 
 all those saints and rulers of His Church whom He hath made 
 partakers of Him, obey and love : / have said ye are gods [5]. 
 
 For the Lord will not repel His people, that Christian folk, 
 says Cardinal Hugo [6], which He hath purchased with His 
 
 [i] Migne, P. L., vol. xiv. 
 
 [2] This great writer, called " the Ecstatic Doctor," was a voluminous writer. His 
 Commentary on the Psalms (published 1558) is, as would be expected from a Car- 
 thusian, one of his very best works. He flourished about the year 1471. 
 
 [3] Father Corder, another Jesuit writer (1605), has written three volumes of 
 a Commentary on the Psalms which he has drawn from the Greek fathers, adding 
 further explanations of his own. The work is full of beauty and unction. Published 
 >n 1543- 
 
 [4] Titus ii. 13. [5] John x. 34. 
 
 [6] Hugo of St. Cher, was cardinal of the title of St. Sabine, and is credited with 
 being the first to divide the Bible into chapters. He commented on the whole 
 Bible, and his exposition of the Psalms was published in 1498. He was a Domini- 
 can, and died 1268. 
 
 7
 
 98 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 own Blood, He will not reject it, crying, praying, seeking or 
 knocking to Him. 
 
 In His hands are all the ends of the earth. If we take this 
 as descriptive of the power of God over creation there is no 
 better commentary on them than the words of Isaias : He 
 hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand and meted 
 out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of 
 the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales 
 and the hills in a balance [i]. But the fuller explanation is to 
 take it as showing that whilst false gods are worshipped in 
 special places, He alone is Lord everywhere. And thus we 
 see here a reference to the Church, no longer confined to the 
 narrow limits of one people, but made up from all the nations 
 of the earth. The ends of the earth may denote all the powers 
 and faculties of man, a notion which is brought out better by 
 the Hebrew all the deep places of the earth. 
 
 The heights of the mountains are types of the exalted citizens 
 of heaven : thus Lorin. St. Bruno says the earth is often put 
 for men of earthly and grovelling minds, mountain for saints 
 lifted high by contemplation of Divine things. 
 
 (3) Qudniam Ipsius est mare, For the sea is His and He 
 
 et Ipse fecit illud, et dridam made it, and His hands formed 
 
 fundavgrunt manus Ejus : ve- the dry land. Come let us 
 
 nite adoretnus, et prociddmus worship and fall down before 
 
 ante Deum : ploremus coram God : Let us weep before the 
 
 DSmino, qui fecit nos, quia the Lord who made us, for He 
 
 Ipse est Dominus Deus noster : is the Lord our God : but we 
 
 nos autem pdpulus Ejus, et are His people and the sheep 
 
 oves pdscuce Ejus. of His pasture. 
 
 Besides the obvious interpretation concerning the wonder 
 of creation, the sea, says St. Augustine, denotes the Gentile 
 nations tossed about in the bitterness and barrenness of 
 heathendom when the Jews, in their spiritual pride, refused 
 to believe God's children. Yet He made them, as it is 
 written : Doubtless Thou art our Father though Abraham be 
 ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not : Thou, Lord, 
 
 [i] Isaias xl. 12.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 99 
 
 art our father, our Redeemer [i]. And His hands have 
 formed the dry land. This land, differing from the sea in 
 stability and in capacity of fruitfulness, denotes the Church 
 or any holy soul. It is dry, says St. Bruno, because without 
 the grace of God it can do nothing, as land will not bear unless 
 it be watered, but gaspeth for Him as a thirsty ground [2]. 
 He formed it, which means more than He made it, implying 
 that He gave shape and beauty and fulness to that which before 
 was without form and void [3] by reason of Adam's sin. 
 
 We are to worship, that is, to bend the head as servants to 
 their master, to fall down as subjects acknowledging their king. 
 To weep, for as Cassiodorus (562) says [4] : God calls His people 
 first to rejoice, while they, as yet, do not know the spiritual 
 life, lest they be alarmed and repelled by its sorrows and aus- 
 terities ; but when they have once accepted the faith, He then 
 summons them to repent of their sins. But, says St. Peter 
 Chrysologus, they are tears of joy ; for gladness, as well as 
 sorrow, brings weeping, and grief for our past sins is blended 
 with the hope of blessing and glory to come. Some com- 
 mentators, who take this Psalm as having special reference 
 to our Lord's nativity, see here a command to adore Him 
 in the manger, undeterred by the tokens of mortality and 
 poverty around. 
 
 But we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. St. 
 Augustine tells us that we are hereby taught that we, even 
 as people, are sheep, in respect of God, needing Him as a 
 Shepherd, and only to be satisfied with His green pastures. 
 Yet we are not unreasoning sheep to be driven with a staff. 
 We are guided with God's Own hand, the very hand which 
 made us and is so loving and ever heedful to prevent any 
 harm that may come from the negligence, ignorance, or 
 malice of those inferior shepherds, to whom He commits, 
 in a measure, the task of tending His flock. He feeds us, 
 says St. Bruno, with Bread from heaven, as He once fed our 
 spiritual forefathers with manna in the wilderness ; and He 
 cares for us as a shepherd cares for his flock, so that we need 
 
 [i] Isaias Ixiii. 16. [2] Ps. cxliv. 6. [3] Gen. i. 2. 
 
 [4] His Expositio in Psalterium is to be found in Migne, P.L., vol. Ixx.
 
 ioo THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 not be solicitous, but cast all our care on Him. Says St. 
 Bonaventure (1274), we must be like sheep in trustfulness, 
 patience and innocence, and yet men in understanding, 
 according to His Own saying : And ye My flock, the flock of My 
 pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God [i]. 
 
 (4) Hodie si vocem Ejus To-day if ye shall hear His 
 
 audieritis, nolite obdurdre voice harden not your hearts, 
 
 corda vestra, sicut in exacer- as in the provocation and as 
 
 batione secundum diem tenta- in the day of temptation in the 
 
 tionis in deserto : ubi tentave- desert : Where your fathers 
 
 runt Me patres vestri, proba- tempted Me, proved Me and 
 
 verunt, et mderunt opera Mea. saw My works. 
 
 To-day, that is, daily while it is called to-day, as the writer 
 of the Epistle to the Hebrews explains in one of his threefold 
 citations of this verse : But exhort one another daily while 
 it is called to-day [2]. So long as the night has not come, 
 so long as the door of mercy is not shut. To-day, at once, not 
 deferring till to-morrow. 
 
 If you will hear His voice is the reply to the assertion in 
 the previous verse : We are the sheep of His pasture ; for the 
 proof of being one of Christ's flock is according to His 
 own words My sheep hear My voice and I know them and 
 they follow Me [3]. This flock He gave in its entirety, both 
 sheep and lambs, to His apostle Peter to be fed for Him [4]. 
 So, if we are fed by Peter we are fed by Christ, and belong 
 to His one fold. You call yourself His sheep ; prove your 
 claim, then, by hearing His voice. And yet, as St. Bernard 
 (1155) tells us, there is no difficulty at all in hearing His 
 voice ; on the contrary, the difficulty is to stop our ears 
 effectually against it, so clear is its sound, so constantly does 
 it ring in our ears. The Jews, remarks the Carmelite, sinned 
 by refusing to listen to the voice of our Lord ; and we also 
 sin in the same way when we put off or refuse to repent. 
 Satan's counsel, observes St. Basil (379) is, " To-day for me, 
 to-morrow for God" ; whereas, He that hath promised pardon 
 to repentance hath not promised to-morrow to the sinner. 
 
 [l] Ezek. xxxiv. 31. [3] John x. 27. 
 
 [2] Heb. iii. 13. [4] Ibid. xxi. 15, 16, 17.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 101 
 
 Harden not your heart. For in so doing, says Albert the 
 Great [i], you set yourselves in direct opposition to the will 
 of God, which is to soften those hearts, in that He said : My 
 doctrine shall drop as the rain, My speech shall distil as the 
 dew [2] to moisten the dry ground that it may bring forth 
 the tender buds of grace ; whereas it is said of sinners that 
 their hearts are stony : / will take the stony heart out of 
 your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh [3] ; and of 
 Leviathan, the type of evil power, His heart is as firm as a 
 stone ; yea, as hard as a piece of nether millstone [4] . 
 
 As in the provocation and as in the day of temptation. Some 
 commentators refer the word provocation to the resistance of 
 the Jews to the authority of Moses and temptation to their 
 unbelief in the providence of God : And he called the name of 
 the place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the 
 children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, 
 Is the Lord among us or not f [5] Cardinal Hugo points 
 out that the words which follow in the wilderness, are an 
 aggravation of guilt, because it was exactly there, in the 
 absence of all other help, that the thoughts of the Jews should 
 have been most firmly set on God Who had so wonderfully 
 brought them out of Egypt. Those who come out of the 
 Egypt of sin or worldiness, who begin a life of repentance, 
 are at first in the wilderness. They are deserted by those they 
 have left behind ; and, not attaining yet to what they seek, they 
 are much exposed, in that stage of spiritual progress, to the 
 risk of rebellion, of unbelief in God, and of resisting the 
 pleadings of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Where your fathers tempted Me. There is a stress on your 
 fathers, implying that we are the same nations which sinned in 
 a former period of its history and are therefore likely to fall 
 again. The Carmelite remarks, we may tempt God in several 
 ways : His mercy, by careless prayer ; His patience, by 
 remaining in sin ; His justice, by desiring revenge ; His 
 power, by not trusting Him during perils ; His wisdom, by 
 
 [l] Albert the Great, a Dominican friar, was the master of St. Thomas Aquinas, 
 the Angelical doctor. He died 1280. 
 
 [2] Deut. xxxii. 2. [4] Job xli. 24. 
 
 [3] Ezek. xxxvi. 26. [5] Exod. xviL 7.
 
 102 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 undertaking to teach others without previous study and 
 meditation. 
 
 Proved Me. This is more than tempting, which denotes the 
 bare experiment, whereas proving implies its success, for the 
 God, whose power they doubted, slew them all in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 And saw My works. That is, says Lorin, although they 
 saw them, and that during forty continuous years, yet they 
 did not believe and were never subdued, but renewed their 
 experiment after each miracle and each judgment. 
 
 (5) Quadraginta anni prox- Forty years was I nigh to 
 
 imus fui generationi huic, et this generation, and said, these 
 
 dixi, Semper hi errant corde : do always err in heart ; i n 
 
 ipsi vero non cognoverunt vias truth they have not known My 
 
 Meas f quibus jurdvi in ira ways. Unto whom I swore in 
 
 Mea, si introibunt in requiem My wrath that they should not 
 
 Meam. enter into My rest. 
 
 Forty years. The writers do not fail to point out the 
 mystical meaning of the number forty, repeated in the fasts of 
 Elias and our Lord, and in the great forty days after Easter ; 
 and they tell us that as ten is the first limit we meet in com- 
 putation, so that this number and its multiples give all the 
 subsequent names to sums, it serves as the type of fulness ; 
 while four, as denoting either the seasons of the year or the 
 quarters of the heavens, extends that fulness to all time and 
 place ; and thus forty years stands here for the entire span of 
 our earthly sojourn. Remigius, monk of St. Germain (908) [i], 
 points out the stress on years, because the journey of Elias [2] 
 teaches us that the Israelites could have passed through the 
 desert in forty days had they only been obedient. 
 
 Nigh. Some commentators take this word in the sense'.that 
 one who punishes is near the criminal, or of a teacher who 
 keeps beside an idle and refractory pupil to compel his atten- 
 tion. St. Augustine explains it of God's continual presence 
 in signs and miracles ; while St. Bernard interprets it of an 
 inward voice and inspiration. The cause of God's anger was 
 
 [ij Migne, P. L., cxxxi. [2] 3 Kings xix. 8.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 103 
 
 the ingratitude of the children of Israel for His unceasing 
 watch over them. 
 
 This generation. And whereas this applies literally to the 
 60,000 who came up out of Egypt, and then by accommodation, 
 to all living men at any time while it is called to-day, there is also 
 a special fitness in taking it of the Jews after the Passion of 
 Christ ; for, says Perez of Valentia [i], the interval which lay 
 between that and the final destruction of Jerusalem was almost 
 precisely forty years, up to which time the door of hope was 
 still open for Israel, and it was still to-day ere that terrible 
 night set upon the Temple worship. 
 
 Always do these err in their heart. This is much more 
 forcible, observes Cardinal Hugo, than if it were said, they err 
 in act ; for the error of an act has a definite end, whereas the 
 error of the will has no end. Death puts an end to the evil 
 doing of a sinner, not because he has lost the will to sin, but 
 because he has no longer the power to do so. 
 
 For they have not known My ways. The word known does 
 not here signify that acquaintance with God's ways which may 
 be gathered from reading or meditation, but that knowing 
 which comes from a careful keeping to His ways themselves, 
 that is, from living lives fruitful in good works. And the ways 
 of God, as St. Bonaventure remarks, are all reducible to one, 
 that is fesus Himself, the Way, the Truth, and the Life [2] ; 
 moreover, they all lead to the same heavenly country. They 
 are one way in their making, their Master, and their end ; they 
 are many ways according to the diversities of the working of 
 grace, the variety of vocations and of disposition among those 
 who journey home through the wilderness. 
 
 Unto whom I swore in My wrath that they should not enter 
 into My rest. This He did when the spies brought back evil 
 reports of the Land of Promise and the children of Israel pre- 
 pared to elect a leader to take them back to Egypt [3]. It is 
 a terrible warning, comments St. Augustine. We began the 
 Psalm with rejoicing but we end with awful dread. It is a 
 
 [i] He was Bishop of Christopolis in the fifteenth century. His work on the 
 Psalms was published 1518. 
 
 [2] John xiv. 6. [3] Num. xiv. 26.
 
 104 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 great thing that God should speak ; but how much more that 
 God should swear. A man who hath sworn is to be feared, 
 lest he should, for his oath's sake, do aught against his will. 
 How much more then ought we not to fear God Who cannot 
 swear rashly ? Let no one say in his heart, that which He 
 promiseth is true, that which He threateneth is false. As sure 
 as thou art of rest, happiness, eternity, immortality, if thou 
 keep the commandments, so certain shouldest thou be of 
 destruction, of the burning of everlasting fire, of damnation 
 with the devil, if thou despise His Law. He hath sworn that 
 these shall not enter into His rest, and yet, it remaineth that 
 some must enter therein [i], for it could not be designed for no 
 occupant. And this rest, which meant the earthly Canaan to 
 the Jews of old, means for us that Sabbath of the Heavenly 
 Fatherland whereof the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us : Now 
 there remained a rest to the people of God [2], Even here, on 
 earth, says the Carmelite, before reaching that blessed Land, 
 there remaineth a rest for God's people, whereof the weekly 
 Sabbath is a sign and a pledge. This is the rest from sin, 
 common to all the just, and the rest from bodily cares and 
 stilling of temptation, which come in measure to contempla- 
 tive saints ; while, crowning all, there is the rest of the blessed, 
 whence sorrow is banished for evermore. Let us labour 
 therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same 
 example of unbelief [3] and be included under the terrible 
 oath of exclusion ; and in prayer for grace that it may not 
 be so, come let us worship and fall down and weep before the 
 Lord our Maker. Thus the Carthusian. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI [4]. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the great King above all Gods ; 
 Glory be to the Son, the Strength of our salvation ; Glory be 
 to the Holy Ghost who saith, To-day if ye hear His voice harden 
 noi your hcatts. 
 
 [I] Heb. iv. 6. [2] Ibid. 9. [3] Ibid. 11. 
 
 [4] These ascriptions of praise, weaving into the Gloria thoughts suggested in 
 the Psalm, are from the Golden Commentary of Gerohus, Prior of Reichersperg 
 (1169), published in 1728.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 105 
 
 THE HYMN [l]. 
 
 (i) Quern terra, pont us, sidera The God, Whom earth and sea 
 
 and sky, 
 
 Colunt, addrant, predicant, Adore and laud and magnify ; 
 Trinam regentem mdchinam Who o'er their threefold fabric 
 
 reigns, 
 Claustrum Marice bdjulat The Virgin's spotless womb 
 
 contains. 
 
 Creation, as we see it, consists of earth, sea, and sky, and 
 the three form, as it were, the machinam by which God works 
 out His will. The Claustrum Marice " understandeth her 
 reverend womb" [2], which for nine months did carry the 
 Lord of all things. Mary was the Tabernacle of Emmanual 
 God with us and the Most High sanctified His resting 
 place [3], The Ark of the Covenant in the Temple of 
 Solomon was of incorruptible wood covered with plates of 
 massive gold. It only contained the tables of the Law, a 
 pot of manna, and Aaron's flowering rod. But Mary, the 
 true Ark of the Covenant, incorruptible by her immaculate 
 Conception and adorned with the gold of charity, contained 
 within her, as in a most peaceful cloister, the very Giver of 
 the Law, the very Bread of Life, and the true High Priest, 
 Himself, Whom all creation worships, adores, and proclaims. 
 
 (2) Cut luna, sol, et dmnia The God Whose will by Moon 
 
 and Sun, 
 
 Deserviunt per tempora, And all things in due course is 
 
 done, 
 
 Perfusa cceli gratia Is borne upon a Maiden's breast, 
 
 Gestant puellce viscera. By fullest heavenly grace pos- 
 
 sessed. 
 
 That is : Our Lady, filled with heavenly grace, doth bear 
 Him, Whom moon, sun, and all things serve according to the 
 seasons and times appointed to them : And God made two great 
 lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule 
 the night : He made also the stars. And God set them in the 
 
 [i] The translation of this hymn is by Dr. Neale. 
 [2] Myroure, p. 220. [3] Cf. Ps. xlv. 4.
 
 io6 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule 
 over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the 
 darkness : and God saw that it was good [i]. Notice the word 
 per/lisa, i.e., bathed through and through, soaked ; like Gideon's 
 fleece was soaked with the dews of heaven [2] ; so Mary was 
 full of grace. 
 
 (3) Bedta Mater miinere, How blest that Mother in whose 
 
 shrine 
 
 Cujus supernus Artifex, The Great Artificer Divine, 
 
 Mundum pugillo cdntinens, Whose Hand contains the earth 
 
 and sky, 
 Ventris sub area clausus est. Vouchsafed, as in His ark, to lie. 
 
 " That is : Blessed by the gift of the Holy Ghost is that 
 Mother whose High Maker, that holdeth the world in His 
 hand, is borne within the ark of her womb. Our Lord is said 
 to hold the world in His hand, for all the world is full little 
 in regard to His greatness. And as a man may do with a 
 thing that he hath in his hand what he will, so is every- 
 thing in the power of His hand and all is kept in being by 
 Him [3]." Artifex, i.e., artificer one who works according to 
 Art, according to design. Art is the showing forth of the Beauti- 
 ful ; and in the Incarnation to which the verse refers, we have 
 the most perfect manifestation of God's art in adapting means 
 to an end, in exhibiting the beauty of His power, and of 
 His love, and of His wisdom. 
 
 (4) Bedta cceli nuntio, Blest, in the message Gabriel 
 
 brought ', 
 Fecunda sancto Spiritu, Blest, by the work the Spirit 
 
 wrought ; 
 Desiderdtus gentibus From whom the great Desire of 
 
 Earth 
 Cujus per ahum fusus est. Took human flesh and human 
 
 birth. 
 
 Nuntio cceli the message of Gabriel : Fecunda. The Holy 
 Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall 
 
 [i] Gen. i. 16, 17, 18. [2] Judges vi. 38. 
 
 [3] Myroure, p. 220.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 107 
 
 overshadow thee [i], Desiderdtus gtntibus. Our Lord was the 
 Longed-for ; the Desired of the nations : And the Desired of 
 all nations shall come [2]. His Advent was the prayer of 
 the prophets and holy ones of Israel : Drop down ye heavens 
 from above and let the skies pour forth the Righteous, let the earth 
 open and bring forth the Saviour [3]. And when He came He 
 told men that many kings had desired to see the things they 
 saw [4] ; and that Father Abraham rejoiced to see His day, 
 and saw it and was glad [5]. Fusus est, poured forth as oil, or 
 as light passing through a most pure crystal. 
 
 (5) Jesu, Tibi sit gldria, All honour, laud and glory be, 
 
 Qui natus est de Virgine, Jesu, Virgin-born, to Thee ! 
 
 Cum Patre, et almo Sptritu, All glory, as is ever meet, 
 
 In sempiterna scecula. To Father and to Paraclete. 
 
 Amen. Amen. 
 
 This Doxology, or ascription of praise to the Adorable 
 Trinity, is used for all the hymns in the Little Office. Jesu, 
 Tibi sit gldria : Our Lord as He is our thanksgiving, our 
 Eucharist, so is He also our Praise. Therefore to Him and 
 through Him we give our praise to the Blessed Three in One. 
 The remembrance of His Mother, Qui natus est de Virgine, 
 gives us the reason for the special act of worship one of 
 gratitude for the Incarnation which is Mary's gift to mankind. 
 For, chosen herself by God, she freely consented to become 
 the Mother of the Word made flesh. Almo Spfritu : the revela- 
 tion of the Holy Ghost to us is that of infinite love. The Love 
 of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is 
 given to us [6] . In sempiterna scecula. The glory we give to 
 God lasts for ever ; for He is the Father of lights with Whom 
 there is no variableness neither shadow of turning [7] ; the 
 Eternal God, The Great I Am [8]. This thought makes our 
 act of worship deeper and fuller and brings a stillness over 
 our soul as we think of the never-changing, never-ending 
 glory, which, as an everlasting fire, surrounds the Eternal. 
 
 [i] Luke i. 35. [5] John viii. 56. 
 
 [2] Aggeus ii. 8. [6] Rom. v. 5. 
 
 [3] Isaias xlv. 8. [7] James i. 17. 
 
 [4] Luke x. 24. [8] Exod. iii. 14.
 
 io8 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 FIRST NOCTURN. 
 
 For Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Benedicta tu in mulieribus Blessed art thou amongst 
 
 et benedictus fructus ventris women, and blessed is the 
 tui. Fruit of thy ivomb. 
 
 The following psalm being concerned with the wonders 
 of creation, the Antiphon directs our mind to Our Lady as the 
 choicest and most perfect creature of God. For if man be 
 made a little lower than the angels and crowned with glory 
 and honour, how much more honourable and glorious is She 
 whose Office and holiness is far above that of the highest 
 Angel ? For which one of them could say to their God as 
 She could say : Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten 
 Thee ? [i] 
 
 PSALM vin. 
 Title To the end : for the wine-presses, a psalm of David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi. That Christ, the Son of Man, was made in His 
 Passion a little lower than the angels. The voice of the 
 ancient Church speaking of Christ and of faith. Also of the 
 Ascension of our Saviour and of the infants that glorified Him 
 and that said Hosanna in the Highest ! The voice of the 
 Church giving praise to Christ for the faith of all creatures. 
 
 Venerable Bede. For the wine-presses ; that is, a vintage 
 song of thanksgiving. As in the wine-press when the grapes 
 are bruised and the hardest pips crushed the sweetest wine 
 pours forth, so when obstinacy and pride are crushed in the 
 Church the sweetest tears of penance are beautifully expressed. 
 The Church, true wine-press, at the commencement of the 
 Psalm sings the praises of her Lord God, setting forth His 
 majesty and the greatness of His operations. Then she 
 speaketh more plainly of the nature of man which, from the 
 
 [i] Heb. i. 5.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 109 
 
 low and depraved condition whereto Adam's fall had reduced 
 it, He raised to the height of glory ; and the one Person of 
 Christ in its two distinct and inconfused Natures is unhesitat- 
 ingly acknowledged. 
 
 (1) Domine Dtiminus nosier, Lord, our Lord, how ad- 
 quam admirdbile est Nomen mirable is Thy Name in all 
 tuum in univ^rsa terra ! the world. 
 
 Lord, our Lord. God's name is twice repeated ; for He 
 is twice our Lord, in that He made us and in that He re- 
 deemed us. He is our Lord also through our knowledge and 
 love of Him. We also are His servants ; by the special claim 
 He has to our life, by our holy vocation ; therefore His in- 
 terests are in a special sense ours. Again, our Lord naturally 
 suggests Him Who by mortal birth is bone of our bone and 
 flesh of our flesh [i] ; our Elder Brother, Who has shown to us 
 the infinite tenderness and love of the Father. 
 
 How admirable is Thy name : The name of God implying 
 perfection, all beauty, all riches, all power, all wisdom, and 
 implying also that sweetest of all relations, taught to us by 
 our Lord Himself, the Divine Fatherhood. But the name 
 of our Lord is still more admirable ; for it is the Name of 
 Jesus, name above all other names at which every knee shall 
 bow [2] ; the name which is the joy of the faithful and the 
 true revelation of the Father. 
 
 In all the world, not in Judea alone, says Cassiodorus, see- 
 ing that in the fulness of the time the Gentiles were also to be 
 added to the Church. And that Name when set up as a title 
 over the Cross was written in three languages, as a sign that 
 hereafter it should be preached, and should be worshipped by 
 every tongue and nation. 
 
 (2) Quoniam elevdta est For Thy magnificence is 
 magnificentia Tua super caelos. lifted up above the heavens. 
 
 Commentators take this for the most part literally of the 
 Ascension according to the words of St. Paul : Who descended, 
 He it is also Who ascended above all the heavens that He might 
 Jill all things [3] ; for then Christ, sitting at the right hand of 
 
 [i] Gen. ii. 23. [2] Phil. ii. 10. [3] Eph. iv. 10.
 
 no THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 God the Father, sent the Holy Ghost and charged His Apostles 
 to speak salvation in His Name as the only means of reaching 
 heaven, and that He was constituted Judge of the living and 
 the dead [i]. Others, and especially the Angelic doctor, see 
 here implied the infinite distance between Christ Who is the 
 power of God and the wisdom of God [2], and the very highest 
 of the saints ; not only the Apostles or the angels, but even 
 Her who bare Him, Her whom Christian singers delight in 
 styling the " new heaven." Father Lorin takes these words as 
 implying that the magnificence of glory of God is far beyond 
 what we can gather from the Scriptures, which tell us of the 
 mysteries of heaven, or from those wonderful manifestations 
 of His power and wisdom, the seven sacraments. 
 
 (3) Ex ore infdntium et lact- Out of the mouths of babes 
 
 entium perfedisti laudemprop- and sucklings Thou has per- 
 ter inimicos Titos, ut destruas fected praise because of Thine 
 inimicum et ultdrem. enemies, that Thou mightest 
 
 destroy the enemy and the 
 
 avenger. 
 
 Literally, the Holy Innocents who thus glorified Christ 
 by their death, and they that cried Hosanna by their acclama- 
 tions, as He Himself hath taught us [3]. Spiritually, the 
 weaker members of the Church of whom the Apostle writes : 
 / have fed you with milk and not with strong meat [4]. And 
 again, those who had the innocence and simplicity of babes ; 
 as the first-born of the Church, the Apostles, who, taught by 
 their Lord to speak, fed by Him like new-born babes with 
 the sincere milk of the word [5], and called by Him His 
 children [6]. So the Carmelite Angriani and Perez. Also 
 we may understand it of all religious souls who, in simplicity 
 and innocence, look to God alone and receive from Him their 
 meat in due season, the food of their souls, by the teaching of 
 the Holy Ghost ever whispering to their conscience. 
 
 Because of thine enemies for their conversion ; or, if they 
 will not turn, from their destruction, as it is written : The 
 arrows of the little ones are made their wounds [7]. 
 
 [i] Acts x. 42. [5] i Peter ii. 2. 
 
 [2] i Cor. i. 24. [6] John xxi. 5. 
 
 [3] Matt. xxi. 16. [7] Ps. Ixiii. 8. 
 [4] I Cor. iii. 2.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG in 
 
 That Thou mightest destroy the enemy : for God has chosen 
 the weak things of this world to confound the wise. Note ; 
 He chooses this sign rather than any other for the greater 
 confusion of the Jews. 
 
 Avenger : Not only tyrants and unbelieving nations whom 
 God has at various times raised up to chastise a sinful people, 
 but the evil spirit himself who is only an instrument in his 
 Creator's hands, and whose power, like those other avengers, 
 will be destroyed when the good designed to be done 
 through them is accomplished. 
 
 (4) Quoniam videbo ccelos For I see Thy heavens, the 
 
 Tuos, opera digitorum Tuo- works of Thy fingers : the moon, 
 rum : lunam et Stellas, quce and the stars, which Thou hast 
 Tu fundasti. established. 
 
 Thy heavens, the works of Thy fingers : The whole course of 
 events under God's Providence, Who has declared that all 
 things should work together for good to them that love Him [i]. 
 Thy fingers, not hands, because, as St. John Chrysostom says, 
 this is but a small thing for God's omnipotence. 
 
 The moon, that is, the Church, which is constantly 
 renewed and receives all her light from the true Sun. The 
 stars, the saints of God, as it is written : They that turn many 
 to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever [2]. Note: He 
 mentions not the sun, because the Sun of Righteousness [3] 
 was begotten not made. Thus St. Ambrose. Again, the moon, 
 says Jorgius [4], Confessor of Edward I., denotes our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady ; and that for various reasons : As the moon 
 draws all its brightness from the sun, and yet it is the most 
 luminous object next to him, so Mary, made full of grace by 
 Him whose countenance is as the sun shining in his strength [5], 
 is the brightest of all the saints. And yet, as the moon is 
 nearest to the earth, so our Lady is the lowliest of all in her 
 humility. As the moon rules the tides, so Mary by her prayers 
 helps those who are tossed on the bitter surges of the world. 
 
 [i] Rom. viii. 28. [2] Dan. xii. 3. [3] Malachi iv. 4. 
 
 [4] Jorgius, better known as Thomas of Wales, a Dominican, made Cardinal by 
 Clement V. in 1305. Among many other works he wrote a Commentary on the 
 Psalms, published in 1611 (p. 80). 
 
 [5] Apoc. i. 16.
 
 H2 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 And as Easter, the festival of the Resurrection, follows the 
 course of the moon, so the spiritual arising of the Man by the 
 Incarnation followed the consent of Mary's will to the message 
 of the Angel. The choirs of angels which are her fellows [i] 
 and bear her company, are rightly compared to the stars ; only 
 less than the moon in glory and beauty. 
 
 (5) Quid est homo, quod What is Man that Thou 
 
 memor es ejus f autfilius hominis, art mindful of him f or the 
 quoniam vtsitas eum. Son of Man that Thou visit- 
 
 est him ? 
 
 When, therefore, the prophet considers all the things 
 tending to man's salvation, the Providence whereby all events 
 work together for his good, the Church given him as a mother, 
 the saints as examples and friends, his thoughts are naturally 
 carried back to the one source of all, which is the Incarnation. 
 What is Man f The Psalmist answers in another place, Every 
 man is but vanity [2] ; and again, All men are liars [3]. Man : 
 taken absolutely, as a sinner : the Son of Man, those who are 
 endeavouring to keep the law of God. Thus St. Augustine. 
 Also the Son of Man, our Lord's own description of Himself. 
 In this sense the term is to be understood of His headship 
 over the mystical Body. 
 
 Visitest the Incarnation, was God visiting His people, as 
 it is written : Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath 
 visited and redeemed His people [4]. And again, Thou visitest 
 the earth and blessest it [5]. 
 
 (6) Minuistieumpaulo minus Thou hast made him a little 
 
 ab dngelis, gloria et honorc lower than the angels, with 
 coronasti eum : et constituisti glory and honour hast Thou 
 eum super opera mdnuum crowned him : and Thou hast 
 tudrum. set him above all the works 
 
 of Thy hand. 
 
 The Carmelite says : For as much as Christ went not up 
 unto joy, but first suffered pain, so here we see Him in 
 
 [i] Ps. xliv. 15. [4] Luke 5. 68. 
 
 [2] Ps. xxxix. 12. [5] Ps. Ixv. 9. 
 
 [3] Ps. cxvii. 10.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 113 
 
 His low estate first, and then in His glory ; for the humility 
 of His Passion was the merit of His exaltation. 
 
 Lower than the angels, in that He condescends to become 
 mortal and passible. A little lower. And what marvel, then, 
 of speaking in respect of His humanity, He saith : My Father 
 is greater than I ! [i] 
 
 With glory, as respects Himself ; with worship, in reference 
 to others. Thus St. Basil. Again, a little lower, for it was but 
 for a short time a little, because He was mortal and passible 
 of His own free will, and not like us, of necessity. Glory, in 
 the victory of the Resurrection ; honour, on the throne of the 
 Ascension. And note, as Albert the Great says, Christ is said 
 to have many crowns [2], of which the chief are : the Crown of 
 Mercy, wherewith He was crowned in the Incarnation and 
 Nativity ; the Crown of Sorrow, when the thorny diadem of 
 the passion was given Him ; that of Glory in the Resurrection 
 and Ascension ; and that of Dominion, which He will receive 
 when the Court of the Redeemed gathers around Him. 
 
 Over the works of Thy hands ; and therefore over those 
 angels than whom for a season He was made a little lower. 
 
 (7) Omnia subjea'sti sub All things Thou hast put be- 
 
 pedibus ejus, oves et boves neath His feet, sheep and all 
 
 universas : insuper et pecora oxen, yea, and the beasts of the 
 
 campi. field. 
 
 All things Thou hast put beneath His feet. Let the Apostle 
 interpret : In that He put all in subjection under Him, He left 
 nothing that is not put under Him [3]. But when He saith 
 all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted 
 Who did put all things under Him [4]. Note in these three 
 verses of the Psalm we have the four living creatures of the 
 Apocalypse [5] (for these may denote the four parts of Christ's 
 work of mercy), as well as the four evangelists. What is man f 
 Here we have the face of a man. Thou hast made Him a little 
 lower than the angels, there the ox, the animal fit for sacrifice ; 
 Thou hast crowned Him with glory and honour, there the 
 
 [l] John xiv. 28. [4] I Cor. xv. 27. 
 
 [2] Apoc. xix. 12. [5] Apoc. iv. 7. 
 
 [3] Heb. ii. 8.
 
 ii4 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 victorious lion ; Thou hast put all things under His feet, there 
 the eagle that soars above everything else. So Rupertus [i]. 
 
 Beneath His feet. As the head of Christ is His Divinity, so 
 His feet are His manhood ; and to Him, as Man, is given the 
 empire, which, as God, was always His, Who is the image of 
 the invisible God, the first born of every creature . . . that 
 in all things He might have the headship [2]. 
 
 Sheep : By these we understand those whose business in 
 Christ's Church is not to teach but to learn : My sheep hear My 
 voice [3]. 
 
 And all oxen : Those who labour in His word and doctrine ; 
 according to that saying of St. Paul, quoting from Deuteronomy 
 [4], Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth 
 out the corn [5]. For by these great profit is obtained in 
 His Church ; as it is written : Much increase is by the strength 
 of the ox [6]. 
 
 Yea : The word shows that a change of subject is made, 
 namely, from the good to the wicked. 
 
 The beasts of the field : Those that own no master, ""but 
 follow their own hearts' lusts, like brute beasts, as St. Peter 
 teaches, made to be taken and destroyed [7]. For the wicked as 
 well as the good are made subject to Christ. Thus St. Bruno, 
 of Aste-Perez remarks, not only are the sheep, the lowly and 
 the docile who hear the voice of the Shepherd, put under Him, 
 but even the oxen, the powerful rulers of the earth ; and the 
 beasts of the field, the wandering and barbarous tribes which 
 knew no law before. 
 
 (8) Vdlucres cceli, et pisces The fowls of the air and the 
 
 marts, qui perdmbulant semi- fishes of the sea, and whatsoever 
 tas maris. walketh through the paths of 
 
 the seas. 
 
 The fowls of the air are the saints who rise above the world, 
 but only by means of the sign of the Cross [8]. 
 
 [i] Ven. Abbat Rupertus, O.S.B., of Deutz, died in 1135. His Commentary on 
 the Apocalypse is printed in Migne, P. L., vol. clxix. (See p. 912). 
 
 [2] Col. i. 15-18. [5] i Cor. ix. 9. 
 
 [3] J onn x - 2 7- [6] Prov. xiv. 4. 
 
 [4] v. 4. [7] 2 Peter ii. 12. 
 
 [8] A bird with extended wings is in the shape of a cross.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 115 
 
 The fishes of the sea : Ordinary Christians regenerated of 
 water and of the Holy Ghost, and who are made fellows of 
 Jesus Christ, the Divine Fish [i]. 
 
 And whatsoever bad, as well as good, unholy, no less than 
 holy ; walketh through the paths of the seas, that is, exposed to 
 the waves and storms of this troublesome world. Thus 
 Cassiodorus. But St. Augustine will have the fowls of the air 
 to be the proud and ambitious, the fishes those who are 
 restless and acquisitive. While others see in the winged 
 fowls the angels ; in the fishes the evil spirits of the Abyss ; 
 or again, in a good sense the dwellers in the isles afar, and 
 mariners in them who walk through the paths of the seas. So 
 Perez. 
 
 (9) Domine Dominus noster, Lord, our Lord, how ad- 
 
 quam admirdbile est nomen mirable is Thy Name in all 
 Tuum in universa terra. the world. 
 
 Admirable, not only because He is very God, as set forth in 
 the first verse, but also because He is very Man, as taught 
 in the succeeding verses. The beginning and the ending of 
 this Psalm is the same, as being in His praise Who is the First 
 and the Last [2], the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever 
 
 [3]- 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who hath put all things under the 
 feet of the Son of Man ; Glory be to the Son Who vouch- 
 safed to become Son of Man, made lower than the angels, 
 but now is crowned with glory and honour as Priest and 
 King and Prophet ; Glory be to the Holy Ghost, the Finger 
 of God's right hand (Digitus Paternce dextrce, cf. Veni Creator), 
 by Whom the heavens were made. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Sicut myrrha electa odorem Like choice myrrh Thou hast 
 
 dedisti suavitatis, sancta Dei given forth Thy perfume, holy 
 Genitrix. Mother of God. 
 
 [l] The old symbol of our Lord, so frequently found in the catacombs, is a fish, 
 the Greek word is ix0"s, which, read as an acrostic, means Jesus Christ, Son of 
 God, Saviour. 
 
 [2] Apoc. xxii. 13. [3] Heb. xiii. 8.
 
 u6 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Myrrh was one of the mystic gifts of the three kings 
 brought to the Holy Child. It denotes mortification, which 
 is a necessity if we would be united to our Lord : Always 
 bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 that the life also of Jesus may be manifest in our body [i]. 
 We will dwell more upon the subject when commenting 
 upon the lessons whence this antiphon is taken. But now 
 it seems to foreshadow the 8th to the i3th verses, and gives 
 us a thought about the Queen of Martyrs, in whose mouth 
 the Church puts the words of the Canticle of Canticles : A 
 bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me [2]. And this thought 
 teaches us that it is by penance alone that we can repair the 
 destruction sin has brought upon God's creation. 
 
 PSALM XVIII. 
 
 Title : A Psalm of David. 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ entered the virginal shrine and pro- 
 ceeded from it in order that He might make known the 
 secrets of men. Concerning the preaching of the Apostles 
 and the Advent of Christ and His Ascension. 
 
 Venerable Bede : Through the whole psalm they are the 
 words of the prophet. In the first place he praises the 
 preachers of the Lord ; he then uses the loveliest comparisons 
 concerning His Incarnation. Secondly, he lauds the precepts 
 of the Old and New Testament. Thirdly, he prays that he 
 may be purged from his secret faults and may be made a 
 worthy psalmist. 
 
 (i) Coeli endrrant gloriam The heavens declare the 
 
 Dei, et opera mdnum Ejus glory of God, and the firma- 
 annuntiat firmamentum. ment shows forth the work of 
 
 His hands. 
 
 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the 
 hosts of them by the breath of His mouth [3]. What heavens, 
 asks St. Gregory the Great, are these, except the holy 
 Apostles ? [4]. And in this light all the fathers interpret the 
 
 [i] 2 Cor. iv. 10. [3] Ps. xxxii 6 
 
 [2] i. 13. [4] Migne, P. L., vol. Ixxvi. p. 33.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 117 
 
 verse : that as the visible heavens set forth the glory of the 
 Creator, so these spiritual heavens declare the praise of the 
 Redeemer. The firmament, St. Augustine takes to be that 
 firmness in speaking the Apostolic message even before kings 
 and not being ashamed, that fearing not them that kill the 
 body [i] but cannot touch the soul. Like the Apostles, who 
 were weak, indeed, till they received the Holy Ghost on the 
 day of Pentecost, but then they declared the work of His hands, 
 the work of salvation wrought by the Incarnation. 
 
 (2) Dies diet eructat verbum, Day unto day breathed out 
 
 et nox nodi indicat scientiam. the Word and night unto 
 
 night dedareth knowledge. 
 
 Day unto day, that is, saint to saint, prophet to prophet, 
 apostle to apostle, Christ Himself (the King of apostles, the 
 Inspirer of prophets, the Saint of saints), to each and all. 
 
 The Word, the Second Person of the Adorable Trinity ; 
 for the days, the saints filled with the light of the wisdom 
 and glory of God, declare the mystery of the Incarnation to 
 men. 
 
 And night unto night, the teachers here below, speaking of 
 the same mystery and leading their hearers on to His love. 
 Again, for the nights we may understand, with St. Augustine, 
 the trials and afflictions of the martyrs and confessors, the 
 struggles and self-denial of every upright soul, which speak to 
 us in the night of our own affliction and distress and tell us 
 that the loving kindness that delivered them can deliver us 
 also ; for The Lord's arm is not shortened, that it cannot save ; 
 neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear [2]. That night speaks 
 to us in no unintelligible voice : Look at the generations of 
 old and see : did ever any trust in the Lord and were con- 
 founded f [3] Or again, we may take it, with the Carmelite, 
 of the work of the Six Days and the Rest of the Seventh, 
 which we can compare with the Seven Gifts of the Spirit ; or, 
 (as St. Augustine truly says : " Some words of scripture have, 
 from their obscurity, this advantage, that they give rise to 
 many interpretations : had this been plain, you would have 
 heard some one thing ; but as it is, observe, you will hear 
 
 [i] Cf. St. Luke xii. 4. [2] Is. lix. I. [3] Eccles. ii. ir.
 
 n8 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 many"), it cannot be more beautifully taken than of the 
 seasons of the Church's year. Festival speaking to Festival, 
 Fast to Fast, the faithful soul by Advent prepared for Christ- 
 mas, by Lent for Easter, by the great Forty Days of Paschal 
 joys for the Descent of the Holy Ghost ; and by all these days 
 of transitory holiness, made ready for that Eternal Day, the 
 Festival which shall never be concluded [i]. 
 
 (3) Non sunt loquelce, neque There is neither speech nor 
 sermones, quorum non audi- language ; neither are their 
 dntur voces eorum. voices heard. 
 
 And we may take the verse in two senses : either no speech 
 or language among the nations of the earth to which these 
 voices did not go forth, which must be their sense if we 
 refer the clause to the Apostles ; or there is no real speech in 
 the preaching of the stars, and yet their language is intelligible 
 to all nations. An old Portuguese divine, referring to this 
 verse, says: "The most ancient preacher in the world is 
 the sky. If the sky be a preacher it must have sermons, and 
 it must have words. So it has, says David. And what are the 
 sermons and words of the sky ? The words are the stars : the 
 sermons their composition, order, harmony, and cause" [2]. 
 Then again, as a recent writer remarks, "God's Word sounds 
 silently in the heart. There is neither speech nor language ; 
 for, when the soul is alone with its Maker it is heart to heart, 
 and words are spoken that are beyond human utterance. But 
 the low, still voice is lost by worldliness and by too much 
 serving and solicitude that is beyond God's will." 
 
 (4) In omnem terram exivit Their sound hath gone forth 
 sonus eorum : et in finis orbis into all the earth : and their 
 
 errce verba eorum. words unto the ends of the 
 
 world. 
 
 The quotation of that text by St. Paul: But I say, have 
 they not heard ? Yes, verily, their sound went out into all 
 
 [i] "The Church on earth with answering love 
 
 Echoes her mother's joys above : 
 
 These yearly feast days she may keep, 
 
 And yet for endless festals weep." 
 
 Adam of St. Victor : Superna Matris gaudia. 
 [2] Vieira, Obras, vol. i. p. 40.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 119 
 
 the earth, and their words to the end of the world [i] is, as 
 is well noticed by Jansen, the bishop of Ghent [2], a sufficient 
 warrant for the explanation that would understand the Apostles 
 who were doers as well as hearers. And how did their sound 
 then go forth ? By the silent force of the example of a godly 
 life. The power of a simple, natural life of one seeking 
 God, with a single eye, is far greater than that of one who 
 deliberately sets out with the intention of edifying his neigh- 
 bours. He who so regulates his life, runs a great risk of 
 being but a tinkling cymbal and sounding brass. But he 
 who looks to God alone, and does his duty simply and natur- 
 ally, without pretence or posing, does really edify ; for deeds 
 speak louder than words, and example tells more than preach- 
 ing. Edification for edification's sake is the bane of the 
 spiritual life of some who neglect the liberty wherewith Christ 
 has made them free [3]. They have edified, as they are 
 pleased to call it, and the good repute of men is their reward. 
 
 (5) In sole pdsuit taber- In the sun He hath set His 
 
 ndculum suum : et ipse tarn- tabernacle : and He Himself 
 
 quam sponsus procedens de as a Bridegroom coming forth 
 
 thdlamo suo [4]. from His chamber. 
 
 In this and the following verse the Church has, from the 
 beginning, seen a marvellous type of the Incarnation. In the 
 sun He hath set His tabernacle. In the literal sense, of natural 
 objects, the sun is the best and clearest representation of the 
 
 [i] Rom. x. 18. 
 
 [2] Cornelius Jansen, Bishop of Ghent (1510-1576), must not be confounded with 
 bis namesake of Ypres. He wrote a Paraphrase on the Psalms (published 1514), with 
 valuable annotations. 
 [3] Gal. iv. 31. 
 
 [4] St. Ambrose, in his beautiful hymn, Vent Redemptor Gentium, thus makes 
 use of this verse : 
 
 " Forth from His Chamber goeth He, 
 The Royal Hall of Chastity, 
 In Nature two, in Person one, 
 His glad course, giant-like, to run. 
 
 From God the Father He proceeds, 
 To God the Father back He speeds ; 
 Proceeds as far as very Hell, 
 Speeds back to Life ineffable."
 
 120 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Creator. So the wise man in Ecclesiasticus : The sun when 
 it appeareth declareth at his rising a marvellous instrument, the 
 works of the most High [i]. In it many nations of the earth 
 have seen the image of the God they adore. But for us, 
 knowing that it shall pass away and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat [2], it is but God's tabernacle. The true 
 Sun is that which shall no more go down, when the Lord 
 shall be our everlasting Light and the days of our mourn- 
 ing shall be ended [3]. Then, in the mystical sense, the 
 sun and the tabernacle are the Lord's abiding in the Womb 
 of Mary ; and the writers do not fail to quote from Ecclesias- 
 ticus that text : As the sun when it ariseth in the high heavens 
 so is the beauty of a good wife in ordering her house [4]. The 
 sun is also the spotless soul of Mary shining with the splendour 
 of her pre-eminent redemption, a meet resting place for the 
 most High God, the tabernacle He Himself hath made holy [5]. 
 The tabernacle is the flesh of the Lord which was united for 
 ever to His Divinity. Or again, as they who go out to war 
 dwell not in houses or tents, so our Lord going forth to His 
 war with Satan dwelt in the tabernacle of His flesh while 
 He entered into the conflict with and when He overcame 
 His enemy. 
 
 As a Bridegroom cometh out of His chamber. And here 
 none can fail to see the Lord's entrance into the world from 
 the Womb of Mary. The Bridegroom, hereafter to be be- 
 trothed to the Church on the Cross, came forth, as it were, 
 in the morning of that day of which the sufferings of Calvary 
 were the evening. The Eternal Light, says St. John of 
 Damascus (c. 756), which, proceeding from the Co-eternal 
 Light, had His existence before all worlds, came forth bodily 
 from the Virgin Mary, as a Bridegroom from His chamber. [6], 
 
 (6) Exsultdvit ut gigas ad He rcjoiceth as a giant to 
 
 currendam mam, a summo run His course ; His going 
 coelo egressio ejus. forth is from the uttermost 
 
 heaven. 
 
 [l] xliii. 2. [4] xxvi. 21. 
 
 [2] 2 Peter Hi. 10. [5] Cf. Exod. xxix. 44. 
 
 [3] Is. Ix. 20. [6] Migne, P. L., vol. xcvi. p. 663.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 121 
 
 As a giant. The commentators go back for the full 
 solution of this mystery. For instance, St. Bernard reminds 
 us that it was from the union of the Sons of God with the 
 daughters of men [i] that those ancient giants sprang, who 
 may thus properly be called of twofold substance. It was 
 the two Natures of our Lord by which the work of our 
 salvation was accomplished. Thus the word giant in itself 
 sets forth to us the whole scheme of salvation. I see, says 
 St. Proclus of Constantinople, His miracles, and I confess 
 His Divinity : I behold His sufferings, and I cannot deny 
 His manhood. Emmanuel opened the gates of Nature as a 
 Man, but it was as God He left His mother ever a virgin. He 
 came forth from the womb of Mary as by a word He had 
 entered ; without human corruption did He come forth [2]. 
 St. Ambrose explains more fully the type of the giant. Him, 
 Holy David the prophet describes as a giant, because, being 
 One, yet He is double nature. He is both divine and human, 
 and like a Bridegroom coming forth out of His chamber, 
 rejoiceth as a giant to run His course. The Bridegroom of 
 the soul is the Word ; the Giant of the earth, because fulfilling 
 all the offices of Nature. Being God eternal He undertook 
 the Mystery of the Incarnation. 
 
 His going forth. The Divine Master says : / came forth 
 from the Father, and am come into the world : again, I leave 
 the world, and go to the Father [3] ; on which St. Gregory 
 the Great asks : Would you know the steps by which He 
 thus came ? From Heaven into the Womb ; from the 
 Womb to the Manger ; from the Manger to the Cross ; from 
 the Cross to the Grave ; from the Grave to Heaven. Behold, 
 to make us follow Him He took these steps, that we might 
 say from our very hearts, Draw me, we will run after thee [4]. 
 Compare the type of the giant with the description of the 
 Beloved : Behold He cometh leaping upon the mountains, 
 skipping upon the hills [5] ; the work of Redemption was far 
 beyond human strength, and needed a divine Giant to over- 
 come the mountains and hills which lay in His way. 
 
 [i] Gen. vi. 4. [4] Cant. i. 4. 
 
 [2! Migne, P. L., vol. Ixv. p. 691. [5] Ibid. ii. 8. 
 
 [3] John xvi. 28.
 
 122 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (7) Et occursus ejus usque And His course is to the end 
 ad summum Ejus : nee est qui thereof : neither is there any 
 se abscondat a calore Ejus. one who can hide from His 
 
 heat. 
 
 Carrying on in this verse the image of the sun, as the 
 dwelling place of God, or, in other words, of the Incarnation, 
 we see how beautifully the going forth and the course are 
 joined. He Whom we love has now gone up to heaven ; 
 therefore our hearts burn within us while thinking of the 
 glory which is His, and which is to be ours. No one is hid 
 from the heat of the Divine Sun, from that fire which He 
 came to kindle on the earth ; for His grace waits on every 
 soul. And the thought of our Eternal Home with Him tells us 
 that His Ascension belongs to us as well as to the angels [ij. 
 It is our joy as well as theirs ; for it is the opening of the 
 Father's House in which we look to find our mansion. 
 
 (8) Lex Domini immaculdta The Law of God is undefiled, 
 convertens dnimas : testimd- converting the soul : the testi- 
 nium Domini fidele, sapien- many of the Lord is sure, giving 
 tiam prcestans pdrvulis. wisdom to little ones. 
 
 (9) Justitice Domini rectce, The statutes of the Lord are 
 Icetificdntes corda : prceceptum right and rejoice the heart : 
 Domini lucidum : illuminans the precept of the Lord is light- 
 oculos. some and giving light to the 
 
 eyes. 
 
 (10) Timor Domini sanctus, The fear of the Lord is holy 
 permanens in sceculum sceculi : and cndureth for ever : the 
 judicia Domini vera, justifi- judgments of the Lord are true 
 cata in semetipsa. and righteous in themselves. 
 
 Christ is ascended into heaven, but His Law is left behind 
 as the guide and rule of the Church, even to the end. Now 
 there is a dead Law and a living Law. The letter killeth, but 
 the spirit quickeneth, saith St. Paul [2]. Then what is this 
 
 [l] " O common joy, O common boast, 
 
 To us and that celestial host ; 
 
 To them, that He regains the sky, 
 
 To us, that He to us is nigh." 
 
 Optatus votis omnium. 
 [2] 2 Cor. iii. 6.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 123 
 
 living Law ? It is the abiding Presence of the Holy Ghost ; 
 in the Church to teach, in the soul to sanctify. It is by 
 this Presence we know and can fulfil the Law. This Law, 
 the Gift of the Holy Ghost, then, is the mantle which fell from 
 our Elias when He went up on high, and which, if we hold 
 steadfastly, will divide for us the Jordan of temptation [i]. 
 Giving wisdom to the little ones, that is, says the Carthusian, 
 the humble, by submitting their intellect to the teaching of the 
 Holy Ghost, show in their deeds what they believe : / praise 
 Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because Thou hast 
 hidden these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed 
 them to little ones [2]. 
 
 Testimony properly belongs to things that are to be believed ; 
 Precept to what is to be done. And notice, says St. Bruno of 
 Aste, that the first character of Christ's Law is that it is un- 
 defiled : purity being put foremost as the foundation of all 
 the service of God, just as impurity occupies the first place in 
 almost every scriptural text of sin ; for, says Zigabenus (1125), 
 the greatest saints have taught more will be condemned at the 
 end of the world for more or less direct breaches of the sixth 
 commandment than all the other commandments put together. 
 Says St. Peter Damian : A certain simple-minded and honest 
 man, one that feared God, had been hearing Matins and was 
 returning from church. His disciples asked him, What did 
 you hear at church, father ? He answered, I heard four 
 things and observed six. A very subtle reply, and one which 
 showed his faith. He had heard four verses of this Psalm, 
 in which six things are noted : law, testimony, righteousness, 
 commandments, fear, judgment [3]. Now, observe the six- 
 fold division of these excellencies. Holy Scripture, as our 
 blessed Lord taught us in the wilderness, gives us weapons 
 of defence against temptation. But six is always the type 
 of temptation [4]. After purity, as so continually in script- 
 
 [i] 2 Kings ii. 13, 14. [2] Luke x. 21. 
 
 [3] Migne, P. L., vol. cxliv. p. 564. 
 
 [4] On the sixth hour of the sixth day the first temptation came into the world : 
 the sixth petition of the Lord's Prayer is, Lead us not into temptation : the sixth 
 blessing pronounced to the Seven Churches is : Because thou hast kept the word of my 
 patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation (Apoc. iii. 10), and the
 
 i2 4 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 ural lists of virtues, comes truth : The testimony of the Lord 
 is sure. Then, that which our Lord Himself made one of the 
 chief marks of His Gospel that it should be preached to the 
 poor is also mentioned here : Wisdom unto the little ones. 
 Notice further, the connection between purity (or lightsome- 
 ness) of heart and illumination : The commandment of the 
 Lord is lightsome and giveth light unto the eyes : exactly as in 
 the beatitude Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see 
 God [i]. Yet it must be confessed to be rather marvellous 
 that holy writers on this Psalm seem unable to trace the 
 especial connection between these six characteristics of the 
 Word of God and do not see in them a ladder set upon 
 earth and reaching to heaven. 
 
 Rejoicing the heart of those who through charity observe 
 them ; for virtuous living is a natural delight. 
 
 The precept of the Lord is lightsome, that is, clear and 
 appealing to our reason as a ray of divine justice and of 
 eternal light giving light to the eyes of the heart, that is, to the 
 intellect and the memory, lest they become steeped in the 
 darkness of error. 
 
 The fear of the Lord is holy, that is, the Fear which is the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost, the fear of sons : and remaining for 
 ever, for bestowed while we are on earth the gift remains in 
 heaven. There, at this moment, the human Soul of Jesus is 
 penetrated with the reverential fear of God by the abiding 
 Presence of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Righteous in themselves ; for not only do they come from 
 God, and therefore must be well ordered in themselves, but 
 as we are the objects of His judgments so we are bound 
 to acknowledge that these judgments are right and reasonable. 
 (u) Desiderabilia super More to be desired are they 
 
 aurum et Idpidem pretiosum than gold and much precious 
 multum, et dulciora super met stone, sweeter also than honey 
 etfavum. and the honeycomb. 
 
 In these three things some commentators see the chief 
 
 whole culminates in the 666, the mark of the Beast (Apoc. xii. 18), the most fearful 
 of the many tempters that shall ever rise up against the Church. 
 
 [i] Matt. v. 8.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 125 
 
 allurements of the world riches, in the gold, power in the 
 precious stones, pleasure in the honey. But, says St. John 
 Chrysostom, the flowers that produce this honey were fed 
 by no earthly dew ; the gentle distillations of the Holy Ghost 
 gave them not only their beauty, but their sweetness [ij. And 
 here notice how the Psalmist constantly uses honey in a good 
 sense, or as a type of holy things. For instances of the 
 opposite treatment : Ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey [2] 
 is the command of the Law ; It is not good to eat much 
 honey [3]. Perhaps, without being too minute, we may see in 
 the special reference to the honeycomb a connection between 
 the six-sided cell and the six-fold characteristics just men- 
 tioned of the Word of God. 
 
 (12) Etenim servus Tuus For Thy servant hath kept 
 custodit ea, in custodiendis illis them, in keeping them there is 
 retributio multa. much reward. 
 
 According to Gerohus, our thoughts are here to turn 
 to Him, the Servant of His Father, Who when tempted in 
 the desert drew from the same sacred Word a three-fold 
 quotation which put to flight the Devil in his three attempts. 
 Thy servant. Holy men have not feared to apply Well done, 
 good and faithful servant of the parable to our Lord Who came 
 to do the will of Him that sent Him; and Who had the praise 
 from the people, He hath done all things well [4]. In keeping of 
 them. Not for keeping of them, though that also ; but here 
 it is spoken of the promise of the Life that now is, rather than 
 that which is to come. It is the promise of the reward of 
 closer union with God which comes from a conscience without 
 a stain. 
 
 (13) Delicta quis intelligit ? Who can understand sins ? 
 Ab occultis meis munda me : et From my secret sins cleanse 
 ab alienis parce servo Tuo. me, and preserve Thy servant 
 
 from aliens. 
 
 Who, indeed, can fathom the depth of iniquity into which 
 he has fallen ? Who can estimate the baseness of his ingratitude 
 to God, his presumption, his selfishness ? Who can estimate 
 
 [i] Corder i. 364. [3] Prov. xxv.a;. 
 
 [2] Levit. ii. II. [4] Mark *" 37
 
 126 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the insult sin gives to God by depriving Him of the service 
 due from every creature ? Who can understand the awfulness 
 of the chastisement in store ? Or who can gauge the price 
 of forgiveness, or the value of the drops of the precious Blood ? 
 My secret faults. These commentators dwell on the tribunal 
 of penance in which we are ourselves the accusers and our- 
 selves the culprits ; where we proclaim the most hidden thoughts 
 of our hearts in order that hereafter the Eternal Judge may 
 not say, Thou didst it secretly, but I will proclaim it before 
 all Israel and before this Sun [i]. 
 
 Cleanse me, however bitter the medicine, however full of 
 shame the confession. From aliens, that is, from others who 
 see their own interests and not ours. So from the devil and 
 other enemies of our salvation who seek to drag us into their 
 own state of banishment from our true country. St. Bruno 
 distinguishes two kinds of sins : the secret sins, which arise 
 in us from original sin and from our own sinful nature ; and 
 the sins of others, the suggestions of bad spirits or of bad 
 companions external to the soul. 
 
 (14) Si mei non fuerint If they get not dominion 
 
 domindti, tune immaculdtus over me then shall I be unde- 
 
 ero : et emunddbor a delicto filed, and shall be cleansed 
 
 mdximo. from the great offence. 
 
 The terrible word dominion recalls the chain of sin, which, 
 link by link, binds the soul, until one day it surely ends, if 
 we repent not, in the great offence, that unforgiven sin, the sin 
 against the Holy Ghost final impenitence : Woe to them when 
 I shall depart from them [2]. This is the second Death [3]. 
 
 (15) Et erunt ut compldceant And the words of my mouth 
 eloquia oris mei : et meditdtio will be pleasing : and the 
 cordis mei in consplctu Tuo meditation of my heart always 
 semper. in Thy sight. 
 
 (16) Domine, adjutor meus, Lord my Helper and my 
 et redemptor meus. Redeemer ! 
 
 He begins with the fruit, the words of my mouth and goes 
 down to the root, the meditation of my heatt. It is singular 
 
 [i] 2 Kings xii. 12. [2] Osee ix. 12. [3] Apoc. xx. 14.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 127 
 
 that as this connection between the words and the thought 
 follow in the Psalm the mention of the great offence, so that 
 of the tree and its fruit [i] immediately succeeds in the 
 Gospel to that saying concerning blasphemy against the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 Always in Thy sight. If we lead a stainless life then our 
 thoughts are never far away from God's Presence. 
 
 So the Psalm ends. It began by telling how the heavens 
 declare the glory of God ; it ends by telling how we should 
 make known that glory. It began by recalling the perpetual 
 succession of days and nights, with their ceaseless showing 
 forth of God's praises ; it ends with the prayer that our suppli- 
 cations may be always pleasing before Him Who is our Helper, 
 now that He has made us His Own, as He was our Redeemer 
 when we were far off. Our Helper to enable us to reach the 
 Land flowing with milk and honey ; our Redeemer from the 
 land of Egypt and from the house of bondage. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father from Whom was the going forth of 
 the Son ; and to the Son Who cometh forth as a Bridegroom 
 out of His chamber ; and to the Holy Ghost the Spiritual 
 heat from which nothing is hid. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Ante torum hujus Virginis Before the Maiden's conch 
 
 frequentdte nobis dulcia can- repeat to us the sweet songs of 
 tica dramatis. the play. 
 
 Under the guise of a nuptial song, Solomon, in the Canticle 
 of Canticles, sings of the spiritual espousals between Jesus 
 Christ and the soul, between the Head and the Members of 
 the Mystical Body. The Canticle is laid out in the form of a 
 drama between the Beloved and the Spouse ; and it is this 
 which seems to be the play referred to in the Antiphon. The 
 sweet songs would be those the Beloved sings to His Spouse, 
 such as : Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, 
 the winter is past, the rain is over and gone : the flowers have 
 
 [i] Luke vi. 44.
 
 128 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 appeared on earth . . . Behold thou art all fair, my love ; 
 there is no spot in thee [i]. As our Lady is the highest of all 
 creatures and the one who has been brought into closer union 
 with her Maker than any one else, these sweet songs of the play 
 apply to her in a more perfect way than to others. Holy 
 Church has always delighted so to apply them and to draw out 
 their appropriateness to her who is fairest among the daughters 
 of men. The antiphon also accentuates the idea which seems 
 to pervade this nocturn, viz., God's design towards Mary, 
 the work of His hands, the sharer, by compassion, in the 
 Redemption, the type of union of the Creature with the Maker. 
 
 PSALM XXIII. 
 
 Title : The First of the Sabbath, a Psalm of David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi. That Christ sets the Church redeemed by His 
 Blood above the waves of the sea. The voice of the 
 Church after baptism. Concerning the beginning of the 
 Church in which the princes of idols are excluded, and the 
 kings of the same Church enter therein, and of the confirma- 
 tion of the believing people. The gates of which he speaks 
 are sins, or the gates of hell. 
 
 Venerable Bede. The first of the Sabbath signifies the 
 Lord's Day, which is the first day after the Sabbath, on which 
 day the Lord arose from the dead. And because the whole 
 Psalm is sung after the Resurrection, therefore this title is well 
 fitted to admonish the hearts of the faithful. After the Resur- 
 rection of the Lord the Prophet becomes more joyful ; 
 addresses the human race then labouring with various super- 
 stitions ; defining in the first part that the whole of the 
 universe is the Lord's and, as no one was excepted from His 
 empire, so none should believe anything opposed to His faith. 
 In the second place, he determines with what virtues they 
 are endued who are set in His Church. Thirdly, he speaks 
 lovingly to the heathen, that turning to the service of the true 
 God they depart from their harmful perversity. 
 
 [i] Cant. ii. 10; iv. 7.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 129 
 
 (i) Domini est terra, et pleni- The earth is the Lord 1 sand 
 
 tudo ejus : orbis terrarum, et the fulness thereof : the com- 
 universi qui habitant in eo. pass of the world and all that 
 
 dwell therein. 
 
 Whether or not this psalm was composed, as is probable, 
 for the feast of bringing up the Ark from the house of Obed 
 Edom to Mount Sion, at all events it was appropriated by the 
 Jews to the first day of the week, and for many centuries has 
 been used by the Church in the Sunday matins. St. Paul 
 uses this verse to settle the controversy regarding meat offered 
 to idols [i], which, like everything else, belongs to God, and 
 could not really be affected by its pretended dedication to the 
 idols that are nothing in the world. It is used in a very beauti- 
 ful sense by the Greeks in the funeral service at the moment 
 when the coffin is let down into the grave, that is, of the multi- 
 tude of the bodies of the faithful who there are awaiting His 
 Second Coming ; Innocent III. made use of it as an argument 
 for the paying of tithes ; as if it were not much for man to 
 return the tenth of that which belongs to God entirely. 
 
 And all that is therein. Notice the difference between the 
 blessing of Jacob and Esau, which at first sight seems precisely 
 the same. God, says Isaac to Jacob, give thee of the dew of 
 heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of corn and 
 wine [2] ; while that of Esau was : Behold thy dwelling shall 
 be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. 
 [3], The difference consists in this : in one, heaven is put 
 first, as imparting a true benediction to earth ; in the other 
 it is mentioned last, as having no real lot or portion in the 
 matter. Origen observes that till the time of our Lord's 
 Advent the earth's fulness was not as yet ; as it is written : 
 Of His fulness have we all received [4]. 
 
 The compass of the world, or the round world as it is called 
 in another psalm. Albert the Great remarks that this 
 shows that the Church is not now, as of old, confined to 
 one land and to one nation, but spread abroad over the 
 whole face of the earth. The earth is the Lord's. And yet, 
 
 [i] i Cor. x. 26. [3] Ibid. 39. 
 
 [2] Gen. xxvii. 28. [4] John i. 16.
 
 130 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 says Gerohus, the devil, the father of lies, ventured to say 
 to its rightful owner : All this will I give Thee and the glory of 
 it, for that is delivered unto me and unto whomsoever I will give 
 it [i]. Be, then, says the commentator, like Him Who did 
 not say in return: The earth is Mine and the fulness thereof! 
 and not like the great dragon, which said : My river is mine 
 own and I made it for myself [2]. And notice the different 
 way in which our Lord met two false claims of possession, 
 Satan's and Pilate's. Satan's boast This is mine was only 
 answered by a dismissal : Get thee hence, Satan. Pilate's 
 speech Knowest Thou not that I have power? was met with 
 an argument : Thou couldst have no power at all against Me 
 except it were given thee [3]. Satan, to whom no place was 
 left for repentance, was not thought worthy of a reply ; Pilate, 
 who might yet have been saved, was. The earth is the Lord's, 
 and therefore it was well and wisely ordered that, just before 
 her Lord and Possessor came to visit her, There went out 
 a decree from Ccesar Augustus that all the world should be 
 taxed [4]. 
 
 (2) Quia Ipse super mdria For He hath founded it 
 
 funddvit eum : et super flu- upon the seas and prepared it 
 mina prcepardv it eum. upon the floods. 
 
 The literal sense of this verse is much disputed, but two 
 explanations stand prominent above the rest. The one, St. 
 Augustine's, is that since, by the Lord's command, the waters 
 were gathered together in one place, in order that the dry 
 land might appear, so, in a certain sense, the earth may be 
 said to be formed by, or founded upon, this gathering together 
 of the waters. The other explanation, which the Greek fathers 
 adopt, is that of. the earth being founded on, or fashioned by, 
 the admixture of water, without which they say it would 
 become dust and crumble away. But in the mystical sense, 
 the seas may be taken for troubles and temptations, in which 
 the earth, that is, the Church dispersed throughout the world, 
 is founded ; while the floods signify the effusion of God's 
 grace, by which also She is established. The bitter water 
 
 [i] Luke iv. 6. [3] John xix. 10, II. 
 
 [2] Ezek. xxix. 3. [4] Luke ii. I.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 131 
 
 and the sweet water, says Albert the Great, are both equally 
 necessary for her : The waves of the sea that are mighty and 
 rage horribly [i] on the one side ; the rivers of the flood 
 that make glad the City of God [2] on the other. St. 
 Ambrose understands both the seas and the floods of one 
 and the same thing, namely, tribulation. In tribulation, says 
 he, the Church is founded, in tempests and storms, in anxieties 
 and griefs ; and it is prepared in the floods of adversities. 
 
 (3) Quis ascendet in mon- Who shall ascend unto the 
 
 tern Domini ? aut quis stabit hill of the Lord f and who 
 in loco sancto Ejus f shall stand in His holy place f 
 
 It is, says Gerohus, as if we, yet tossed about by the waves 
 and storms of this world, these waves in which the Church is 
 founded, were asking the way to that Mountain of heavenly 
 peace, whither our Lord has already ascended as of old time, 
 to pray for us. It is the same thing that is written : Come ye 
 and let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, to the House 
 of the God of Jacob [3]. Many will say, let us go up, but 
 here the prophets ask : who, of all that number, shall ascend ? 
 seeing that many are called but few are chosen [4]. And 
 having gone up, who shall stand in that holy place ? But the 
 interpretations of this hill are endless. Some take it for the 
 Church militant ; some the Church triumphant ; some under- 
 stand it of Christ Himself, in which they are authorised by 
 that prophecy of Daniel when Nebuchodonosor beheld the 
 stone cut out without hands which became a great mountain 
 and filled the whole earth [5]. Others, strangely enough, 
 explain it of Satan ; some of the state of perfection ; and 
 some of the Cross. But the explanation which sees in it 
 the heavenly mountain the mount of God, the rich mountain 
 [6], Mount Sion, the City of the Living God, the heavenly 
 Jerusalem [7], as the Apostle writes, is by far the best and the 
 truest. And no doubt there is an allusion to those mountains 
 into which Moses, Lot, Aaron and Elias were commanded by 
 God to go. 
 
 [i] Ps. xciii. 3. [4] Matt. xx. 16. 
 
 [2] Cf. Ps. xlv. 4. [5] Dan. ii. 34. 
 
 [3] Isa. ii. 3. [6] Ps. Ixvii. 15. 
 
 [7] Heb. xii. 22.
 
 132 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (4) Innocens mdnibus et Even he that hath clean 
 
 mundo corde, qui non accepit hands and a pure heart, that 
 in vano dnimam suam, nee hath not lifted up his mind to 
 jurdvit in dolo proximo suo. vanity nor sworn to deceive his 
 
 neighbour. 
 
 Now we come to the four conditions requisite to render 
 such an ascent possible : (i) He that hath clean hands absti- 
 nence from evil-doing ; (2) and a pure heart abstinence from 
 evil thought ; (3) that hath not lifted up his mind to vanity 
 who does that duty he is sent into the world to do : Fear 
 God and keep His commandments, for this is all man [i] ; 
 (4) nor sworn to deceive and remember the vows by which 
 he is bound to God. Father Lorin remarks, that as in the 
 fullest sense there was but One in Whom all these things were 
 fulfilled, so, in reply to the question : Who shall ascend unto 
 the hill of the Lord, he might well answer : No man hath 
 ascended up into heaven save He that came down from heaven, 
 even the Son of Man Who is in heaven [2]. Therefore it is well 
 written, says St. Bernard, that such a high priest became us ; 
 because He knows the difficulties of the ascent to the heavenly 
 mountain. He knows the weakness of us that have to ascend. 
 
 He that hath clean hands. So clean that they cleansed the 
 leprosy ; so clean that they not only healed all manner of 
 sickness and all manner of disease, but were stretched out to 
 pardon sin ; so clean that the streams which poured from 
 them on the Cross are to the cleansing of all evil deeds till 
 the world's end. Thus Gerohus. 
 
 And a pure heart. Who, says St. Bernard, can conceive, 
 much more express, the purity of that shrine, that Heart, 
 where purity strove with love, which should have the pre- 
 eminence, in a most sweet and tender contest never to be 
 decided ; that Heart, which, being opened by the spear, gave 
 access to all guilty, all polluted creatures ; offered a hiding- 
 place in the Rock from the anger that consumed a corrupted 
 world. 
 
 That hath not lifted up his mind to vanity. No, for being 
 in the form of God, and thinking it not robbery to be equal with 
 
 [i] Eccle. xii. 13. [2] John iii. 13.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 133 
 
 God [i], He yet made Himself a worm and no man [2]. Nor 
 sworn to deceive his neighbour. That promise to redeem man, 
 that declaration that the Woman should bruise the serpent's 
 head [3] was, as St. Paul says, a faithful saying and worthy 
 of all acceptation. And therefore that by two immutable things, 
 in which it was impossible that God should lie, we may have 
 strong consolation [4]. 
 
 (5) Hie accipiet benedictio- He shall receive the blessing 
 
 ncm a Domino : et misericor- from the Lord : and mercy 
 diam a Deo salutdri suo. from the God of his salvation. 
 
 Whether like Abraham entertaining angels unawares, or 
 like miserable Lazarus, carried by the same angels into 
 Abraham's bosom, he shall receive the blessing from the Lord, 
 and righteousness, that is, love and mercy, so called, because 
 faithfully promised, and therefore righteously bestowed. So 
 Gerohus. 
 
 Of his salvation. And notice here, again, the appro- 
 priating pronoun ; the God of the salvation of all men is 
 spoken of as the God of his salvation only who is thus blessed. 
 Thus Father Lorin. 
 
 Mercy. And yet St. Augustine, commenting on such 
 passages as this and those others which the Lord, the righteous 
 Judge, shall give in that day [5], That they may have a right to 
 the Tree of Life [6], and the like, says beautifully : He, O Lord, 
 that enumerates to Thee his true merits, what else does he 
 count up but Thy gifts ? And in another place : When God 
 crowns our own merits He only crowns His own gifts. Yet 
 it is better to see in this and the following verse the connec- 
 tion of the Head with the members, of the Captain with His 
 soldiers, of the King with His people. He, that is, our Lord 
 and Saviour, shall receive the blessing ; and not only He but 
 faithful people with Him ; for it is written : 
 
 (6) Hcec est generdtio quce- This is the generation of them 
 
 rentium Eum, qucerentium that seek Him, of them that seek 
 fdciem Dei Jacob. the face of the God of Jacob. 
 
 [i] Phil. ii. 6. [4] Heb. vi. 18. 
 
 [2] Ps. xxi. 7. [5] 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
 
 [3] Gen. iii. 15. [6] Apoc. xxii. 14.
 
 134 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Because this mountain is so difficult to climb, because this 
 Law of God is so hard for unaided nature to keep, therefore it 
 might well be thought that only two or three in an age, nay, 
 perhaps only He Who is righteous, had been able to ascend it. 
 This verse, Albert the Great remarks, shows how mistaken 
 such an idea is. St. Bernard distinguishes these generations : 
 The first, those who remain yet unbaptised, who neither seek 
 nor are sought by God ; the second, those who are sought by 
 God in baptismal regeneration, but who seek Him not because 
 not crucifying and utterly abolishing the whole body of sin ; 
 the third, those who both seek and are sought, having been 
 found by Him in baptism, and finding Him every day in 
 earnest prayer and holy life ; the fourth, those who seek Him 
 in a more special sense as having entirely given themselves up 
 to Him in the religious life. 
 
 That seek the face of the God of Jacob. He Whom we seek is 
 called the God of Jacob to signify that we also must struggle 
 and wrestle as did that patriarch until the breaking of the day 
 [i], if we would attain Him ; according to Jacob's words : 
 I will not let Thee go till Thou hast blessed me [2] ; which lesson 
 in earnestness of prayer is also taught by the double repeti- 
 tion : Them that seek Him ; even of them that seek the face of 
 the God of Jacob. On which says Venerable Bede : That seek 
 Thy face ! But what shall it be when the seeking shall have 
 passed and the finding shall have begun ? When we shall not 
 only behold the goodly pearl, but, having sold all we had, merit 
 to purchase it ; when the time of prayer is over and that of 
 praise shall have begun [3]. 
 
 (7) Attollite portas principes Lif tup your gates ye princes 
 
 vestras et 6levdmini portce ceter- and be ye lift up ye everlasting 
 ndles : et introibit Rex gldrice. doors ; and the King of Glory 
 
 shall come in. 
 
 [l] Gen. xxxii. 24. [2] Ibid. \. 26. 
 
 [3] St. Bernard says : 
 
 " Jesu, the hope of souls forlorn, 
 How good to them for sin that mourn ! 
 To them that seek Thee O how kind, 
 But what art Thou to them that find ? " 
 
 jfesu dulcis memoria.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 135 
 
 There are six principal meanings of this verse. The first 
 applies to Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm 
 Sunday after His many wanderings, even as the Ark finally 
 rested on Mount Sion. The second, adopted by St. Gregory 
 the Great, refers it to our Lord's descent into hell, His bursting 
 the gates of brass, and smiting the bars of iron in sunder [i]. 
 St. Epiphanius (536) has, in one of his sermons, a magnificent 
 passage in which he represents our Lord attended by an army 
 of angels, Michael and Gabriel in the fore-ranks, demanding 
 admission at hell-gate, bursting open the unwilling doors, 
 tearing them from their hinges, casting them forth into the 
 abyss, commanding that they shall never be raised any 
 more. Christ, he exclaims, Christ the Door is present ; unto 
 God the Lord belong the issues of death [2]. The third 
 signification would see in this verse the exclamation of the 
 angels attending our ascending Lord. O faith, exclaims 
 Gerohus, O eternal gate by whose present vision thou art 
 perfected and exalted ! And thou, O hope of the elect, which 
 fixed on eternal blessings canst never disappoint, now exult, 
 now rejoice, for lo, the King of Glory is about to enter in, to 
 disappoint His servants of no part of the blessings which have 
 been promised by thee. The fourth meaning, St. Augustine's, 
 is that the princes are the kings of the world who are called, 
 by accepting the Gospel, to permit the King of Glory to enter 
 into their several territories. This would give to the verse the 
 idea of a prayer for the Propagation of the Faith that the earth 
 which is the Lord's might be His by faith, hope, and charity. 
 The fifth meaning sees in the verse a prophecy of the Incar- 
 nation ; and on this account it forms the offertory in the 
 Mass for the Vigil of Christmas. This sense is adopted by 
 St. Jerome, though here also he would find a spiritual reference 
 to the virtual opening of the gates of heaven by the fact of our 
 Lord taking flesh. The sixth interpretation is in this wise : 
 Ye who were once the sharers of sin, but are now not only 
 free, but princes, as gods, kings, and priests, lift up your gates, 
 removing the barriers which sin puts between you and God, 
 and those once gone be ye lifted up ye everlasting doors of 
 
 [i] Isaias xlv. 2. [2] Migne, P. L., xliii. p. 458 (Inter dubia).
 
 136 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 virtue and holiness which cannot pass away, and then the 
 King of Glory shall enter His palace of the believing soul. So 
 St. Bruno, and Richard Rolle [i], after Origen. 
 
 (8) Quis est Iste rex glories ? Who is this King of Glory ? 
 
 Dominus fortis et potens : D6- The Lord strong and mighty ; 
 minus potens in prcelio. the Lord mighty in battle. 
 
 The explanation of this must, of course, depend on the 
 meaning we have attached to the previous verse. If that 
 demand was addressed to the spirits of darkness, then the 
 attendant angels may well speak of the victories won by the 
 Lord in former days ; now for His people Israel when He 
 overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea ; when the 
 walls of Jericho fell down at the blast of the trumpet ; when 
 the seven nations were cast out before the chosen tribes ; the 
 victories over their enemies from the possession of the Holy 
 Land till the overthrow of Antiochus. If we see in the demand 
 the voice of the triumphant angels at the Ascension, well may 
 they speak of the Lord mighty in battle, when Satan and all his 
 hosts, when sin, and death, and hell have first been utterly 
 routed. The words of Vieira are well worth notice : When 
 Christ ascended in triumph to heaven the angels who accom- 
 panied Him said to those who kept guard : Lift up, ye 
 Princes, your gates, and the King of Glory shall come in. They 
 think the term strange ; and before opening the portal they 
 enquire : Who is the King of Glory ? To the one and for the 
 other band St. Augustine replies with these noble words : 
 The heavenly spirits beheld Christ all glorious with His 
 wounds ; and bursting into admiration at those glittering 
 standards of divine virtue, they poured forth the hymn, Who 
 is this King of Glory ? Wonderful saying ! Christ our Lord 
 in the day of His Ascension went arrayed with glorious gifts 
 like the blessed One that He was ; but the angels call Him 
 not the King of Glory because they saw Him glorious, but 
 because they saw Him wounded. Far greater glory for Christ 
 and for the angels were those marks of His passion than the 
 endowments of His blessedness. Or again, if we refer the 
 
 [i] Richard Rolle of Hampoole (1290-1349) was a Yorkshire hermit and mystical 
 writer of great piety. He is sometimes called the English Bonaventura.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 137 
 
 former verse to the Annunciation, the question here is only 
 that of our ever dear and blessed Lady. Who is the King of 
 Glory? And herein we adore with her the greatness of His love, 
 that the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle, did 
 not abhor the Virgin's Womb and vouchsafed to dwell there 
 till her days were accomplished [i]. 
 
 (9) AttGlite portas principes Lift up, ye princes, your 
 vestras, et elevdmini portce gates, and be ye lifted up ye 
 ceterndles : et introibit : Rex everlasting doors, and the King 
 glorice. of Glory shall come in. 
 
 (10) Quisestlste rex Glorice f Who is the King of Glory f 
 Dominus Virtutum : Ipse est Even the Lord of Hosts, He is 
 Rex glorice. the King of Glory. 
 
 Only one observation remains upon the repeated demand 
 and reply. In the first, according to St. Augustine, the 
 Lord victorious over the grave, was ascending into heaven 
 alone, so far as human nature was concerned ; alone, so far 
 as regards His faithful servants, bearing the burthen and heat 
 of the day, while He was entering into rest. But now in this 
 verse we look forward to the end of the world. And behold, 
 He reascends, not now by Himself, but with all the multitude 
 of the Redeemed, with all His saints from the beginning 
 of the world to the last whose name is written in the Book of 
 Life. Fitting, then, is the reply to the first question, The Lord 
 strong and mighty ; for what greater proof of might than the 
 overthrow of death and hell ? And with equal force the 
 second reply is, The Lord of Hosts. For not as a single warrior 
 in triumph does He come, but as a mighty Chief, followed by 
 the throng of His victorious soldiers. And may the Lord of 
 Hosts, so an old preacher concludes a sermon on this subject, 
 the true David, the Victor over the spiritual Goliath, the 
 Founder of the everlasting City and Mount Sion, be to us the 
 pacific Solomon, the Lord, yet in another sense of Hosts, and 
 introduce us one day into that Land where Juda and Israel 
 shall be in multitude as many as the sand which is by the sea, 
 eating and drinking and making merry [2]. 
 
 [i] Luke ii. 6. (2) Cf. I Kings iv. 20.
 
 138 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Whose is the earth and all that is 
 therein ; and to the Son, the King of Glory ; and to the Holy 
 Ghost the Righteousness of the God of our salvation. 
 
 VERSICLE AND RESPONSE. 
 y. Diffusa est gratia in Idbiis Grace is poured forth on 
 
 tuis. thy lips. 
 
 ty. Propterea bcnedixit te Wherefore hath God blessed 
 
 Deus in ceternum. thee for ever. 
 
 This versicle is taken from the following psalm. Applied 
 here to our ever dear and blessed Lady, it turns back our 
 thoughts to the Annunciation, to that grace on her lips 
 which showed itself in that wonderful casting of herself at 
 the feet of her Maker, and abandoning herself entirely to His 
 will : Behold the handmaid of the Lord : be it done unto me 
 according to Thy word [i]. This was the grace of God, His 
 mighty favour that chose her to be His mother. With this 
 choice she had nothing to do ; but when the hour came, 
 grace was poured forth on her lips to enlighten her intellect 
 and assist her will to make the voluntary act of submission. 
 It was by this willing consent that she merited that He should 
 bless her for ever. In the three preceding psalms we have 
 had suggested to us, Mary, the work of God's hands, crowned 
 with glory and honour, sanctified as the divine tabernacle, 
 pure and clean of heart receiving blessings from God, her 
 salvation ; or, in other words, our ever dear and blessed Lady 
 as Daughter of God the Father, Mother of God the Son, and 
 Spouse of the Holy Ghost. And now the Versicle and 
 Response come to tell us the reason of it all was her full 
 consent, foreseen from all ages, to be the Mother of the Word 
 made flesh. 
 
 SECOND NOCTURN. 
 For Tuesdays and Fridays. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Specie tua et pulchritudine In thy comeliness and thy 
 
 tua intende, prospere procede, beauty go fotward, fare pros- 
 et regna. perously and reign. 
 
 [i] Luke i. 38.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 139 
 
 The original idea of the Antiphon was the selection of 
 some one verse of the psalm to give a meaning to the whole. 
 And we have here a very perfect example. The Antiphon 
 fixes for us the idea of the glory and majesty of the Heavenly 
 Bridegroom, The King in all His beauty [i], and the reflected 
 glory which the Spouse hath, even as the moon reflects the 
 splendours of the sun. Our ever dear and blessed Lady is the 
 type and model of all spouses to God ; she alone is all fair, 
 and without the slightest stain. Therefore this psalm is 
 rightfully applied to the mystical union between God and 
 Mary and the relation which results to each one of the Blessed 
 Trinity. 
 
 PSALM XLIV. [2] 
 
 Title : To the end : for them that shall be changed : for the 
 sons of Core, to understanding. A Song for the Beloved. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, fairer in form than the children 
 of men, joined by God the Father to the Church, is to be 
 blessed. The Church is described as the Bride of Christ. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The prophet filled with heavenly meats, 
 promiseth that he will announce the tidings of the Lord's 
 Incarnation, that whence he himself was satiate, others might 
 also be fed. The first part contains the praise of the Bride- 
 groom, that is, of the Lord our Saviour ; in the second part, 
 the Bride, Holy Church, is praised for a like number of 
 mystical virtues. 
 
 [l] Isaias xxxiii. 17. 
 
 [2] This psalm is a marriage song celebrating the espousals of Solomon, the 
 King of Peace, with the Queen of the South. Some of its old titles are suggestive of 
 the same idea, such as, "A Song for the Beloved," and " Upon the Lilies." In a 
 psalm that speaks of the glory of the Virgin Church, of the glorious Queen of Virgins 
 "that be her fellows," the allusion to the Lilies among which the Beloved of the 
 Canticles feeds (ii. 16) is exquisitely beautiful. 
 
 " Among the lilies dost Thou feed 
 With virgin choirs accompanied 
 With glory decked, the spotless brides 
 Whose bridal gifts Thy love provides." 
 
 Hymn : fesu, corona virginum.
 
 140 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (1) Eructavit cor Meum My heart bursteth forth the 
 Verbum bonum : dic6 ego opera Good Word : I tell my works 
 Mea Regi. to the King. 
 
 (2) Lingua Mea columns My tongue is the pen of a 
 scribce, velociter scribentis. ready writer. 
 
 This is the introduction of the psalm, My heart bursteth 
 forth, as though it could no longer contain the thoughts that 
 fill it ; Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh [i]. 
 The good word. What can this good word be but the 
 Eternal Word Himself, Whose espousals are going to be 
 celebrated ? That same efficacious Word that spake and 
 it was made ; that commanded and it stood forth ; that 
 Word that was in the beginning, and was with God, and 
 was God. 
 
 I tell my works to the King. And so the Father tells all 
 the secrets of His Own eternity to that King anointed by 
 Him upon the holy hill of Sion ; tells Him the plan of 
 man's Redemption ; lays out before Him the mystery of 
 Death destroyed by Death, and the Tree atoned for by 
 the Tree. And do thou, in another sense, says St. Augustine, 
 tell thy works also to the King that suffered for thee on the 
 Cross ; thy works of weakness to the King Omnipotent, thy 
 works that have any sweet savour of His grace in them to the 
 King that will unite them to His Own Royal merits, and plead 
 these merits for thine. 
 
 My tongue is as the pen of a ready writer. Just as the 
 tongue when it speaks must part between the two lips, so 
 the prophetic tongue speaks under the guidance of the Two 
 Testaments. Mediaeval commentators are rich in their refer- 
 ence to these two portions of Holy Scripture. The two 
 points of a pen that form any one letter reminds them of 
 that verse : The Lord spoke once and these two things have we 
 heard [2] ; of the rod and the staff of which David sings ; 
 of the ladder of Jacob with its two uprights and many 
 rundles ; of the tongs of Isaias, which between them held 
 the burning coal. And again, in the double split of the pen 
 they see the Divine and Human natures of our Lord : the ink 
 
 Matt. xii. 34. [2] Ps. Ixi. 12.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 141 
 
 is the Blood of Calvary ; the pen, expressing the meaning of 
 the holder, sets forth Him Who is the express Image of the 
 Father and renders Him visible to mortal eyes ; and a faultless 
 pen, too, writing so quickly, so clearly, without blots or 
 erasures, because working under the guidance of the Holy 
 Ghost. As Theodoret (458) says : Of the Psalms the Holy 
 Ghost is author of all; and the tongues of those by whom 
 they were set down were the ready writers of what He uttereth 
 and spake unto them [i]. 
 
 (3) Speciosus forma prce Thou art fairer than the 
 
 filiis hominum, diffusa est children of men. Grace is 
 gratia in labiis Tuis : pro- poured forth from Thy lips : 
 pterea benedixit Te Dens in therefore God hath blessed 
 ceternum. Thee for ever. 
 
 Most of the Eastern commentators, such as St. Athanasius, 
 St. Cyril of Alexander, &c., deny that the Incarnate Word 
 possessed human beauty, and based their teaching on the 
 words of Isaias : He hath no form nor comeliness, and when we 
 shall see Him there is no beauty that we should desire Him [2]. 
 But these words surely refer to the disfigurements and sorrows 
 of the Passion. The more general opinion of the Western 
 Doctors is that of this Son of David also is that saying true : 
 In all Israel there was none so much to be praised for His beauty : 
 from the sole of His feet even to the crown of His head there was 
 no blemish in Him [3], This is the general tradition of the 
 Church and the almost universal teaching of Christian art. 
 St. Bernard, in many and many a passage, tells us of the 
 exquisite beauty of our Lord's humanity. St. Anselm expressly 
 blames a certain vision for denying it. St. Isidore breaks forth 
 with a rapture of admiration at the earthly glory of the 
 Incarnate Word ; and the Angelical seems to claim such a 
 belief as certain. But His human beauty had nothing of 
 mere sensual loveliness. It was in truth the outward reflec- 
 tion of the majestic soul within. There must have been a 
 sweetness and a tenderness, a gentleness, and yet a power, about 
 that Divine Face which could attract so many different people, 
 
 [l] Interpretatio in Psalmos, see Migne, P. L., Ixxx. 
 [2] Isaias liii. 2. [3] 2 Kings xiv. 25.
 
 142 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the little children, the workmen, the rich and learned [i]. 
 But how that face altered ! Towards the end of that weary 
 three years and a half of public ministry His face was 
 marred by toil and exposure ; and when, in the Passion, it 
 had been smitten by the soldiers, and spat upon ; when that 
 Divine Head had been crowned with thorns and brought into 
 the dust of death, then was Isaias' prophecy made true : There 
 is no beauty that we should desire Him [2]. The sweet face of 
 the Babe of Bethlehem was lost in the pallor of the death- 
 stricken Victim. 
 
 Grace is poured forth on Thy lips, says the Bride : The lips 
 of my Spouse drop as the honey-comb : honey and milk are under 
 Thy tongue [3]. Blessed lips, indeed, that spake as never man 
 spake ; that said to the poor man sick of the palsy, Thy sins 
 are forgiven thee [4] ; that comforted the woman taken in 
 adultery with the assurance, Neither do I condemn thee [5] ; 
 that on the evening of the Day of Sorrow showed to the 
 longing eyes of Man that home whence he had been banished, 
 saying, This day thou shall be with Me in Paradise [6] ; that 
 by one word made Himself known to her that loved much, 
 Mary [7] ; that first gave a blessing to the little band of 
 Apostles ere they said aught further : Peace be unto you [8]. 
 But to us how full of grace if those lips shall one day, after 
 all our falls, in spite of all our sins, notwithstanding all our 
 wanderings, bid us Come ye blessed of My Father [9]. 
 
 Therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever ; that eternal bene- 
 diction which belongs essentially to the Co-eternal Word, and 
 that which as Man He merited by doing His Father's will 
 according to the words of the Prophet : He shall see the travail 
 of His soul, and shall be satisfied ; by His knowledge shall My 
 righteous servant justify many : and He shall bear their iniqui- 
 ties. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and 
 He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He hath poured 
 out His soul unto death [10]. 
 
 [i] The one type of the face of our Lord, which has been so universally received, 
 must have had some real foundation. 
 
 [2] liii. 2. [5] John viii. II. [8] Ibid. 19. 
 
 [3] Cant. iv. n. [6] Luke xxiii. 43. [9] Matt. xxv. 34. 
 
 [4] Matt. ix. 2. [7] John xx. 16. [10] Isaias liii. II, 12.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 143 
 
 (4) Accingere glddio Tuo Gird Thee with Thy sword 
 super femur Tuum, Poten- upon Thy thigh Thou most 
 tissime. mighty. 
 
 (5) Specie Tua et pulchri- In Thy comeliness and Thy 
 tudine Tua intende, prdspere beauty go forward, fare pros- 
 Procede et regna. perously and reign. 
 
 The Psalmist having in a rapture of holiness unveiled the 
 King of Kings as He is in His Own eternity, now proceeds to 
 arm Him for His wars on earth. 
 
 Thy Sword. St. Paul says, The sword of the spirit, which is 
 the Word of God [i]. In the highest and noblest sense that 
 Word is the Son of God, but most commentators agree in 
 applying to the message of the Gospel this sword of which 
 the Psalmist speaks. And in this sword bound on the thigh 
 they see these glad tidings wherewith, as by a mighty weapon, 
 the enemies of our race are to be hewn down. To this effect 
 we read in the Apocalypse, the King of Whom this psalm is 
 indited, hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written : 
 King of Kings and Lord of Lords [2]. They take vesture of the 
 glory of His Divinity ; the thigh of the humility of His 
 Humanity : in both evermore to be victorious. With thy 
 sword. There are not wanting those who would see in this 
 sword the Dolour ; that bitter sword which pierced the heart 
 of His blissful Mother even from the days of Simeon's 
 prophecy [3], and pierced also His own, and wrung from 
 Him the cry : my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass 
 from Me [4]. Yet, still as we may take it in reference to the 
 Incarnation ; because, says St. Jerome, had He not first been 
 true Man to suffer, He could not have thus proved Himself 
 true God. 
 
 Most mighty. God shows His might, as the Church says in 
 one of the Collects, " most chiefly in showing mercy and 
 pity." Thus is the sword the proclamation of His mercy 
 whereby He made His way amongst His enemies ; not in the 
 storm nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the still 
 small voice. 
 
 [i] Eph. vi. 17. [3] Luke ii. 35. 
 
 [2 Apoc. xix. 16. [4] Matt. xxvi. 39.
 
 144 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Go forward, fare prosperously and reign. These words 
 addressed to our Lord are best interpreted, it seems, by that 
 passage in the Apocalypse when the four living creatures 
 address their Lord in four different characters with Come [i] ; 
 and He accordingly appears successively as the Rider on the 
 White Horse, as the Conqueror on the Red Horse, as the 
 Warrior on the Black Horse, as the Judge on the Pale Horse 
 with Death and Hell led in triumph behind Him. Going 
 forth to conquer, He conquers and reigneth for ever Master 
 of Life and Death. Or with Denis the Carthusian : Set out 
 from the most chaste Womb of Mary ; fare prosperously in 
 establishing Thy Church ; and reign by faith and grace here 
 below in the hearts of the faithful, and in heaven by the 
 Beatific Vision. 
 
 (6) Propter veritdtem, et Because of Truth and 
 
 mansuetudinem, et justitiam : Meekness and Righteousness : 
 
 et deducet Te mirabiliter and Thy right hand shall 
 
 d/xtera Tua. lead Thee wondrously. 
 
 Thou shalt reign because of Truth and Meekness and 
 Righteousness. Here commentators find a glorious application 
 to the three orders of the saints : the truth of martyrs, the 
 meekness of confessors, the righteousness of just men. And 
 these all reflect back upon Him Who is the Martyr's crown, 
 Whose meekness was learnt by confessors and Whose righteous- 
 ness gives merit to all godly souls. Denis the Carthusian 
 explains the words : Because in truth, meekness, and righteous- 
 ness Thou wert confirmed, O Christ, from Thy Mother's womb, 
 therefore in all Thy conversation without fault shall Thy right 
 hand, that is, Thy Divine Nature, lead Thee wonderfully. Or, 
 Thy right hand, that is, the works of Thy right hand, shall lead 
 Thee wondrously ; from the form of a servant and the death of 
 the Cross to the express Image of the Father and the sharing 
 of His Throne. For here, the Psalmist gives, as it were, 
 a summary of the teaching of St. Paul, showing how the 
 suffering of the Incarnate Word merited the elevation of the 
 sacred Humanity. 
 
 [i] vi. 1-8.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 145 
 
 (7) Sagittce Tuce acutce, Thine arrows are sharp : 
 pdpuli sub Te cadent, in corda the people shall fall under 
 inimicorum regis. Thee : into the hearts of the 
 
 King's enemies. 
 
 Verily, sharp are the arrows of love which subdue the 
 hardest hearts among the people that imagine a vain thing 
 against the Lord and against His Anointed [i] ; O glorious 
 wound, cries St. Gregory Nyssen (c. 394), O sweet stroke 
 whereby life and love penetrate into the inner man ! Thine 
 arrows in very deed : Thou art the true Eliseus that must 
 command Joas to take bow and quiver [2] ; Thou must lay 
 Thy hands, Thy wounded hands, on his to strengthen them, 
 before each Joas among Thy people can shoot the arrow of 
 the Lord's deliverance. And all their virtue comes from Thy 
 Bed of Death, the hard Bed of the Cross. These were the 
 arrows that pierced the hearts of the martyrs, and therefore we 
 fools counted their life madness, and their end to be without 
 honour [3]. 
 
 (8) Sedes tua Deus in see- Thy seat, God, is for ever : 
 culum sceculi : virga direc- the rod of rule is the rod of 
 tidnis virga regni Tui. Thy kingdom. 
 
 Unto the Son He saith it [4]. The Holy Ghost, therefore, 
 teaches Who it is that speaks and Who it is that is spoken to. 
 It is not wonderful that the Jews and Arians should have been 
 perpetually pressed with the beginning of this verse as a formal 
 proof of the Divinity of the expected Messiah ; as a proof, 
 too, which no art of the devil or man can gainsay. 
 
 Thy seat. What seat is meant ? Is it the Seat of Judgment 
 which at the consummation of all things the Son, according 
 to St. Paul, will resign to the Father [5], Or is it the Seat 
 of Kingly Authority which will last for ever ? He shall reign over 
 the house of Jacob, and of His kingdom there shall be no end [6]. 
 
 The rod. This is the rod that devoured the serpents of the 
 spiritual Pharaoh, itself esteemed as one of them when they 
 said, He hath a devil [7], This is the rod which divided the 
 
 [l] Ps. ii. 2. [5] Cf. I Cor. xv. 24. 
 
 [2] 4 Kings, xiii. 16. [6] Luke i. 33. 
 
 [3] Cf. Wisdom v. 4. [7] John x. 20. 
 
 [4] Heb. i. 8. 
 10
 
 146 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Red Sea in two parts and made its depths a way for the 
 ransomed to pass over. This is the rod which, stretched out 
 against Pharaoh and his hosts, overwhelmed them in the 
 mighty waters. This is the rod that smote the stony rock 
 and the waters gushed out and the streams flowed withal. 
 This is the rod that, laid up in the Tabernacle, bloomed 
 blossoms and yielded almonds. This is the rod or sceptre 
 which every trembling Esther must touch to live. This is the 
 rod we must hold forth in our hands when we eat the spiritual 
 passover. This is the rod wherewith we must pass with Jacob 
 over Jordan. This is the rod that breaks the staff of His shoulder, 
 the rod of His oppressor [i] ; that shatters the Assyrian, the rod 
 of His anger [2] ; through which the rod of the ungodly shall 
 not rest upon the lot of the righteous [3] ; that causes the 
 wicked to exclaim concerning the spiritual Moab : How is the 
 strong staff broken and the beautiful rod that overthrows the rod 
 of pride in the mouth of the foolish [4] . Finally, the rod is the 
 Sceptre rising out of Israel [5] that Balaam saw in the vision. 
 
 (9) Dilexisti justitiam, et Thou hast loved righteous- 
 
 odisti iniquitdtem : propterea ness and hast hated iniquity : 
 unxit Te Deus, Deus Tuus, oleo therefore God, Thy God, hath 
 Icetitice prce consdrtibus Tuis. anointed Thee with the oil of 
 
 gladness above Thy fellows. 
 
 Thou hast loved righteousness [6], An oriental commen- 
 tator says : Thou, O Christ, the King, hast loved righteous- 
 ness. To whom else should we address it ? How He loved 
 it He showed by the fulfilment of the promise made as soon 
 as the earthly paradise was lost, that the heavenly Eden should 
 be won by His own sufferings; that promise on which so 
 many prophets and righteous men anchored their hopes ; that 
 promise which, tried in Gethsemane, on the Way of Sorrows, 
 at Calvary, was triumphant over all the agony, endured all the 
 shame, lived through and prevailed by death. 
 
 [i] Isaias ix. 4. [4] Jer. xlviii. 17. 
 
 [2] Ibid. x. 5. [5] Numbers xxiv. 17. 
 
 [3] Ps. cxxiv. 3. 
 
 [6] These, in the first person, were the last words of St. Gregory VII., and he 
 added, " and therefore I die in exile."
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 147 
 
 Therefore. And that, the Angelical says, either as a final 
 or effective cause, therefore hast Thou wrought righteousness 
 that God might anoint Thee ; or, to this end hath God 
 anointed Thee as King, Priest and Prophet ; that Thy sceptre 
 might be the golden sceptre of mercy, or the iron one of 
 severity ; that Thy staff might bring forth living waters for 
 Thy people as did that of Moses ; and, as did not that of 
 Eliseus, raise the corpse, the human race, dead in sins, to a 
 better life. 
 
 The oil of gladness. We may take this clause in two senses. 
 The first, Wherefore, God, Thy God hath anointed Thee ; where 
 we have, as St. Hilary (368) remarks, a manifest reference to 
 the Blessed Trinity ; the address being to the Son, God, the 
 action from the Father, Thy God ; and the Holy Ghost repre- 
 sented by the oil of gladness, as it is written : How God anointed 
 Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost [i] ; and as the Church 
 sings in the hymn : Tu spiritalis unctio. But others, as St. 
 Athanasius, see in the redoubled nominative the Father and 
 the Holy Ghost, taking the oil of gladness rather of the 
 grace of that Blessed Spirit than Himself, and considering our 
 Lord's Person sufficiently expressed, though not absolutely 
 named. In this second explanation it may be asked : Why 
 is the Holy Ghost called Thy God ? The reason is not far to 
 find. It is on account of the particular relation the Third 
 Person has with the Sacred Humanity of Jesus. The work 
 of the Incarnation, the forming of the Sacred Body from the 
 most pure blood of our ever dear and blessed Lady was the 
 work of the Holy Ghost. "He was incarnate by the Holy 
 Ghost of the Virgin Mary," as we sing in the Credo. Thus 
 the Human Soul of Jesus Christ was sanctified not only by Its 
 union with the Godhead, but also by the special indwelling 
 of the Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, Who filled it with His created 
 grace, adorned it with His seven Gifts, and produced in it His 
 Twelve Fruits. The act of oblation by which our Lord 
 redeemed the world was wrought by the help of the Holy 
 Ghost ; for our Lord, as the Apostle says, offered Himself by the 
 Holy Ghost [2]. So in a very special sense the Third Person 
 
 [i] Acts x. 38. [2] Heb. ix. 14.
 
 148 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 can be called, in reference to the Man Jesus, Thy God. It 
 was this sanctifying grace which was the oil of gladness which 
 anointed the Sacred Humanity. 
 
 Above Thy fellows. Who are the fellows of Christ but His 
 brethren, who are co-heirs with Him in the kingdom of 
 God [i] ? We may take the words in the sense of a com- 
 parison of the Human Nature of our Lord with that of all 
 those who have been made partakers of the same grace, 
 angels as well as men ; they partly and imperfectly, He in 
 fulness from the beginning, though the manifestations grew 
 more and more glorious, as St. Luke formally teaches [2]. 
 
 (10) Myrrha, et gutta, et Myrrh, and aloes, and 
 
 cdsia a vestimhiiis Tuis, a cassia from Thy garments, out 
 
 ddmibus eburneis : ex quibus of the ivory palaces : whereby 
 
 delectaverunt Te filice regum kings' daughters in Thine 
 
 in hondre Tuo. honour have delighted Thee. 
 
 What is myrrh but the bitterness of mortification and self- 
 denial. A Bundle of Myrrh is my beloved to me says the Spouse 
 in the Canticles [3]. Count up, says the Carmelite, this 
 bundle, O Christian, and reckon all the sufferings, all the 
 rejections, the fasts, the vigils, the doing good and bearing 
 ill of the Lord : My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto 
 death [4] ; Now is My soul troubled and what shall I say [5]. 
 
 Aloes. Good, say the physicians, against tumours and 
 swellings. What do they set forth but that humility which is 
 the antidote of swelling pride ? Take My yoke upon you and 
 learn of Me : for I am meek and lowly of heart [6] . 
 
 And cassia : a reed that grows by the running brooks and 
 rises to an immense size, is a type of Faith which fixes its 
 roots in the waters of Baptism and extends until it fills the 
 world. Not that our Lord, in the strict sense, possessed or 
 could possess the virtue of Faith, because on account of the 
 Beatific Vision which filled His soul, He could not believe 
 that which He saw : but, being the Author and Finisher of 
 our Faith, He may be said thus to set it forth to us. 
 
 [i] Cf. Rom. viii. 17. [4] Matt. xxvi. 38. 
 
 [2] Luke ii. 40. [5] John xii. 27. 
 
 [3] i. 13. [6] Matt. iv. 29.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 149 
 
 Thy garments represent the Sacred Humanity whence we 
 are to take the example of penance, humility and faith. Out 
 of the ivory palaces. Hear St. Augustine : Would you under- 
 stand the spiritual sense of ivory palaces. Understand by them 
 those magnificent houses and tabernacles of God, the hearts 
 of the saints. Whereby kings' daughters in Thine honour have 
 delighted Thee : the Carmelite takes instead of palaces, the 
 word cabinets, and sees in the kings' daughters the bearers of 
 rich, precious ointments, who were very early at the sepulchre ; 
 and in the caskets the vessels in which they brought them to 
 anoint the Body of that dear Lord. Kings' daughters. If He 
 Whom they follow is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the 
 Apostles are kings over whom and by whom He rules ; as it is 
 written : All kings shall fall down before Him [i]. And it was 
 through their preaching, such as that saying of St. Paul, 7 
 count all things as loss so that I may gain Christ [2], that the 
 daughters are gathered together and set in their place among 
 the hundred and forty and four thousand who sing the New 
 Song before the Throne of God, by leading here lives of 
 penance, of humility, and of faith after the example of Him 
 their soul loveth, and having these virtues enshrined in the 
 ivory palace of chastity, they delight and honour Him Whose 
 gracious Voice they have followed. 
 
 (n) Astitit regina a dextris Upon Thy right hand did 
 
 Tuis in vestitu deaurdto : cir- the Queen stand in golden 
 cumdata varietdte. array : girt about with variety. 
 
 And to whom are we to give that glorious title ? Some 
 will behold the Church triumphant, the Jerusalem above that 
 is mother of us all [3], the happy assembly, so glorious with 
 the blood of the martyrs, so illustrious with the confessions 
 of snow-white virgins ! O former humility ! says St. Bernard, 
 O present sublimity 1 O whilom earthly dwelling, now a 
 heavenly mansion. O house once of clay, now temple of 
 light. O slave, once defiled and miserable with Egyptian 
 bondage, now glorious, now peerless, now beautiful, now all 
 beauty, now free. But together with most of the mediaeval 
 commentators, who is the Queen but our ever dear and blessed 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixxi. II. [2] Phil. iii. 8. [3] Gal. iv. 26.
 
 150 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Lady ? What the golden array but her peerless sanctity ; what 
 the variety with which she is girt about but the assemblage of 
 all those faithful souls who have ordered their life towards God 
 in imitation of her who kept all the words in her heart [i]. 
 Thou, O Queen, art thyself the immaculate law, the faithful 
 testimony of the Lord, the lucid precept, the right judgment, 
 the holy fear of God, the sweet meditation, herald and inter- 
 preter of the entire God. It is to be noted, as St. Basil (379) 
 remarks, that the Hebrew word for queen here used means a 
 "queen consort" ; thereby teaching us that her dignity is derived 
 from Christ and not inherent of her own right or merit. 
 And observe, she stands at the King's right hand, denoting 
 the unassailable firmness of her position ; but she does not 
 sit, as our Lord does, at the Father's right hand. But the 
 place, as Bellarmine (1621) points out, denotes not only prece- 
 dence of honour, ranking above the angels themselves, but her 
 blessed and prosperous state in His kingdom. St. Gregory 
 and others behold in this queen every faithful soul ; but 
 more especially those blessed ones who, having embraced the 
 religious life here, are nearest to the Bridegroom of the virgins 
 there. Upon Thy right hand. O happy estate (cries a mediaeval 
 writer), which we know is incapable of change. O most 
 blessed place, which so many saints have gone through fire 
 and water to attain, which so many martyrs have, after the 
 manner of men, fought with beasts at Ephesus to come at, 
 which so many confessors have wandered about in sheepskins 
 and goatskins so as to possess at last. 
 
 (12) Audi filia, et vide, et Hearken, daughter, and 
 
 inclina aurem Tuam : et obli- consider, arid incline thine 
 viscere pdpulum Tuum, et ear: forget also thine own 
 domum patris Tui. people and thy Father's house. 
 
 If we interpret the Queen of our Lady, we may see here 
 two persons who speak. It may be the Psalmist speaking 
 according to the flesh to her who was his descendant ; or it 
 may be God, the Father, speaking to her, the immaculate 
 Bride. But truly this is one of the passages which above all 
 others shows how inexhaustible are the meanings of the 
 
 [i] Cf. Luke ii. 19.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 151 
 
 Psalter. An Eastern writer calls this verse, and the following, 
 the bridal song of the Mother of God. St. Athanasius, 
 comparing the words of the Angel Gabriel with those of 
 the Psalmist, dwells on the daughter of the one contrasted 
 with the Mary of the other. If we take the Church to be 
 the " Queen " (and, indeed, the one explanation does not 
 interfere with the other, Mary being the Mother of the whole 
 Church, the " Neck " which joins the Body on to its Divine 
 Head), we may see here, with St. Augustine, an exhortation to 
 forget her Judaic origin, to cast behind her the coldness of 
 the letter and to enter into the liberty of the spirit. They who 
 see in it every penitent soul, find a magnificent exhortation to 
 the same effect as that of the Apostle : Old things are passed 
 away : behold all things are become new [i] ; the old desires, 
 the old pleasures, the old hopes ; and after the struggle, 
 arrayed with that beauty in which the King delights. 
 
 Forget also thine own people. St. Bernard says that the 
 Christian soul must not take pattern by the tribe of Manasses, 
 for half of that tribe, satisfied with the pasture and cornfields 
 of the eastern side of Jordan, asked to remain there ; and only 
 the other half pressed on to the Land of Promise [2]. The 
 prayer to be allowed to remain among the good things of this 
 life is frequently answered in anger ; just as when the 
 Gadarenes, having lost their swine, besought our Lord to 
 depart out of those coasts. He yielded at once and never 
 more returned [3]. 
 
 And thy Father's house. Yet, that the Queen may not 
 suppose that she is thus made an orphan, she is accosted as 
 daughter in the beginning of the verse; for she becomes God's 
 own child by adoption and grace. Those who are called to 
 follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth must forget the ties 
 of earthly loves, which keep them back from obeying the 
 Vocation : A man's enemies are those of his own household, says 
 our Divine Master : and again : / am come to set a man at 
 variance against his father and the daughter against her mother. 
 . . . He that loveth father and mother more than Me is not 
 worthy of Me [4]. The creature's duty is God alone. 
 
 [i] 2 Cor. v. 17. [3] Matt. viii. 34. 
 
 [2] Josue xiii. 29. [4] Matt. x. 35-37.
 
 152 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (13) Et concupiscet rex de- So shall the King have plea- 
 
 cdrem Tuum : quoniam Ipse sure in thy Beauty : for He is 
 est Dominus Deus Tuus, et the Lord thy God, and they 
 
 adordbunt Eum. shall worship Him. 
 
 \ 
 
 The call to the mystic espousals. The Carmelite, following 
 
 many of the mediaeval interpreters, takes thy beauty to refer to 
 the Blessed Sacrament, the Sacrament of all beauty as well as 
 of all love. The gift to the Bride is so much her own, that He 
 who gave it, as it were, desires it and has pleasure in it. So 
 they compare the text : With desire have I desired to eat this 
 Passover with you [i] ; and the words of this verse ; that is, this 
 Passover, this better than Passover, which is the source of 
 every great act of endurance or of daring, this Passover which 
 has prepared every elect soul for the Marriage Supper of the 
 Lamb this belonging now rather to the Bridegroom to be 
 His special beauty this I have pleasure in. As how should 
 He not, when such a multitude of petitions, arising from 
 every corner of the earth, are accepted in heaven by the beauty 
 and might of that Sacrifice in which, though Christ being 
 risen from the dead, dieth no more, yet He still vouchsafes 
 to offer Himself under the hands of sinful priests and, as the 
 great High Priest, to offer that same Sacrifice at the throne of 
 God the Father. 
 
 And they shall worship Him. Although the King of our 
 heart is so gracious and tender in His love, yet we must never 
 forget that He is the Lord our God. As a holy anchoress of 
 the days of Edward III., Julian of Norwich, says in her Reve- 
 lations : "Flee we to our Lord and we shall be comforted, 
 touch we Him and we shall be made clean ; cleave we to 
 Him, and we shall be secure and safe from all manner of 
 perils ; for our courteous Lord willeth that we be as homely 
 with Him as heart may think or soul may desire. But be we 
 ware that we take not so recklessly this homeliness, for to leave 
 courtesy ; for our Lord Himself is sovereign homeliness, 
 and so homely as He is so courteous is He, for He is very 
 courteous. [2] 
 
 [l] Lukexxii. 15. 
 
 [2] Sixteenth Revelation, chap. Ixxvi. I.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 153 
 
 (14) Et filice Tyri in mune- And the daughters of Tyre 
 ribus vultum Tuum depreca- entreat Thy favours with gifts ; 
 buntur : omnes divites plebis. and all the rich among the 
 
 people. 
 
 St. Augustine thus explains this passage : They who 
 came from the East to bring their offerings to Christ were not 
 its daughters but its sons. Why then does it speak of the 
 daughters of Tyre, the meaning being the same ? Because, as 
 the Apostle says, In Christ there is neither male nor female [i]. 
 And, again, says the great Carmelite expositor, why the 
 daughters of Tyre ? Because Tyre, as the Empress of the Sea, 
 is a type of the powers of this world, seeing that in the next 
 there shall be no more sea [2]. But more truly, perhaps, 
 the Carthusian, who beholds in the daughters of Tyre, famous 
 for its purple, the self-oblation of the martyrs, according to 
 that saying of Nahum the prophet : The shield of His mighty 
 men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet [3]. There is 
 much force, too, in the meaning of the word Tyre, strictly 
 a " rock," and thus taken for " strong " or " mighty." The 
 daughters of Him who was made the Rock of Holy Church 
 bring to our ever dear and blessed Lady the gifts which have 
 come to them from her intercession. They recognise her as 
 the Queen of Virgins, and honour and reverence her as such. 
 They are the rich among the people as being in a state of per- 
 fection and the objects of God's intimate love. The closer 
 the union which exists between the Bride and the Bridegroom 
 the closer must be the bond existing between them and His 
 mother ; and daily do they bring their tribute of love and 
 homage, their gifts, whereby they entreated her face to be 
 gracious unto them with her Son. 
 
 (15) Omnis gloria ejus filice The King's Daughter is all 
 regis ab intus, in fimbriis glorious within : in golden em- 
 dureis circumamicta varietd- broideries surrounded about 
 tibus. with diversity. 
 
 And first observe how this King, Who made the Marriage 
 for His Son, calls the Bride His daughter. O blessed soul, 
 so says an old writer, lifted up from the more earthly love, 
 
 [i] Gal. iii. 28. [2] Apoc. xxi. I. [3] ii. 3.
 
 154 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 raised above the wretched cares of this world, changed from 
 Leah into Rachel, having the heritage of Israel instead of the 
 toils of Jacob, who art received in the loving arms of such a 
 Bridegroom, and made partaker of the kingdom of such a 
 Father. And why should it be said that the King's daughter 
 rather than the King's Bride is all glorious ? Truly, because 
 that most loving Bridegroom wooed and obtained His Bride, 
 not on the throne of His glory but in the depth of His 
 humility. The new Eve was created out of the side of an 
 Adam who slept no sleep of rest, but the hard slumber of 
 the Cross. 
 
 Within ; that is, as nearly all commentators take it, within 
 the palace, the inner chamber whereof the Spouse sings in the 
 Canticle : The King hath brought me unto His chamber [i]. An 
 emblem, this inner chamber, of the interior and contemplative 
 life in which is the real beauty which ravishes the heart of the 
 Beloved. All external work is as nothing in His eyes, save and 
 except as it is the outward manifestation of the beauty within. 
 The Carmelite remarks that in this verse there is a prophecy 
 of the history of the Church. 
 
 The King's daughter is all glorious within. There you have 
 the holiness of the Church so glorious with martyrs, so illus- 
 trious with confessors, so resplendent with ascetics. In the 
 rest of the verse we have that more dangerous period of her 
 history when the world bestowed her treasures on the Church, 
 and so many of her children, by receiving them, became 
 worldly and lost their savour. St. Gregory of Tours (595) 
 saw and lamented this, and said : In the days of old there 
 were crosses of wood, but bishops of gold. 
 
 In golden embtoideries. The royal robe of God's kingly 
 love which He throws over His Spouse. 
 
 Surrounded about with variety. The spirit of the Church 
 is not that of a hard, mechanical uniformity ; for where the 
 faith is one the outward expressions, or rather the practical 
 workings out of that inward unity, can be left to the Spirit 
 Who breatheth where He willeth [2]. The wonderful variety 
 which surrounds the heavenly Spouse ; the ever varying 
 
 [i] Cant. i. 3. [2] John iii. 8.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 155 
 
 sequence of fast and festival, the sevenfold hours, the grades 
 of the heirarchy, the natural instincts of various nations 
 manifesting itself in the liturgies, architecture, painting, 
 sculpture, music, and ceremonial ; all these are differences 
 in oneness, all unity in multiplicity [i]. 
 
 (16) Adductntur Regi vir- After her shall virgins be 
 
 gines post earn : proximce ejits brought unto the King : her 
 afferentur Tibi. fellows shall be brought unto 
 
 Thee. 
 
 The Church, or our Lady, is fruitful to her Divine Spouse, 
 and brings to Him other virgins in her train whose spiritual 
 beauty gladdens His heart. 
 
 Her fellows. St. Bernard, in his sermons on the Canticle 
 of Canticles, which he preached to Cistercian nuns, thus 
 comments on these words: O Lord how am I to interpret 
 this fulness of meaning ? Am I to say that these my children 
 are her fellows, her equals, who is the fulness of Him that 
 filleth all in all ! Or, how can I say that they are equals of 
 Her who is the Mother of my Lord and my God ? So let us 
 rather take her as the type and representative of every faithful 
 soul ; the likeness and pattern of them, as Abraham is called 
 the Father of the faithful. The Virgins then, and what a multi- 
 tude they are, who follow her as she follows the King and 
 Lord of the Virgins, shall bear her company. Sweet society 
 of them that are called by the same name ; of them that 
 profess the same desire ! O most foul reproach and ignominy 
 of them who, while they profess the same wish, are yet torn 
 asunder by the various lusts of this world, of their own 
 
 [i] It was the largeness of mind, that eminently benedictine characteristic, which 
 made the monk, Pope Gregory the Great, write thus to St. Augustine when that 
 saint was laying deep the foundation of the English Church. "You know, my 
 brother, the custom of the Roman Church in which you remember you were bred up. 
 But it pleases me that if you found anything either in the Roman, or the Gallican, 
 or any other church which may be more acceptable to Almighty God, you carefully 
 make choice of the same and sedulously teach the Church of the English, which, as 
 yet, is new in the Faith, whatsoever you can gather from the several churches. For 
 things are not to be loved for the sake of places, but places for the sake of good 
 things" (Beds. Hist, EccL, Book i. cap. 27). This was the principle of girting the 
 heavenly Spouse about with diversity, each nation after its own kind giving forth 
 praise to God,
 
 156 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 hearts, or of him (hat is the father and founder of all 
 divisions, Satan. 
 
 (17) Affertntur in Icetitia et With joy and gladness shall 
 exsultatidne : adducentur in they be brought, and shall enter 
 templum regis. into the King's temple. 
 
 And oh, what a joy will that be, says a mediaeval writer, 
 when they, who have so struggled among the thorns here, shall 
 be transformed by Him Who now wears the crown of gold 
 there. What when they, who have trod in the King's footsteps 
 below, shall be received to the King's embraces above ! What 
 when they who have thought it so much but to see the print of 
 His feet upon earth, shall be kissed with the kisses of His lips [i] 
 in the heavenly kingdom 1 What words can express, what 
 heart can devise these good things which the true Solomon 
 hath prepared for the soul that, like another Queen of Sheba, 
 comes from a far country to behold His glory ? And what 
 shall we say of them who, because of the six miserable lions 
 that wait on this side and on that, according to the six footsteps 
 of the throne [2], shall be afraid to approach to Him, the 
 Lion of Juda Who sitteth upon the Throne. 
 
 (18) Pro pdtribus tuis nati Instead of thy fathers thou 
 sunt tibi filii : constitues eos shall have children whom thou 
 principes super omnem terram. mayest make princes in all 
 
 lands. 
 
 Theodoret remarks that the Hebrew shows that these 
 words are spoken to the King, not to the Queen. Follow- 
 ing St. Augustine, we may here compare the Synagogue 
 with the Church, the Law with the Gospel, the letter with 
 the spirit. 
 
 Thy fathers. The types, the prophecies, the histories, the 
 miracles ; everything that might lean forward to Him in 
 Whom all types form their antitypes, in Whom all histories 
 find their fulfilment, in Whom all miracles are turned into 
 that chief of all miracles God Incarnate. Or, with the Car- 
 melite, we may take this verse as recalling the doctrine 
 of the Apostolical Succession. As the wise man says : One 
 generation passeth away, and another generation cometh [3] ; 
 
 [i] Cant. i. I. [2] 2 Paralip ix. 18. [3] Eccles. i. 4.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 157 
 
 and all these are princes to carry on the government of the 
 Church, chiefs to extend its dominions among them that 
 serve other gods ; and yet obedient to that unchangeable Faith 
 and Authority, and offering the unceasing Sacrifice. It has 
 been well said by St. Augustine : Think not thyself undone 
 because thou hast not beheld Paul, because thou cannot see 
 Peter, because thou lookest not upon those through whom 
 thou wast born. Out of thine own offspring has a multitude 
 of fathers been raised up to thee. See how widely diffused 
 is the King's temple of which we read before. This is the 
 universal Church : this is she whose children go to the utter- 
 most islands of the seas, to call men to come to the one Body 
 and be led to the glorious temple of the King. 
 
 Princes in all lands. All those who share in the Kingly 
 priesthood of intercession, those who are chosen to be official 
 representatives of the Church, and are privileged to join in the 
 Liturgical Prayer. These words are used in both Office and 
 Mass in reference to the Apostles, and therefore to all who 
 share in the Apostolic work of teaching Christ and Him 
 crucified [i]. 
 
 (19) Memores erunt nominis They shall be mindful of 
 
 Tui in omni generatidne et Thy Name from generation to 
 generationem. generation. 
 
 Thy name. That name which was prophesied in Josue, 
 the leader of the children of Israel into the promised land ; 
 still further honoured by Jesus, the son of Josedech, the high 
 priest, him who stood before the Lord, Satan standing at his 
 right hand to resist him [2] ; and lastly, as foretold by the 
 angel to St. Joseph, as of Him who should save His people 
 from their sins. It is of this name the Spouse speaks in the 
 Canticles, Let me hear Thy voice, for pleasant is Thy Name [3]. 
 Thus the Carthusian. 
 
 They shall be mindful. We have here the Church's promise 
 to her Lord, calling all her children " Christians," and bringing 
 His Name in at the close of all her petitions before the Father's 
 throne. 
 
 [i] I Cor. ii. 2. [2] Zack. iii. I. [3] Cant. ii. 14.
 
 158 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (20) Propterea popidi con- Wherefore shall the peoples 
 
 fitebuntur Tibi in ceternum : give thanks to Thee for ever 
 et in sceculum sceculi. and ever. 
 
 The peoples ; that is, says the Carmelite, the ransomed peoples 
 who have cast off the dross and the dregs of this world. Here 
 is fulfilled what is written of the wise man : The remem- 
 brance of Josias (Jesus) is like the composition of a perfume 
 that is made by the art of the perfumer, it is sweet as honey 
 in all mouths, and as music at a banquet of wine [i] ; or in 
 the same chapter : So was Jesus, the son ofjosedech, Who in His 
 days builded the house and set up a holy temple to the Lord which 
 was prepared for everlasting glory [2] . 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the God Who anoints the Christ ; 
 and to the Son the King, Who is the Bridegroom of our souls ; 
 and to the Holy Ghost the heavenly Unction, the Spirit Who 
 saith to the Bride, Come [3]. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Adjuvdvit earn Dens vultu God shall help her with His 
 
 suo : Deus in mtdio ejus, non regard : God is in the midst 
 commovebitur. of her, she shall not be moved. 
 
 If the last antiphon shadowed forth the spiritual beauty of 
 the Spouse of the Lamb, and pre-eminently that of our ever 
 dear and blessed Lady, the present one, which is also taken 
 from its own Psalm, gives us the source of it all. He hath 
 regarded the lowliness of His handmaiden [4], sang our Lady 
 in the joy of the Visitation, confessing that it was through no 
 merit of her own that she was chosen to the peerless dignity 
 of the Divine Maternity. Our good Master teaches us the 
 same ; for when a woman in the crowd, lost in admiration at 
 His teaching, called out, Blessed the womb that bear Thee and 
 the paps that gave Thee suck, He turned and said, Nay, rather, 
 blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it [5] ; 
 
 [i] Eccles. xlix. I. [4] Luke i. 48. 
 
 [2] Ibid. v. 54. [5] Luke ii. 28. 
 
 [3] Apoc. xxii. 17.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 159 
 
 meaning thereby that Mary had been chosen to be His 
 Mother by the free choice of God ; but it was by her hearing 
 the Word of God, when spoken by the angel, by her free and 
 generous consent, by her sincere submission of her whole 
 being to the designs of her Maker, that she merited blessings. 
 Her ceaseless union with God, ever keeping the Word of God 
 in her heart, that is, fashioning herself upon the model of her 
 divine Son, and making Him live in her, kept her immovable ; 
 so that though the storms came, and the wind blew, and the 
 rain beat upon that house, it stood for it was founded on a 
 Rock [i], 
 
 PSALM XLV. 
 Title : For the Sons of Core. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ causeth the soul to rejoice by 
 His spiritual strength. The Prophet speaks of Christ to the 
 Church and the same Lord Christ speaks to the same Church. 
 The voice of the Apostles. The voice of the Faithful. 
 
 Venerable Bede : That Christ appears in the midst of the 
 Church which he hath founded as on a most solid Rock. 
 And from that the rivers of the flood thereof, the multitude of 
 them that believe are invited to behold the miracles of the 
 Divine Power ; or that might which breaketh the bow and 
 snappeth the spear in sunder [2]. 
 
 (i) Deus noster reftigium et Our God is refuge and 
 
 virtus : adjutor in tribulationi- strength, a Helper in the 
 bus, qua invenfrunt nos nimis. troubles which have fallen 
 
 exceeding heavily upon us. 
 
 Our God. The One who shares our nature, the Advocate with 
 the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous [3]. 
 
 Refuge. Here we have the Rock ; now the Rock was 
 Christ [4] in whose cleft Side we may hide ourselves until 
 
 [i] Matt. vii. 25. 
 
 [2] A recent writer called this Psalm " a song of holiness, a guide along the 
 pathway to the land that is very far off" (Isa. xxxiii. 17). 
 
 [3] i John ii. i. [4] i Cor. x. 4.
 
 160 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 calamity is passed, according to that saying : The high hills are 
 a refuge for the wild goats, and so are the stony rocks for the 
 conies [i] ; and again : The conies are but a feeble folk, yet they . 
 make their houses in the rock [2]. The words of our Saviour 
 are the refuge of the soul in all temptations, as we say in that 
 beautiful prayer, the Anima Christi : " Within Thy wounds 
 O hide me" [3]. 
 
 Strength. In the Lord God is everlasting strength [4] ; and 
 His strength is communicated to us by that grace in which 
 we can do all things. 
 
 Helper. The word does not mean one who does all the 
 work for us, but one who assists our own efforts and by his 
 strength makes up for our weakness. We must do our part, 
 but Be not far from me, Lord : my strength, haste Thee 
 to help me [5]. 
 
 (2) Propterea non time- Therefore we will not fear 
 bimus dum turbdbitur terra : when the earth is shaken : and 
 et transfergntur monies in cor the mountains be carried into 
 maris. the midst of the sea. 
 
 (3) Sonuerunt, et turbdtce Their waters rage and swell : 
 sunt aquce eorum : conturbdti the mountains are shaken at 
 sunt monies in fortititdine the tempest of the same. 
 
 ejus. 
 
 This Psalm is used in the Office of Many Martyrs, of those 
 who went through the deep waters of affliction, who were 
 tossed by a sea of pain, thereby to pass into the eternal calm 
 and the quiet haven where they would be. Some see in these 
 mountains the Apostles. They did indeed shake at the tempest 
 when they all forsook him and fled [6] ; the highest and most 
 glorious summit of all trembled at the voice of one poor 
 servant-maid, and much more have lesser saints been, for the 
 while, utterly carried away with the same sudden outbursts of 
 tempest, and carried into the midst of the sea of doubt and 
 
 [i] Ps. ciii. 18. [2] Prov. xxx. 26. 
 
 [3] This prayer is often called the " Prayer of St. Ignatius," on account of that 
 saint's devotion to it. It is of much earlier origin, and some writers say that St. 
 Thomas was the author. 
 
 [4] Isaias xxvi. 4. [5] Ps. xxi. 20. [6] Matt. xrvi. 56.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 161 
 
 temptation. So the Carmelite. Other commentators, such as 
 St. Athanasius, see in the mountains carried into the midst of 
 the sea difficulties of all kinds which are swept away by prayer, 
 more especially evil spirits, those mountains of pride, cast out 
 by the mighty hand of God. And yet in the general confusion 
 of this life, they liken the faithful soul to the halcyon, a bird 
 that not only brings her own peace into the rage of the storm, 
 but there also nourishes her young, cradling them, as it were, 
 on the foaming waves. So have the billows of persecution 
 cradled many a martyr and confessor till the time came he 
 should go home ; and of no one is this truer than of our ever 
 dear and blessed Lady in that martyrdom which made her 
 Queen of Martyrs. The Angelical takes it very mystically. 
 Waters, he says, signify prophecy ; their being troubled is 
 interpreted of the frustration and confusion of heathen 
 prophets and soothsayers, according to that saying : / will 
 destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the 
 understanding of the prudent [i]. 
 
 (4) Fluminis impetus Iceti- The fury of the river maketh 
 
 ficdt civitdtem Dei : sanctifi- glad the City of God : the 
 
 cdvit taberndculum suum Most High hath made His 
 
 Altissimus. tabernacle holy. 
 
 The very fierceness of the storm of tribulation is a cause of 
 rejoicing in the City of God ; for it is only those who come out 
 of much tribulation and wash their robes and make them white 
 in the Blood of the Lamb, that are arrayed in white, and stand 
 before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His 
 temple [2]. This fury of the waters is that which Ezekiel 
 beheld in vision : these waters that came down from the right 
 side of the house, and rising first to the ankles, then as the 
 prophet passed onward, to the knees, even to the loins, and 
 then became a river which he could not pass ; for the waters 
 were rising, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed 
 over [3]. We may also see in this, with the Angelical, the 
 river of grace which burst forth from Mount Calvary, those 
 streams which branched off hither and thither to satisfy the 
 waste ground and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring 
 
 [i] Isaias xxix. 14. [2] Apoc. vii. 14-15. [3] Cf. Ezekiel xlvii. I, &c. 
 II
 
 162 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 forth [ i ] . O fountain of gardens, well of living waters, streams 
 from Lebanon [2] ; ye, the nether springs [3] of this world, 
 bring to us something of the loveliness and peace of those 
 upper springs [4], beside which the fair flock of Christ now 
 feeds and lies down, none making them afraid. Or, with St. 
 Ambrose and St. Bernard, we may understand the verse of the 
 River of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the 
 Throne of the Lamb [5]. And then the fury or rush of that 
 water shall indeed make glad the City of God, the House not 
 made with hands, eternal in the heavens, where is the Temple 
 of Life that beareth twelve manner of fruits and yieldeth her 
 fruit every month [6]. There is another obvious interpreta- 
 tion to this verse. The fury of the flood of sorrow which 
 overwhelmed the Queen of Martyrs, never caused her, the 
 City of God, in which He was pleased to dwell, to lose for a 
 single moment the interior joy which made her ever keep 
 singing in her heart the Magnificat. The very fury of the 
 flood was an increase of joy, thrilling her with a grief beyond 
 compare, as it did, yet it was happiness also ; for in all she 
 saw God's holy Will, and knew that He was doing it. 
 
 The Most High hath made His Tabernacle holy. In tribulation 
 and sorrow there is a hallowing influence, for whom the Lord 
 loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son He receiveth [7]. 
 Great mystery of suffering ! Eighth Sacrament ! We can only 
 understand thee when we look at the Crucified One ! In pro- 
 portion to God's love is the chastening. Far be it from us to 
 look upon it as a punishment. It is a refining of the gold, a 
 casting out of the dross. So our ever dear and blessed Lady, 
 of all creatures the nearest to God, was chastened above all 
 others in the mystical sea of sorrows, and by this means God's 
 tabernacle within her was made holy. The knowledge of this 
 truth explains St. Teresa's cry, Either to suffer or to die ; St. 
 Mary Magdalen of Pazzi's, More suffering O Lord ; and that 
 mystical thirst for sufferings which characterises so many of 
 the saints. 
 
 [l] Job xxxviii. 27. [5] Apoc. xxii. I. 
 
 [2] Cant. iv. 15. [6] Ibid. z. 
 
 [3] Josue xv. 19. [7] Heb. xii. 6. 
 [4] Ibid.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 163 
 
 (5) Deus, in media ejus, God is in the midst of her, 
 
 non commovebitur : adjuvdbit she shall not be moved : God 
 earn Deus mane dilnculo. shall help her, and that right 
 
 early. 
 
 God is in the midst of her. So He was in the beginning : 
 The Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden [i] ; thus when 
 Paradise was lost. So He was afterwards when the second 
 and better Tree of Life was set up between the penitent and 
 the impenitent on Mount Calvary ; thus when Paradise was 
 regained. So in the ancient Tabernacle when the visible 
 manifestation of God's presence, the Shekinah, rested between 
 the Cherubim ; so also in that Temple, of which it is said : 
 The glory of the latter house shall be greater than the glory of 
 the former [2]; for there His blessed feet trod, Who, as the 
 Psalmist says, wrought salvation in the midst of the earth [3], 
 Of course the verse is also to be taken of her of whom was 
 bom Jesus Who is called the Christ [4] ; and of the nine 
 months of overflowing grace and love when Mary had in her 
 midst her God [5], 
 
 And that right early. Therefore notice that all the great 
 deliverances wrought in Holy Scripture were wrought so 
 early as to have been brought to pass in the middle of the 
 night. So Gideon, with his pitchers and lamps against the 
 Midianites ; so Saul, when he went forth against Nahash the 
 Ammonite ; so Josue when he went up to succour Gideon ; 
 so Sampson when he carried off in triumph the gates of Gaza ; 
 so also the allied kings under the guidance of Eliseus in their 
 expedition against the Moabites, when they, according to 
 God's command, filled the wilderness with ditches, and then 
 beheld their enemies drawn to their destruction by the reflec- 
 tion of the rising sun upon the water. But in a deeper and 
 truer sense we see here the early prophecies of that Eternal 
 
 [i] Gen. ii. 9. [3] Ps. Ixxiii. 12. 
 
 [2] Agg. ii. 9. [4] Matt - > J 6. 
 
 [5] As an old hymn, Novae lucis hodie, has it : 
 
 " The Monarch entered the hall 
 Of His sacred home alone ; 
 The steadfast gate is closed to all 
 With the key of Solomon.
 
 164 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Morning to which there shall be no Night ; that Eternal 
 Spring to which there shall be no Autumn. So the Carmelite. 
 The Angelical tells us here is to be seen the difference between 
 the help of God and the help of man. The first is in time ; 
 though not before the time ; the other so often late, late in 
 hope, late in promise, and late in effect. 
 
 (6) Conturbdtce sunt gen- The nations make much ado, 
 
 tes, et inclindta sunt regna : and the kingdoms are moved : 
 
 dedit vocem suam, mota est He hath showed His voice, and 
 
 terra. the earth shall melt away. 
 
 Notice here the two external enemies of men, says Father 
 Lorin : the heathen, that is, the world ; the kingdoms, that is, the 
 powers and principalities of the evil one. 
 
 But God hath showed His voice. First we can refer it to 
 the day of Pentecost, when God showed His voice, not as at 
 Sinai, from afar off, from the summit of the mountains, but 
 in the room where the Apostles were gathered together ; and 
 showed it not in dreadful lightnings, but in quiet tongues 
 of flame ; showed it, not so as to terrify the multitudes : 
 Let not God speak to us lest we die [i], but so as to allure 
 them to the unity of the Faith. Thus the Carthusian. St. 
 John Chrysostom observes : The punishment of tongues 
 dispersed men, the gift of tongues .brought them when 
 dispersed together again. And if we ask why it should be 
 said that God hath showed His voice, rather than that God 
 hath caused His voice to be heard, the Carthusian tells us 
 that to speak with Him is to act, to utter a command to be 
 obeyed : He spoke and they were made [2]. So that His order 
 may be as truly said to be seen as to be done. And then 
 most truly of all, as Peter Lombard [3], the Master of the 
 Sentences, teaches ; we speak of a visible word, of a Word 
 that was made flesh and dwelt among us [4]. 
 
 And the earth shall melt away. And herein those mediaeval 
 writers who have looked forward to the consummation of all 
 
 [i] Ex. xx. 19. [2] Ps. xxxii. 9. 
 
 [3] Bishop of Paris (1164). He was Master of St. Thomas, the Angelical. His 
 works are in Migne, P. L., vols. cxci., cxcii. 
 [4] John i. 14.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 165 
 
 things, seem to themselves to find not the destruction of the 
 present world, but its regeneration and transfiguration into that 
 new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. // shall melt away. 
 But that which melts is not lost, only re-cast. 
 
 (7) Dominus virtutum The Lord of Hosts is with 
 nobiscum : susceptor nosier us : the God of Jacob is our 
 Deus Jacob. upholder. 
 
 He, the Captain of the Lord's host, is with us, that we may 
 overcome our Jericho, in that case to become, as the name 
 implies, a " City of Palm Trees" to us by the victory it enabled 
 us to win [i]. He, the Lord, Who caused the mountains 
 round Dothan to be full of chariots of fire and horses of fire [2], 
 for the defence of His prophet ; He Who sent one of His host 
 to smite in a night one hundred four-score and five thousand 
 in the camp of the Assyrians. But notice under what character 
 as regards ourselves : The God of Jacob. Now Jacob is by 
 interpretation a " supplanter " [3] or wrestler. Our upholder 
 He is only when we have wrestled with Him in prayer, as did 
 the patriarch ; wrestled, says St. Jerome, in the night of 
 affliction as he did in the darkness ; wrestled by the brook 
 of penitence as he did by the ford of Jabbok ; wrestled alone 
 as he did when he sent his family forward ; wrestled and said, 
 as he of old, "I will not let Thee go except Thou bless me [4]. 
 The Carmeilte and the Carthusian, however, take these words 
 in another sense, that is, we must be supplanters of wicked- 
 ness, strugglers against and conquerors of temptation, if the 
 God of Jacob is to defend us. 
 
 (8) Venite, et videte opera come hither and see the 
 Ddmini, quce pdsuit prodigia works of the Lord, what won- 
 super terram : auferens bella ders He hath placed on the 
 usque adfinem terrce. earth : Making war to cease 
 
 (9) Arcum conteret, et con- even unto the end of the earth, 
 fringet tfnna : et scuta com- He breaketh the bow and 
 buret igni. cutteth the weapons in sunder : 
 
 and burneth the shield in the 
 fire. 
 
 [i] Cf. Josue v. 14. [3] Gen. xxvii. 36. 
 
 [2] 4 Kings vi. 17. [4] Gen. xxxii. 26.
 
 i66 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The Carmelite remarks the difference between this invita- 
 tion and that of Psalm xciv. One to come and sing, and the 
 other to come and see. The two are separated on earth and 
 only to be joined in Heaven. To see here is to see sadness, 
 iniquity, faithlessness, impurity, every sin. To see there is to 
 see not only the Gates of Pearls, not only the Streets of Gold, 
 and the Sea of Glass ; but to learn the New Song of all 
 the Redeemed, to hear it, and to be joined to that strain 
 which knits together the angelic inhabitants of Heaven, 
 and those who, not only through much tribulation, but also 
 through much sin, have been redeemed from the earth. And 
 notice that the invitation is only to those who shall be 
 counted worthy to enter into that blessed place. Come hither ; 
 for, as St. Leo the Great says, in what other place can the 
 works of the Lord be so fully seen as in that where they are 
 perfectly glorious, gloriously perfect, where they know neither 
 limit to the efficiency, nor measure to their beauty ? And who 
 are they that shall be accounted worthy of that invitation ? 
 Read further and observe how he limits the call. 
 
 What wonders hath He placed upon the earth ? This, that 
 these present bodies, formed out of clay, moulded from earth, 
 must one day say to corruption : Thou art my father; to the 
 worm, Thou art my mother, and my sister [i] ; must be utterly 
 taken to pieces, must be like the grain of wheat, which, except 
 it die, yieldeth no increase. 
 
 Making war to cease. And therefore is He rightly called 
 the Prince of Peace, therefore rightly at His birth was peace 
 proclaimed by the angels, at His departure was peace be- 
 queathed to the Apostles. 
 
 The bow, the spear, the chariots. A trinity of evil here, as 
 so often. The bow ; some take of the fiery darts of tempta- 
 tion, injected, as it were, from a distance by evil spirits into the 
 fancy. The spears ; of the hand-to-hand fight with the world 
 that every faithful soul must carry on. The shields; those 
 earthly means of safety on which all are apt to lean, forgetful 
 of the God from Whom alone true help can come. 
 
 [l] Job xvii. 14.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 167 
 
 (10) Vacate, et videte quo- Be still and see, for I am 
 
 niam Ego sum Deus : exalt- God: I will be exalted among 
 abor in gentibus, et exaltdbor the Gentiles, and I will be 
 in terra. exalted on the earth. 
 
 (n) Dominus virtutum no- The Lord of Hosts is with 
 
 biscum : susceptor noster Deus us: the God of Jacob is our 
 Jacob. upholder. 
 
 Be stitl. Put not your trust in human means of safety, see 
 the works of the Lord and know that He has make Himself 
 our refuge and strength. Be still from idle fretting, from profit- 
 less worrying. 
 
 See that I am God. The past tells us that He is the God 
 Whose wisdom reacheth from one end to another, mightily 
 and sweetly ordereth all things [i], and that His Hand has 
 ever been over us. So, be still and see that I am God. 
 
 I will be exalted. This double declaration is to be com- 
 pared with the double declaration of our Lord : All power 
 is given unto Me in heaven and in earth [2! ; or still better : / 
 will be exalted among the heathen, namely, by the preaching of 
 that Cross whereon the Son of Man was lifted up. 
 
 And I will be exalted on the earth, the new earth, that is, 
 the Land of the Living, the earth where the saints shall reign, 
 the earth where there shall be no more sea. 
 
 The Lord of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our 
 upholder. This is a repetition of verse 7, and has been already 
 commented upon. But coming again at the end of this Psalm 
 of confidence, it seems to sum up all that has been said, and 
 with greater force insists upon the Divine truth that God, and 
 He alone, is our Refuge and Strength. And it is as well that 
 this should be repeated ; for although the past teaches us this 
 truth, yet we are apt in the darkness of the hour of trial to 
 forget it and cling for safety to that arm of flesh [3], instead of 
 to the Hand of Him Who walketh upon the waters and 
 chideth us for our little faith. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who is our Refuge and Strength : 
 and to the Son Whose City the River of Life maketh glad : and 
 to the Holy Ghost, the God Who is in the midst of Her. 
 
 [l] Wisdom viii. i. [2] Matt, xxvii. 18. [3] 2 Paralip xxxii. 8.
 
 1 68 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Sicut Icetdntium dmnium As of all rejoicing ones our 
 
 nostrum habitdtio est in te dwelling is in thee, holy 
 sancta Dei Genitrix. Mother of God. 
 
 This antiphon is taken from the Psalm that follows, and is 
 directly applied to our ever dear and blessed Lady. She is 
 called in the Litany " The Cause of our joy ; " and the spiritual 
 Sion, the Church, rejoices, for her Founder comes from her, 
 and by her. As in the first antiphon of this Nocturn we had 
 drawn out the beauty of the Bridegroom and the excellence of 
 the Bride, and in the second the secret of this excellence, the 
 grace of God ; so here the glorious results and our share 
 therein. The fuller meaning of the verse will be drawn out in 
 the course of the Psalm. 
 
 PSALM LXXXVI. 
 Title : A Psalm or Song for the Sons of Core. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ loves the gates of His Church set 
 upon the holy hills more than all the tabernacles of Jacob. 
 The voice of the Apostles touching the Church. The voice 
 of the Prophet, in the Holy Ghost, to the Apostles. The 
 voice of Christ, the Holy One, to the Apostles touching the 
 Church and the merits of the saints. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The sons of Core signify Christians to 
 whom the Prophet proclaims the City of God to increase their 
 yearnings for such glory. Otherwise : nearly all the psalms 
 which are inscribed For the sons of Core are full of rejoicing, 
 for they do not imitate the sins of their fathers and take to 
 themselves the fire of lust, strange to the Lord, but loving that 
 which the Lord desireth, speak glorious things concerning the 
 City of God. In the first part the Prophet proclaims the 
 heavenly City. In the second part, the Lord our Saviour 
 declares her future belief by referring to various names, and 
 reproaches the Synagogue because she knew not God, because 
 the devout faith of the Gentiles believed. The third part in 
 one verse toucheth on the blessedness of the world to come,
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 169 
 
 and these parts are divided from each other by the interposi- 
 tion of pauses [i]. 
 
 (i) Fundamenta ejus in His foundations are upon 
 
 montibus sanctis : diligit the holy hills : the Lord loveth 
 Dominus portas Sion super the gates of Sion more than all 
 omnia taberndcula Jacob. the dwellings of Jacob. 
 
 The City that is set upon a hill is God's building, not 
 man's [2] ; and so we read in another place, The Lord hath 
 founded Sion [3], The abruptness of the opening verse, 
 remarks St. Augustine, suggests that something must have 
 preceded, not of necessity uttered aloud, but pondered in the 
 mind of the tuneful citizen, who, filled with the Holy Ghost 
 and thinking with love and desire of the City, breaks out in 
 this wise, and tells us of that heavenly Jerusalem whose 
 foundation is upon the holy hills, the Apostles and prophets, 
 whose Corner-stone is Christ, none other foundation than 
 Whom can any man lay [4]. The word holy is not super- 
 fluous, but, as St. Bruno the Carthusian says, distinguishes 
 the hills of the mystical Jerusalem from those of the mystical 
 Babylon, which are worldly power and ungodly wisdom. 
 
 The Lord loveth the gates of Sion. The gates are twofold : 
 the Apostles and their successors, by whose agency men 
 enter into the Church ; and the Sacraments, which are the 
 privileges of heavenly citizenship. God loves them more than 
 all the dwellings of Jacob, says the Carmelite with the Car- 
 thusian, because the saints and sacraments of the New Law 
 are higher than those of old ; the Church, far more noble 
 than the tabernacles of Moses and David, than the temples of 
 Solomon and Zorobabel ; for the Law was only a shadow of 
 the good things to come and not the very image of the things [5]. 
 There are, observes Perez, four principal gates to the Holy 
 City : Baptism, to enter in ; Penance, to return by ; Holy 
 Order, to ascend by ; and Extreme Unction, by which we go 
 out ; while the twelve articles of the Creed are at once, like the 
 
 [i] A recent writer styles this Psalm: "The voice of the Holy Ghost touching 
 that City of God, of whom it is written in verse five : A Man was born in her and 
 the Most High founded her." 
 
 [2] Matt. v. 14. [4] Eph. ii. 20; I Cor. iii. n. 
 
 [3] Isaias xiv. 32. [5] Heb. x. i.
 
 170 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Apostles, foundations and gates, each a single pearl of great 
 price [i] ; fairer and more blessed than these tents of Jacob 
 which Balaam, wondering, saw and blessed [2]. Again, the 
 verse may be applied to our ever dear and blessed Lady, 
 herself sprung from the holy and lofty race of Hebrew saints, 
 prophets and kings, and loved by God more than all other 
 virgin souls, dwelling in the tabernacles of pure bodies which 
 wrestle, as Jacob, against all sin. 
 
 (2) Gloriosa dicta sunt de te, Glorious things are said of 
 
 civitas Dei. thee, City of God. 
 
 How glorious does not appear till we recall the glowing 
 language of the Apocalypse and that of the many Christian 
 hymns, as to the joys of the Eternal City ; for in this Psalm the 
 Church Militant and Triumphant are so blended in idea into 
 one, that it is impossible to sever them or contemplate them 
 independently of each other. O blessed land of Paradise, 
 exclaims St. Bernard, O blessed land of gladness, for which 
 I sigh in this vale of mourning, where wisdom without 
 ignorance, memory without forgetfulness, understanding 
 without error, reason without darkness, will shine ! Blessed 
 are they who dwell there and who will praise God for ever. 
 Amen. So, too, are glorious things said of her, the mystical 
 City of God, wherein the great King deigned to tarry, and 
 endowed with all graces to make her a fitting abode for 
 Himself. Note, moreover, that every soul is, in its degree, a 
 City of God placed high on the Rock which is Christ ; and 
 having the gates of mind and body ever ready to open to the 
 Lord when He knocketh, but barred closely against His foes. 
 Of such an one shall glorious things be said, even : Well done, 
 thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord [3]; and this other glorious thing: Him that overcometh 
 will I make a pillar in the Temple of God, and he shall go no 
 more out : and I will write upon him the Name of My God, and 
 the name of the City of My God, which is the new Jerusalem [4]. 
 St. Bonaventure remarks that the Church has in this Psalm six 
 titles : foundation, mountain, Sion, holy, gates, city. The first, 
 
 [i] Apoc. xxi. 21. [3! Matt. xxv. 21. 
 
 [2] Num. xxiv. 5. [4] Apoc. hi. 12.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 171 
 
 because of her firmness ; the second, by reason of her exalta- 
 tion ; the third, because of her looking for her God ; the 
 fourth, from her grace ; the fifth, to denote her security and 
 readiness to admit ; and the last tells us of the gathering 
 together of the multitude within her. 
 
 (3) Mentor ero Rahab, et I will be mindful of Rahab 
 
 Babylonis scientium Me. and Babylon, those that know 
 
 Me. 
 
 This verse is put into the mouth of God Himself. Rahab, 
 interpreted by St. Jerome as meaning " pride," or the " haughty 
 one," means Egypt, which is so styled by Isaias : Art ihon not 
 it that cut off Rahab ? [i]. Accordingly, we have a prophecy 
 of the same seer to the like effect : And the Lord shall be known 
 to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day [2]. 
 How gloriously that promise was fulfilled the long list of 
 the great saints of the church of Alexandria and of the 
 Thebaid may tell us for JSgypt ; while the roll of the martyrs 
 under the fierce persecution of Sapor, who ruled where the 
 king of Babylon once held sway, is not less eloquent for 
 Mesopotamia. Accordingly, the verse is but another form 
 of Isaias' prophecy : In that day shall Israel be the third with 
 Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the 
 land, where the Lord of Hosts shall bless saying, Blessed be 
 Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel 
 Mine inheritance [3]. But nearly all the old commentators 
 suppose that Rahab, the harlot of Jericho [4], is here named, 
 and framed their interpretations accordingly. Seeing here 
 the calling of the Gentiles, they point out how Rahab 
 was the type of all converted sinners thronging amidst 
 publicans and harlots into the Kingdom of Heaven, while 
 Scribes and Pharisees remained without, still in that fated 
 Jericho, whence the true Josue delivers them that trust in 
 Him. Thus St. Augustine. Rahab, too, meaning " spacious- 
 ness," is a type, says St. Bruno, of those that once walked 
 along the broad way of destruction, but receiving and hearken- 
 ing to the Apostles, messengers of the Conqueror, entered 
 
 [i] li. 9. [3] Isa. xix. 24. 
 
 [2] xix. 12. [4] Josue ii. I.
 
 172 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 on the narrow way when the world sinks in ruin at the 
 sound of the Archangel's trumpet. And Babylon, the city of 
 " confusion," is named, too, because from it there is a steady 
 tide of emigration of sinners justified by grace and drawn 
 into the fellowship of Jerusalem. 
 
 (4) Ecce alienigence, et Behold, the strangers, and 
 Tyrus, et populus jEthiopum, Tyre, and the people of the 
 hi fuerunt illic. Ethiopian, these were there. 
 
 Strangers, that is, the Gentiles who are alien from the 
 commonwealth of Israel [i]. 
 
 Tyre denotes those in the "strait" of penitential sorrow, 
 and the Ethiopians such as are black with sin and long 
 in spiritual darkness. These were there, that is, these nations 
 were admitted by the New Birth unto that City whose 
 deadliest foes they once had been. 
 
 (5) Numquid Sion dicet : And shall not Sion say : A 
 Homo, et Homo natus est in Man, yea a Man, was born in 
 ea : et Ipse funddvit earn her, and the Highest Himself 
 Altissimus ? hath stablished her f 
 
 St. Augustine explains it of Christ Himself, the Most High, 
 Who founded Sion, choosing her for His earthly mother, and 
 condescending to be born in her. And how these words 
 apply to our ever dear and blessed Lady is clear to all. 
 Haymo [2] explains these words as a cry of wonder on the 
 Psalmist's part, as though he were saying : I know that glorious 
 things are said of thee, O City of God, but is it possible that 
 thou canst ever declare that the Man has been born in thee, 
 that the Most High has deigned to become incarnate ? Or as 
 others, with Albert the Great, take it : Will any man say to 
 Sion, a Man, even the Most High Who founded thee, is born 
 in her? 
 
 (6) Dominus narrdbit in The Lord shall rehearse it in 
 scripturis populorum, et the writings of the people and 
 principum : horum, qui fue- the princes : of those who were 
 runt in ea. in her. 
 
 [i] Eph. ii. 12. 
 
 [2] Haymo, monk and bishop of Halberstadt (834) wrote a Pia, brevis ac 
 diludda in otnnes psalmos explanatio (Migne, P. L., vol. cxvi.).
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 173 
 
 Euthymius urges that this verse has reference to the use 
 made of the Old Testament by Christ Himself to prove His 
 mission and authority ; for St. Luke tells us there was delivered 
 unto Him the Book of the Prophet Isaias ; and when He had 
 opened the scroll He found the place where it was written : 
 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me 
 to preach the Gospel to the poor [i]. This sort of scripture of the 
 prophets he calls the writings of the peoples, or of the princes, 
 because they were given to the nations and rulers of the Jews, 
 and were thus the peculiar possession of them that were born 
 in Sion. Others take the writings of the peoples as meaning 
 the New Testament intended for the unlearned and simple, 
 not merely for scholars and philosophers, but which are never- 
 theless, as the Carthusian reminds us, the writings of the princes, 
 too ; of the Apostles, evangelists, and great doctors of the 
 Church ; for these are they of whom it is written : The princes 
 of the people are joined unto the God of Abraham [2]. 
 
 (7) Sicut Icetdntium 6m- As of all rejoicing ones, the 
 
 nium habitdtio est in te. dwelling is in thee. 
 
 What does this as mean ? asks St. Augustine. It tells us that 
 our earthly joys are only a faint image of those delights which 
 as yet we know not, and that the words our ignorance forces 
 us to employ are quite inadequate to describe the gladness of 
 heaven. The dwelling, too, is there, not the mere tabernacle of 
 Jacob, shifting and uncertain in place, but eternally unshaken 
 on the lofty hills of the Golden City. And lastly, they take the 
 verse of our ever dear and blessed Lady as the holy place 
 within which abode our true Isaac, our mystic " laughter," and 
 in whom, therefore, the joy of the whole earth was for a time 
 contained ; in which sense the words are used in the Antiphon. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the Most High, founder of Sion : 
 Glory be to the Son, the Man Who was born in her : glory be 
 to the Holy Ghost from Whom flow all streams which water 
 the Paradise of God. 
 
 [i] iv. 17. [2] Ps. xlvi. 9.
 
 174 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 VERSICLE AND RESPONSE. 
 
 y. Diffusa est gratia in Grace is poured out on thy 
 
 Idbiis tuis. lips. 
 
 ty. Propterea benedixit te Wherefore God hath blessed 
 
 Deus in ceternum. thee for ever. 
 
 As the Psalms of this Nocturn have been occupied with the 
 beauty and excellence of the Bride, these last words taken 
 from Psalm xliv., and there spoken of the Bridegroom, are here 
 taken and " turned " to the Bride, summing up, as it were, the 
 whole spirit of this Nocturn ; reminding us once more of the 
 therefore, that is, of the reason why God so blessed and 
 exalted her. 
 
 THIRD NOCTURN. 
 For Wednesdays and Saturdays. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Gaude Maria Virgo, cunctas Rejoice, Virgin Mary, for 
 
 hcereses sola interemisti in thou alone hast destroyed all 
 univtrso mundo. heresies in the whole world. 
 
 The spirit of this Nocturn is that of praising God for the 
 work in the Church which He has appointed to our ever 
 dear and blessed Lady. The Mother is now as she used to be 
 in those sweet days of Bethlehem, Egypt and Nazareth when 
 she dwelt daily face to face with her God and Son. She was 
 then His guardian. She continues this office. If the Sacred 
 Humanity no longer needs a Mother's loving care, Jesus wills 
 that His mystical Body, the Church, should look to her in all 
 needs and troubles, certain that it will never ask amiss. So, 
 in a special way, is she the guardian of her Son, the Divine 
 Truth, and thus the great destroyer of false doctrine. Seekers 
 after Jesus will find Him as the Magi found Him : And they 
 found the Child with Mary His mother [i]. When Nestorius, 
 Bishop of Constantinople (450), began to attack the Divinity of 
 our Lord, he denied Mary's title of Mother of God ; and it was 
 the glorious vindication of this name that secured the truth, 
 
 [I] Matt. ii. II.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 175 
 
 that Jesus, her Son, is very God and very Man. The Antiphon 
 sounds like a cry of triumph after the Council of Ephesus, 
 which condemned the Nestorian heresy. 
 
 PSALM xcv. 
 
 Title : A Song of David : when the House was burnt after 
 the Captivity. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, reigning from the Tree amidst 
 the nations, is to be shown in His second Coming. The 
 voice of His Apostles to the people concerning the confusion 
 of the idols and the calling of the Church. The voice of the 
 Church calling. The prophet concerning the first and second 
 Coming of Christ. 
 
 Venerable Bede : As to the letter, the time signifies that 
 when the Temple was restored at Jerusalem or the loosing of 
 the Babylonian captivity. But spiritually the destroyed House 
 is built when, after the captivity of sin, the soul recovers the 
 way of truth. For that House, to wit, the Church Universal, 
 wherein Christ dwells, is always being built up with living 
 stones, until the number of the Elect shall be fulfilled at the 
 end of the world. In the first part of the Psalm the Prophet 
 exhorts the general body to sing unto the Lord and to preach 
 our Lord's Incarnation throughout the world, because He is 
 very Lord above all Gods. In the second place, he warns 
 the various nations first, to offer themselves, then to discharge 
 the office of preaching ; and he makes a mention of our 
 Lord's two Comings, that wherein He was judged by the 
 world, and that wherein He is to judge the world. 
 
 (i) Cantate Domino cdnti- sing unto the Lord a new 
 
 cum novum : cdntate Domino song, sing unto the Lord all 
 omnis terra. the whole earth. 
 
 This new song, written for the dedication of the Second 
 Temple after the Captivity, is a simple recasting of the latter 
 part of David's own Psalm for the bringing up of the Ark out 
 of the house of Obed-Edom to the Tabernacle in Jerusalem [i], 
 The alterations are very slight and do not introduce any fresh 
 
 [i] I Paralip xvl 7-36.
 
 176 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 ideas ; and the absence of any special reference in the earlier 
 form to the Ark, or in this to the new building, causes St 
 Augustine to apply it to the spiritual kingdom of Christ. St. 
 John Chrysostom applies this Psalm particularly to the Church 
 Militant ; others of the Eastern Church, such as St. Basil, to 
 the two Comings of Christ. But the great majority agree in 
 taking it of the gradual rising in the heavens of that building 
 of living stones made without hands, eternal, the Church 
 Triumphant. This is the City of God, which rises like the 
 walls of Thebes in the old legend, to the sound of sweet 
 music : built up with song, founded on belief, raised high by 
 hope, completed in love, dedicated at the end of the year. 
 It is a new song for all of us Gentiles, in that we sing the song 
 of Baptism which brings us to regeneration ; of repentance, 
 which cleanses us afresh when we fall ; of glory yet to come 
 when all things shall be made new. It is new in celebrating 
 the Incarnation, because then God created a new thing, in 
 that a woman shall compass a man [ij. It reminds us of 
 that New Song in Heaven which no one can learn save the 
 Redeemed [2]. Our old songs, says the Carthusian, were 
 those of pride, of gluttony, of luxury, in hope of gain, 
 prosperity, or harm to others ; our new song is of praise, 
 reverence, and obedience and love to God, in newness of 
 life, in the spirit which quickeneth ; no longer in the letter 
 that killeth, but that which keepeth the New Commandment, 
 that we love one another ; not with the narrow patriotism 
 and fellow-feeling of a small tribe, but with a citizenship 
 which embraces all the whole earth. 
 
 (2) Cantdte Domino, et bene- Sing unto the Lord and bless 
 
 dicite Ndmini Ejus : annun- His Name : be telling of His 
 
 tidte de die in diem Salutdre Salvation from day to day. 
 Ejus. 
 
 In this three-fold injunction to sing unto the Lord com- 
 mentators bid us see the worship of the blessed Trinity ; and 
 Haymo further tells us to note that there are, moreover, just 
 three New Songs in the Gospel added to the ancient Psalter 
 
 [l] Jeremiah xxxi. 22. [2] Apoc. xiv. 3.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 177 
 
 and Canticles : the Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc Dimittis 
 daily sung in the Church. 
 
 And praise His name. Herein the Unity of the Divine 
 Essence is denoted, says Remigius, as the Trinity of Persons 
 by the three-fold mention of the Lord which proceeds. It is 
 not enough to sing unless we also bless the Lord's Name ; 
 for it is, alas, possible to have songs wherein that Name is 
 mentioned without reverence or love. We bless His Name 
 by a pure and holy life, because thereby we make His honour 
 known to others, and bring them to others, and bring them 
 to submit themselves to His love. And it may be that here 
 only His Name, and not Himself in very deed is specified, 
 because, as the Carmelite remarks, the Word was not yet made 
 flesh ; and in that case the Name we are bidden to bless is 
 that divinely appointed One, the holy Name of Jesus. 
 
 Be telling of His salvation, is said first of all to the Apostles 
 and then to all those who are carrying on their work of 
 bringing souls to Christ. His salvation. Beneath these words 
 in the Hebrew, as something precious and holy, lies the 
 sacred Name of Jesus, our Saviour, or salvation. 
 
 From day to day. For He is Light of Light, very God 
 of very God ; so that when we teach the Father truly we 
 must teach the Son, and when we teach the Son we must 
 teach the Mother. Our Lord is to be praised always in 
 the light of day ; not in the darkness of sin, but in the 
 brightness of virtue. Let Him, the Sun of Righteousness, 
 always rise in thy soul that the New Light may ever 
 spring up in thee. Praise Him from day to day in the Old 
 Testament and in the New ; the two days which make but 
 one Light, and in both of which He shines. Praise Him, 
 says Remigius, not in the Old alone, like the Jews, nor in 
 the New alone, like the Manichees ; but remember that the 
 Apostles went out, two by two, as preachers of His Gospel. 
 Praise Him from strength to strength, from one bright lesson 
 of power and holiness to another yet brighter. Praise Him 
 and tell of His salvation, literally, each day as it comes ; that 
 none may rise and set without His Kingdom being extended ; 
 praise Him from one cross, or one visitation of His boundless 
 love to another cross, the proof that He is mindful of us ; 
 
 12
 
 178 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 and lastly, praise Him from the Day of the Gospel to the yet 
 brighter Day of the Resurrection. 
 
 (3) Annuntidte inter gentes Declare His glory unto the 
 gUriam Ejus, in omnibus heathen : and His wonders 
 pdpulis mirabtlia Ejus. unto all people. 
 
 His glory may here be taken to denote the Godhead of 
 Christ as His salvation tells us of the work of His Manhood. 
 St. Justin, and many others, take the words to refer to the 
 Hour of the Passion wherein the Son of man was glorified [i] ; 
 that His people might henceforth glory in nothing save His 
 Cross. It is His glory which is to be proclaimed ; the loving 
 beauty, the attractiveness of His Gospel, the lavish promise 
 to repentant sinners, the blessedness of heaven, and the 
 easiness of salvation in God's most dear Fatherhood. These 
 we must declare rather than threats, menaces and terrors, 
 which harden men's hearts and make them doubt of God's 
 love. His glory : and taking this with His wonder, our thought 
 naturally goes out to that memorial of His wonders [2], the 
 most holy Eucharist. Our Divine Lord is present there all 
 glorious, immortal and incapable of suffering ; He is there the 
 Living Christ, though shrouded beneath the sacramental veils. 
 The thought then of His glory will bring us back and draw 
 us to the feet of our Eucharistic King, and will unite us more 
 and more with the worship that He is ever pouring forth to 
 His Eternal Father. 
 
 (4) Quoniam magnus Do- For the Lord is great and 
 minus, et lauddbilis nimis : to be praised exceedingly. He 
 terribilis est super omnes deos. is to be feared above all gods. 
 
 St. Augustine points out that these words are spoken of 
 that same Jesus Who came to us in all the helplessness of 
 babyhood. Despise Him not ; though small, understand how 
 great He is. He became little, because we were little ; but 
 let His greatness be understood, and you shall become great 
 in Him. So uprises the building of the house, so the very 
 stones for the edifice increase and are lifted up. 
 
 To be praised exceedingly, that is, beyond the power of 
 
 [i] John xii. 23. [2] Ps. ex. 4. See note 3, p. 54.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 179 
 
 our faculties ; for what, says St. Augustine, can a little tongue 
 do towards praising the Great God ? In saying exceedingly 
 he suggests the thought : Ponder what I cannot utter, and 
 when thou hast pondered it will be all too little. O Lord, 
 says St. Anselm of Canterbury, Thou art not only He than 
 Whom no greater can be the object of thought, but Thou 
 art something which is greater than any thought ; and there- 
 fore He is to be feared above all gods, who are but the creatures 
 of man's thoughts, those idols of the heathens which He can 
 overthrow, or those earthly potentates which He sets up and 
 pulls down at His will. 
 
 (5) Qudniam omnes dii For all the gods of the 
 gentium dcemtinia : Dominus heathen are but idols : but the 
 autem ccelos fecit. Lord made the heavens. 
 
 Idols. The literal Hebrew means " nothings," mere 
 phantasms, having no real existence ; and so the Apostle : 
 We know that an idol is \nothing in the world, and that 
 there is none other God but One [i]. But taking the word 
 as demons, it seems to imply the graven images, the deified 
 men and sacred animals of heathenism, implying, besides, 
 the notion of evil and fraud as connected with the ancient 
 oracles, which have been bound up with that word ever since 
 the proclamation of Christianity. 
 
 But the Lord made the heavens. A claim on behalf of His 
 almighty power, exceeding that made for their divinities by 
 any of the heathen nations known to the ancient Jews ; 
 inasmuch as they either accepted the heavens as itself a god, 
 or left its origin doubtful, not knowing God as the Maker 
 of all things. Mystically, the commentators explain, as usual, 
 the heavens in this verse to denote the Apostles and other holy 
 teachers, superior in spiritual power to the evil spirits against 
 which they contended. 
 
 (6) Confessio, et pulchritudo Confession and beauty are 
 in conspectu Ejus : sanctimonia, in His sight : holiness and 
 et magnificentia in sanctifica- magnificence in His sancti- 
 tione Ejus. fication. 
 
 [i] I Cor. viii. 4.
 
 i8o THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 As the previous verse told us of the supreme power of 
 God, so this one speaks of the royal pomp and dignity which 
 attend Him : in Heaven, where He is encompassed by the 
 shining ranks of the blessed spirits, or in His earthly Temple, 
 with its adornment and stately ceremonial. St. Augustine 
 takes the first word of this verse, confession, as signifying 
 acknowledgment of sin, and points out how it precedes 
 beauty, like washing and purifying is necessary before we 
 can recognise the true grace of the features or loveliness of 
 the complexion. He also bids us observe how holiness, as 
 the only way to heaven, is the forerunner of magnificence, 
 which can be attained there alone in His sanctification, that 
 is, among the glorified saints ; whereas those who seek magni- 
 ficence without holiness fall into destruction. The Carthusian 
 says : In our true country there are in full perfection that 
 confession of God's praise and glory, which is so imperfect 
 here in the way towards heaven ; and that inner beauty of 
 the soul, which is now marred and defaced by sin : because in 
 His sight, in the Beatific Vision, there can be nothing defective, 
 since the holiness and magnificence thereof surpass all words 
 and imagination. 
 
 (6) Afftrte Domino pdtrice Ascribe unto the Lord ye 
 
 gentium, afferte Domino gl6- kindreds of the peoples : as- 
 riam et honorem : afferte Do- cribe unto the Lord glory and 
 tnino gloriam nomini Ejus. honour : ascribe unto the Lord 
 
 the glory due to His Name. 
 
 There is a peculiar force, observes Cassiodorus, in this 
 phrase, kindreds of the peoples, much more than if we had the 
 word peoples alone ; for in every nation there are at all times 
 strangers, aliens, sojourners, abiding permanently, or for a 
 time, but not reckoned amongst the natives ; while the phrase 
 here includes all such, and provides that no one shall be shut 
 out because of his origin. Bellarmine remarks that as it was 
 the custom of the Jews to come up on great festivals to the 
 Temple in Jerusalem, being divided into companies accord- 
 ing to their tribes, so all the nations of the world are to do 
 the like spiritually, by flocking into the Church of Christ 
 with the triple inscription of glory and worship to the Eternal
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 181 
 
 Trinity as in the Song of the Ransomed in the Apocalypse. 
 The kindreds of the peoples heard and obeyed this call when, 
 in the Epiphany, the wise men ascribed glory to their God, 
 offering Him frankincense, power to their King with gold, 
 honour to the mighty Dead, with myrrh for His embalming. 
 We can do the like in true repentance for our sins, says 
 Cardinal Hugo, giving glory to God by contrition, as it is 
 written : My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of 
 Israel and make confession unto Him [i]. Power by actual con- 
 fession made in the strength of God's grace, and honour 
 in making satisfaction, for the honour due to His name is 
 impeached when His sons fall into sin. 
 
 (8) Tollite hostias, et in- Bring hosts and come ye 
 
 troite in atria Ejus : adordte into His courts. worship 
 
 Dominum in dtrio sancto the Lord in His holy court. 
 Ejus. 
 
 The Hebrew word here represented by hosts is that which 
 refers to the Mincha, or clean sacrifice of fine flour [2]. This, 
 at once, reminds us of that most perfect means of ascribing 
 glory, and power, and honour to God, the Mass, the one 
 Sacrifice left when all others were abolished, that great Act in 
 which Jesus is both Priest and Victim. To this Sacrifice we 
 must add the living oblation of ourselves, our souls and 
 bodies, the dedication of our faculties and powers, the offering 
 of prayer, fasting, and alms deeds. 
 
 His courts. These may be taken as the local churches 
 here on earth, the place wherein Thy glory dwelleth [3] ; or 
 the monastic houses of His chosen servants ; or, with the 
 Carthusian, the inner recesses of our own hearts when we 
 withdraw into silence and prayer. 
 
 In His holy court, that is, the presence of God manifested 
 in our Churches. Here we have the singular court and in 
 the former phrase it is in the plural, courts. The com- 
 mentators give us two explanations : that we may pass from 
 the many Patriarchs, seers, and Prophets of the Old Law, 
 each being but an imperfect type, to the fulfilment of all 
 in the One Man Who is the Court of God under the New 
 
 [l] Josias vii. 19. [2] Exodus xxix. 2 ; Lev. ii. I. [3] Psalm xxv. 8.
 
 i82 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Covenant ; and secondly, that we pass from the outer courts, 
 that is, the Church Militant and the Church Suffering, into the 
 one vast sanctuary of the Church Triumphant in heaven. 
 
 (9) Commovedtur a fdcie Let all the earth be moved 
 
 Ejus universa terra : dicite in before His face : tell it out 
 
 gentibus quia Ddminus reg- among the heathen that the 
 
 ndvit. Lord reigneth. 
 
 Let all the earth be moved before His face. This is to be 
 understood first of the stir and expectation which preceded 
 the first Coming of Christ, so that the world was moved and 
 shaken from its deeply-rooted error and turned to the Lord. 
 Then, again, of the earthquake, when the pale, blood-stained 
 Face of Jesus looked down on the earth He had just redeemed 
 by His death. It may also be taken of the second Coming of 
 Christ to judgment ; and of the alarm raised in the souls of 
 earthly and carnal sinners at the thought of the wrath to 
 come, so that they turn to repentance in fear and trembling 
 of heart. 
 
 That the Lord reigneth. In the time of St. Justin, and as 
 long after as St. Augustine, the reading of this phrase was : 
 The Lord hath reigned from the wood ; and St. Justin charges 
 the Jews with having cut out the latter words, as well as 
 some other expressions in the Bible, as being too distinctly 
 prophetic of Christ. Assuming the genuineness of the addi- 
 tion, the original reference is to the wood of the Ark of 
 the Covenant, from which went forth the might, overthrowing 
 Dagon, the idol of the Philistines, and over which brooded 
 that mysterious manifestation of the Divine Presence, the 
 Shekinah. The reference to the wood of the Cross is also 
 clear ; and Holy Church embodies the words in the Vexilla 
 Regis of Venantius Fortunatus [i]. 
 
 Among the heathen. These tidings were to be spread, as 
 the Jews refused to hear them. The proclamation that the 
 Lord reigneth denotes not the beginning of His power and 
 
 [i] " Fulfilled is all that David told 
 In true prophetic song of old ; 
 Amidst the nations God, saith he, 
 % Hath reigned and triumphed from the Tree.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 183 
 
 rule, but the recognition of it in faith and worship. And 
 observe, it was a heathen governor who made this pro- 
 clamation by the very form of that Title which He set up 
 on the Cross : Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews [i]. 
 
 (10) Etenim correxit orbem He hath corrected the round 
 
 terrce qui non commovebitur : world, which shall not be 
 judicdbit pdpulos in cequitdte. moved. He shall judge the 
 
 people righteously. 
 
 Many of the commentators argue that the Psalmist does 
 not speak here of the first creation of Nature, but of the new 
 creation cf Grace, correcting and making anew what had been 
 injured. According to the words of the Prophet, the crooked 
 shall be made straight and the rough places plain [2], Christ 
 came that He might correct mankind (aforetime corrupted) 
 that it might never be moved. His Cross is the pillar of 
 Humanity, on which that house is reared ; that house He 
 built on the foundation of those Apostles whom He corrected 
 after their doubt, by His Resurrection, and which He stab- 
 lished firmly by the Holy Ghost at Pentecost, so that they 
 should never be moved again. 
 
 He shall judge the people righteously. This is not spoken of 
 the second Coming only, but of the first also ; as the words 
 denote the whole course of Christ's providential government, 
 the absolute righteousness of the laws which He has laid 
 down in the Gospel for the guidance of mankind. 
 
 (n) Lcetentur cceli, et ex- Let the heavens rejoice and 
 
 sultet terra, commovedtur mare, the earth be glad : let the sea be 
 
 et plenitudo ejus / gaudebunt moved and the fulness thereof. 
 
 campi, et omnia qua in eis Let the fields be glad and all 
 
 sunt. that are therein. 
 
 (12) Tune exsultdbunt 6m- Then shall all the trees of 
 
 nia ligna silvdrum a facie the woods rejoice before the 
 
 Domini, quia venit : quoniam Lord, for He cometh : for He 
 
 venit judicdre terram. cometh to judge the earth. 
 
 These verses have been thus interpreted : The heavens repre- 
 sent, as we have said before, the Apostles and those who do the 
 
 [i] John xix. 19. [2] Isaias xl. 4.
 
 1 84 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Apostles' work ; the earth, their hearers, drinking in the rain of 
 doctrine ; while the sea denotessinners, ever restless, bitter, 
 and barren ; the fulness thereof, the proud and wealthy who 
 despise the Gospel. The field is in contrast to the sea, being 
 level, stable, and fruitful, and thus a type of humble souls 
 diligent in good works ; while the trees of the woods are 
 the yet unreclaimed. Thus the Carmelite. Then, again, the 
 heavens rejoiced at our Lord's Birth, because of His Divine 
 Nature, and showed their gladness by the shining of a star 
 and the songs of angels ; the earth was glad because of His 
 Manhood; the sea and all waters, because of their hallowing 
 as the matter of Baptism ; the fields, because for three and 
 thirty years the feet of God trod this earth of ours ; while all 
 the trees of the woods rejoiced in that one of them was to be 
 the instrument of man's redemption. 
 
 For He cometh ; for He cometh. In the two-fold use of the 
 words He cometh may be seen a reference to the two Comings 
 of Christ : that in which He came to judge between us and 
 the enemy who held us in bondage ; and that Advent wherein 
 He shall come again to reward and punish. 
 
 (13) Judicdbit orbem terrce He shall judge the world 
 
 in cequitdte, et pdpulos in veri- with righteousness and the 
 idle sua. people in His truth. 
 
 Some note the distinction between the world and the 
 People as implying the Gentiles and the Jews. He will judge 
 in righteousness, as without any partiality or acceptance of 
 persons ; and in truth, because He knows all things and cannot 
 be deceived. Thus the Carthusian. And yet more, because 
 He fulfils the promises made to His people, who shall be 
 received into everlasting glory when the world is judged, and 
 will then rejoice before the Lord, flourishing as green olive 
 trees, no longer in the wild wood, but in the Paradise of 
 heavenly bliss. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who is more to be feared than all 
 gods ; Glory to the Son Who reigneth from the Tree ; Glory 
 to the Holy Ghost Who is the beauty of holiness.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 185 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Digndre me lauddre te, Grant that I may praise 
 
 Virgo sacrdta : da mihi vir- thee, hallowed Virgin : give 
 lutem contra hostes tnos. me strength against thy foes. 
 
 The reason why we seek to praise our ever dear and 
 blessed Lady is on account of the strength we receive through 
 her to combat not only our enemies, but her foes also. 
 Or, again, the highest praise we can give her is to use the 
 grace she so abundantly procures for us from her Divine Son. 
 As in our earthly combat each victory won is a praise to the 
 trusty blade which served us so well, so each temptation 
 vanquished is an act of praise to her But as the praise, how- 
 ever, does not rest in the weapon, but goes on to the artist 
 who made it, so our praise of Mary, the second Judith through 
 whom we conquer our spiritual enemies, goes on and becomes 
 the praise of the Maker to whose Name be laud in all things. 
 The second office of our Lady towards the mystical Body is 
 announced in this Antiphon. She is the giver of strength to 
 those in combat ; or, in other words, she is the divinely 
 appointed channel of grace "the Mother of Divine grace." 
 just as the neck is the ordinary channel of communication 
 between the head and the members, so is our dear and blessed 
 Lady between the Divine Head and the members of the 
 Mystic Body. 
 
 PSALM xcvi. 
 Title : To David when his land was restored. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, proclaimed by the voices of the 
 heavens, is shown to the nations in the flesh. The voice of 
 the Church concerning the Advent of Christ. For Praise. 
 The voice of the Apostles to the believers. A Prophecy 
 touching the condemnation of the ungodly and glorifying of 
 the righteous. The pomp of God as King is described. 
 
 Venerable Bede : In the first part of the Psalm the Prophet, 
 describing the powers of the Lord in His resurrection by 
 various modes of proclamation, chides the worshippers of 
 idols with merited rebuke. Secondly, he directs his words to 
 the Lord, rejoicing that the Church believes in her Author,
 
 186 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 and exhorting the faithful to rejoice in the Lord because He 
 is wont to deliver them from the oppression of the ungodly. 
 
 (i) Dominus regndvit, ex- The Lord reigneth, let the 
 
 sultet terra : Icetentur insulce earth be glad thereof : let the 
 multce. multitude of the isles rejoice. 
 
 This Psalm is one of those written after the return from 
 Captivity ; and this explains many of the allusions. It begins 
 with a grand proclamation of the restored sovereignty of God 
 over Israel, displayed in the overthrow of the heathen power 
 of Babylon and the revival of the one true worship in the 
 Temple at Jerusalem. It declares that the Lord has shown 
 Himself stronger than those kings of the earth who warred 
 against Sion ; so that His people, though threatened with 
 calamity by earthly tyrants, can, with sure confidence, put 
 their trust in a King mightier than any other. Hence its 
 deeper spiritual meaning, following St. Augustine, points to 
 the Kingdom of Christ as manifested in His Nativity, and yet 
 more in His Resurrection, when the yoke of the devil was 
 broken ; and to be manifested once again in greater power 
 at the second Advent. 
 
 Let the earth be glad thereof. Not Judea alone, but the 
 whole face of the world and all the dwellers therein. 
 Tertullian takes the earth to mean the bodies of the saints, 
 to which such blessings come by reason of Christ's victory. 
 Again, the phrase may stand for the whole Church, on earth, 
 in purgatory, or in heaven. 
 
 The multitudes of the isles denote the various Churches 
 throughout the world ; and they are called isles because, says 
 St. Augustine, the waves of manifold temptation dash round 
 them as waves ; yet, however buffeted by the roaring billows, 
 they are not broken thereby, but rather by their resistance 
 break the force thereof. So the Churches of God, which 
 spring up everywhere in the midst of persecutions raging 
 about them, remain unbroken and rise higher than the waves 
 of a sea that has calmed down. St. Gregory takes the earth, the 
 solid land, to denote the assembly of the teaching Church, 
 and explains the isles as the multitude of the faithful, firm 
 in the midst of a sea of troubles, parted from earth and its 
 allurements.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 187 
 
 (2) Nubes, et caligo in cir- Clouds and darkness arc 
 
 cuitu Ejus : justitia et judi- round about Him : righteous- 
 cium corrctio sedis Ejus. ness and judgment are the 
 
 correction of His seat. 
 
 The first and obvious meaning of the earlier clause of 
 the verse, says Bellarmine, is the invisible Majesty of God, 
 Who dwelleth in light unapproachable, and Whose revelation 
 of Himself to Israel was first in the Pillar of cloud, looking 
 out of which He troubled the host of the Egyptians [i] ; 
 and then when He gave the law from Sinai in the midst of 
 darkness and thunderings [2]. On the mystical import of 
 these clouds and darkness, themselves brighter and more 
 resplendent than any natural light, the Areopagite [3] dwells, 
 as denoting, amidst much else, the abstraction from earthly 
 thoughts and sights, which is necessary for perfect con- 
 templation of the Divine Glory, and that confession of our 
 own ignorance and incapacity for comprehending the Infinite, 
 which is a necessary preliminary for receiving any special 
 revelation of God. The Carmelite and the Carthusian agree 
 in reminding us of the second Coming of Christ in the 
 clouds of heaven, like His departure at the Ascension ; and 
 there is thus a second literal sense. Yet, again, as He with- 
 draws from sinners and refuses to show them His face, He is 
 said in respect of them to be hidden in clouds and darkness. 
 There are, besides, several mystical interpretations, which are 
 conveniently summed up thus : These clouds and darkness 
 overshadowed the Church when the Law and the Prophets 
 made Christ known to her. The clouds are also the Apostles 
 filling the restored earth with their teaching ; the darkness, 
 those wise men who, understanding deep mysteries, explained 
 them to the Church. The clouds are also the Body of the Lord, 
 wherein the Sun of Righteousness was hidden ; the darkness, 
 His concealed Godhead, which appeared not to the eyes of 
 flesh. Or, again, the clouds are the sacramental species veil- 
 ing Him in the Blessed Sacrament ; and the darkness is the 
 
 [iExod. xiv. 24. [2] Ibid. xix. 16. 
 
 [3] A mediaeval writer, whose words were attributed to Denis, the Areopagite, 
 whom St. Paul converted at Athens. See Acts xvii. 34.
 
 i88 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 secrecy of His hidden but all-glorious life therein. Or, finally, 
 the clouds are scruples that beset the soul ; the darkness, that 
 mystical dereliction in the midst whereof God is ever present. 
 
 Righteousness and judgment are the correction of His seat. 
 The direct meaning is, when by faith we have penetrated 
 the cloud of mystery shrouding the designs of God, we find 
 absolute truth and justice the very rule of all His doings. 
 Thus, after Moses had sprinkled the blood of the Covenant 
 and had gone up into the clouds overshadowing Sinai along 
 with "Aaron, Nadah, Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel : 
 they saw the God of Israel, and under His feet, as it were, a paved 
 work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven when 
 clear" [i]. 
 
 The correction of His seat. Bellarmine takes the words liter- 
 ally, as denoting the perfect equity of our Lord's judicial 
 power in rewarding the just and punishing the wicked ; others, 
 with Albert the Great, taking the souls of the faithful to be 
 God's throne, explain that this throne is righted or corrected 
 and set straight by attentive consideration of His dealing with 
 sinners for warning and guidance. 
 
 (3) Ignis ante Ipsum prce- There shall go a fire before 
 
 cedet et inflammdbit in cir- Him and burn up His enemies 
 cuitu inimicos Ejus. on every side. 
 
 This is, say most of the writers, that fire which precedes 
 the Last Judgment, and that which Daniel foresaw in vision 
 when the Ancient of Days did sit, and a fiery stream issued 
 forth before Him [2] ; of which St. Peter also tells : The 
 elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works 
 that are therein shall be burnt up [3]. It will burn up His 
 enemies, the wood, hay, and stubble, but will only purify His 
 saints, the gold, silver, and precious stones reared on Him, 
 their Foundation [4]. St. Augustine takes the fire to be the 
 first Coming of Christ, and the flame of anger and persecution 
 kindled everywhere by the preaching of the Gospel ; a flame 
 which burnt up the persecutors themselves and not the Church 
 against which they raged ; just as a torch applied to green 
 
 [i] Exod. xxiv. 9, 10. [3] 2 Peter iii. 10. 
 
 [2] vii. 10. [4] Cf. i Cor. iii. 12, 13.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 189 
 
 wood is itself consumed while effecting its aim. There is, 
 besides these, more exactly still, ihatfire which our Lord came 
 to send upon earth [i], or the kindling blaze of the Holy 
 Ghost at Pentecost. And of this the Prophet spoke, saying : 
 / will send a fire on Magog and among them that dwell carelessly 
 in the isles : and they shall know that I am the Lord [2]. This 
 divine fire, says Cardinal Hugo, goes before the Lord, His 
 coming to every faithful soul, as it kindles with longing for 
 Him, and burns up all its sins therewith, as He heaps His 
 coals of fire upon its head to soften and purify it. St. 
 Bernard remarks : The fire of holy desire must needs go 
 before His face to every soul into which He means to come, 
 and a flame burning up all the mildew of sin, and making 
 ready a place for the Lord. Then the soul knows that the 
 Lord is at hand, when it feels itself kindled with that fire, 
 and it saith with the prophet : From above hath He sent fire 
 into my bones, and hath chastised me [3] ; and again : My heart 
 was hot within me, while I was musing the fire burned, and at 
 last I spake with my tongue [4], So, that, as Honorius says, 
 by the forgiveness of sins His aforetime enemies are kindled 
 with love and break forth in praise of His Name. 
 
 (4) Illux6runt fulgura Ejus His lightnings gave shine 
 orbi terrce : vidit, et com- unto the world : the earth saw 
 mota est terra. it and was afraid. 
 
 Here, again, in the literal sense, we may see a reference to 
 the thunderings of Sinai, and the future fulfilment of St. Paul's 
 words : That the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with 
 His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that 
 know not God and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ [5]. But the mystical writers refer it to the preaching 
 of the Apostles, those sons of thunder, to the Gospel, to the 
 awe that fell on the nations at the mighty words and power of 
 the new teachers. 
 
 (5) Monies, sicut cera,fluxe- The mountains melted away 
 runt a facie Ddmini : a facie like wax at the presence of the 
 Domini omnis terra. Lord ; all the earth before His 
 
 face. 
 
 [l] Luke xii. 49. [4] Ps. xxxviii. 4. 
 
 [2] Ezek. xxxix. 6. [5] 2 Thess. i. 8. 
 
 [3] Lam. i. 13.
 
 loo THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 When God came down to deliver the Law Mount Sinai was 
 altogether covered with smoke, because the Lord descended upon it 
 in fire ; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, 
 and the whole mount quaked greatly [i]. The Carmelite tells 
 us that the mountains denote all those eminent in station, 
 influence, power, wealth, or ability, who will either be con- 
 verted and become flexible and ductile in the hands of the 
 Lord, or else, in spite of their seeming greatness, will be 
 destroyed, as by an earthquake before His face ; according to 
 that saying : The everlasting mountains are scattered, the per- 
 petual hills did bow [2]. St. Laurence Justinian points out 
 another sense, and tells us we have here a type of penance, 
 because the liquid form and level which wax assumes under 
 heat, fitly denote the tears and humility of a heart softened 
 by the grace of God. 
 
 (6) Annuntiav&runt cceli The heavens have declared 
 justitiam Ejus : et viderunt His righteousness, and all the 
 omnes populi gloriam Ejus. people have seen His glory. 
 
 The Angels' song at His Birth, the star of His Epiphany, 
 the voice at His Baptism and Transfiguration, the eclipse at 
 His Death, the earthquake at His Rising, the cloud of Glory 
 at His Ascension, all these, says St. Augustine, declare the 
 righteousness of the Lord ; as Angels will again be the heralds 
 of His second Coming when all the people, those nations of 
 the earth who have already heard of His glory, as well as those 
 who actually beheld Him working miracles in the flesh, will 
 see Him in great power and majesty upon the Seat of Doom. 
 
 (7) Confunddntur omnes qui Confounded be all they that 
 adorant sculptilia : et qui worship carven images, and 
 gloridntur in simuldcris suis. that glory in their idols. 
 
 Has it not come to pass ? Were they not confounded ? 
 Are they not confounded every day ? Why are all they con- 
 founded that worship carven images f Because all the people 
 have seen His glory. Now all the people confess the glory of 
 Christ, and they who worship stones are ashamed ; for those 
 stones were dead ones, but we have found the Living Stone. 
 
 [i] Exod. xix. 18. [2] Hab. iii. 6.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 191 
 
 Nay, those stones were men who were never alive, so they 
 cannot even be called dead, but our Stone is living, and hath 
 ever been alive with the Father, and He died and lived 
 again for us, and He lives now and death shall no more 
 have dominion over Him [i]. The people know of this His 
 glory, they abandon the temples for the churches. Thus 
 St. Augustine. There are other idols, mere phantom objects 
 of worship, besides graven images ; for all assiduous court 
 and homage paid to the wealthy and powerful and all 
 preference of earthly things to the will of God is idolatry. 
 
 (8) Adordte Eum omnes Worship Him all ye His 
 Angdi Ejus : audivit et Icetdta Angels: Sion heard it and 
 est Sion. rejoiced. 
 
 (9) Et exstdtaverunt filice And the daughters ofjudea 
 Juda, propter judicia Tua, were glad, because of Thy 
 Do/nine. judgments, Lord. 
 
 The high and mighty God, so real and living, is the object 
 of the adoration of those blessed spirits, each one of whom, 
 a very marvel of beauty and glory, would seem to us like 
 a god, and worthy of our highest worship, did they not, like 
 the Angel at whose feet St. John fell adoring, say : See thon 
 do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the 
 prophets, and of them that keep the sayings of this book. Adore 
 God [2]. The Angels did worship Him, as they sang at His 
 Birth, as they ministered to Him in the Wilderness after the 
 Temptation, as in the Garden they bowed down in adora- 
 tion, comforting the awful agony of the Son of God ; as they 
 attended Him in the pomp of His Ascension : and they 
 worship Him now by guiding and watching over the souls of 
 which He gives them charge. 
 
 Sion, the Church on earth, with those special favourites 
 of the Lamb, the virgins who ever follow Him, daughters of 
 Judea, rejoices in the eternal adoration which her Divine 
 Head is ever the object of, and joins her alleluia to that eternal 
 alleluia ever heard in the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem [3]. 
 
 [i] Rom. vi. 9. [2] Apoc. xxii. 9. [3] Tobias xiii. 22.
 
 192 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (10) Quoniam tu Dominus For Thou, Lord, art most 
 
 altissimus super omnem ter- high above all the earth : Thou 
 
 ram : nimis exaltatus es super art exceedingly exalted above 
 
 omnes deos. all gods. 
 
 The word For, Bellarmine says, is here emphatic. It is 
 possible for us to rejoice with a sure gladness in Christ's 
 judgments, because He is supreme and His sentences cannot 
 be over-ruled and set aside by any higher authority. It is 
 evermore a thought of rejoicing for the daughters of Judea, all 
 tender and faithful souls, that it is their own Bridegroom, One 
 of their own flesh and blood, Who is throned above the 
 highest Angels ; and that He, now Lord and King of Heaven, 
 has thrown it open to us. 
 
 (i i) Qui diligitis Dominum, ye that love the Lord, hate 
 
 odite malum : custodit Domi- ye the evil : The Lord preserveth 
 
 nus dnimas sanctorum sudrum, the souls of His saints: He 
 
 de manu peccatoris liberdbit shall deliver them from the 
 
 eos. hand of the ungodly. 
 
 Here is a test of true love of God; not only abstaining 
 from evil, but hating it, shunning it for its repugnance to the 
 holiness of God, and not only because of the danger of 
 indulging in it. The Evil is sometimes taken to mean the 
 Evil one, the father of lies [i]. St. John Chrysostom says : 
 Let no man deceive himself ; God and the devil cannot be 
 loved alike by one person, for either the devil is hated, or God 
 is loved ; if the devil is loved, it must needs be that God is 
 despised. Now, then, can we find out whether we do truly 
 love God ? St. Bernard shall answer : You must ask your 
 heart, your tongue, your work, whether you truly love God. 
 Your heart, because it thinks often on what it loves, and if 
 you do not often think of God, you will know you do not 
 truly love Him ; and if you think more of the world than you 
 do of God, you love the world more than God. Ask your 
 tongue if you love God, for it gladly speaks of what the heart 
 loves ; therefore he whose conversation is chiefly of the world 
 is hereby proved to love it more than God. Ask your work 
 
 [i] John viii. 44.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 193 
 
 whether you love God ; for if fire be placed amidst straw it 
 will burn, and if the fire of Divine love be in the heart it will 
 show itself in action. 
 
 The Lord preserveth the souls of His saints. Here we may 
 note two things He makes no promise at all as to the bodies, 
 nor yet as to the souls of any but His saints. The torments 
 of the martyrs did not move their souls. He offers salvation 
 to all who will accept it. He will never allow a soul that 
 trusts in Him to be separated from His love. How freely 
 He gives not only His help, but His very self, we hear when 
 He comes to us in Holy Communion : " May the Body of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul into everlasting life." 
 
 And He shall deliver them out of the hands of the ungodly. 
 Not only by His grace and the protection of His holy angels 
 here, but, says the Carmelite, by saving them from the accusa- 
 tions of the enemy in the Doom, and appointing them to be 
 where no minister of evil can ever trouble them more. 
 
 (12) Lux orta est justo, et There is sprung up a light 
 
 rectis corde Icetitia. for the righteous, and gladness 
 
 for such as are true-hearted. 
 
 We may take this light first of the seeds of Divine grace, 
 sown in the illumination of Baptism, and growing up by 
 degrees to the perfect day of true holiness. Then of Christ 
 Himself, sown with tears in His grave, rising again in glory 
 and bringing gladness to His people. Or the Sending of the 
 Holy Ghost, Who enlightens the mind with the brightness of 
 divine grace which is vouchsafed to the righteous and true- 
 hearted, that is, to all who have washed their sins in the Blood 
 of Christ. St. Augustine says in his Confessions : There was a 
 great dark cloud of vanity before mine eyes, so that I saw not 
 the Sun of Righteousness and the Light of Truth ; I loved my 
 darkness because I knew not Thy Light ; I was blind and loved 
 my blindness and walked from darkness to darkness : but, Lord 
 Thou art my God Who hast led me out of the darkness and 
 the shadow of death and hath called me into this glorious 
 Light. And, behold, I see. 
 
 Again, we may take this light as the voice of Conscience 
 which is the heaven -given guide to each individual soul. 
 And what is Conscience ? It is the Light of that great gift of 
 
 13
 
 194 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 God, Reason, the Light of the Divine Countenance impressed 
 upon our soul [i], teaching us practically what to do in every 
 specific act. Conscience, after all, must be the guide by which 
 we stand or fall in God's sight ; it decides before the act 
 whether it be sinful or not. After-reasonings or discussions 
 cannot effect the sinfulness of any past act. That is decided, 
 there and then, by the previous voice of Reason. This Light 
 is clear and brilliant in the souls of the righteous and true- 
 hearted who listen to the Voice of the Holy Ghost, trust 
 Him as their Teacher and make use of His Seven Gifts to 
 purify their understandings from the darkness of sin and to 
 strengthen their wills. Thus the Light of Reason, or the 
 Voice of Conscience, is developed, and we know even as we are 
 known [2], and our heart is filled with the joyful gladness of 
 the Sons of God who walk with Him in white [3], 
 
 (13) Lcetdmini justi in Do- Rejoice in the Lord, ye right- 
 
 mino : et confitemini memorize eous : and give thanks for a 
 sanctificationis ejus. remembrance of His holiness. 
 
 Holiness is not only an attribute of God, but is also a grace 
 communicated by Him to His people, for which they are to 
 give thanks. It is Justification ; it is the Sacrament of 
 Penance ; it is Holy Baptism, say various commentators. The 
 Carmelite takes the words of the Blessed Sacrament, wherein 
 we bless and thank Him, by the Eucharistic worship, which is 
 His Own memorial Rite wherein He is Priest and Victim, Host 
 and Guest [4]. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the Lord of the whole earth ; 
 Glory to the Son, Who preserveth the souls of His saints ; 
 Glory be to the Holy Ghost, Who is the joyful gladness of the 
 true-hearted. 
 
 [i] Cf. Ps. iv. 6. [2] Cor. xiii 2. [3] Cf. Apoc. iii. 4. 
 
 [4] St. Thomas thus writes in the Adoro te : 
 
 " O most sweet memorial of His death and woe, 
 Living Bread which giveth life to man below, 
 Let my spirit ever eat of Thee and live, 
 And the blest fruition of Thy sweetness give."
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 195 
 
 ANTIPHONS. 
 
 (1) (During the year) Post After childbirth, Virgin, 
 partum Virgo invioldta per- thou didst remain inviolate, 
 mansisti, Dei Genitrix inter- Mother of God intercede for us. 
 cede pro nobis. 
 
 (2) (During Advent) An- The Angel of the Lord dc- 
 gelusDdmininuntidvitMarice, dared unto Mary, and she 
 et concepit de Spiritu sancto. conceived by the Holy Ghost. 
 
 The first of these two Antiphons continues the descrip- 
 tion of the relations of our ever dear and blessed Lady to 
 the Mystical Body. Through her own stainless Conception 
 and her miraculous child-bearing she became the official 
 intercessor between the Members and the Head. Jesus came 
 to us through her. She has given Him to the world. With- 
 out her free consent the Incarnation would never have taken 
 place ; for God forces no one. He ever respects the free will 
 He has given, that free will by which we are made images of 
 our Maker. Having thus given us Jesus, the great Gift of God, 
 is it wonderful that we should also get His gifts through her ? 
 Or that having given us the greater she should also give us the 
 lesser ? This Antiphon, then, teaches us her office of Inter- 
 cessor between us and Jesus, Who is Himself the one Mediator 
 of God and Man [i]. She does her office now, as she did at 
 Cana of Galilee, when she told Him the wants of the guests 
 and then told the people, Whatsoever He shall say to you that 
 do ye [2]. 
 
 This Antiphon when used during Christmas-tide, and 
 recalls the spotless Motherhood of Mary, ever a Virgin. 
 Before, in, and after child-bearing she remained inviolate, 
 and was, according to the flesh, the Mother of none save the 
 Son of God. 
 
 The second of these Antiphons, made up of a familiar 
 Versicle and Response, is used during Advent-tide, and 
 emphasises the divine Maternity from which flow all the 
 offices of Mary to the members of Jesus Christ. It finds its 
 echo in the Psalm : The Lord hath made known His salvation ; 
 
 [i] I Tim. ii. 5. [2] John ii. 3-5.
 
 196 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 and all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God, 
 that is, Jesus, the Son of Mary. 
 
 PSALM xcvn. 
 Title. A Psalm of David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That God, by the Coming of His Son, hath 
 declared His salvation unto all. The voice of the Apostles 
 rejoicing at the Resurrection of Christ. The voice of the 
 Church to the Lord and to the Apostles. Concerning the first 
 and second Coming of Christ. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The Psalm refers to our Lord, con- 
 cerning Whose Coming the Psalmist is about to speak. In 
 the first part the Psalmist recommends the Christian people to 
 be glad with the rejoicing of a new song, since the wondrous 
 Coming of Christ is granted. In the second part he declares 
 more fully in various ways that we should rejoice because the 
 Judge desired by the righteous is to come at last. 
 
 (1) Cantate Domino cdnti- sing unto the Lord a new 
 cum novum : quia mirabilia song: for He hath done marvel- 
 fecit, lous things. 
 
 (2) Salvdvit Sibi dextera With His right hand and 
 Ejus : et brdchium sanctum with His holy arm hath He 
 Ejus. saved Himself. 
 
 The song must be new, because of the unwonted nature of 
 the marvellous things God hath wrought. When of old, with 
 a mighty hand and an arm stretched out, He brought His 
 people out of Egypt, He saved but one small nation ; He 
 overthrew in the Red Sea only a human enemy. But now 
 His salvation extends to all nations of the earth ; the enemy 
 He has routed is the Prince of the powers of the air : it is 
 wickedness in the high places. 
 
 He hath done matvellous things, says Bellarmine, in the 
 Incarnation, Birth, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension, and in the 
 Sending of the Holy Ghost ; not to speak of the miracles He 
 wrought in person during His sojourn on earth, or by the hand 
 of His servants since. But the words most especially refer to 
 the Resurrection, the greatest of all His earthly miracles ; and
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 197 
 
 in that He wrought this marvel alone : / have power to lay My 
 life 'down and I have power to take it up again [i], with no one 
 to aid in the agony of His Passion, with no hand to pluck Him 
 back from the grave. He said in prophecy of old : The year 
 of My redeemed is come, and I looked and there was none to 
 help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold ; therefore 
 Mine own arm hath brought salvation unto Me and My fury it 
 upheld Me [2] . We may also, following Lorin, take, without 
 any material change in the meaning, the words as spoken 
 by the Father, declaring that He wrought the salvation of 
 mankind by one instrument alone His own Right Hand, the 
 only-begotten Son, by Whose second Coming, of which this 
 Psalm speaks, as well as His first, the triumph will be 
 completed. 
 
 (3) Notum fecit Ddminus The Lord hath made known 
 
 Salutdre Suum : in conspectu His salvation, and hath rc- 
 
 gentium reveldvit justitiam vealed His righteousness in 
 
 Suam. the sight of the heathen. 
 
 It is the manifestation of the only-begotten Son, the Saviour 
 of Mankind, the Light to enlighten the Gentiles of whom 
 Simeon chanted his dying song while doubtless thinking 
 of this Psalm. And observe, it is not said that God showed, 
 but that He made known His salvation. For He had shown 
 it in mystery of old to the Patriarchs. Adam knew Him as 
 the Redeemer to come ; and so did Abel, who offered Him a 
 lamb ; and Seth, who called on His Name ; and Noe, who 
 was His type, saving mankind in the Ark ; and Abraham, 
 who offered up his own son. But the world had forgotten 
 Him, and therefore the Father made Him known. So the 
 Carmelite. And the Carthusian points out that God did this 
 with care that the Birth should not pass unnoticed ; for He 
 made it known to shepherds by the angels, to the wise men 
 by the star, to Zacharias by the angel Gabriel, to Simeon and 
 Anna by the Holy Ghost. But to the Gentiles, who had no 
 previous knowledge to be recalled, He revealed His righteous- 
 ness in their sight. So we may notice that the Apostles never 
 address their Gentile congregations in parables, as our Lord 
 did the Jews. They make direct proclamation of the Gospel. 
 
 [i] John x. 18. [2] Isaias Ixiii. 4-5.
 
 198 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 His salvation, His righteousness. These terms mean Jesus 
 the Holy One, the Just One [i]. He is known to the faithful 
 in the breaking of bread [2] ; and to those outside He is 
 declared by the Church, whose Unity He chose as the mark 
 that might convince men of His Divine Mission [3]. 
 
 (4) Recorddtus est miseri- He hath remembered His 
 cordice suce, et veritdtis suce mercy and His truth towards 
 domui Israel. the house of Israel. 
 
 The word remembered is here employed, as in the Benedictus 
 and Magnificat, not in any way denoting that God could 
 possibly forget, but to remind us of the length of time which 
 passed before the promised Deliverer appeared, a delay which 
 would, in any human analogy, be due to oblivion. But God 
 is eternal : and a thousand years are as a day in His sight [4.] 
 It is said towards the house of Israel because the promises 
 of mercy were made originally to the children of Abraham, 
 Isaac, and Jacob, so that God's truth was concerned in fulfil- 
 ling this pledge. Accordingly the true manifestation of the 
 Saviour, the first preaching of the Gospel, was among the 
 people and in the land of Israel. 
 
 (5) Viderunt omnes termini All the ends of the earth 
 terrce salutdre Dei nostri. have seen the salvation of our 
 
 God. 
 
 This latter verse, read in the light of the former, shows the 
 uncovenanted mercies whereby His love overflows the con- 
 tract He makes with His creatures. We are bound by His 
 Covenant, but He can work without restrictions. Nothing 
 can bind Him save Himself; and He, the Apostle tells us, is 
 chanty [5]. 
 
 All the ends of the earth. To all those Gentiles who had 
 not claim on His truth : and yet to them, to us, He has shown 
 Jesus His salvation. And precisely so runs the prophecy of 
 Isaias : It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be My servant, to 
 raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the desolations of 
 
 [l] Acts iii. 14. [4] Ps. Ixxxix. 4. 
 
 [2] Luke xxiv. 35. [5] I John iv. 8. 
 
 [3] John xvii. 21.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 199 
 
 Israel : I will also give Thee for a Light to the Gentiles, that Thou 
 mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth [i]. 
 
 (6) Jubildte Deo omnis Show yourselves joyful unto 
 terra : cantdte, et exsultdte, et the Lord all ye lands : sing, 
 psdllite. rejoice, and give thanks. 
 
 Commentators tell us that by the use of these general 
 words various grades of spiritual exultation are denoted, to 
 each of which all lands, the whole extent of the Church, are 
 invited. 
 
 Show yourselves joyful is the first inarticulate expression of 
 the soul's delight, striving for utterance ; but not yet able to 
 collect itself, nor perfectly to understand the nature of its 
 gladness. Sing tells us that words of suitable devotion have 
 been found at last. Rejoice tells us of the fervent happiness 
 with which the saints pour forth their prayers to God. And 
 give thanks (upon the harp) implies the active praise of good 
 works performed for His sake. 
 
 (7) Psalite Domino in cith- Praise the Lord upon the 
 ara, in cithara et voce psalmi : harp, upon the harp and with 
 in tubis ductilibuSf et voce the voice of a psalm : with 
 tubce cornece. trumpets and with the sound 
 
 of the shawm. 
 
 We have now five methods of rejoicing put before us, the 
 five words of which St. Paul speaks : Yet in the church I had 
 rather speak five words with my understanding . . . than ten 
 thousand words in an unknown tongue [2]. These five words 
 answer, as Perez remarks, to the five titles given to our Lord 
 in this Psalm, viz., right hand, holy arm, salvation, righteous- 
 ness, and truth. As regards the mystical signification of the 
 various instruments named here, we are reminded, first, that 
 by the harp we are taught that all our faculties, all parts of our 
 conduct, should be vocal with sweet melody to God. For a 
 harp is imperfect if even one string be lacking or not in tune 
 with the others. What profits it thee, then, if thou be chaste, 
 liberal in almsgiving, and yet envious ? What advantage is it 
 if thou have six strings whole and one broken ? The harp 
 
 [i] xlix. 6. [2] I Cor. xiv. 19.
 
 200 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (a symbol of mortification, with its tense strings and empty 
 hollow) is twice named, to teach us that bodily austerity and 
 the practice of holiness need to be repeated and not left off 
 after the beginning ; that we are to praise with body and soul 
 in prosperity and adversity, in this life and the next : and it is 
 coupled with the psalm of thanksgiving in the second place, 
 because contemplation and prayer, in addition to active virtues, 
 are essential to spiritual life and joy. Some, however, think 
 that the ten-stringed harp is meant here, implying the keeping 
 of the ten commandments. 
 
 With trumpets and shawms, or, literally, " on drawn-out 
 trumpets and with the sound of the trumpet of horn." The 
 first are aptly assigned to the heralding of the Gospel, while 
 the humbler "trumpet of horn" to the pastoral teaching of 
 Christian shepherds. Yet another view, that of Albert the 
 Great, sees in the metal trumpets the martyrs of Christ ; and 
 in the cornet (horn), made of that which springs from the 
 flesh, yet is not of it, the confessors who have kept their carnal 
 affections in check by asceticism, and by lifting themselves up 
 in the practice of prayer towards God. 
 
 (8) Jubilate in conspectu 
 regis Ddmini : movedtur mare, 
 et plenitudo Ejus : orbis terrd- 
 rum, et qui habitant in eo. 
 
 (9) Fluminaplaudent manu, 
 simul monies exsultdbunt a 
 conspectu Domini : qudniam 
 venit judicdre terram. 
 
 show yourselves joyful 
 before the Lord the King : Let 
 the sea be moved and the ful- 
 ness thereof : the round world 
 and they that dwell therein. 
 
 Let the floods clap their hands 
 and let the hills be joyful to- 
 gether before the Lord : for 
 He comes to judge the earth. 
 
 The Carmelite says, We show ourselves joyful before the 
 Lord when we so constantly have Him in our thoughts, words, 
 and deeds ; when we are conscious of acting with continual 
 reference to Him and not to the world or to ourselves ; and 
 when ours is a glad and filial service, not the servile letter of 
 slaves. The notion of this clause, which really belongs to 
 the former verse, is that of the processional march with music 
 and singing to greet the King as He returns from victory 
 and coronation. A monarch, in such cases, bestows largesse
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 201 
 
 upon his subjects. So our special time for rejoicing is when 
 our King comes to judgment and bestows rewards on His 
 faithful people. The Psalmist goes on to call inanimate 
 creation, which, in St. Paul's words, groaneth and travaildh 
 in pain together until now [i], to swell the hymn of triumph 
 raised by all that dwell in the round world. But as Corder, 
 giving us various opinions of Oriental commentators, says, 
 There are spiritual meanings underlying the various terms 
 used. The sea, as one will have it, denotes the Law, once 
 bitter, now made sweet by the word of the Cross ; or else the 
 restless, tossing, bitter, and sorrowful life of the world and all 
 that are mixed up with it ; also those who shed the salt tears 
 of penitence. 
 
 The round world, those within the circle of the Church, 
 firm and fruitful. 
 
 The floods, drinking in the waters of wisdom from their 
 source, and irrigating the dry land, denote all holy preachers 
 of the word. The hills are those in high position, especially 
 in the offices of the Church. 
 
 Let the sea be moved. St. Augustine observes that it is 
 exactly when the storms of persecution are raging that saints 
 are most zealous and most happy, clapping their hands in very 
 joy in honour of their King. 
 
 The floods mean the faithful regenerated in the sweet 
 waters of Baptism, and remind us that the rivers flow down 
 from the hills, and bid us see herein the spiritual might and 
 progress of the disciples in the Faith. 
 
 For He comes to judge the earth. With Bellarmine, we may 
 take this either of our Lord's first or second Coming. If of 
 the first, then the ground of rejoicing is because He comes to 
 rule the earth with a Law, perfectly just ; and to do so, not 
 as of old in the unseen Majesty of the Godhead, but in bodily 
 and visible form, as a Man dwelling with men. If of the 
 second Coming, then the theme of rejoicing is the final victory 
 over sin and the making all things new [2], when we are 
 delivered at last from the bondage of corruption unto the 
 glorious liberty of the children of God [3]. 
 
 [l] Rom. viii. 22. [2] Apoc. xxi. 5. [3] Cf. Rom. viii. 21.
 
 202 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (10) Judicdbitorbem terra- With righteousness shall He 
 
 rum in justitia, et pdpulos in judge the world, and the 
 cequitdte. people with equity. 
 
 This Psalm ends precisely as does the first Psalm in this 
 Nocturn, with the exception of the last word equity instead of 
 truth. It is a word of hope and of fear alike. Of hope, 
 because the feeble and the oppressed will find an advocate in 
 their Judge ; for it is written : With righteousness shall He judge 
 the poor and argue with equity for the meek of the earth [i]. Of 
 fear, for, // Thou, Lord, will mark iniquities, Lord, who shall 
 abide it f [2]. But as He hath not yet come for the second 
 time, why should men tremble ? Let them amend and rejoice. 
 It is in thine own power how thou shalt look for the Coming 
 of Christ. He delays that Coming that He may not have to 
 condemn thee. Behold He cometh not yet. He is in heaven 
 and thou on earth. He delays His Coming, delay not thou thy 
 counsel. His Coming is hard to the obdurate, but gentle to 
 the loving. Look, then, at once what thou art ; if obdurate, 
 thou mayest soften ; if gentle, rejoice that He is coming. For 
 thou art a Christian ? Yes, sayest thou. I believe thou 
 prayest and sayest, Thy kingdom come. Thou desirest Him to 
 come of Whose Coming thou art afraid. Repent lest thy 
 prayer be against thyself. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the Lord and King ; Glory to 
 the Son, His Right Hand, Who shall judge the world with 
 righteousness ; Glory to the Holy Ghost, Who declared the 
 salvation of God. 
 
 VERSICLE AND RESPONSE. 
 
 y. Diffusa est gratia in Grace is poured forth on thy 
 
 Idbiis tuis. lips. 
 
 ty. Propterea benedixit te Therefore God hath blessed 
 
 Deus in ceternum. thee for ever. 
 
 These, taken from the first Psalm in the second Nocturn, 
 fittingly conclude a Nocturn which has been mainly con- 
 
 [l] Is. xi. 4. [2] Ps. cxxix. 3.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 203 
 
 cerned with the office of our ever dear and blessed Lady 
 towards the Mystical Body. They sum up everything. From 
 the grace poured forth on her lips at the Fiat mihi comes all 
 her blessedness in which we share so abundantly. It is well 
 to fix this point into our minds : Mary is what she is to us, 
 because she is the Mother of God. So our love for her will 
 abound more and more [i] in knowledge and understanding. 
 
 PATER NOSTER. 
 
 Said in silence. 
 
 y. Et ne nos inducas in And lead us not into 
 
 tentdtidnem. temptation. 
 
 ty. Sed libera nos a malo. But deliver us from evil. 
 
 The pious author of the Myroure thus comments on the 
 Pater Noster : 
 
 " Our Father. Think now that as a child giveth trust fully 
 to his father in what distress soever he be in, so ye, in what- 
 ever distress or trouble or temptation or sin that you be in, 
 meekly and trustingly lift up your heart to God your Father, 
 and tell Him what aileth you, and say to Him, our Father. 
 You say not my Father, but our Father ; whereby we are 
 taught to have great charity and love each to another, and to 
 all our fellow-Christians, inasmuch as we are all children of 
 one Father, to Whom we all say our Father. 
 
 " Who art in heaven. Therefore lift up your hearts from 
 earthly and vain things and offer them to Him that is not only 
 in heaven above in bliss, but also in the souls of His servants 
 by grace, which are called heavens. And in each place He is, 
 by His being, and by His presence, and by His power. 
 Think, then, wherever you be, that God, your Father, is 
 present before you, with you, and all about you, and by grace 
 in every one's heart that is out of deadly sin ; and in this 
 beholding say to Him with great love and joy and reverence, 
 Our Father, Who art in heaven. 
 
 " Thy Name be hallowed, that is, (may) the worship and 
 love of Thy holy Name be so confirmed and stabled in our 
 minds, that whatever we think, or say, or do, we must ever- 
 
 [l] I Thess. iv. i.
 
 204 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 more intend the holiness and praising of Thy Holy Name and 
 not the vanity of our own name. And that our life may be so 
 holy that thy Name be hallowed, and worshipped thereby in 
 us. And further, that it may be thus : 
 
 " Thy kingdom come, that is, may the Lordship of all sin 
 be so cast out of us, and mayest Thou so reign in us by 
 the grace and plenty of all virtues, that we (may) be ready 
 to desire Thy Coming in the fulness of Thy Kingdom at 
 the Day of Doom, or at the end of our life. And also that 
 Thy Kingdom may so come to them that are in Purgatory that 
 they may be delivered from all pain and come to rest in the 
 joy of Thy Kingdom. And so, in this petition, you ask that 
 God should reign in you and in your fellow-Christians by 
 grace. And that both you and all living and dead should 
 come to the Kingdom of bliss. 
 
 " Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven, that is, 
 as Thy saints that are in heaven are conformed in all things 
 to Thy Will, so give us will and strength to desire and to 
 fulfil Thy Will in all things, be it never so contrary to our 
 vain wills. So that if Thou wilt have us in sickness, or in 
 tribulation, in weal or woe, in heaven, in earth, or in hell, 
 Thy Fatherly Will be done in us. Think not that our Father 
 will have any of His children in hell. But our obedience to 
 our Father ought to be fervent and simple, that we take no 
 heed of heaven, nor of hell, but only of the fulfilment of our 
 Father's will. 
 
 " Give us this day our daily bread, that is, the sustenance of 
 our bodily life which Thou sendest us, grant us to take it 
 soberly, without surfeit, and patiently, without grudging, and 
 give us sufficiently thereof to our need. And the bread of 
 Thy Word give us this day, by feeling devotion in Thy 
 holy service and in prayer, and in all reading and hearing 
 of Thy Word. Give us, Father, the bread of Thy grace, with 
 which we be comforted and strengthened to withstand evil 
 and to do good. And give us such faith and charity and 
 devotion in our souls that thereby we may receive every 
 day the Bread of Thy Holy Sacrament of the Altar, that is, 
 Lord Jesus, Thyself, in the unity of Thy Church, though we 
 receive it not every day with our bodily mouths.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 205 
 
 "And forgive our trespasses, as we forgive our trespassers. 
 This petition seems heavy to them that behold other men's 
 sins and forget their own. But, and we see clearly, how great 
 and many our sins are against God, and how little in regard 
 thereof any offence is that is done against us, we should think 
 it a petition of unspeakable comfort that by forgiveness of so 
 little and few we may get forgiveness of so many and so great. 
 I have sinned against God and deserved pain ; another hath 
 sinned against me and deserved punishing. If I forgive the 
 offence and not the pain, my Father, God, will do the same to 
 me ; if I forgive pain and all, so shall God, my Father, forgive 
 me. Glad, therefore, ought we to be when any trespass is 
 done against us in word or deed, and more glad to forgive it, 
 and with heart and word and look and deed ; and to love them 
 and to do (good) for them. For by them we have occasion to 
 get from God, our Father, the large and greatly desired pardon 
 and forgiveness of all our sins and of all the pains that we have 
 deserved therefore. The great comfort that this petition giveth 
 to a sinful soul cannot lightly be told, for He is Truth that 
 biddeth us pray thus, and it may not be in vain ; but as we 
 forgive we shall be forgiven . . . And if we be in will to 
 forgive, and feel contrary stirrings in ourselves, yet let us 
 nevertheless say this same petition trustingly to our Father, 
 thinking thus : Grant us, good Father, verily to forgive our 
 trespassers as we desired to be forgiven of Thee. 
 
 "And lead us not into temptation, that is, suffer us not for 
 our unkindness and demerits to fall into sin by any temptation. 
 This is a petition heartily to be asked. For none make pro- 
 gress in virtue without temptation ; nor can anyone withstand 
 temptation, be he never so perfect, without the special help 
 and grace of God. And therefore let us pray our Father 
 with fear and by this petition, not to keep us from temptation, 
 but to keep us so that fall we not by any temptation. 
 
 " But deliver us from evil. We can neither, nor may not 
 of ourselves, do anything but sin, nor can we, or may we, 
 deserve anything but pain. And therefore meekly and with 
 dread, knowing our own feebleness, we pray our Father to 
 deliver us from evil of all sin and of all peril and of all pain, 
 temporal and everlasting.
 
 206 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 "Amen. This word Amen, is a word of Hebrew; and 
 sometimes it is a word of affirming, and is as much as to 
 say, ' Truly,' or ' Faithfully.' And sometimes it is a word of 
 desiring, and is as much as to say, ' So be it/ or ' Be it done.' 
 And so it is set here for to show a great desire that we ought to 
 have all that is asked before in this Prayer be fulfilled. For in 
 these seven petitions is asked all that is needed to us for body 
 and soul in this life and after. 
 
 " Thus may you have your mind on this prayer, when you 
 say it, if you will study and labour to understand it, and keep 
 it in your mind. Not that you must have mind in all the 
 words that I have written, but on the meaning. For the 
 understanding of man, namely, when it is lightened by grace, 
 may conceive more in a little while than the tongue may speak 
 in a longer time, and therefore, while you say the words of 
 your Pater Noster I hope your understanding will the better be 
 fed unto the inward meaning, as I have now written. At least, 
 with some thereof, if you will do your duty, and for as much as 
 our Saviour made this prayer for our health, it is good that you 
 intend always to say it according to the intention that He made 
 it for, and to ask thereby all things that He intended should be 
 asked thereby when He made it " [i]. 
 
 THE ABSOLUTION. 
 
 Precibus et mentis bedtcz By the prayers and the merits 
 
 MaricB semper virginis, et of Blessed Mary ever virgin, 
 
 omnium Sanctorum perducat and of all the saints, may the 
 
 nos Dominus ad regna ccelo- Lord bring us to the heavenly 
 
 rum. ty. Amen. realms. Amen. 
 
 "The Absolution is not only a loosening from the faults 
 we have committed while reciting the Office, but it is also 
 a special prayer to dispose our soul to profit by the words 
 of the Sacred Scripture which are about to be read to us. For 
 the psalmody being over, we now rest and let the Holy Ghost 
 speak to our hearts ; for as the Preacher saith : There is a time 
 to keep silence and a time to speak." [2] 
 y. Jube domine benedicere. Lord, command her to bless. 
 
 [l] Myroure, p. 73-77. [2] Myroure, p. 101 ; Eccles. iii. 7.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 207 
 
 BLESSING. 
 
 Nos cum Prole pia, benedicat May the Virgin Mary, 
 
 Virgo Maria. together with her kind Son, 
 
 bless us. 
 
 "Then cometh the reader and asketh leave of God 
 Almighty and the help of your prayers that she may read 
 to our Lord's worship and sayeth, Jube domine bencdicere 
 Lord, bid me say well ; as if she said : Lord give me leave and 
 bid me say or read, for else I dare not presume to open my 
 mouth to these holy words ; and give me strength and grace 
 to read and say them, and so well that Thou mayest be pleased 
 and the hearers edified and my soul unhurt. And though 
 these words be thus said principally to God, yet they are also 
 said to her that giveth the blessing and who therein occupieth 
 God's stead, so that she should bless His name, and give 
 her leave to read. For by blessing is understood giving of 
 leave ; therefore she saith, Jube domine benedicere, that is, 
 ' Lord bid her bless.' . . . Then she that is asked to bless, 
 knowing well that the blessing or leave-giving belongeth 
 principally to God, prayeth our Lady for help and for succour, 
 both to the reader and to the hearers. ... In all this you 
 may see how diligently you ought to be in reading and 
 hearing of our lessons, while there is ordained so great instance 
 before to make you ready thereto. Then followeth the lesson, 
 that is, as much as to say a ' reading ' " [i]. 
 
 THE FIRST LESSON. 
 Ecclesiasticus xxiv. n. 
 
 In omnibus requiem quce- In all things I sought rest, 
 
 sivi, et in hereditdte Domini and I shall abide in the heri- 
 mordbor. Tune prcecepit, et tage of the Lord. Then the 
 dixit mini Creator 6mnium : Maker of all things commanded 
 et Qui credvit me, requievit in and said to me, and He that 
 taberndculo meo, et dixit mihi: made me rested in my taber- 
 In Jacob inhabita et in Israel nacle : and He said to me, 
 hereditdre, et in electis meis Let thy dwelling be in Jacob 
 mitte radices. and in Israel thine inherit- 
 
 ance, and take thou root 
 among Mine elect. 
 
 [l] Myroure, p. 102.
 
 208 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 y. Tu autem Domine mis- But do Thou, Lord, have 
 
 ertre nobis. mercy. 
 
 fg. Deo grdtias. Thanks to God. 
 
 That Wisdom of Whom it is said : / came forth from 
 the mouth of the Most High and I have made in heaven 
 a light that faileth not, My dwelling is on high, and My throne 
 a pillar of cloud [i], is none other than the Second Person 
 of the adorable Trinity. He is fittingly called the Wisdom of 
 the Father, for He proceeds from Him by way of under- 
 standing. He is the Eternal Word, the perfect Image of 
 the Father, the same Lord and God as the other two Divine 
 Persons. Now, Creation is the work of Omnipotence, of 
 Wisdom, and of Love. It is the work of the Blessed Three. 
 But Sacred Scripture seems to point out that in a particular 
 sense it is to be attributed to the Son Who was to be the 
 first-born, of every creature [2]. Thou hast made all things in 
 wisdom, says the Psalmist [3]. And so the work of the new 
 Creation is also to be particularly attributed to the Son, to 
 Him Whose dearest Name is that of Jesus the Saviour, and 
 Who hath sent us the Holy Ghost, the uncreated Love of 
 Father and of Son. The work of restoration was founded on 
 the sublimest Wisdom. Man had fallen from his primaeval 
 righteousness and had to retrace his steps. This of himself 
 he could not do, having lost the gift of sanctifying grace. 
 But although God comes to his assistance, Man has to do his 
 part and acts upon his own responsibility. The work, then, 
 of regaining heaven is one not so much of repression, or 
 of uprooting our nature, as of self-education. The nature 
 which God gave, and which He Himself assumed, is not 
 in itself bad. Original sin robbed it of that supernatural 
 life in which our first parents were constituted ; it gave 
 it a distinct tendency towards evil. The Body overweighted 
 the Soul, and right Reason lost its control over Man. So, 
 in the Wisdom of God, the work of reparation consists 
 in restoring the lost balance, setting Reason, or Conscience, 
 back again upon its lost throne ; thus enabling us to act in 
 wisdom instead of in thraldom to our lower appetites. This, 
 
 [l] Eccles. xxiv. 5. [2] Col. i. 15. [3] Ps. ciii. 24.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 209 
 
 then, was the wise work of the Repairer of the Fall. By this 
 restoration of the God-like gift of Reason to its supremacy, 
 and enriching it by the higher light of Faith, Man was set 
 on the road to heaven, painful and slow though his progress 
 might be. It was to be a lasting work. The first important 
 point, therefore, was to teach man Who his Maker is ; and 
 what are his relations to that Maker. In the dealings of God 
 with Israel we see the manner in which Divine Wisdom 
 worked. One people chosen out from all the children of 
 men ; one small tract of country taken as the seat of the 
 Divine operations. To this people was the Covenant made : 
 / will be your God and you shall be My people [i]. This Cove- 
 nant with Israel, of course, did not tie God's hands, nor did it 
 restrain His uncovenanted mercies towards those beyond the 
 borders of the Twelve Tribes. But the work of education was, 
 at first, to go on only within these limits. The Israelites were 
 gradually taught to look forward with greater longing and 
 intensity to Him Who was to come. Patriarchs sighed for 
 Him ; Seers foretold Him. The place and the time when He 
 was to come were predicted clearly. Each step was weighed, 
 each wisely chosen. In all things Wisdom sought rest, that rest 
 which only comes when perfect love exists between God and 
 the Creature, when the work of education is done, and Man 
 is fit for heaven. Israel was the chosen spot. It was the 
 heritage of the Lord, and there Wisdom chose to abide. But 
 as the Incarnation was the fulfilment of the past, so it was the 
 promise of the future. Israel had to enlarge her tents and 
 widen her borders [2]. The true Israel, of which the Hebrews 
 were only a tribe, is God's Church, where Wisdom ever abides 
 in the inheritance of the Lord : / am with you all days, even 
 to the end of world [3]. Here, in the Church, the work of 
 educating the soul for heaven proceeds apace, and would be 
 the sooner accomplished did we not put so many obstacles 
 in the way. But Wisdom knows how to achieve its ends. It 
 is patient and can wait. It can turn the very obstacles into 
 new stepping-stones to heaven. But meanwhile, from the 
 very dawn of the Incarnation, there was one, a human 
 
 [i] Jer. xxx. 22. [2] Cf. Isaias liv. 2. [3] Matt, xxviii. 20.
 
 2io THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 creature, pure and holy, whose soul was a fitting resting- 
 place for Divine Wisdom, and who was the type of what 
 Humanity, aided by God's grace, could be. And this one was 
 the stainless Virgin Mary, chosen to be God's Mother. She 
 became the living " Seat of Wisdom," and showed forth, to 
 the greatest extent possible to a mere creature, the Wisdom 
 of God. Hence, Holy Church does not hesitate, by analogy, 
 to apply to our ever dear and blessed Lady the description of 
 the Eternal Wisdom given in these lessons. Her wisdom 
 was but a ray of that which was God's ; and, moreover, it was 
 not her own but the gift of her Maker. 
 
 Now, then, to apply the Lesson to our ever dear and 
 blessed Lady. This lesson has a great affinity to the spirit 
 which pervades the Psalms of the first Nocturn. It treats of 
 the predestination of Mary. 
 
 In all things I sought for rest. This is the longing of the 
 human heart rest ; and rest can only be found in God. It 
 was by her Ecce ancilla Domini that Mary found her rest, 
 submitting her will once for all to that of Her Maker : This is 
 my rest, for I have chosen it [i]. Therefore does she abide for 
 ever in the inheritance of the Lord. By her complete sub- 
 mission to God's Will it is seen that, in her case, Reason had 
 fully resumed its throne and ruled her. She was the Hand- 
 maiden ; He was the Lord. When she had proved her 
 submission, the Creator of all things rested in her sacred 
 womb ; and on account of her incomparable dignity of 
 Mother of God, which was the recompense for her submission, 
 she has had appointed to her in the Church a place com- 
 mensurate with her dignity. 
 
 Jacob, whose other name was Israel, which means "seeing 
 God," is typical of the Church. Nor must it be forgotten that 
 Jacob means " supplanter," and refers to the true Supplanter, 
 Jesus, Who has supplanted the first Adam and made Himself 
 the true Head of our Race. And in her turn Mary supplants 
 Eve, and is the true " Mother of all the Living." Jacob may 
 also be taken to represent the active life, and Israel, " seeing 
 God," the contemplative life. The example of Mary, the type 
 
 [l] Ps. cxxxi. 14.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 211 
 
 of union with God, must find a place in the souls devoted 
 to the active life if they would escape the dangers they are 
 exposed to. But Israel is her chosen heritage, her very own ; 
 for those souls who follow the Lamb into the heights of 
 simple contemplation are, in a special way, her children ; for 
 their submission to God is more complete than the others, 
 their interior life more resembles her's who ever kept these 
 words in her heart [i], and who heard the Will of God and did 
 it [2]. It is in these souls that her example strikes root 
 deeply, and produces in them flowers here, and fruit hereafter. 
 " When the lesson is ended the reader addresseth her heart 
 and voice to God and saith, Tu autem, that is, But Thou, O 
 Lord, have mercy upon us, as if she said : I have offended 
 in my reading by some vanity of myself, or by irreverence to 
 Thy Holy Word, or by some negligence, and the hearers 
 perhaps also by some distraction of their minds from this holy 
 lesson ; but Thou, Lord, have mercy upon us. Then the 
 hearers answer, not to her asking mercy, but for the holy 
 doctrine that they have heard in the lesson, and say : We give 
 thanks to God. The reader asketh mercy rather than returns 
 thanks; for he that teacheth or doeth anything, though it be 
 never so good, and done with ever so good an intention, yet 
 he ought not at once to give God thanks, as though he had 
 done it well, like as did that proud Pharisee, as the Gospel 
 telleth [3] ; but he ought to humble himself and ask for 
 mercy, fearing lest he have offended in anything and not done 
 well, as that holy and rightful and patient man Job did. For 
 notwithstanding that his deeds were holy and good, yet he 
 said : / dread all my works [4]. For he that loveth cleanness 
 of conscience dreadeth always lest anything should defile it. 
 But the hearers thank God and say Deo grdtias. For he that 
 is taught or receiveth any benefit of God ought to give thanks 
 therefore. Nevertheless, the reader asketh mercy for the 
 hearers as well as for herself, and the hearers give thanks both 
 for the readers and for themselves ; for all good deeds done in 
 Holy Church are common to all them that are in charity" [5]. 
 
 [i] Luke ii. 19. [4] ix. 28. 
 
 [2] xi. 28. [5] Myroure, pp. 106-7. 
 
 [3] Luke xviii. 1 1 .
 
 212 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 Sancta et immaculdta vir- 
 ginitas ! quibus te Idudibus cf- 
 feram, nescio : * Quia Quern 
 cceli cdpere non potcrant, tuo 
 gremio contulisti. 
 
 y. Benedfcta tu in mulieri- 
 bus, et benedictusfructus ventris 
 tui* Quia Quern, &c. 
 
 Maidenhood holy and with- 
 out spot ! I know not with what 
 praises I may extol thee;* 
 For Him Whom the heavens 
 might not hold thou didst bear 
 in thy womb. 
 
 Blessed art thou among 
 women, and blessed is the Fruit 
 of thy womb.* For Him, &c. 
 
 This Responsory, sung immediately after the Lesson, is a 
 loving commentary on the thoughts inspired by the words of 
 Holy Writ, that God should dwell in a temple made with 
 hands. The soul is lost in admiration at the wonderful designs 
 of Eternal Wisdom and cannot find words enough to praise 
 so great a work, but those which the Holy Ghost Himself 
 put upon the lips of the Angel and holy Elizabeth : Blessed 
 art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb. 
 
 BLESSING. 
 
 ipsa Virgo virginum interce- 
 dat pro nobis ad Dominum. 
 
 May the Virgin of Virgins 
 herself intercede for us to the 
 Lord. 
 
 In this second Blessing we catch up the idea which seems 
 to predominate in the second Nocturn, viz., that of the beauty 
 of the soul of Mary and of the treasures of grace with which 
 Divine Wisdom enriched her in preparation for the dignity 
 of being His Mother. And the Virgo virginum of the blessing 
 strikes at once the note of her spotless purity and sanctity : 
 The white raiment in which she walks with Jesus amid the lilies 
 among which the Spouse feedeth [i], Thou art all fair [2]. 
 
 [i] Cf. Apoc. in. 4 ; Cant. iv. 7. 
 
 [2] Ibid. ii. 16.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 213 
 
 SECOND LESSON. 
 
 Et sic in Sion firmdta sum, And so was I established in 
 et in civitdte sanctificdta simi- Sion, and in the Holy City like- 
 liter requiem, et in Jerusalem wise I rested ; and in Jerusa- 
 potestas mea. Et radicdvi in lem was my power ; and I 
 pdpulo honorificdto, et in parte took root in an honourable 
 Dei mei hereditas illius, et in people, even in the portion of 
 plenitudine sancttirum deten- my God, His heritage, and in 
 tio mea. the fulness of the saints was 
 
 Tu autem, &c. my tarrying. 
 
 The application of this lesson to our ever dear and blessed 
 Lady is clear. 
 
 Sion is the Church on earth ; and in it we are drawn after 
 her by the sweet smell of her virtues. How fixed and firm is 
 devotion to Mary in Christ's Church is seen from the position 
 she holds in the Divine Economy, viz., that of the Neck 
 which unites the Head to the Body, the appointed channel of 
 all communications between them. 
 
 The Holy City we may take for that dim land of Purgatory, 
 truly a Holy City full of God's own children, where the Church 
 Suffering is. There does Mary's love and power of interces- 
 sion rest in a peculiar way, for the holy souls are her special 
 children, the sinners for whom she has prayed at the hour 
 of their death, the souls who are going through the last 
 courses of that education which Divine Wisdom has planned 
 for making in them the new man who, according to God, is 
 created in justice and holiness of Truth [i]. 
 
 Jerusalem, we must take for the Urbs beata, "the blest 
 vision of peace," where the Church Triumphant reigns. There 
 is fully displayed Mary's power with her Son, for there she 
 reigns in all her beauty and holiness, undisputed Queen. The 
 Angels with jubilee hail her as such : the Patriarch and 
 Prophets acknowledge her ; the Apostles acclaim their 
 Master's Mother as their Queen ; Martyrs recognise in her 
 Sorrows a martyrdom far above theirs. Confessors throng 
 round her, as courtiers their sovereign ; and Virgins tell forth 
 
 [i] Eph. iv. 24.
 
 214 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the praise of her who has taught them to minister before the 
 Lord and to love Him above all earthly loves. 
 
 Amidst the honourable people of God's elect she has taken 
 root, and rejoices in the heritage God has appointed her. 
 
 In the fulness of the saints was her tarrying; for she sums up 
 all their virtues. She has, says her servant, St. Bernard, the 
 faith of the Patriarch, the spirit of the Prophets, the fear of 
 the Apostles, the gratitude of the Martyrs, the continence 
 of the Confessors, the purity of Virgins, the gratefulness of 
 Spouses, and the splendour of the Angels. 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 Beata es Virgo Maria quce Blest art thou, Maiden Mary, 
 
 Dominum portdtsti Creatdrem who hast borne the Lord, the 
 mundi :* Genuisti qui te fecit, Maker of the world.* Thou 
 et in ceternum permanes virgo. hast begotten Him Who made 
 
 Ave Maria, gratia plena : thee and remainest for ever a 
 Dominus tecum* Genuisti. maiden. 
 
 Hail, Mary, full of Grace, 
 the Lord is with thee* Thou 
 hast, &c. 
 
 The incomparable beauty and dignity of our Lady is the 
 theme of this Responsory. As one likes to linger over some 
 beautiful sound, or perfume, to let it penetrate our being 
 and leave behind a sweet impression, so the thought of Mary's 
 greatness, her fulness of grace, is very sweet to linger over. 
 Thoughts come welling up from our hearts as we ponder over 
 her : Faith in the Incarnation ; Awe at God's dealing with 
 men ; Adoration at the marvellous Wisdom displayed ; and 
 Wonder and Thanksgiving for the great things He hath done 
 to her. These are all expressed in the Responsory and should 
 find an echo in our heart. 
 
 BLESSING. 
 
 Per Virginem Matrem con- Through the Maiden Mother 
 
 cMat nobis Dominus salutem may the Lord grant us health 
 et pacem. and peace. 
 
 This Blessing and the subsequent Lesson refer us to the 
 Third Nocturn, wherein is set before us Mary's office to the
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 215 
 
 Church at large. Its meaning, in brief, is, may we through her 
 intercession obtain from God grace, the true health of our 
 souls, and peace, that is, friendship with God. 
 
 THIRD LESSON. 
 
 Quasi cedrus exaltdia sum Like the cedar in Libanus 
 
 in Libano, et quasi cypressus was I exalted, and as a cypress 
 in monte Sion : quasi palma tree upon Mount Sion ; like the 
 exaltdta sum in Cades, et quasi palm tree in Cades was I cx- 
 plantdtio rosce in Jericho. alted, and as a rose garden in 
 Quasi oliva speciosa in campis, Jericho. As a fair olive tree 
 ct quasi pidtanus exaltdta sum in the fields, and as a plane 
 juxta aquam in plateis. Sicut tree beside the water in the way- 
 cinnamdnum, et bdlsamum side was I exalted. I gave forth 
 aromatizans odorem dedi : a sweet smell like unto cinna- 
 quasi myrrha electa dedi sua- mon and fragrant balsam, 
 vitdtem oddris. and I yielded a pleasant odou r 
 
 like unto choicest myrrh. 
 
 In this lesson we see Divine Wisdom, shining in Mary's 
 soul, likened to the cedar, to the cypress, to the palm, to the 
 olive, and to the plane tree ; also to the rose, and the sweet- 
 smelling cinnamon. Balsam and myrrh are also mentioned as 
 expressive of beauty and pleasantness. 
 
 Four of these trees are in a special way sacred ones ; and, 
 says Cornelius a Lapide, they were employed in building the 
 Temple, the type of the soul. They are also often used in a 
 mystical sense in Holy Scripture. Cedar, from its well-known 
 incorruptibility, is a figure of immortality ; cypress, from its 
 form, is a type of rectitude ; palm is an accepted emblem of 
 victory, and, from its long, bare, rough stem, crowned with 
 leaves and fruit, is a fit image of mortification ; the olive, from 
 its oil, is the symbol of richness. An old tradition has it that 
 the Cross, that work of infinite Wisdom, was made out of 
 these four woods. The plane tree [i] of the East is grateful to 
 the traveller for its pleasant shade, and can so be taken for 
 repose. The fragrance of the rose needs no explanation ; 
 neither do the sweet-smelling spices. 
 
 [i] The word probably means the same as our chestnut-tree.
 
 216 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Cades, or rather more properly, Engaddi, was not far 
 from Jericho, the "City of Palms." It was famous for its 
 vineyards [i] and fertility, being watered by the Jordan. 
 
 The Mount Sion here is not the Sion whereon the Temple 
 was built, but rather that Mount Sion known as Hermon : 
 even unto Mount Sion which is also called Hermon [2], a very 
 fertile mountain watered by abundant dew : as the dew of Her- 
 mon, says the Psalmist [3]. 
 
 We can now briefly point out the application to our ever 
 dear and blessed Lady. By her stainless Conception she has 
 received the gift of incorruptibility, as in the cedar ; by her 
 reason, enlightened by grace, governing her whole being, she 
 was righteous, as the cypress ; the victory she gained over every 
 temptation, gives her fittingly the palm ; her fulness of grace, 
 diffused even on her lips, likens her to the olive ; the richness 
 of her fragrance and beauty of grace made her as the rose ; the 
 sweet spices in the garden of the Spouse that gave such content 
 to the Beloved [4] are the virtues and graces Divine Wisdom 
 finds in the soul of Mary, the pleasant fruits His soul loveth. 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 When the Te Deum is not said (i.e., from Septuagesima to 
 Easter and from Advent to Christmas, with the exception of 
 all occurring feasts of our Lady) the following Responsory is 
 said : 
 
 E^. Felix namque es, sacra Holy Maiden Mary, thou art 
 
 Virgo Maria, et omni laude happy and worthy to have all 
 dignissima :* Quia ex te ortus manner of praise :* for of thee 
 est sol justitice* Christus Dens is risen the Sun of Righteous- 
 nosier, ness,* Christ our God. 
 
 ~JT. Orapropdpulo,interveni Pray for the people ,' bid for 
 
 pro clero, intercede pro devdto the clergy ; beseech for devout 
 femineo sexu ; sentiant omnes womenkind ; let all feel thine 
 tuum juvdmen, quicumque aid that worthily celebrate 
 celebrant tuam sdnctam com- thy holy commemoration, 
 memoratidnem* Quia. Gloria* 
 Christus. 
 
 [l] See Cant, i. 13. [3] Ps. cxxxii. 3. 
 
 [2] Deut. iv. 48. [4] Cant. iv. 14-16.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 217 
 
 This song of praise to God for the perfection of our Lady, 
 and the Versicle beseeching her to exercise her office of 
 intercession, sum up the whole of the teaching of the three 
 Nocturns and form an appropriate conclusion. The words 
 of the Versicle are said to be from a sermon of St. Augustine. 
 Notice the final emphasis on the Divine Maternity as the 
 key to all her dignities, to all her prerogatives, to all her 
 power. It is all summed up in the words of St. Matthew : 
 Mary, of whom was born Jesus Who is called the Christ [i]. 
 
 TE DEUM [2] 
 
 (1) Te Deum lauddmus : te Thee, God, we praise : Thee, 
 Ddminum confitemur. Lord, we confess. 
 
 (2) Te aternum Patrem : Thee, Eternal Father, all the 
 omnis terra venerdtur. earth doth worship. 
 
 This magnificent hymn comprises praise and petition, says 
 the Carthusian : 
 
 Deum, the Father Unbegotton, the Son the Only Begotten, 
 the Holy Ghost the Comforter j the holy and undivided 
 Trinity ; the One, most simple and unchangeable God, living 
 and true, blessed above all, sublime and exalted infinitely above 
 all ; most clement, most pure, most mighty, most wise, most 
 holy, most just, most true, most merciful, most good and most 
 patient ; eternal, without length of days, the one great Cause, 
 the one great Worker, the one great Lover. The Fount of all 
 grace, of all glory, of all joy, of all liberality, of all magnificence, 
 possessing the fulness of Life, in Whom we live, move and have 
 our being [3]. Most desirable and lovely ! before Whom all 
 
 [i] i. 16. 
 
 [2] The Te >eu;n is popularly ascribed to SS. Ambrose and Augustine, but 
 without any foundation. Hincmar, in 859, is the first to attribute it to the Saints ; 
 whereas in the earliest MS., now at Munich (of the 8th or Qth century), it is referred to 
 as " the hymn which St. Hilary composed." St. Benedict, in his Rule, mentions 
 the hymn, but does not give any author's name. The earliest reference is in the Rule 
 of St. Cesarius of Aries, written some time previous to 502. This last was a disciple 
 of the famous monastery of Lerins ; and it is most likely to the School of Lerins 
 that the Te Deum owes its origin. Its probable date is 400 450. The phrase, 
 Suscipere hominem, would seem to point to an African source. Can this be Cassian, 
 whose monastery at Marseilles was the parent of that at Lerins ? 
 
 [3] Acts xvii. 28.
 
 218 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 creatures, the work of Thy hands, are if as they were not. 
 Alone, self-sufficing, most perfect being. Thee, we, Thy 
 creatures, praise, that is, with all our strength, assiduously 
 and fervently ; with humble acknowledgment of our own 
 insufficiency, prostrate before Thee we pay our homage, con- 
 fessing that all we are, and can do, is not sufficient for praising 
 Thee as befits Thy Majesty : How shall we be able to magnify 
 Him f For He is great above all His works. The Lord is terrible 
 and very great, and marvellous is His power. When ye glorify the 
 Lord, exalt Him as much as ye can : for even yet will He far 
 exceed ; and when ye exalt Him, put forth all your strength and be 
 not weary, for ye can never go far enough (~i]. 
 
 Dominum. Ruler of all things, Whose Word is all- 
 powerful, Who spoke and they were made [2] ; Who has made 
 all things for Thine Own honour and glory, and for Thyself 
 hast Thou made them [3]. Thy Lordship we creatures confess, 
 we acknowledge Thy wisdom, For : In wisdom hast Thou 
 made them all [4]. Our creation is a mere unnecessary act 
 of Thine overflowing love ; and the universe, of which we 
 are so small a part, is a proof of Thine Almighty power. 
 Therefore we acknowledge Thine Infinite dominion over all, 
 which has been for ever, and will be for ever, and beyond. 
 We acknowledge that to Thee belongs glory and honour, 
 worship and thanks, as the all-wise, all-powerful, and good 
 Master of all. Were there ten thousand universes each more 
 beautiful than another, Thou, by Thine essential Kingship, 
 would be Lord of all ; for only from Thee could they have 
 their being. 
 
 Te ceternum Patrem. He, Whom St. Paul calls the Father of 
 mercies and the God of all consolation [5], has deigned to reveal 
 Himself to us in the tender revelation of Father, with all the 
 love the name implies and all the privileges of sons that it 
 gives us. In Holy Scripture we get the name of Father applied 
 to God in many ways : Is He not thy Father that bought thee [6]. 
 Our Father Who art in heaven [7] ; The Father of the fatherless 
 
 [i] Eccle. xliii. 30-34. [5] 2 Cor. i. 3. 
 
 [2] Ps. xxxii. 9. [6] Deut. xxxii. 6. 
 
 [3] Prov. xvi. 4. [7] Matt. vi. 9. 
 [4] Ps. ciii. 24.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 219 
 
 and the Judge of the widows [i] ; The everlasting Father [2] ; 
 A Father to Israel [3] ; Father, Lord of heaven [4]. The 
 Apostle speaks of Him as The Father of glory [5] ; The Father 
 of spirits [6] ; The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ [7]. Him, 
 then, the All-Father, the whole earth worships, and acknow- 
 ledges with thanksgiving that every good and perfect gift 
 cometh down from Him, the Father of Lights [8]. All we are* 
 our very existence and our preservation, is His gift ; and this 
 we testify with gratitude. And beyond these material gifts are 
 the heavenly ones, by which we become, in a truer and deeper 
 sense, sons of God and co-heirs with Christ [9]. Our vocation, 
 our sacraments, our daily grace, and the countless tokens of 
 His Love and Mercy and patient Goodness which He showers 
 upon us. These we confess, and for them we worship Him 
 with the whole earth. 
 
 (3) Tibi omnes Angeli : Tibi To Thee, all angels, To Thee, 
 Cceli, et universes Potestdtes. the heavens and all powers. 
 
 (4) Tibi Cherubim et Sera- To Thee, Cherubim and 
 phim : incessdbili voce pro- Seraphim proclaim with voice 
 clamant. that never ends. 
 
 (5) Sanctus, sanctus, sane- Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord, God 
 tus : Dominus Deus Sdbaoth. of Hosts. 
 
 (6) Pleni sunt cceli et terra : Full are the heavens and 
 majestdtis glorice Tua. earth of the Majesty of Thy 
 
 Glory. 
 
 Feeling our own insufficiency to praise and worship God, 
 we go up in spirit to heaven, there to join the worship of the 
 angelic choirs. The visions of Isaias and of St. John are 
 before our eyes. And the angels first, those morning stars that 
 sang together ; Those sons of God that shouted for joy [10] : to 
 whom, when He brought the first-begotten into the world, He 
 saith ; And let all the angels of God worship Him [n]. They 
 stand in their choirs before the Ancient of Days, as Daniel, 
 that man of desires, saw them in the first year of Baltassar, king 
 of Babylon ; Thousands of thousands ministered unto Him and 
 ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before Him [12]. 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixvii. 5. [5] Eph. i. 17. [9] Rom. viii. 17. 
 
 [2] Isaias ix. 6. [6] Heb. xii. 9. [10] Job xxxviii. 7. 
 
 [3] Jer. xxxi. 9. [7] Rom. xv. 6. [n] Heb. i. 6. 
 
 [4] Matt. xi. 25. [8] Jas. i. 17. [12] Dan. vii. 10.
 
 220 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Tibi cceli. The place where God's glory is manifested. Or 
 it may be taken for all the inhabitants of heaven, the angelic 
 and the human ; for as St. John has told us there is but one 
 voice in all that heavenly throng [i]. 
 
 Potestdtes may be taken either for the choir of the Powers, 
 or for all those who by grace have become princes, the princes 
 of His people [2]. 
 
 Having now seen the whole of heaven worshipping God, 
 we call to mind the two greatest choirs as typical of the rest : 
 Cherubim et Seraphim. The Cherubim are, perhaps, the highest 
 of all for they are full of knowledge. When Adam ate of the 
 tree of knowledge of good and evil [3] Cherubim with flaming 
 sword, which turned every way, were set to keep the way to the 
 Tree of Life [4]. Man had abused his reason and had sinned ; 
 and the mighty intelligences called Cherubim were set as 
 wards over the knowledge he had abused. In the work of 
 reparation they also had their part. Figures of these spirits, 
 made in pure gold, were set upon the cover of the Ark ; and 
 with outspread wings overshadowed the Mercy Seat, whence 
 God spoke to His people [5] ; that God Whom the Psalmist 
 invokes : Thou that sitteth upon the Cherubim [6]. They, 
 too, were the guards over the sacred Fire which Ezekiel saw 
 in his vision [7]. So does knowledge precede love, which has 
 the Seraphim as types ; spirits of fire burning with love. It 
 was one of the Seraphim who brought the burning coal of 
 Knowledge from the Altar and touched the polluted lips of 
 the Prophets [8] ; teaching us that true knowledge must purify 
 and turn into love ; it must show itself by deeds. Therefore 
 it was that the same Prophet heard the Seraphim lead the 
 hymn of worship : And one cried unto another and said : 
 Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts ; the whole earth is full 
 of His glory [9]. 
 
 Incessdbili voce, that is, with a wonder that never ends ; for 
 the more we know of God, the more worthy is He of love. 
 
 [i] See p. 12. [6] Ixxix. 2, and xcviii. i. 
 
 [2] Ps. cxii. 7. [7] x. 2, 6. 
 
 [3] Gen. ii. 17. [8] Isa. vi. 6. 
 
 [4] Ibid. iii. 24. [9] Ibid., 3. 
 
 [5] See Exod. xxv. 18, 22.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 221 
 
 One of the saints used to sigh for three eternities : an eternity 
 to know God, an eternity to love Him, and an eternity to 
 worship Him. 
 
 Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus. A three-fold ascription of praise 
 to the Eternal Father Unbegotten, to the Consubstantial Son 
 the Only-begotten, to the Co-equal Spirit the Comforter. 
 This is the height of the joy of heaven ; the all-sufficing Vision 
 of the Blessed Three in One. Why do the angels say holy and 
 not just or wise, or other of the divine attributes ? Holiness 
 includes all. The Carthusian says in his commentary on the 
 Te Deum [i], that as holiness consists in the act of the intellect, 
 and of the will, and as of the Divine Wisdom there is no limit, 
 nor of the Divine Love any bound, so there is no end to the 
 Divine Holiness. It is a holiness above comprehension, above 
 all splendour, and infinite : since the Divine Essence is Light 
 immeasurable, most pure, intellectual, and the fountain-head 
 of all created brightness. Therefore the Lord, our God, is 
 holy, and in comparison all created righteousness appears as 
 but filthy rags [2]. 
 
 Dominus Deus Sdbaoth, that is, as the "ecstatic doctor" goes 
 on to explain the words, God of the heavenly powers, Omni- 
 potent Ruler, Prince of the heavenly army, great and ever- 
 lastingly to be praised ; nay, beyond all power of praise, of 
 glory, being lifted up for ever, Whom no created intellect can 
 grasp, no heart love as He deserves, Whom no creature can 
 properly honour ; for He is all beauty, and to those who 
 gaze on Him, sweet and pleasant beyond all compare. 
 
 Pleni sunt coeli et terra majestdtis gloria, tuce. God dwells 
 in Light inaccessible, which no creature can fathom ; but 
 He enlightens every one that cometh into this world with a 
 ray of this Light, of which He is the Father. Our reason is 
 purified, and ennobled and strengthened by His gift of Faith. 
 Fidelity to this Light, or, in other words, to our Conscience^ 
 leads us to that heavenly City where His Light is in its fulness, 
 to that City which hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon 
 to shine in it ; for the Glory of God hath enlightened it and the 
 Lamb is the Light thereof [3]. There Faith is changed into 
 
 [i] Ed. 1892, vol. ii. p. 602. [2] Isa. Ixiv. 6. [3] Apoc. xxi. 23.
 
 222 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Vision, and we see the Majesty of His glory filling all things ; 
 for we see Him face to face. Says the author of the Myroure : 
 " Think over this verse. Think inwardly thereon and let it 
 never out of your mind. Heaven and earth are full of the 
 glory of Thy Majesty. A thing that is full hath no place void. 
 There is then no place on earth, nor above earth, nor beneath 
 it, no land, no country, no place within us, without us, above 
 us, beneath us, but all is full of the glory of the Majesty of 
 God. O God of pity, and Father of mercies, lighten our dark 
 souls that we may see and continually behold the presence of 
 Thy goodly Majesty. O ! with what reverence, with what 
 dread, with what inward devotion, and with what busy keeping 
 of ourselves in thought, in word, and in deed, ought we to 
 behave ourselves in every place, and in every time, and in 
 everything that ever are in presence of Thy glorious 
 Majesty " [i]. 
 
 (?) Te gloriosus Apostolorum Thee, the glorious choir of 
 
 chorus. Apostles. 
 
 (8) Te Prophetdrum laudd- Thee, the praisable number 
 bilis niimerus. of Prophets. 
 
 (9) Te Mdrtyrum Candida- Thee, the white-robed army 
 tus laudat exercitus. of Martyrs, praise. 
 
 Having united with the Angels, we now join ourselves on 
 to that body of the Ransomed who have returned [2] from 
 the Captivity of Sin and Death. And first to the choir of 
 Apostles, that is to say, of "the envoys," upon whom the 
 Church is built. These are they who have left all things and 
 followed Christ, and now sit on twelve thrones, judging the 
 twelve tribes of Israel, that is, all God's chosen people [3], 
 We unite with the joy which no man shall take from them [4], 
 their reward exceeding great. They behold that Humanity 
 which on earth they saw hungry, thirsty, weary and suffering, 
 now crowned with glory and honour, having all things under 
 foot, outshining the sun in the beauty of the Divine Effulgence. 
 And, O joy, they are made sharers therein. His fellow-toilers 
 and carrying on His work, now they shine as so many stars in 
 
 [ i] P. 119. [3] Cf. Matt. xix. 28. 
 
 [2] Is. xxxv. 10. [4] John xvi. 22.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 223 
 
 heaven [i], with a glory and magnificence which is reflected 
 from Him. They are called a choir on account of the har- 
 mony of their teaching. 
 
 The Prophets, or those who speak in the name of God : 
 Thus saith the Lord. God revealed to them on earth His 
 mysteries ; and now, face to face, they see and exult in what they 
 had seen before, but in a dark manner [2~\. They now rejoice 
 to see the fulfilment of what they had foretold. By their faithful- 
 ness they were found true prophets, and by their words they were 
 known to be faithful in vision [3], and therefore they are 
 praisable. There is a number of them ; for all who speak 
 in God's name are prophets in the real sense of the word. 
 
 With them are joined the white-robed army of Martyrs to- 
 gether with the Apostolic choir, in the one voice (laudat} of 
 praise. But why are Martyrs called a white-robed army ? A 
 martyr is one who is a witness for the truth. Truth is light, 
 pure and clear ; and those who follow Jesus in truth and 
 simplicity are said by Him, to the Angel of Sardis, to walk in 
 white with Christ, for they are worthy [4]. 
 
 These three Apostles, Prophets and Martyrs are types of 
 all the Redeemed : the words should be taken in a wide sense. 
 We are all sent by God into this world to labour, to speak for 
 Him, and to bear witness to His Truth. From our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady, the Queen of the saints, down to the last in 
 heaven, all have fulfilled, according to their degree, the three- 
 fold office which bears the impression of the Blessed Trinity. 
 They have all been envoys of Almighty Power, the teachers of 
 the Word, and witnesses of Truth. 
 
 (10) Te per orbem terrdru m, Thee, throughout the whole 
 
 sancta confitetur Ecclesia. world, Holy Church doth 
 
 acknowledge. 
 
 From the Church Triumphant in heaven, to the Church 
 Militant on earth, or Passive in purgatory, but one cry goes 
 up ; for all the members of the Mystical Body are united 
 under their One Head, Jesus Christ, through Whom and by 
 Whom and in Whom is all honour and glory to God. Our 
 
 [i] Dan. xii. 3. [3] Eccle. xlvi. 15. 
 
 [2] i Cor. xiii. 12. [4] Apoc. iii. 4.
 
 224 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Office, whether the greater or the lesser, is the prayer of the 
 whole Church ; not the prayer of any one person, or place, 
 or country, but of the Church throughout the world. Its power 
 is commensurate with the Church's limits and can penetrate 
 anywhere. Holy Church by it doth acknowledge God, as in the 
 following verses, to be : 
 
 (u) Patrem immensce ma- Father of immense majesty , 
 
 jestdtis, 
 
 (12) Venerdndum Tuum Thy worshipful, true and 
 verum, et unicum Filium, only Son. 
 
 (13) Sanctum quoque Para- Also the Holy Ghost, the 
 clitum Spiritum. Comforter. 
 
 Patrem. How solemn these words. As the Latin marches 
 along, the dignity and weight of the syllables give us a sense 
 of awe and of majesty without limit. 
 
 Venerdndum. There is much in this word. The Second 
 Person is especially called worshipful, on account of the 
 Incarnation ; and because all our worship must be in and by 
 Him, for He is our Advocate with the Father [i]. This is the 
 reason why the Church, after acknowledging the Blessed 
 Trinity, goes on presently to direct her praise and worship to 
 her Divine Head, Jesus Christ. 
 
 Pardclitum. Our Lord's Own name for the Holy Ghost : 
 But He shall give you another Paraclete (Comforter), the Holy 
 Ghost [2] ; the consubstantial Love of Father and Son, the 
 Lord and Life-Giver, Who, with Them, is to be adored and 
 glorified. 
 
 (14) Tu Rex Gloria?, Christe. Thou, Christ, art King 
 
 of Glory. 
 
 (15) Tu Patris sempiternus Thou art the everlasting 
 es Filius. Son of the Father. 
 
 He, then, our Head, is worthy of all praise ; and to Him 
 we now direct our worship. Rex Gloria?. For Jesus, as Man, 
 is crowned with honour and glory, and is F *ad of the whole 
 Race. This is His glory of Headship. And et, as we gaze at 
 His glorified Humanity in the midst of the Godhead, we 
 remember and adore His Divinity, as, 
 
 [l] I John ii. I. [2] John xiv. 16.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 225 
 
 Everlasting Son of the Father. He is the King of Glory 
 in a far higher way ; His glory is uncreated. And to Him 
 belongs that ascription of praise which St. Paul makes when 
 writing to Timothy : Now unto the King of ages, Immortal, 
 Invisible, the Only God; be honour and glory for ever and ever. 
 Amen [i]. 
 
 (16) Tu ad liberdndum sus- Thou, taking upon Thee to 
 cepturus hominem : non hor- deliver man, didst not abhor 
 rutsti Virginis uterum. the Virgin's womb. 
 
 (17) Tu devicto mortis acu- Thou, having overcome the 
 leo : aperuisticredentibus regna sharpness of death, hast opened 
 ccelorum. the kingdom of heaven to 
 
 believers. 
 
 (18) Tu ad dexteram Dei Thou, at the right hand of 
 sedes : in gloria Patris. God, dost sit in the glory of the 
 
 Father. 
 
 (19) Judex crederis esse We believe Thou art the 
 venturus. Judge to come. 
 
 We now regard our Divine Head in His Manhood, and 
 praise Him for four things. First, for His Incarnation ; then 
 for His Passion ; then for His Ascension ; and lastly, for His 
 coming to Judgment. It is to be noticed in this act of Praise 
 that the all-holy One Who did not abhor the Virgin's womb is 
 the Judge that is to come. Then, Who shall stand when He 
 appeareth ? [2]. But lest we should be terrified too much at 
 this, we have here thoughts of His bitter Passion, of the gates 
 of heaven opened to those who believe, and of Him ever at 
 the Right Hand of the Father, making intercession and pre- 
 paring a place for us with His God and our God. A thought, 
 too, of hope and great joy to us, that the Virgin who shared 
 so much in the work of the Redemption is our Mother also. 
 At this verse it was the custom, so says the author of the 
 Myroure, to bow " both in token and in reverence of our 
 Lord's meek coming down for to be Man, and also in worship 
 of that most pure and holy Virgin's womb, wherein Almighty 
 God joyed for to dwell" [3]. We should at least increase our 
 reverence and attention at this verse. 
 
 [i] I Tim. i. 17. [2] Mai. iii. 2. [3] p. 120. 
 
 15
 
 226 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (20) Te ergo qucesumus Tuis Thee, therefore, pray we, 
 fdmulis subveni : quospretioso help Thy servants, whom Thou 
 Sanguine redemisti. hast redeemed by Thy precious 
 
 Blood. 
 
 (21) jEternafaccumSanctis Make us to be numbered 
 Tuis : in gloria numerdri. with Thy saints in glory ever- 
 lasting. 
 
 (22) Salvum fac pdpulum Lord save Thy people and 
 Tuum, Domine : et benedic bless Thine inheritance, 
 hereditdti Tuce. 
 
 (23) Et rege eos : et extolle And govern them and lift 
 illds usque in ceternum. them up for ever. 
 
 Having praised Jesus, we now begin to pray, following in 
 this the Divine example of the Pater Noster. At verse 20 
 we kneel. " One reason, for here ye begin first in this hymn 
 to pray ; another cause is in worship of that most rich 
 liquor, that most precious price of souls, the reverent and 
 holy Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ" [i]. Some say this 
 verse prostrate with Magdalen at the foot of the Cross, and in 
 spirit letting the Blood fall on them ; others hear at this place 
 an echo of that Song of praise to the Lamb : Thou hast 
 redeemed us to God in Thine own Blood [2] ; others, again, 
 dwell on the word servants, and recall St. Paul's words : Ye are 
 not your own, for ye are bought with a price [3], even with the 
 precious Blood of Christ as of a Lamb [4] ; and as servants they 
 bow before their Master, in token of their readiness to fulfil 
 His will. The thought of the precious Blood reminds us of 
 not be shed for us in vain, but that we, too, may be counted 
 the reason It was shed ; and this inspires us to pray that It may 
 among that great flock of God, which no man can number. 
 And that it may be so, we pray that here on earth, as the 
 Lord's heritage ( For the earth is the Lord's and the fulness 
 thereof) [5], we may be ruled and lifted up above our sin- 
 fulness by His grace, and, as the fruit of the precious Blood, 
 be set among the saved. 
 
 [i] Myroure, p. 121. [4] I Peter i. 19. 
 
 [2] Apoc. v. 9. [5] Ps. xxiii. i. 
 
 [3] i Cor. vi. 19.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 227 
 
 (24) Per singulos dies, bene- Throughout each day we 
 dicimus Te. bless Thee. 
 
 (25) Et laudamus Nomen And we laud Thy name for 
 Tuum in sceculum : et in scecu- ever and for ever and for ages 
 lum sceculi. of ages. 
 
 We cannot think of the Blood and of all that It means 
 without bursting out again into thanksgiving. It meets us 
 with its potent effects all day long. We live and move in an 
 atmosphere tinged with the Blood of Calvary. What are Holy 
 Church and all the things of Holy Church but great reservoirs 
 of the Precious Blood, ready for us at every moment, through- 
 out each day f And all things of Nature, besides, have been 
 touched by It and made heavenly ; so that by them we can 
 ascend to that God Whose Blood It is. Therefore we laud for 
 endless ages the Name of Him Whose Blood cleanseth us from 
 all sin [i]. 
 
 (26) Dignare Domine die Be pleased, O Lord, this day 
 isto: sinepeccdto nos custodire. to keep us without sin. 
 
 (27) Miserere nostri Domine : Have mercy on us, Lord, 
 miserere nostri. have mercy on us. 
 
 (28) Fiat misericdrdia Tua Let thy mercy, Lord, be 
 Domine super nos : quemdd- upon us as we have hoped in 
 modum sperdvimus in Te. Thee. 
 
 If, on the one hand, we have the power of the precious 
 Blood for all our needs, we cannot forget, by our own bitter 
 experience in the past, how weak we are, and how easily we 
 fall. Happy we, if we have secured that experience and know 
 that there is no use in striving after anything else but to serve 
 God now, at the present moment. All sanctity consists in 
 knowing, loving and serving God. This is the end of our 
 creation. Now all these three are present participles and 
 imply actions done at the present moment. The past is not 
 ours, it is in God's hand ; the future is His also : only the 
 present is ours, and it slips away even while we have it. This 
 is the meaning of the verse : Be pleased, O Lord, this day to 
 keep us without sin. Our resolutions are so feeble that we can 
 only hope to avoid sin day by day : and this only, too, by the 
 
 [i] i John i. 7.
 
 228 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 help of God's grace. Therefore, they have to be renewed 
 again and again, and humbly, too, not trusting much in 
 ourselves ; but just as, day by day, we ask for the food of 
 our bodies so should we likewise petition for freedom from 
 sin. Then, the thought of failures in the past bids us ask for 
 the mercy of God, that mercy which we have abused, and 
 unless we are humble, we shall abuse again. But we may 
 securely hope for His mercy ; for He has said : Everyone that 
 cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out [i]. Fired, then, by 
 this gracious promise, this Song of heavenly praise and prayer 
 of the Church throughout the world changes into a concluding 
 strain of Hope, firm and unconquerable, as a song of way- 
 farers on the road to their City of Repose, or of warrior- 
 pilgrims undismayed at all obstacles. 
 
 (29) In te Domine sperdvi : In Thee, Lord, I have 
 
 non confundarin ceternum. hoped. I shall never be con- 
 
 founded. 
 
 Not in my merits, says the Carthusian, but in Thy deep 
 Wounds, in which is my safe and firm rest. Secure there 
 will I dwell, for they are open to me by Thy tender 
 mercy, in which Thou, the Orient from on high, hath visited 
 us [2]. For Thy Wounds are full of mercy, full of pity, full 
 of sweetness. They have dug Thy hands, Lord, and Thy feet. 
 [3], and with a lance have they pierced Thy side. By these 
 openings I can taste how sweet Thou art, O Lord, my God ; 
 for, indeed, Thou art sweet, and mild, and of much mercy, to 
 all who call on Thee in truth, to all who seek for Thee, and 
 especially to all who love Thee. Most abundant redemption 
 is given by those blood-stained Wounds, a great multitude of 
 sweetness, a fulness of grace, a perfection of virtue. And 
 therefore I shall never be confounded, for I know in Whom I have 
 believed [4] ; because by Thee in love I have been adopted a 
 son, because Thou art faithful to Thy promises, and Almighty 
 in execution thereof. The multitude of my sins cannot 
 terrify me when I think of Thy bitter Passion, for my sins 
 cannot overcome that. The Lance and the Nails cry out to 
 
 [i] John vi. 37. [3] Ps. xxi. 17. 
 
 [2] Luke i. 78. [4] 2 Tim. i. 12.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 
 
 229 
 
 me that I am in very truth reconciled, provided that I love 
 Thee. Thou didst extend those Arms upon the Cross and 
 didst open Thy Hands ready to embrace sinners, of whom I 
 am the first [i]. I do not despair, I desire to live and die in 
 Thine arms. Therefore, securely will I say : / will exalt Thee, 
 O Lord, because Thou hast upheld me and hast not suffered mine 
 enemies to rejoice over me [2]. Therefore shall my song be : In 
 Thee, Lord, have I trusted, I shall never be confounded, nevei 
 be put to shame by having been deceived in Thee ; for the 
 Truth of the Lord abidethfor ever [3]. 
 
 N.B. During Advent the Lessons are from St. Luke's 
 Gospel, i. 26 [4]. 
 
 LESSON i. 
 
 Missus cst Angelus Gabriel a 
 Deo in civitdtem Galilcece, cui 
 nomen Nazareth, ad Virginem 
 desponsdtam viro, cui nomen 
 erat Joseph de domo David, 
 et nomen Virginis Maria. Et 
 ingressus Angelus adeam dixit : 
 Ave gratia plena : Do" minus 
 tecum : Benedicta tit in mulie- 
 ribus. 
 
 The Angel Gabriel was sent 
 from God unto a city in Gali- 
 lee, called Nazareth, to a 
 Virgin espoused to a man 
 whose name was Joseph, oj 
 the house of David, and the 
 name of the Virgin was Mary. 
 And the Angel came in unto 
 her and said : Hail, full of 
 grace : The Lord is with thee, 
 blessed art thou amongst 
 women. 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 ty. Missus est Gabriel Angel- 
 us ad Mariam Virginem des- 
 ponsdtam Joseph, nuntians ei 
 Verbum : et expavescit Virgo 
 de lumine. Ne timeas Maria, 
 
 The Angel Gabriel was sent 
 to Mary the Virgin espoused to 
 Joseph, announcing to her the 
 Word. And the Virgin trem- 
 bled on account of the Light. 
 
 invenisti grdtiam apud Domi- Fear not, Mary, thou hast 
 
 [i] I Tim. i. 15. [2] Ps. xxix. 2, 10. [3] Ps. cxvi. 2. 
 
 [4] In the Monastic Breviary these lessons are said only on Wednesdays and 
 Saturdays in Advent, instead of every day, as in the Roman Breviary.
 
 230 
 
 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 num. : *Ecce concipies et paries, 
 ct vocabitur Altissimi Filius. 
 
 y. Dabit ei Dominus Deus 
 sedetn David patris ejus, et 
 regndbit in domo Jacob in 
 (sternum. *Ecce, &c. 
 
 found grace with God. *Lo, 
 thou shall conceive and shall 
 bring forth, and He shall be 
 called Son of the Most High. 
 
 And the Lord God shall give 
 Him the seat of David His 
 father ; and He shall reign for 
 ever in the house of Jacob. 
 *Lo, &c. 
 
 LESSON n. 
 
 Quce cum audisset, tur- 
 bdta est in sermone ejus f et 
 cogitdbat qualis esset ista 
 salutdtio. Et ait Angelus ei : 
 Ne timeas Maria, invenisti 
 enim grdtiam apud Deum : 
 ecce concipies in utero, et paries 
 Filium, et vocdbis nomen ejus 
 Jesum. Hie erit magnus, et 
 Filius Altissimi vocabitur ; et 
 dabit I Hi Dominus Deus sedem 
 David patris Ejus : et regndbit 
 in domo Jacob in ceternum, 
 et regni Ejus non erit finis. 
 
 Who, when she heard him, 
 was troubled at his saying, 
 and thought what manner 
 of salutation this might be. 
 And the Angel said to her : 
 Fear not, Mary, thou hast 
 found grace with God. Lo, 
 thou shall conceive in the 
 womb and thou shall bring 
 forth a Child, and thou shall 
 call His name Jesus. He 
 shall be great and shall be 
 called Son of the Most High. 
 And the Lord God shall give 
 to Him the seat of David His 
 father, and He shall reign in 
 the house of J acob for ever, and 
 of His kingdom there shall be 
 no end. 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 ty. Ave Maria, gratia 
 plena : Dominus tecum : *Spiri- 
 tus sanctus superveniet in te, 
 et virtus Altissimi obumbrdbit 
 tibi : quod enim ex te nascetur 
 Sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. 
 
 Hail Mary, full of grace, the 
 Lord is with thee. *The Holy 
 Ghost shall come upon thee and 
 the power of the Most High 
 shall overshadow thee. The 
 Holy One that is born of thee 
 shall be called Son of God.
 
 AT MATINS, OR NIGHT-SONG 
 
 231 
 
 y. Quomodo fiet istud, 
 quoniam virum non cognosce f 
 Et respdndens Angelus, dixit 
 ei : *Spiritus, &c. 
 
 How shall this be done, 
 fot I know not man ? And 
 the Angel, answering, said to 
 her: * The Holy Ghost, &c. 
 
 LESSON in. 
 
 Dixit autem Maria ad 
 Angelum : Quomodo fiet istud, 
 quoniam virum non cognosco f 
 Et respdndens Angelus dixit ei: 
 Sptritus Sanctus superveniet in 
 te et virtus Altissimi obumbrd- 
 bit tibi. Ideoque et quod nas- 
 cetur ex te Sanctum, vocdbitur 
 Filius Dei. Et ecce Elisabeth 
 cogndta tua, et ipsa concepit 
 ftlium in senectute sua : et hie 
 mensis sextus est illi, quce vo- 
 cdtur sterilis : quia non erit 
 impossibile apud Deum omne 
 Verbum. Dixit autem Maria : 
 Ecce ancilla Ddmini, fiat mihi 
 secundum Verbum tuum. 
 
 Then said Mary to the 
 Angel: How shall this be, for 
 I know not man f And the 
 Angel, answering her, said : 
 The Holy Ghost shall come 
 down upon thee, and the power 
 of the Most High shall over- 
 shadow thee., And therefore 
 also the Holy One that is born 
 of thee shall be called the Son 
 of God. And lo, Elizabeth, 
 thy cousin, she in her old age 
 hath also conceived a son ; and 
 this is the sixth month with her 
 who is called barren. For 
 with God no word is impossible. 
 Then said Mary : Behold the 
 handmaid of the Lord. Be it 
 unto me according to thy Word. 
 
 RESPONSORY. 
 
 Ef. Suscipe Verbum Virgo 
 Maria, quod tibi a Domino per 
 Angelum transmissum est : 
 concipies, et paries Deum pdri- 
 ter et hominem : * Ut benedicta 
 dicdris inter omnes mulieres. 
 
 Take the Word O Virgin 
 Mary which has been brought 
 to thee from God by the Angel : 
 Thou shalt conceive and bring 
 forth Him Who is both God 
 and Man. *That thou mayst 
 be called blessed among 
 women.
 
 232 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 y. Paries quidem Filium, Thou shall indeed bring 
 
 et virginitdtis non patieris de- forth a Son, but shall not suffer 
 
 trimentum : efficieris grdvida, the loss of thy virginity. Thou 
 
 et eris mater semper intdcta. shall be with Child and yet be 
 
 * Ut, &c. the Mother ever intact. 
 
 Gloria Patri. *That thou, &c. 
 
 *Ut, &c. Glory be to the Father, &c. 
 
 * That Thou, &c.
 
 2 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG. 
 
 THE original idea of the office of Lauds, which, together 
 with Vespers, are the original hours of the Cursus, was that 
 of honouring the Resurrection of our Lord. It was the morn- 
 ing prayer of the Sunday, a day kept holy by the Apostles in 
 honour of the Resurrection ; and the Psalms we are about 
 to consider are those which, from the earliest days, have been 
 used for this office. In "The Little Office of our Lady," the 
 Church sets before us, at this hour, the reward of eternal Life 
 which she gained and which is to be ours ; that is to say, the 
 Resurrection as it affects us. So from the beginning of the 
 day we have our mind directed to the great goal towards 
 which we must strive. 
 
 For the Deus in adjutorium, &c., see page 92. 
 
 FIRST ANTIPHON. 
 
 Assumpta est Maria in cae- Mary is assumed into 
 
 lum, gaudent Angeli, laud- heaven : the angels rejoice, 
 antes benedicunt Ddminum. and praising, they bless the 
 
 Lord. 
 
 In the first Antiphon the Assumption is celebrated ; and 
 we are called to join our voices with the angels who rejoice 
 and bless God for taking our ever dear and blessed Lady 
 to heaven, body and soul, and for making her their Queen. 
 The angels will also rejoice, when we, at the Last Day, are 
 assumed, body and soul, into heaven, to make up the number 
 of the Elect. The Assumption of Our Lady is the image of 
 ours ; even as hers was modelled on that of the Resurrection 
 and Ascension of her Divine Son.
 
 234 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 PSALM xcn. 
 
 Title. A Praise of a Song for David himself, on the Day 
 before the Sabbath when the earth was established. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, having overcome Death, put on the 
 glory of the Resurrection. The voice of the Church concern- 
 ing the Kingdom of Christ. Of the Birth of Christ and His 
 first Coming. 
 
 Venerable Bede : For David is suitably applied to Christ. 
 The question is raised how he can say that the earth was 
 established on the Day before the Sabbath, that is, on the sixth 
 day of the week, seeing that we read in Genesis that the dry 
 land appeared on the third day ; but here we understand earth 
 to be man, to whom is said : Earth thou art, and unto earth 
 thou shalt return. And as he was made on the sixth day by 
 God the Creator, so, too, in the sixth age of the world he was 
 stablished from the seed of David by the same God and 
 Creator ; for then was the earth stablished when belief in 
 Him was confirmed for mankind. And therefore the Praise 
 is of His holy Incarnation which is sung in the course of 
 this psalm. The first passage describes His beauty, His 
 strength, His works, His might, His truth; and lastly, the 
 praise of His house which it becomes to rejoice with ever- 
 lasting gladness. 
 
 (i) Dominus regndvit, deed- The Lord reigneth and hath 
 
 rem indutus est : indutus est put on beauty : the Lord hath 
 Dominus fortitudinem, et put on strength and hath 
 prcecinxit Se. girded Himself. 
 
 The Psalmist, as with a herald's voice, proclaims to all 
 men that the Lord hath taken the majesty of a King ; and 
 after defeating in battle and casting out the prince of this 
 world, hath reduced under His sway the Kingdom which was 
 always His rightful possession ; so under the type of a King, 
 the Psalmist declares that the Lord hath put on beauty. What 
 is this beauty f It is the beauty of the all-glorious Body of 
 our Risen Lord, immortal and impassible ; a beauty of which 
 the Glory of Thabor was but a glimpse ; a beauty which now
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 235 
 
 ravishes angels and saints. He has put on strength also ; for 
 is He not now a Conqueror, having overcome sin and death 
 and broken the iron bars in pieces, and shaken the brazen 
 gates [i] ? Epiphanius refers the beauty to the Incarnation ; 
 the strength to the Resurrection. On which St. Augustine 
 says : When our Lord came on earth some heard Him gladly ; 
 and to these He appeared in His beauty ; while others reviled 
 and slandered Him, and these saw Him for their punishment 
 clothed in strength. It is so even now wherever His Gospel is 
 preached, according to St. Paul : We are unto God a sweet 
 savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that 
 perish ; to the one we are the savour of death, and to the other the 
 savour of life unto life [2]. Our Blessed Lord girded Himself 
 in the might of humility when He stooped to wash the feet of 
 the Disciples. He clothed Himself with beauty and strength, 
 in the holiness and boldness of those saints whom He joined 
 to Himself, especially the Apostles ; when He girded Himself 
 to the task of establishing His kingdom on earth. These were 
 His royal people, dyed in His own Blood, as He was lifted, 
 King of the Jews, on the throne of the Cross ; and the valour of 
 His martyrs, yea and of her, their Queen, who stood beneath 
 the Cross, was the strength that compassed Him about ; for 
 all came from Him. As He is King from all eternity, it is clear 
 that we must interpret this reigning, of which the Psalmist 
 speaks, of the Incarnation. His most Sacred Body is called 
 beauty, because of showing us His image, because of its sin- 
 lessness, because of the loving-kindness towards us testified 
 in the mystery, and because it is the direct work of the Spirit 
 of all beauty and love, the Holy Ghost. Wherefore it is said 
 of our Lord : Thou art fairer than the children of men [3], and 
 of His girding Himself that : Righteousness shall be the girdle of 
 His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins [4] . This is 
 the girdle wherewith He complies with that invocation : Gird 
 Thee with Thy sword upon Thy thigh, Thou most mighty [5], as 
 He goes armed with the Spirit of God to receive for Himself 
 the Kingdom. 
 
 [l] Cf. Ps. cvi. 16. [4] Isaias xi. 5. 
 
 [2] 2 Cor. ii. 15. [5] Ps. xliv. 4. 
 
 [3] Ps. xliv-3.
 
 236 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (2) Etenim firmdvit orbetn He hath made the world so 
 terrce, qui non commovebitur. sure that it cannot be moved. 
 
 The world, tossed about in the uncertainty of belief, and 
 left to itself that it might know the need of a Redeemer, He 
 has now made sure by founding its belief on the Resurrection ; 
 because now as worship is paid to the true God it has been 
 given the steadfastness of Truth. Then, again, this King 
 Whose beauty and strength we celebrate, is the eternal God 
 Who made this world so sure, Who rules it and Who has loved 
 it so that He has redeemed it. The Carthusian points out that 
 this world, which he takes for the Church, and which is built 
 on the Resurrection (// Christ be not risen then is our preach- 
 ing -vain and your faith is also vain) [i], cannot be moved; 
 for it is founded on the Rock. Christ establishes His chosen 
 in faith so perfectly that they cannot be moved by any temp- 
 tation, or fear, to fall from Him by violence from without. 
 
 (3) Pardta sedes Tua ex Ever since then hath Thy 
 tune : a sceculo Tu es. throne been prepared : Thou 
 
 art from everlasting. 
 
 Then, that is, from the making of the round world so sure. 
 The throne of our King is everlasting ; and as St. Bonaven- 
 ture says, all the hoarded wisdom of eternity is His very Own. 
 His seat, says the Carthusian with the Carmelite, is five-fold : 
 His divine throne, co-equal with the Father : for thus saith the 
 Lord ; The heaven is My throne and earth My footstool [2] ; His 
 hallowed resting-place in the most pure womb of His Mother ; 
 His cross ; the hearts of all who love Him ; and the throne of 
 Doom. The latter thrones were prepared and predestinated 
 for Him since the world began, because the Creation and 
 Fall of man necessitated His coming in the flesh ; but He 
 Himself does not begin then ; for co-equal and consubstan- 
 tial with the Father, He is from everlasting ; Bellarmine says, 
 Is, not with the mere fact of existence, but with that fulness 
 of Life which the self-existing God possesses and from which 
 we have our being. 
 
 [l] I Cor. xv. 14. [2] Is. Ixvi. I.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 237 
 
 (4) Elevaverunt flumina The floods have risen, 
 Domine: elevaverunt flumina Lord: the floods have lifted up 
 vocem suam. their voice. 
 
 (5) Elevaverunt ftumina The floods have lifted up 
 fluctus suos, a vdcibus aqudrum their waves from the voices of 
 multdrum. many waters. 
 
 (6) Mirdbiles elatidnes ma- The liftings up of the sea 
 ris t mirdbilis in altis Dominus. are wonderful : the Lord is 
 
 wonderful on high. 
 
 Herein, says Lorin, we have set before us the roar and 
 tumult of Jews and pagans against the new Kingdom of Christ ; 
 and the climax of the triple repetition denotes the gathering 
 force of the deluge : first, the angry commotion ; then the 
 loud accusations ; lastly, the wild tumult ; all too weak to 
 resist the eye and voice of Him Who rebuketh the winds and 
 waves, saying, Peace be still [i]. The water in the fourth 
 verse is taken of rivers ; while, in the fifth, of the sea ; and so, 
 more than one commentator has seen here a rivalry and 
 opposition between the sweet waters of the one and the salt 
 billows of the other. They will have it, with St. Augustine, 
 that the rivers flow from the well-head of living waters, that 
 they are the rivers of that flood which makes glad the city of God 
 [2], swollen by the descending rain of Pentecost, the Apostles 
 themselves, lifting up their voices as of many waters to pro- 
 claim that the risen Lord reigneth ; lifting up their waves to 
 sweep away every barrier to the triumphant advance of His 
 Church. Against them rise up in resistance the waves of the 
 sea trying to beat back that flood of sweet waters poured into 
 their salt bosom ; but vainly, for wonderful as are the liftings 
 up of that wild sea of human rage, more wonderful still in the 
 highest is the Lord Who is throned over all ; and through His 
 mercy these liftings up of the very waves became wonderful 
 in grace, by the conversion of the raging heathen into meek 
 disciples of the Lamb, lifting them up to the very heavens ; 
 and that from the voices of many waters, the voices made to 
 Him from the countless baptismal fonts in divers nations of 
 the earth. 
 
 [i] Mark iv. 39. [2] Ps. xlv. 4.
 
 238 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (7) Testimonia tua credi- Thy testimonies are made 
 
 biliafacta sunt nimis : domum exceeding sure : holiness be- 
 Tuam decet sanctitudo, Do- cometh Thy house for ever, 
 mine, in longitudinem. 
 
 The Carthusian says on this verse : Whatever things the 
 types and prophecies of the Old Testament, the words of the 
 Evangelists, the teachings of the Apostles, the articles of the 
 Creeds allege concerning Christ, the Lord, belonging as they 
 do to faith, though incapable of proof by natural reason (as 
 dealing with things hoped for and unseen), are proved by the 
 marvellous works of the Lord Himself, and yet more by His 
 patient life and painful death. His predictions, too, are ful- 
 filled, telling the disciples that they should have tribulations 
 in this world ; and therefore they look for the accomplishment 
 of the remainder of His prophecy, the victory and peace which 
 He promised them in Himself. And because this is so, 
 because exceeding sure are His testimonies, Holiness becometh 
 Thy house ; that is, says Agelli [i], it is the fit and peculiar 
 attribute of that sacred shrine of His most pure Body wherein 
 the Godhead dwelt ; it is the fit adornment of the soul of our 
 ever dear and blessed Lady who for nine months bore her 
 Maker ; it is the peculiar and distinguishing mark of the 
 Church ; it is the token of Christians who bear in mind the 
 Apostle's saying : Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and 
 that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you f [2] It is no mere 
 passing holiness, but is for ever ; hallowed by the abiding 
 presence of God in the Beatific vision. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who is from everlasting ; Glory 
 to the Son Who reigneth and hath girdeth Himself with 
 strength ; Glory to the Holy Ghost Who is the Holiness of 
 the House of God. 
 
 SECOND ANTIPHON. 
 
 Maria Virgo assumpta est Mary, the Virgin, is taken 
 
 ad cethereum thdlmum, in up into the heavenly abode, 
 
 quo Rex regum stelldto sedet where the King of Kings sits on 
 
 solio. His starry throne. 
 
 [i] Bishop of Acerno in 1608. He wrote a Commentary of considerable value. 
 [2] i Cor. iii. 16.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 239 
 
 The Assumption was commemorated in the last Antiphon 
 and now the Coronation. The creature is placed before the 
 King of Kings in the highest part of heaven, and on her head 
 He places the crown of justice laid up for her [i], that crown of 
 stars seen by St. John [2], The throne is the symbol of God's 
 might, and, like the crown, it is starry. The lifting up of the 
 creature, so far above Nature, is the work of Divine Power. 
 Surely at the moment, when our ever dear and blessed Lady 
 was crowned, and thus had the seal put upon all the works of 
 Divine Grace that since her Conception had been wrought in 
 her soul, she must have recalled these words of the Magnificat : 
 He that is mighty hath done great things to me. . . He hath 
 exalted the humble [3]. So this thought of the Crown fittingly 
 attunes our mind to the Psalm of praising which follows. 
 
 PSALM xcix. 
 Title. A Psalm of Confession. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That we, made by Christ, ought to rejoice, serve, 
 and pray unto Him. The voice of the Apostles to the people. 
 And exhortation of gratitude that we should serve God. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The whole of this Psalm belongs to the 
 two kinds of Confession, to wit, of penitence and of praise. In 
 the first part the Prophet exhorts all creation to praise the 
 Lord with exultation, and lest thou shouldst suppose that this 
 kind of confession is always to be used, He promises us in the 
 second part that if we repent of our sins we can enter through 
 the gates of His forgiveness [4]. 
 
 (i) Jubilate Deo omnis be joyful in the Lord all 
 
 terra : servile Domino in ye lands : sefve the Lord with 
 Icetitia. gladness. 
 
 [i] 2 Tim. iv. 8. [2] Apoc. xii. i. [3] Luke i. 49, 52. 
 
 [4] Agelli says : This Psalm is properly a liturgical one, and from its wording 
 appears to have been especially intended for the sacrifices of thank-offering made 
 with an oblation of fine flour. It is thus a prophecy of the one offering of the 
 Holy Eucharist to be made, not by Aaronic priests in Jerusalem alone, but by 
 Gentile priests and Levites in every country of the world. 

 
 240 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 be joyful in the Lord all ye lands. All are invited, there 
 is no acceptance of persons ; the summons is to all that 
 labour and are heavy laden, that they may rejoice, and trust 
 in no perishable good, but in the Lord. The plural verbs 
 joined to a singular noun (in the Latin) points to the union of 
 all races of mankind in one harmonious chorus of praise. 
 
 Serve the Lord. The very end of our creation. But His 
 service is not like that of earthly masters. In His service is 
 true liberty found, in it there is no sighing, no mourning. 
 None will desire to be freed, for, sweet thought ! we shall know 
 we are ransomed. The service of the Lord is free ; because 
 not necessity, but love serves therein : For, brethren, ye have 
 been called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to 
 the flesh, but by love serve one the other [i]. Let Love, says 
 St. Augustine, make thee a servant ; because Truth makes thee 
 free. With gladness, not grudgingly, or of necessity, for God 
 loveth a cheerful giver [2]. With gladness, because, says St. 
 Paul, the sorrow of the world worketh death [3]. 
 
 Speaking of the service of God, St. Augustine says : To 
 serve Him is to reign. Again : He who serves unwillingly 
 makes a slavery for himself. But, says an old writer, if thou 
 put good-will into thy service thou wilt find thou art not God's 
 servant, but His son. The Carmelite tells us that fitness for 
 God's service involves many things : bodily purity and cleanli- 
 ness, reputableness of character, orderliness, sparingness in 
 living and substance, humility and reverence, cheerfulness and 
 gladness, since all these qualities answer to attributes of the 
 Master we serve. 
 
 (2) Introite in conspectu Come in before His presence 
 
 Ejus, in exsultatione. with rejoicing. 
 
 There are several ways of coming into God, says the 
 Carmelite. We should come in as doves into the windows 
 of Christ's Wounds : Come away, my dove, into the clefts of 
 the Rock [4] ; as sheep in the sheep-fold : Other sheep I have 
 which are not of this fold ; them also must I bring in [5] ; as 
 the fearful into a strong refuge : Let us enter into the defenced 
 
 [i] Gal. v. 13. [4] Cant. ii. 14. 
 
 [2] 2 Cor. ix. 7. [5] John x. 16. 
 
 [3] Ibid. vii. 10.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 241 
 
 cities, and let us be silent there [i] ; as men forgiven into 
 penance : / will give him the valley of Achor for a door of 
 hope [2] ; as a prince unto his dignity : There shall enter into 
 the gates of the city kings and princes upon the throne of David [3] ; 
 as conquerors into a captured city : The kingdom of heaven 
 suffereth violence and the violent alone shall take it by storm [4] ; 
 as a procession into a church : They shall enter into My holy 
 place, and they shall come near to My table [5] ; as the elect into 
 glory : Let us therefore labour to enter into that rest [6] . This 
 we are to do with rejoicing. And yet, as St. Peter Chryso- 
 logus remarks : Archangels fear, Powers are filled with dread, 
 the Elders fall down on their faces before the Throne, the 
 elements fly, the rocks melt, the mountains flow down, the 
 earth quakes ; and shall Man, who is earth, enter thus fearlessly 
 and stand upright, rejoicing ? How can the Prophet be bold 
 to say that this is what we ought to do ? Because of the words 
 that follow : 
 
 (3) Scitote quoniam Domi- For know ye the Lord He 
 
 nus ipse est Deus : Ipse fecit is God : He made us and not 
 nos, et non ipsi nos. we ourselves. 
 
 It is because the Lord is God ; that Lord Who was a little 
 Child in our flesh, Who lay cradled a helpless Babe, Who 
 nestled so peacefully on His Mother's bosom, Who was gentle 
 and meek in His converse with us, laying aside all the terrors 
 of the Godhead, all the awfulness of the Judge. It is because 
 of all this that we are bold to enter His Presence with rejoicing, 
 going more to meet the welcome embraces of a loving Father, 
 than the searching examination of our secret sins. Says St. 
 Augustine : Think not meanly of that Lord ; for though ye 
 crucified Him, crowned Him with thorns, clad Him with a 
 robe of scorn, hung Him on a tree, pierced Him with nails, 
 smote Him with a lance, and set guards at His tomb, yet He 
 is God, He made us; for by Him were all things made, and 
 without Him was not anything made that was made [7]. He 
 
 [i] Jer. viii. 14. [5] Ezek. xliv. 16. 
 
 [2] Oseeii. 15. [6] Heb. iv. n. 
 
 [3] Jer. xvii. 25. [7] John i. 3. 
 
 [4] Matt. xi. 12. 
 16
 
 242 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 made us, says Honorius, in our first creation of Nature : He 
 made us also in the second and more glorious creation of 
 Grace. Not we ourselves ; for, Lord Thou art our Father ; we 
 are the clay and Thou our Maker ; and we all are the work of 
 Thy hand [i]. 
 
 (4) Populus Ejus, et oves We are His people, and the 
 
 pdscucK Ejus: introite portas sheep of His pasture : enter 
 Ejus in confessione, atria Ejus into His gates with thauks- 
 in hymnis : confitemini Illi. giving and His courts with 
 
 hymns : Confess ye unto Him. 
 
 We are His people, that is, serving Him with intelligent 
 obedience, with confident love : / to My beloved and My 
 beloved to Me [2], 
 
 The sheep of His pasture. Because we constitute His inherit- 
 ance and His wealth ; we need His guidance, are ruled, cared 
 for, preserved by Him. We find Him so loving and tender, 
 that we cannot forget Him ; we seek Him with sighs and 
 yearnings ; we know and hear His voice and follow Him, but 
 no other. 
 
 His pasture. Here is a reference to the food He pro- 
 vides for our sustenance, even His very own Body and 
 Blood ; this is the pasture wherewith the Good Shepherd feeds 
 us in the wide and pleasant meadows of His Church, even 
 as He once fed Israel in the pleasant fields of Canaan. Thus 
 Agelli. 
 
 Confess ye unto Him. St. Augustine teaches us that repent- 
 ance must be the outset of the service of God, unto Whose gates 
 we enter with the confession of sins, not attempting to burst 
 forth in the language of praise till, growing in holiness, we 
 penetrate into His courts. Another writer, reminding that 
 our Lord calls Himself " the Door, " explains the gates of our 
 Lady, the Apostles, and others, by whom men enter into Him, 
 making confession first and renunciation of all their sins. 
 And after this straight and painful entrance we should go at 
 once into the spacious courts of charity, passing into the 
 width of heavenly contemplation. There is a stress on His 
 gates, which are many, that we may learn to distinguish these 
 
 [i] Is. Ixiv. 8. [2] Cant. vi. 2.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 243 
 
 from gates which are not His, by which men often enter in 
 confession. There is the gate of hypocrisy, of which we read : 
 These people draw near with their mouth and with their lips do 
 honour Me, but their heart is far from Me [i] ; the gate of pride : 
 / am not as the rest of men [2] ; the gate of despair : / have 
 sinned in betraying innocent Blood [3] ; the gate of treachery : 
 Master, we know that Thou art a true speaker [4] ; the gate of 
 flattery : Thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God [5] ; the 
 gate of mockery : Hail Thou, King of the Jews [6] ; the gate of 
 confusion ; / know Thee Who Thou art, the Holy One of Israel [7] ; 
 and lastly, that of sacrilege : Unto the ungodly, saith God, why 
 dost thou preach My Law ? [8]. Opposed to all these gates of 
 the evil one, are the Twelve Gates of the City of God, named 
 from the twelve tribes of Israel [9]. On the north, the type of 
 sin, lie Reuben, Juda and Levi. Reuben, Behold the Son, is 
 the prodigal returning to show himself to his father ; Juda, 
 confession or praise, the giving God glory by acknowledgment 
 of sin ; Levi, joined, is the being united to God by abandon- 
 ment of errors. On the east, the region of light and prayers, 
 are Joseph, the increase in good works ; Benjamin, trust in the 
 right hand of God alone and desire for the good things set 
 there ; Dan, reverent thought of the coming Judge. On 
 the south, perfected in love, are Simeon, Issachar, Zabulon. 
 Simeon, heard in prayer ; Issachar, the hireling, who has 
 accepted the summons and entered the vineyard ; Zabulon, 
 dwelling, because they shall go out no more, but dwell in the 
 court of the Lord. And on the west, towards the sun-setting 
 type of death, are Gad, Asser, Naphthali. Gad, the troop, 
 denotes the innumerable company of angels and saints ; Asser, 
 their blessedness, in the Vision of God ; Naphthali, a wrestler, 
 reminds us that no one is crowned except after the fight. And 
 these are the Gates through which God's true servants must 
 enter in confession. 
 
 [i] Is. xxix. 13. [6] Matt, xxvii. 29. 
 
 [2] Luke xviii. n. [7] Mark i. 24. 
 
 [3] Matt, xxvii. 4. [8] Ps. xlix. 16. 
 
 [4] Ibid. xxii. 16. [9] Apoc. xxi. 12. 
 
 [5] I Kings xxix. 9.
 
 244 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (5) Lauddte nomen Ejus : Praise His name, for the 
 
 quoniam sudvis est Dominus, Lord is sweet : His mercy is 
 
 in ceternum misericordia Ejus, for ever, and His truth from 
 
 et usque in generationem et generation to generation, 
 generationem veritas Ejus. 
 
 Three reasons are here given us for praising the name of 
 God : His sweetness, His everlasting mercy, and His abiding 
 truth. 
 
 He is sweet; for in Him is no bitter at all ; He is sweet ; for 
 never can He be so angry with a sinner as not at once to be 
 appeased by sincere sorrow. 
 
 His mercy is for ever. Because, says Honorius, on the one 
 hand, He extends the acceptable time, the day of salvation, to 
 the end of the world for all, to the end of life for each sinner, 
 rejecting none, and not closing the door of grace till the very 
 last necessary moment ; and, on the other, He will keep His 
 Redeemed in heaven for ever the objects of His boundless 
 mercy. 
 
 And His truth from generation to generation. Because the 
 promise He made to the Patriarchs He fulfilled to their 
 descendants by coming in person, no longer in type and 
 prophecy ; because His words in Holy Writ shall never pass 
 away, even when heaven and earth are gone ; because He 
 keeps to the uttermost in this world, and the next, the pledges 
 given to His disciples of bestowing everlasting blessedness. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, Who is sweet for He hath given 
 His Son for us ; Glory to the Son Whose mercy is ever- 
 lasting as He for ever pleads for us ; Glory to the Holy 
 Ghost Whose truth endureth in the Church unto the end of 
 the world. 
 
 ANTIPHON III. 
 
 In odorem unguentorum We run after the odour of 
 
 tuorum currimuSy adolescen- thine ointments ', young maid- 
 tulce dilexerunt te nimis. ens have loved Thee exceedingly. 
 
 Now we contemplate the glory, which, as a sweet ointment, 
 pervades the whole being of the Mother of God, crowned
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 245 
 
 Queen of heaven and earth. It attracts us and we run after 
 her example ; and So run that we may obtain the prize [i] of 
 Eternal Life, even as she has won it. The latter part of the 
 Antiphon recalls our vocation. It was when we were young 
 and generous that the glory and sweetness of our Lady 
 attracted us to serve God after her example. Happy we, if, 
 when the enthusiasm of youth be passed, we preserve still 
 that solid love for Mary which is so helpful for attaining the 
 true knowledge and love of her Divine Son. 
 
 PSALM LXII. 
 
 Title. A Psalm of David when he was in the Wilderness of 
 Idumea. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ is He on Whom we should direct 
 the brightness of the mind in the morning thoughts. The 
 voice of the Church concerning Christ ; or that of anyone 
 withdrawing from darkness and longing for Him. 
 
 Venerable Bede : Psalm and David often denote Christ the 
 Lord, often the Church ; because Christ is in His members 
 and the members are contained in their Head. Wherefore 
 words which signify the Lord our Saviour are fitly ascribed to 
 the Church, which is to speak in this Psalm. She therefore 
 dwells in the desert of Idumea, that is, a dryness of this world, 
 where she thirsts and longs for Christ. Whence also Idumea, 
 where David was in exile, is interpreted, "earthly." In the 
 first part she longs after the power of the Lord, desiring to be 
 filled with the fulness of all good things, that she may be 
 found worthy of His praises. In the second part she gives 
 thanks, because under the shadow of the Lord's wings she 
 has escaped the storms of the world. 
 
 (i) Deus, Deus, meus: ad Te God, my God : from day- 
 
 de luce vigilo. break do I watch unto Thee. 
 
 My God. The repetition of the name of God and the 
 claiming Him for the Psalmist's very own denote, observes 
 St. John Chrysostom, deep love and eager pressing towards 
 God, to the neglect of all earthly things. It is therefore taken 
 
 [i] i Cor. ix. 24.
 
 246 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 chiefly of Him Who alone could, with truth, call God His 
 Own, as being One with Him, consubstantial, co-eternal. 
 Jesus did use these words, My God, in that mysterious cry 
 from the cross : My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken 
 Me ? [i]. 
 
 From day-break do I watch unto Thee. He Who made the 
 Light rose with it on the first Easter morning. The words 
 are spoken of the faithful soul which turns eagerly to the first 
 rays of the light and opens its powers to the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness, to work for Him and to be filled with His warmth. 
 There is, says St. Augustine, a sleep of the soul as there is a 
 sleep of the body. This last we all ought to have ; but let us 
 take care that our soul sleep not, for sin is the sleep of the 
 soul. Good for the body is sleep, which serves for the health 
 thereof ; but the soul's sleep is forgetfulness of its Maker. 
 Therefore doth the Apostle say : Awake, thou that sleepest, and 
 arise from the dead ; and Christ shall give thee light [2]. Was 
 the Apostle waking up one oppressed with bodily sleep ? Nay, 
 but he was waking up a soul sleeping, in order that she might 
 be enlightened by Christ. And therefore doth the Spouse in 
 the Canticles answer to this appeal : / sleep, but my heart is 
 waking [3], Sleep, says St. Gregory the Great, free from all 
 temporal anxiety, waketh to the contemplation of God. 
 
 (2) Sitivit in Te dnima My soul thirsteth for Thee : 
 
 mea, quam multipliciter Tibi my flesh also for Thee, in how 
 caro mea. many ways ! 
 
 This is the cry of David, cut off from the public worship 
 of God, when he was hiding from Saul in the desert. 
 
 My soul thirsteth for Thee, the fountain of living water. He 
 does not thirst for any gifts in this wilderness, but for ever- 
 lasting blessedness, which are nowhere to be found save in 
 Thee. 
 
 My flesh also. Much more, in one sense, than even the 
 soul ; for the soul is immortal, while the body is pressed down 
 with the weight of its mortality, and therefore is in more need. 
 It longs for the resurrection, and says : In my flesh I shall see 
 
 [l] Matt, xxvii. 46. [2] Eph. v. 14. [3] Cant. v. 2.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 247 
 
 God [i]. Wherefore St. Bernard observes : The Prophet desired 
 the first Coming, whereby he knew that he should be redeemed ; 
 but more did his flesh desire the second Coming, which will 
 bring his glorification. 
 
 (3) In terra des/rta, et in- In a barren land and path- 
 
 via, et inaquosa : sic in sancto less and where no water is : 
 appdrui Tibi, nt viderem So have I appeared to Thee in 
 mrtutem Tuam, et gloriam the holy place, that I might 
 Tuam. behold Thy Power and Thy 
 
 glory. 
 
 In a barren land and pathless and where no water is. The 
 world is barren, because the saints dwell not therein, since they 
 are not of it ; it is pathless, because it knows not Christ Who 
 is the Way ; it hath no water, for the fountain of grace is not 
 there. So the Carmelite. Evil is the desert, says St. Augustine, 
 very horrible and greatly to be feared ; and, nevertheless, God, 
 in pity, hath made a way in the desert, Himself, our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, and hath given us a consolation in the desert, sending 
 preachers of His Word ; He giveth unto us water in the desert, 
 by fulfilling with His Holy Spirit His preachers, in order that 
 there might be created in them a well of water springing up 
 to life everlasting. And lo, we have here all things ; but they 
 are not of the desert. 
 
 So have I appeared to Thee in the holy place. This seems to 
 refer to the longing of David to appear once more in the 
 tabernacle. It may then be taken of our Lord, in the desert 
 of this world, speaking of the glory He had with the Father 
 before the world was, and ere He emptied Himself of that 
 glory, taking the form of a servant. And mystically of His 
 servants, it tells us of the longing to depart and be with Christ, 
 to be free from sin, to enjoy the Vision of God, no more as in 
 a glass darkly, but face to face, where note, says the Carmelite, 
 that we are taught in Exodus how to appear before God. 
 Thrice in a year should all males come into Him [2] ; so we 
 also, thrice in our year of mortal life, should do the same. In 
 the past, by recalling with grief our former sins and repenting 
 
 [l] Job. xix. 26. [2] Exod. xxxiv. 23.
 
 248 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 of them ; in the present, by doing good works while there is 
 yet time ; in the future, by a firm resolve to preserve a holiness, 
 saying with Job : Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from 
 me. My righteousness which I have begun to hold fast I will not 
 let it go [i]. In these three periods of the year, then, every 
 male, that is, every perfect man, ought to appear before God ; 
 which if he do, then will God appear to him ; so that he will 
 see God, even as he is seen by God, and behold His power 
 and glory. 
 
 (4) Quoniam melior est For Thy mercy is better than 
 misericordia Tua super vitas : lives : my lips shall praise Thee, 
 labia mea lauddbunt Te. 
 
 Better than all the lives we men choose for ourselves, 
 however various they may be ; better than all the lives we plan 
 out for ourselves and in which we think we could have done 
 so much better. The mercy God shows to us is the very best 
 for us ; of this we may be sure, He never leaves us, but 
 awaits us at every turn, and goes before our every action : 
 Thy mercy hath followed me all the days of my life [2] . It was 
 this strong sense of God's mercy, that unfathomed abyss, 
 which made the martyrs trust it, rather than the specious 
 promises of earthly tyrants. Their lips sang songs of praise 
 to God in Whom they trusted. And now their lips praise His 
 mercy for ever. 
 
 (5) Sic benedicam Te in vita So shall I bless Thee all my 
 mea : et in nomine Tuo levdbo life : and lift up my hands in 
 manus meas. Thy Name. 
 
 Not only by constant praise and thanksgiving, as it is 
 written : Bless God at all times [3] ; but my whole life shall 
 be blessing Thy Name, for it shall be directed to the honour, 
 praise and glory of that Name. For God is blessed by a 
 righteous life as by a clear voice. 
 
 And lift up my hands in Thy Name. The reference is to 
 Moses during the battle with the Amalakites. Jeremias 
 counsels us : Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God 
 
 [l] Job xxvii. 5. [2] Ps. xxii. 8. [3] Tobias iv. 20.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 249 
 
 in the heavens [i] ; St. Paul also directs, adding that the hands 
 should be holy [2]. The great lifting up of hands is in the 
 Mass, the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, where the priest prays 
 with hands uplifted, becoming thus a living image of the 
 Crucified One, the likeness of the great High Priest, Whose 
 Person he bears. Almsgiving is also a lifting up of the 
 hands in God's Name. So also are zeal and steadfastness in 
 well-doing, in fulfilment of the Apostle's order : That ye study 
 to work with your own hands [3], 
 
 (6) Sicut ddipe et pingue- My soul shall be filled as it 
 
 dine repledtur dnima mea : were with marrow and fatness : 
 
 et Idbiis exultattonis lauddbit and my mouth shall praise 
 
 os meum. Thee with joyful lips. 
 
 Union with God cheers the soul in her exile. Thoughts 
 of the Banquet spread in the desert, of the Bread coming 
 down from heaven, containing in itself all sweetness, are 
 indeed blissful. 
 
 The marrow and fatness may be taken of the Blessed 
 Sacrament, wherein the Church makes her glad offering to 
 God, truly a feast of fat things, a feast of wine, of fat things 
 full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined [4]. So on the 
 feast of Corpus Christi she sings an Antiphon which is taken 
 from Jacob's blessing of Aser : The bread of Christ is fat and 
 He shall yield royal dainties [5]. The marrow is the innermost 
 part ; so is the Blessed Eucharist. Hidden, indeed, by the 
 sacramental veils from mortal sight, it is the innermost part 
 which is the delight and satisfaction of our soul. The Carme- 
 lite points out a meaning of this verse in those graces where- 
 with God cherishes the soul with warmth, and especially 
 those typified by chrism or unction ; because fat gives heat to 
 the body ; and therefore is it written in the Law : All the fat is 
 the Lord's [6], whereby we learn that all good desires come 
 from Him and to Him must return. And as the fat is parted 
 from the flesh in sacrifice, so the saints are severed from 
 sinners ; as it is written : As the fat is taken away from the 
 
 [l] Lam. iii. 41. [4] Is. xxv. 6. 
 
 [2] I Tim. ii. 8. [5] Gen. xlix. 20. 
 
 [3] I Thess. iv. n. [6] Lev. iii. 16.
 
 250 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 peace-offering, so was David chosen out of the children of 
 Israel [i.] Finally, the verse tells of the Marriage Supper of 
 the Lamb, and of the guests concerning whom St. Peter 
 Damian tells us : 
 
 " Ever full but hungry ever ; 
 What they have they still desire ; 
 Never suffer surfeit's loathing, 
 Nor yet famine's torments dire : 
 Hungering still they eat, and eating, 
 Still the Sacred Food require." 
 
 (7) Si memor fui Tui super If I have remembered Thee 
 stratum meum, matutinis in my bed, and in the morn- 
 meditdbor in Te : quia fuisti ings have thought upon Thee : 
 adjutor meus. because Thou hast been my 
 
 Helper. 
 
 In my bed, that is, as St. Bernard teaches, in the peaceful 
 quiet of a pure conscience ; and as the English mystic, Richard 
 Rolle, of Hampole, wisely adds, also in the time and place 
 of sickness and pain. Yet again, notes Albert the Great, the 
 ease and quiet of the bed denote a time of temporal prosperity, 
 when it specially behoves the Christian to think on his God. 
 Now rising from the servant to the Master, let us hear the 
 Carthusian : On the Cross where I hung weak and dying, 
 I remembered Thee, O my Father, saying ; Why hast Thou for- 
 saken me f [2] and Father, forgive them [3] ; and yet again, 
 Father, into Thy hand I commend My spirit [4] : and thought of 
 Thee in the morning of the Resurrection, because Thou hast been 
 my Helper. We need God's help at all times ; in the mornings 
 when we work, in the night when we rest. And at all times 
 He is ready to aid us. 
 
 (8) Et in velamento alarum And under the shadow of 
 Tudrum exsultdbo, adhcesit Thy wings will I rejoice, my 
 dnima mea post Te : me sus- soul hath clung after Thee ; 
 cepit dextera Tua. Thy right hand hath upholden 
 
 me. 
 
 St. Augustine remarks that we are as chickens under the 
 hen's wings, but with this difference : her young do not need 
 
 [i] Eccles. xlvii. 2. [3] Luke xxiii. 34. 
 
 [2] Matt, xxvii. 46. [4] Ibid. 46.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 251 
 
 her protection when they are full grown ; but we, the more 
 we advance in years, the more need have we of the sheltering 
 wing of the Most High. 
 
 Will I rejoice. So the Spouse : / sat down beneath His 
 shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet to my taste [i], 
 
 My soul hath clung after Thee, or rather, sticketh as with glue. 
 And this makes St. Augustine ask what is it that " glues " our 
 soul to God ? and he answers, Love, which fastens us behind 
 God that we may follow Him. And St. John Chrysostom 
 compares this close and binding union to the nails of the 
 Cross, or to the roots of a tree set fast in the earth. 
 
 Thy right hand : the symbol of power and of victory. We 
 may also see here a reference to the power of the Holy Ghost, 
 the finger of God's right hand, through Whose grace we cling 
 to our Maker and Whose might upholds us at all times. 
 
 (9) ipsi vero in vanum quce- In vain have they sought 
 
 sierunt dnimam meant, introi- after my soul, they shall go 
 bunt in inferiora terrce : tra- down into the lower parts of 
 dentur in manus glddii, paries the earth : let them fall upon 
 vulpium erunt. the edge of the sword that they 
 
 may be a portion for foxes. 
 
 They shall go into. Not merely falling to the ground, as 
 Christ's enemies did in the Garden, but going into it, into the 
 grave of the Second Death. It was fulfilled, says St. Augustine, 
 even in this life. Earth they were unwilling to lose when 
 they crucified Christ ; they have gone into the lower parts of the 
 earth. What are the lower parts of the earth f Earthly lusts ; 
 for every one that desireth earthly things, to the hurt of his 
 soul, is under the earth ; because he has put earth before him, 
 and upon him, and hath laid beneath it. Fearing to lose 
 earth, the Jews said of the Lord Jesus : If we let Him alone the 
 Romans will come and will take away our place and nation [2]. 
 Behold, they have lost at the hands of the Romans the place, 
 because they slew Christ. 
 
 Let them fall upon the edge of the sword : the earthly sword 
 or the two-edged sword of judgment to come proceeding out 
 of the mouth of Christ. 
 
 [i] Cant. ii. 3. [2] John xi. 48.
 
 252 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 That they may be a portion for foxes. They would not have 
 the Lamb for King, and therefore they have been given up to 
 the will of crafty and worldly princes, like that Herod whom 
 the Lord called a fox [i]. Nay, more, they themselves have 
 fallen in character, and become wily and deceitful, and thus 
 have had their portion with foxes. 
 
 (10) Rex vero Icetdbitur in But the King shall rejoice in 
 
 Deo, laudabuntur omnes qui God ; all they that swear by 
 jurant in eo : quia obstruction Him shall be praised : for the 
 est os loquentium iniqua. mouth of them that speak evil 
 
 shall be stopped. 
 
 That King Whose kingdom, though it be not of this world, 
 is yet in this world as it is in heaven, Christ, the King, Who 
 hath written on His vesture and on His thigh a Name, King of 
 Kings and Lord of Lords [2], Who reigneth over the house of 
 Jacob for ever, and of Whose kingdom there shall be no end [3]. 
 This King, in the days of mortal pilgrimage, was crowned with 
 thorns and made sorrowful even unto death. But now raised 
 from the dead, like David returned from exile, He shall rejoice 
 in God, for in that He liveth, He liveth unto God, and is 
 Himself God in God ; as He hath said : / am in the Father 
 and the Father in Me [4]. 
 
 All they that swear by Him shall be praised, who shall bind 
 themselves to Him by the Sacraments [5] to be faithful 
 soldiers and servants. And so it is written : And all Juda 
 rejoiced at the oath ; for they had sworn with all their hearts 
 and sought Him with all their desire, and He was found of 
 them, and the Lord gave them rest round about [6]. 
 
 For the mouth of them that speak evil shall be stopped. Even 
 in this world, when they see the glory of the saints, they will 
 have nothing to allege against the truth of God, or the pure 
 lives of His servants ; but envious tongues will not be silenced 
 till evil is overcome in the Final Triumph of Christ when He 
 shuts the gates of the Holy City against whosoever loveth and 
 maketh a lie [7]. 
 
 [i] Luke xiii. 32. [3] Luke i. 33. 
 
 [2] Apoc. xix. 16. [4] John xiv. 10. 
 
 [5] Sacramentum was the military oath of fidelity. 
 [6] 2 Paralip. xv. 15. [7] Apoc. xxii. 15.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 253 
 
 PSALM LXVI. [i] 
 
 Title. To the end, in the hymns. A Psalm of a Song of 
 David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ is the Light of the faithful. The 
 Prophet counsels believers. The Apostolic voice. The 
 Prophet's Voice, concerning the Coming of Christ, and His 
 Resurrection. 
 
 Venerable Bede : Hymn and Song denote praise, and that it 
 may be shown that these are given to Christ the Lord alone, 
 To the End is prefixed. After the Song of Resurrection the 
 Prophet supplicates that we may be blessed and be led to the 
 knowledge of God, to which our own merits cannot attain. 
 
 (i) Deus miseredtur nostri, May God be merciful to us 
 
 et benedicat nobis : illuminet and bless us, and show us the 
 
 vultum Suum super nos, et light of His countenance, and 
 
 miseredtur nostri. be merciful unto us. 
 
 Mercy for past error is first sought, then blessing ; and 
 then, again, we ask for mercy. Why this repetition ? Because 
 we need God's mercy for perseverance in grace as well as for 
 the original call to it. St. Augustine says this Psalm is the 
 prayer of the Vineyard to the Husbandman, of the Church to 
 God the Father, praying Him to send His rain to increase the 
 fruit He Himself has planted and tilled. But though it is 
 collectively the cry of the whole Vineyard, yet each section 
 belongs to a different part, as Cardinal Hugo points out : Be 
 
 [i] The following Psalm is always joined on to the preceding and sung under 
 one Doxology. After Durandus, we may thus explain the mystical reason. "First, 
 because Psalm Ixii. signifies thirst for God, and in Psalm Ixvi. the Trinity is indicated. 
 This is done, therefore, to signify thirst and continual longing for God. Secondly, 
 to note that before the persecution of Anti-Christ the believing Gentiles referred to 
 by Psalm Ixvi. shall be one in faith. Thirdly, because the former signifies love of 
 God, wherefore it is said my soul thirstethfor Thee : the latter signifies love of our 
 neighbour, wherefore it is said that we may know Thy salvation among all nations. 
 Fourthly, because the grace of which the Church seems conscious in Psalm Ixii. is 
 evidently confirmed in the latter. Again, at the end of Psalm Ixii. the Gloria Patri 
 is not said, because therein human sorrow is treated of, whence it is there said : My 
 soul thirsteth ; but in Psalm Ixvi., the Doxology is said, because in it the mercy of 
 God is celebrated.
 
 254 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 merciful is the cry of the penitent ; bless us, of advancing 
 Christians ; show us the light, of the dying ; asking generally 
 for pardon, justification, wisdom and glory. 
 
 And show us the light of His countenance. God shows His 
 countenance in divers ways, says Bellarmine. When He dis- 
 perses the clouds of His anger, and looks on us with love, 
 as children and friends called back to grace ; when He 
 enlightens us and warns by pouring wisdom and charity into 
 our souls, as the visible sun blesses the earth. When He 
 withdraws the veil and shows us His very Self, in the Person 
 of Christ, for the Countenance or Face of the Father is the 
 Son ; for, saith Jesus : He that seeth Me seeth the Father 
 also [i]. Therefore the Prophet says, in the way of desire : 
 Let His countenance appear, that is, May the Father's counte- 
 nance, even the Son Himself, shine on us here on earth by 
 His Incarnation. 
 
 (2) Ut cognoscdmus in terra That we may know Thy way 
 
 viam tuam : in omnibus gen- upon earth : Thy Salvation 
 tibus salutdre Tuum. among all nations. 
 
 Thy way is that which leadeth to Thee. What is it ? We 
 can learn it, says St. Augustine, from the Gospel ? The Lord 
 said : / am the Way. But fearest thou lest thou shouldst 
 stray? He hath added: / am the Truth [2]. Who strayeth 
 in the Truth ? He strayeth who hath departed therefrom. 
 The Truth is Christ, the Way is Christ ; walk ye therein. 
 Dost thou fear lest thou die before thou attain unto Him ? 
 / am the Life. I am, said He, the Way, the Truth and the Life. 
 As if saying, What fearest thou ? Through Me thou walkest, 
 to Me thou walkest, in Me thou resteth. And note, says 
 Albert the Great, we may know His way on earth in three 
 manners. By natural understanding, which is wisdom ; by 
 grace, which is faith ; and by glory, which is reward. 
 
 Thy salvation among all the nations. The question, What 
 is Thy way ? is answered by Thy salvation among all the nations. 
 It is only one way for all nations, one Church to embrace all 
 
 [i] John xiv. 9. [2] John xiv. 6.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 255 
 
 people, one Covenant for all mankind ; for there is but one 
 Mediator of God and men [i], Jesus, the Head of the Church. 
 
 (3) Confitedntur Tibi populi Let the people praise Thee, 
 Deus : confitedntur Tibi populi God : yea, let all the people 
 omnes. praise Thee. 
 
 Walk ye in the way together with all nations ; walk ye in 
 the way together with all peoples, O children of peace, children 
 of the one Catholic Church. Walk ye in the way, singing as 
 ye go. Wayfarers do this to beguile their toil. Sing ye in the 
 way, I implore you, by that same way, sing ye in this way. A 
 new song, sing ye ; let no one there sing old songs ; sing ye 
 the songs full of love for your fatherland ; let no one sing old 
 songs. A new way, a new wayfarer, a new song. Thus St. 
 Augustine. 
 
 (4) Lcetentur et exsultent let the nations rejoice and 
 gentes : quoniamjudicaspdpu- be glad : for Thou shall judge 
 los in cequitdte, et gentes in the folk righteously, and govern 
 terra dirigis. the nations upon the earth. 
 
 They shall be glad, and shall not be in servile fear of the 
 judgment, because it will be just and merciful instead of 
 arbitrary and cruel ; moreover Thou shall govern and guide the 
 nations in the right way, so that they shall be safe from all 
 peril, because taught by Thee to avoid sin. 
 
 (5) Confitedntur Tibi populi Let all the people praise 
 Deus ; confitedntur pdpuli Thee, God : let all the people 
 omnes ; terra dedit Fructum praise Thee. The earth hath 
 suum. brought forth its Fruit. 
 
 There is a fresh reason, says the Carmelite, for the rejoicing 
 of the people, and one more glorious and joyous than the 
 former. For the earth is that holy soil of which it is written : 
 Drop down, ye heavens from above, and let the skies pour 
 down righteousness ; let the earth open, and let it bring forth a 
 Saviour [2]. 
 
 The earth hath brought fotth its Fruit. Mary hath borne 
 Jesus. Et homo factus Est. 
 
 [i] I Tim. ii. 5. [2] Is. xlv. 8.
 
 256 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (6) Benedicat nos Deus, May God, our God, bless us, 
 
 Deus noster, benedicat nos may God bless us : and all 
 
 Deus : et mttuant Eum omnes the ends of the earth shall fear 
 
 fines terra. Him. 
 
 The Carmelite points out that the mystery of the Blessed 
 Trinity is shadowed out in the triple recitation of the Name of 
 God God the Father, Unbegotten, Underived, shall bless us : 
 Our own God, God the Son, our Brother, made like us in all 
 things save sin, shall bless us ; God, the Holy Ghost, shall 
 bless us. And the singular verb in the Latin and the pronoun 
 express the Unity. 
 
 All the ends of the earth shall fear Him. Not with the 
 servile fear which the devils feel, but with the loving fear of 
 sons, the wholesome reverence of disciples, that fear whereby 
 we are saved from the wrath to come. 
 
 GLORIA PARTI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Whom we seek early and Who 
 sheds on us the Light of His Countenance. Glory to the Son 
 Who watches for us to God and Who is our own God. 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost Himself the Mercy in Judgment to 
 be extolled above all life and Who is the Light of the 
 Countenance of God. 
 
 FOURTH ANTIPHON. 
 
 Benedicta filia tu a Do- daughter, blessed art thou 
 
 mino : quia per te Fructum of the Lord, for through thee 
 vitcB communicdvimus. we have partaken of the Fruit 
 
 of life. 
 
 Mary's glory and happiness in heaven is not for herself 
 alone. The Mystical Body shares in all the good that befalls 
 its members ; and as we share in the work our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady did on earth in bringing forth the Fruit of 
 Life, so does the Church at large share in the harvest home 
 gathered by her means. She, being a divinely ordained channel 
 of grace between Jesus and our souls, it is through her that the 
 fruit of His salvation is brought home to us. She gave us
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 257 
 
 Jesus ; and in Him gave us all things. So we, too, share in her 
 heavenly reward. Her glory is ours, we partake in the songs 
 which resound through the heavens to her honour ; for she is 
 the triumph of God's grace, the monument of His mercy and 
 the model of what a creature can be. Therefore in the fol- 
 lowing Canticle let us call upon all Creation to lend us their 
 voices to praise the Lord for all He has done for us by Mary, 
 and for all He has done in Mary. 
 
 CANTICLE : Benedicite. [i] 
 Argument. 
 
 Denis the Carthusian. When Nebuchodonosor cast the 
 three Hebrew children, Shadrach, Misach, Abdenago, into 
 the fiery furnace, they fell down bound into the midst of the 
 burning fiery furnace, and they walked in the midst of the fire 
 praising God and blessing the Lord. . . . But the angel of 
 the Lord came down into the furnace. . . . and made in the 
 midst of the furnace as it had been a moist cooling wind, so that 
 the fire touched them not at all, neither burnt nor troubled them. 
 Then the three as out of one mouth praised, glorified and blessed 
 God in the furnace, saying. . . . Then Nebuchodonosor, the 
 king, was astonished and rose up in haste and spake and said 
 unto his counsellors : Did we not cast three men bound into the 
 midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king: True 
 king. He answered and said : Lo, I see four men loose walking 
 in the midst of the fire and they have no hurt, and the form of 
 the fourth is like the Son of God [2]. The Benedicite is taken 
 from their song, and calls upon all creatures, animate and 
 inanimate, to bless the Lord. We may distinguish in this 
 Canticle three divisions after the introductory verse. First of 
 all, heavenly creatures and the forces of Nature ; then the 
 earth and brute creation ; and lastly, man. In the life of St. 
 Mary Magdalene of Pazzi, it is related that this servant of God 
 is said to have asked her Divine Spouse what glory could such 
 exhortations to creatures without reason give Him. "When 
 these words are said with fervour," was the reply, " and from 
 
 [i] This Canticle is taken from Daniel, with certain additions of ecclesiastical origin. 
 [2] Dan. iii. 23-92. 
 
 17
 
 258 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the depths of the heart, these creatures are called upon to bless 
 Me, I take it as though they really did so, and the praise of 
 him who thus invokes them I take as equalling them all" [i]. 
 One special subject of blessing God we must have when 
 reciting this Canticle of Praise, and that is, our ever dear and 
 blessed Lady. We can never thank God enough for all He 
 has done for her and for us in her and through her. While 
 we call upon Creation to join with us in praising God for 
 Mary, we will ask her, after the Sacred Humanity of our Lord, 
 the greatest of God's works, to praise Him for us and sing 
 her Magnificat for the great things He hath done for her. 
 
 (i) Benedicite omnia opera All ye works of the Lord, 
 
 Domini Domino : laudate et bless ye the Lord : praise and 
 superexaltate Eum in scecula. exalt Him for ever. 
 
 All ye works. Creatures not by voice only, but by work, 
 praise God ; for by their fulfilling the end for which they were 
 created, and being in themselves very good [2], they show 
 forth the greatness of God, and by them we can rise to the 
 knowledge of God, as Solomon says in the Book of Wisdom : 
 For by the greatness and beauty of the creatures proportionably 
 the Maker of them is seen [3] ; and St. Paul : For the invisible 
 things of Him from the creation of the world are seen, being 
 understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power 
 and Godhead [4]. But creatures gifted with intelligence, such 
 as angels and men, can bless God with mind as well as by 
 their work. Again, the works of the Lord may be taken in two 
 senses, says the Carthusian : The natural works of the creature, 
 in which God takes a necessary part as sustainer, according to 
 the words of Moses : The hand of the Lord hath wrought all 
 these things [5]. And secondly, of the works of grace which 
 we indeed do, but which God goes before and accompanies 
 according to the saying of Isaias : All our works Thou hast 
 wrought in us [6]. 
 
 But as blessing seems to be the action of a superior to the 
 inferior, St. Paul saying : Without any contradiction that which 
 
 [i] Life, by F. Cepari, Act. Sonet., 25. [4] Rom. i. 20. 
 [2] Gen. i. 31. [5] Deut. xxxii. 27. 
 
 [3] xiii. 5. [6] xxvi. 12.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 259 
 
 is less is blessed by the greater [i] ; how can the creature be 
 called upon to bless the Creator ? To this the Carthusian 
 answers that there are two kinds of blessing ; one of conse- 
 cration, of which St. Gregory says, God's blessing is a bestowal 
 of gifts, and a multiplying thereof, hence in His name the 
 Church blesses ; the other blessing is a giving of thanks, or a 
 praising, as Holy Simeon blessed God for showing him his 
 Salvation [2] ; and as David, who said : / will bless the Lord 
 at all tunes [3]. It is in this sense that creation is called upon 
 to bless the Lord. Praise, because the power of God is shown 
 in them ; exalt, because the Creator is shown to be so much 
 greater than His works. 
 
 (2) Benedicite Angeli Do- O angels of the Lord, bless ye 
 mini Ddmino : benedicite cceli the Lord : heavens, bless ye 
 Domino. the Lord. 
 
 The Angels are invited, not that they need an invitation, or 
 that they ever cease from blessing, praising, and exalting God ; 
 but these are words congratulating them for what they do, and 
 joining ourselves to their ceaseless song. It is also an invita- 
 tion to make a special thanksgiving for us. 
 
 Angels of the Lord. The word angels, as the pseudo-Areo- 
 pagite observes, sometimes means the lowest choir and some- 
 times, as here, the whole angelic creation. They are all 
 messengers, even the highest ; for, says the Apostle : Are they 
 not all ministering spirits ? [4]. 
 
 Heavens, are, according to St. Augustine, holy souls, 
 according to the words of the Prophet : Heaven is my seat [5] ; 
 for God abides in the hearts of His faithful. 
 
 (3) Benedicite aquce omnes, O waters which are above 
 quce super caelossunt, Domino : the earth, bless ye the Lord: 
 benedicite omnes virtutes Do- all ye powers of the Lord, 
 mini Domino. bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Origen understands by these waters, spiritual substances, 
 and Albert the Great, the First Matter from which the world 
 was evolved : And the Spirit of God moved over the face of 
 
 [l] Heb. vii. 7. [4] Heb. i. 14 
 
 [2] Cf. ii. 28. [5] Is. Ixvi. I. 
 
 [3] Ps. xxxiii. I.
 
 260 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the waters [i] ; or, it is to be understood in a mystical sense 
 of the illuminated minds of God's saints, in which Divine 
 operations are seen, as in a pool of clear water. 
 
 Powers of the Lord. Some take these to mean those angels 
 God uses to direct the motions of the material world ; for 
 they say that angels direct the wind, the rain, snow, heat, 
 and govern the sun, and moon, and solar system, being thus 
 used by God to carry out the laws He has laid upon Nature. 
 Others of all created powers which God has in any way given 
 to creatures to enable them to fulfil His Will. We may also see 
 in this especially the powers of grace and those great, powerful 
 operations of the precious Blood, the seven Sacraments. Fr. 
 Eudes, that saintly master of Prayer, who had so many heavenly 
 lights, used to take these words literally as the virtues of the 
 Lord, the supernatural virtues which adorned the Human 
 Soul of Jesus. 
 
 (4) Benedicite sol et luna sun and moon, bless ye the 
 
 Domino : benedicite stellce cceli Lord : stars of heaven, bless 
 Domino. ye the Lord. 
 
 The sun may be taken for the most pure womb of our Lady, 
 according to the words : In the sun hath He placed His dwelling- 
 place [2]. The moon also of her ; inasmuch as all her grace, 
 all her beauty, and all her power is derived from the Sun of 
 Righteousness Himself. The stars also refer to her ; they are 
 her virtues in the good odour of which we run. The three 
 together are the adornment of that Great Sign set in the 
 heavens : A woman clothed with the sun, the moon beneath her 
 feet, and a crown of twelve stars above her head [3]. Thus does 
 the wise man describe the two great lights which God made [4] : 
 The sun when he appeareth, declaring at his rising a marvellous 
 instrument, the work of the Most High : at noon he parcheth the 
 country, and who can abide the burning heat thereof? . . . 
 breathing out fury, vapours, and sending forth bright beams 
 that dimmeth the eyes. Great is the Lord that made it ; and at 
 His command it runneth hastily : He made the moon also to serve 
 in her season for a declaration of times and a sign of the world 
 
 [l] Gen. i. 2. [3] Apoc. xii. I. 
 
 [2] Ps. xviii. 6. [4] Gen. i. 16.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 261 
 
 . . . being an instrument of the armies above, shining in the 
 firmament of heaven. The beauty of heaven, the glory of the 
 stars, an ornament giving light in the highest places of the Lord, 
 at the commandment of the Holy One they will stand in judg- 
 ment and never fail in their watches [i]. In the mystical 
 sense the sun signifies the understanding of good and evil 
 and the splendour of reason. The moon, the lower powers of 
 the soul, which are directed by the reason. The stars of heaven 
 signify the virtuous who, endowed with wisdom, by word and 
 example, as the simple sons of God [2], shine amidst the dark- 
 ness of the world. Of whom Daniel says : They who turn many 
 to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever [3]. 
 Once more, the sun may be taken of eternal life, the moon of 
 the changeable and passing world, and the stars of our own 
 small life. 
 
 (5) Benedicite omnis imber, All ye showers and dew, 
 et ros Domino : benedicite bless ye the Lord : all ye spirits 
 omnes spiritus Dei Domino. of God, bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Showers moisten the ground and cause the seed to swell 
 and germinate, as the Prophet says : The rain cometh and the 
 snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watercth the 
 earth, and maketh it to bring forth and bud, that it may give 
 seed to the sower and bread to the eater [4]. The Carthusian 
 suggests that by showers we can understand doctrine and 
 preaching, which sink into the mind like rain on a dry land ; 
 and by dew, the consolation and unction of the Holy Ghost, 
 which comes from within. 
 
 Spirits of God here mean the winds, which continue the 
 work which showers and dew begin ; or, again, by spirits 
 we may understand the Spirit of God Himself Who fans 
 into a flame His fire within our hearts, at the same time 
 cooling the earthly fire which rages there. 
 
 (6) Benedicite ignis, et cestus fire and heat, bless ye 
 Domino : benedicte frigus, et the Lord : cold and heat f 
 cestus Domino. bless ye the Lord. 
 
 St. Thomas says fire is a very apt image of God, for, 
 
 [l] Eccles. xliii. 2-1 1. [3] xii. 3. 
 
 [2] Phil. ii. 15. [4] Is. Iv. 10.
 
 262 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 according to the Apostle: He is a consuming fire [i]. The 
 Holy Ghost is called in the Veni Creator a " fire." Now heat 
 is the effect of fire, and so the two are joined together. 
 Mystically, fire is charity ; heat is the fervour thereof, concern- 
 ing which Christ said : / have come to cast fire on the earth [2] ; 
 and the two disciples said : Was not our heart burning within 
 us f [3]. This Divine fire and spiritual heat are the choicest 
 gifts of God, and therefore fitting for our most humble 
 thanksgiving. 
 
 cold and heat. Cold is here taken for wintry season, and 
 heat for the summer days. Mystically, says the Carthusian, 
 cold is the extinction of the flames of lust and vice ; heat, for 
 the warmth and ripening of virtues : the elect bless God both 
 for the withdrawal of evil and for the increase of good. 
 Then we can bless the Lord at all time [4], in all the changes of 
 the seasons ; for in all we see His power and wisdom and 
 providence for His creatures. 
 
 (7) Benedicite rores, et pru- dews and hoar frosts, 
 
 ina Domino : benedicite gelu, bless ye the Lord : frost and 
 et frigus Dtimino. cold, bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Dew is an effect of tempered heat and is most abundant in 
 the Spring, when the new plants need sustenance. Hoar 
 frosts are an effect of cold and are prevalent in Autumn, and 
 check the growth, so says the Philosopher. The first signifies 
 prosperity, the other adversity : //, says the holy Job, we receive 
 good things from God, why shall we not bear evil f [5]. We may 
 also take them, one for grace which helps on our spiritual 
 growth, and the other for temptation which proves our work. 
 Thus are we armed with the arms of justice on the right hand 
 and on the left [6] . 
 
 Frost and cold. Frost is caused by cold, according to the 
 words of Ecclesiasticus : When the north wind bloweth, and the 
 water is congealed into ice,itabideth upon every gathering together 
 of water and clothed the water as with a breast-plate [7]. And 
 that of the Psalmist : Before the face of His cold who can 
 
 [l] Heb. xii. 29. [5] ii. 10. 
 
 [2] Luke xii. 49. [6] 2 Cor. vi. 7. 
 
 [3] Ibid. xxiv. 32. [7] xliii. 22. 
 [4] Ps. xxxiii. I.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 263 
 
 abide f [i] By frost and cold we may understand the binding 
 and hardening of the mind by the withdrawal or suspension of 
 sensible devotion ; in which circumstances we must still bless 
 God, and patiently possess our souls in peace, while praying 
 for the return of the gift. We must refuse to look for consola- 
 tion in exterior and unworthy pursuits, according to the words 
 of the Psalmist : / remembered the Lord and was glad : I was 
 exercised and my spirit failed [2], 
 
 (8) Benedicite gldcies, et Ice and snow, bless ye the 
 
 nives Domino: benedicite noct- Lord: nights and days, bless 
 es, et dies Domino. ye the Lord. 
 
 Some consider that by ice, hail is to be understood. These 
 creatures of God : Fire, hail, ice, and spirits of the storm which 
 fulfil His Word, hereby show forth His power and glory. Hail 
 was used with His wonderful dealing with the Jews ; for 
 instance, the plague of hail [3] ; and the destruction of the 
 Amorites by hailstones in the days of Josue [4] : Fire, 
 mingled with the hail, ran along the ground [5]. So the 
 Carthusian takes these two as the scourges of God, for which 
 we ought to bless Him. 
 
 Nights and days signify, respectively, tribulation and 
 prosperity ; or night, the obscurity of the Old Testament and 
 the darkness of sin ; day, the brightness of the Gospel and the 
 illumination of grace. 
 
 (9) Benedicite lux, et tine- Light and Darkness, bless 
 
 brce Domino : benedicite ful- ye the Lord ; lightnings and 
 gura, et nubes Domino. clouds, bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Light, the first work of God in making the world, of which 
 Solomon says : Sweet is the light, and pleasing to the eye is it to 
 see the sun [6], is mystically taken to signify the illumination 
 of the soul, the good cheering thereof by the in-dwelling of the 
 Holy Ghost and the gift of sensible piety ; whereas darkness is 
 the defect, or ignorance, or obscuring of the heart, whether it 
 comes by sin, or by the mystical privation of sensible devotion 
 sent for the purifying of our souls, according to the saying : 
 
 [l] clxvii. 17. [4] x. II. 
 
 [2] Ixxvi. 4. [5] Exod. ix. 23. 
 
 LsJ Exod. ix. 23. [6] Eccles. xi. 7.
 
 264 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind . . . where is 
 the way where Light dwelleth f and as for darkness, where is the 
 place thereof? [i] In this verse light and darkness must be 
 taken as the qualities of the days and nights of the preceding 
 verse. 
 
 Lightnings, which flash in the clouds, are spiritually to be 
 understood of the brilliancy of miracles or the terrible threats 
 of God's judgments, which from time to time flash out from 
 the clouds which veil Him from our sight. As we read in the 
 Psalm : Thy lightnings shone over all the earth ; the earth was 
 moved and shook withal [2], Concerning clouds many things 
 are said in the book of Job to show God's greatness : Can any 
 understand the spreading of the clouds or the noise of His taber- 
 nacle ? [3] It was a cloud that sheltered by day the Israelites in 
 the desert, and was a guide to them by night [4]. Clouds, 
 also, are represented as overshadowing His dwelling-place, 
 according to that word of the Psalmist : Clouds and darkness 
 are round about Him [5], 
 
 (10) Benedicat terra Domi- Let the earth bless the earth : 
 
 num : laudet et superexdltet let it praise and exalt Him for 
 Eum in scecula. ever. 
 
 How the earth tells us of God ! He Himself says : Where 
 was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? Declare if 
 thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if 
 thou knowest 1 or who hath stretched the line upon it f Where- 
 upon are the foundations thereof fastened f or who laid the corner- 
 stone thereof [6]. The earth, by its stability and its fruitfulness, 
 is an image of the man whose mind is stayed on God and who 
 bringeth forth his fruits in due season. St. Gregory the Great 
 says : It is wonderful that man is not always engaged in 
 praising God ; for creation ever invites him to do so. 
 
 (n) Benedicite monies, et mountains and hills, bless 
 
 colles Domino : benedicite uni- ye the Lord : everything that 
 
 versa germinantia in terra springeth on the eatth, bless ye 
 
 Domino. the Lord. 
 
 [i] Job xxxviii. I, 19. [4] Cf. Ex. xiii. 21. 
 
 [2] Ixxvi. 19. [5] Ps. xcvi. 2. 
 
 [3] xxxvi. 29. [6] Job xxxviii. 4-6.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 265 
 
 God hath prepared the mountains in His power [i] and 
 girts the hills with joy of the harvest, so that they sing a hymn 
 of harvest-thanksgiving to Him [2]. Albert the Great notes 
 that in the mystical sense mountains and hills are the prelates 
 of Holy Church, or those shining with the gifts of grace, 
 according to that saying of the Prophet : The mountains shall 
 distil sweetness, and the hills shall flow with milk [3]. 
 
 Everything that springeth on the earth, all the treasures earth 
 has in minerals, precious stones, plants, trees, flowers, &c. 
 And how very beautiful is this fair earth that was made as a 
 dwelling-place for the Incarnate God ! Our Lord points out 
 its beauty : Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow . . . 
 I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed as one 
 of these [4]. The verse may also be taken to refer to every 
 good action we do. The seed whereof was planted by God in 
 our heart ; He watered it by grace ; the sun of His favour gave 
 it the increase and ripened the fruit. It is all His doing, and 
 sets out His infinite perfections. Our part is only to work 
 with Him and to obey His inspirations. To Him be all 
 honour and glory ! Not unto us Lord, not unto us [5], 
 
 (12) Benedicite fontes Do- fountains, bless ye the 
 
 mino : benedicite mdria, et Lord : seas and waves, bless 
 flumina Domino. ye the Lord. 
 
 A fountain, the source of waters, by its exuberance, its 
 clearness and its diffusion, is an image of Divine goodness ; 
 hence God is often called in Holy Writ a fountain. It is 
 also applied to the Wounds of our blessed Saviour ; for they 
 were the fountains of grace and mercy for all the world, 
 according to that saying of the Prophet : Ye shall draw water 
 in joy from the fountains of the Saviour [6]. 
 
 seas and rivers. By the seas is sometimes meant the 
 tempest-tossed world, full of bitterness, as in Isaias, the wicked 
 as the boiling sea, which cannot be still [7] ; others take it as the 
 heart of penitents troubled by waves of sorrow and compunc- 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixiv. 6. [5] Ps. cxiii. 9. 
 
 [2] Ibid. 14. [6] Is. xii. 3. 
 
 [3] Joel iii. 1 8. [7] Ibid. Ivii. 20. 
 [4] Matt. vi. 28, 29.
 
 266 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 tion : Great as the sea is thy sorrow [i]. Rivers, on the other 
 hand, denote sometimes the abundant gifts of grace, and 
 sometimes overwhelming tribulations. In the first sense 
 our Lord uses the words when He says : He who believeth in 
 Me . . . out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water [2]. 
 But the second sense is implied by the Psalmist when he says : 
 The rivers have lifted up their floods from the voices of many 
 waters [3]. 
 
 (13) Benedicite cete, et 6m- O whales and all that move 
 
 nia, quce moventur in aquis, in the waters, bless ye the Lord : 
 
 Domino : benedicite omnes birds of heaven, bless ye the 
 
 volucres cceli Domino. Lord. 
 
 Fish and birds were one of the special creations of God, 
 the work of the fifth day. Our Divine Master said to SS- 
 Peter and Andrew : / will make you fishers of men [4], likening 
 men to fish. If we work out the analogy we shall see it amply 
 justified. As the fish live and move in the water, so do all 
 Christians live their supernatural life in the waters of Baptism ; 
 then, from the Divine immanence or pervading of all things, 
 we are living in God ; He is all round about us, on every side, 
 through and through, as water is round a fish swimming 
 therein. It was for reasons like this, to express the union 
 between the Humanity and the Godhead, yet withal their 
 distinction, that the Fish figures in the oldest Christian art 
 as the image of Christ ; besides, as we have explained, the 
 hidden meaning in the letters of the Greek word for fish, t^^v?, 
 i.e., Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour. 
 
 Birds of the heaven, that is, of the air. Sometimes by birds 
 the proud who lift themselves upon high, or devils, the princes 
 of the Power of the air [5] are meant ; as when our Lord says : 
 The birds of the air eat it, that is, the good seed [6]. But here 
 the word is to be taken, in mystical sense, for contemplative 
 souls who on the wings of prayer are lifted up towards the 
 sublime things of God. These are they who can say : Who 
 will give me the wings of a dove and I will fly away and be at 
 
 [i~] Lam. ii. 13. [4] Matt. iv. 19. 
 
 [2] John vii. 38. [5] Eph. ii. 2. 
 
 [3] Ps. xcii. 3, 4. [6] Luke viii. 5.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 267 
 
 rest f [i]. Of these doves the Prophet speaks when he asks : 
 Who are these that fly as the clouds and as doves at their 
 windows ? [2] : And again : They who trust in the Lord shall 
 renew their strength ; they shall take unto themselves wings, like 
 the eagle ; they shall run and not be weary ; they shall walk and 
 not faint" [3]. 
 
 (14) Benedicite omnes bes- All beasts and cattle, bless 
 tice et pecora Domino : bene- ye the Lord : ye sons of men, 
 dicitefilii hominum Domino. bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Besides the obvious sense of the verse, the Carthusian 
 says : By beasts and cattle we may understand men immersed 
 in lust ; and these are invited to return to their reason, and 
 bless God Who has spared them so long and still calls them 
 to repentance. But there is a difference between the two : 
 beasts are the untamed, cattle the domesticated animals ; and 
 so we may understand by the former, carnal men who are 
 cruel and intractable ; by the latter, carnal men who neverthe- 
 less are mild and easily led. 
 
 Sons of men. Now leaving the brute creation and those 
 who, abandoning their reason, live like brutes, only by instinct, 
 we come to the true sons of men, as made by God ; and thus 
 the circle of being is completed. We started from the angels, 
 pure spirits ; we have passed through the animate and in- 
 animate creation, and now we come to Man, made a little lower 
 than the angels, partly spirit, partly material, summing up in 
 himself all creation ; a " little world," as the ancient phil- 
 osophers called him. 
 
 (15) Benedicat Israel Domi- May Israel bless the Lord: 
 num : laudet et superexdltet may he praise and exalt Him 
 Eum in scecula. above all for ever. 
 
 Israel, "Prince of God," or the "chosen people," is specially 
 invited to bless the Lord. Who is Israel ? Israel is Mine 
 inheritance, says God by His Prophet [4]. Those He has 
 specially chosen and has called to that intimate union which 
 makes them princes ; those to whom He has given the gracious 
 
 [i] Ps. liv. 7. [ 3 ] ibid. xl. 31 
 
 [2] Isaias Ix. 8. [4] Is. xix. 25.
 
 268 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 call : Come after me [i] ; and to whom He says : / no longer 
 call you servants but friends . . . for you have not chosen 
 Me but I have chosen you [2]. We, whom in various ways He 
 has called, are invited in this verse, not only to bless Him, but 
 to praise Him and to exalt Him above all for ever ; that is, to be 
 grateful to Him, to extol His mercy in choosing us, and to set 
 Him above all the desires of our hearts : One thing only have I 
 asked of the Lord; that I may dwell for ever in His courts [3]. 
 
 (16) Benedicite sacerdotes priests of the Lord, bless 
 
 Domini Domino : benedicite ye the Lord : servants of the 
 servi Domini Domino. Lord, bless ye the Lord. 
 
 Priests of the Lord. They are called upon specially to 
 bless the Lord, because they have a means of doing so far 
 above any means which angels or other men have ; for, 
 sharing in the Eternal Priesthood of the great High Priest 
 Himself, they can offer the most perfect act of Thanksgiving 
 to God that He can desire. The Mass is the Eucharistic 
 sacrifice, i.e., the offering of Thanksgiving. Therefore it is 
 fitting that in this verse we unite ourselves to all the Masses 
 that have ever been said and that are being said at this very 
 moment throughout the world, and offer them to bless the 
 Lord through and by and with Jesus Christ, Himself the 
 Priest and the Victim thereof. But in a wider sense we are 
 all priests, as St. Peter tells us : Ye also . . . are an holy 
 priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus 
 Christ" [4] ; for not only do we share in every Mass that is said, 
 and offer it (Pray, brethren, that my and your sacrifice may 
 be acceptable to Almighty God, says the priest), but we also 
 are called to offer the spiritual sacrifice of our will, of our 
 whole being to God by Jesus Christ, the Head of the Body. 
 How many of God's children have thus, as spiritual priests, 
 sacrificed themselves as living victims to His Honour, slaying 
 themselves with the two-edged sword of Poverty and Chastity, 
 and burning themselves on the fire of the Altar of Obedience. 
 These spiritual priests are then to bless the Lord for making 
 their sacrifice acceptable in His sight. They are in a special 
 
 [l] Matt. iv. 19. [3] Ps. xxvi. 4. 
 
 [2] John xv. 15, 16. [4] i Pet. ii. 5.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 269 
 
 way the servants of the Lord ; for they know and, to the best 
 of their ability, carry out His will. 
 
 (17) Benedicite spiritus et spirits and souls of the 
 
 dnimce justdrum Domino : bene- righteous, bless ye the Lord : 
 
 dicite sancti, et humiles corde holy and lowly of heart, 
 
 Ddmino. bless ye the Lord. 
 
 We now go to the Church suffering in Purgatory, to those 
 spirits and souls of the righteous not yet made perfect who are 
 there, and invite them to join in the Canticle of praise. A 
 hymn befits thee, Lord, in Sion [i], in that holy abode of 
 purification ; for these souls all are of the Ransomed, are all 
 safe, and have all fought the good fight. If their full blessed- 
 ness is not yet complete, if they are still in the shade and not 
 in the light, they are safe and they know their salvation is 
 sealed. They have their hymn of deliverance upon their lips : 
 When Israel out of Egypt came and the house of Jacob from 
 amongst a barbarous people [2]. They are on the verge of the 
 Promised Land ; and they know they are sure of entry. 
 How deep, then, are their songs of blessing and thanking 
 God, deep even in the midst of their purgation, deep even 
 because of it ; for is it not His mercy which gives them this 
 means of purifying themselves before they enter in ? 
 
 holy and lowly of heart. And now we go on to all the 
 choir of ransomed souls standing ever before the Throne, that 
 great multitude of our brethren which no man can number, 
 and among whom one day we, too, by God's grace, shall 
 stand. They are the holy, and because holy, they are glorified 
 and great. But their very greatness makes them realise that it 
 is all God's gift, and is due to the merits of Jesus Christ, their 
 Divine Head. So in the midst of their majesty and triumph 
 they are lowly in heart, and ever join in our Lady's song : He 
 hath done great things to me [3]. To their songs of blessing 
 we join ours, and ask the blessed in heaven to praise God on 
 our behalf and be mindful of their brethren here below, still 
 fighting, as they once fought, still striving after the crown 
 which they have secured. 
 
 Some have taken the clause in another way. Spirit and 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixiv. I. [2] Ibid, cxiii. I. [3] Luke i. 49.
 
 270 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 souls of the just, meaning thereby the Holy Ghost Who has 
 worked righteousness in the souls- of the just. This is accord- 
 ing to St. Basil's saying : What is man made of ? Body and 
 soul. But what is a Christian made of ? Body and soul, and 
 the Holy Ghost. 
 
 (18) Benedicite Anania, Aza- Ananias, Azarias and 
 ria, Misael, Domino : lauddte et Misael, bless ye the Lord : 
 superexaltdte eum in scecula. praise and exalt Him above 
 
 all for ever. 
 
 These words, by which the Holy Children animated each 
 other to praise the Lord Who had so marvellously preserved 
 them from the fiery furnace, we may look upon as a call 
 from our companions, from all who are charged with the 
 offering of the Prayer, to fervour and recollection in the 
 discharge of this heavenly duty. We have to deal with the 
 high things of God and to approach the Altar of incense 
 whereon lies the fire ; we have to enter into that fiery furnace, 
 the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and to become penetrated with His 
 sentiments and intentions ; yet, says the Prophet, Who can 
 dwell with everlasting burnings ? [i] May God send His angels 
 with a cooling wind to still the earthly flames of distractions, 
 and help us to plead before the fires of the eternal Throne. 
 
 (19) Benedicdmus Patrem et Let us bless the Father and 
 Filium cum sancto Spiritu ; Son together with the Holy 
 laudemus, et superexaltemus Ghost .' Let us praise and exalt 
 Eum in scecula. Him above all for ever. 
 
 This verse was added by the Church. It is like the Gloria 
 Patri, in place of which it is recited. All the preceding verses 
 have lead up to this. The Lord we have been calling on all 
 to bless is He Who is Three in One, the Creator, the Redeemer, 
 the Sanctifier. We may note that after the enumeration of the 
 three Divine Persons the one Nature is expressed by the Him. 
 
 (20) Benedictus es Ddmine Blessed art Thou, Lord, in 
 firmamento cceli ,' et lauddbilis, the Firmament of the heavens, 
 et gloriosus, et superexaltdtus and praiseworthy, glorious, 
 in sacula. and exalted above all for ever. 
 
 [l] Is. xxxiii. 14.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 271 
 
 This fi] sounds like the response of all creation to our 
 incessant invitation. Heaven and earth are full of the Song 
 of Praise, and this is the form it takes. Praiseworthy, on 
 account of Thy goodness, power, and holiness ; and glorious 
 in all ways, infinitely so and exalted above all ; for Thou art 
 the Creator and we are but the work of Thy hands for ever. 
 For Thou wilt never cease to be God and we shall never 
 cease to do the objects of Thy bounty and loving kindness. 
 This is, then, the end of the Canticles. All the works of the 
 Lord join in blessing His Name and acknowledging that He 
 is their Lord and God. 
 
 FIFTH ANTIPHON. 
 
 Pulchra es et decora filia Fair and comely art thou, 
 
 Jerusalem :terrlbilisutcastr6- O daughter of Jerusalem: 
 rum dcies ordindta. terrible as an army set in battle 
 
 array. 
 
 In this Antiphon we consider both the beauty of our ever 
 dear and blessed Lady and her power over the Evil one. They 
 both crush his head, for they are the result of grace. He sees 
 in her its power and what a creature can be by being faithful 
 to God. The thought of what he has lost by his infidelity 
 makes enmity between them. But clad in the armour of Faith, 
 with the helmet of Righteousness, and the breast-plate of 
 Truth, together with the sword of the Spirit, our Lady is ever 
 ready to meet his attacks when he besets her children. So 
 she reigns as Queen not only of heaven, but of earth also ; and 
 in the midst of her joys, for which we praise God, she does not 
 forget her children here below, but prays for us now and at the 
 hour of our death, that as she has done so may we also accom- 
 plish our end by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 [i] Daniel Hi. 56.
 
 272 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 PSALM CXLVIII. 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 Argument [i], 
 
 Tomasi : That all things were made and created by the 
 command of Christ. The voice of the Apostles to the people 
 inviting all to the praise of the Creator. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The Prophet urges all creatures to the 
 praises of the Lord ; the rational and intellectual ones in 
 person ; those which lack instinct or senses through the means 
 of those which join in praising the Lord with the wisest use of 
 thought [2]. 
 
 (1) Laudate Dominum de Praise the Lord from the 
 ccelis : lauddte Eum in excelsis. heavens : praise Him in the 
 
 heights. 
 
 (2) Lauddte Eum omnes Praise Him all ye His an- 
 Angeli Ejus : lauddte Eum gels : praise Him all ye His 
 omnes virtutes Ejus. powers. 
 
 This is a song of hope fulfilled, of liberty granted, of rest 
 given. And therefore most fitly those very sons of God, the 
 Angel hosts, are invited to begin the song from the heavens, and 
 that from no lowly station therein, but in the heights, where 
 Cherubim and Seraphim stand nearest to the Throne. They 
 are to begin the Song of the New Creation ; for Man, though 
 rejoicing in the message of Redemption, knows not how to 
 praise as he ought, and therefore needs a voice to give the 
 intonation to this Psalm. It is thus not a commandment, but 
 a petition, that the Angels may continue what they always are 
 doing ; so that Man may catch the strain, as the priest sings 
 in the Preface of the Mass : " And therefore with the angels." 
 
 [i] This Psalm is always said together with the two following, under one 
 Gloria and Antiphon ; and the custom is explained by Durandus as the triple 
 battle cry against the world, the flesh and the devil ; the joint anthem of Jews 
 Christians, and Gentiles ; the praise of the Trinity in Unity. The name of the 
 office of Lauds is derived from the word so frequently repeated, Laudate. 
 
 [2] A recent writer styles this Psalm " The Voice of the Church Militant praising 
 her Maker for the Resurrection. "
 
 273 
 
 (3) Lauddte Eum sol et Praise Him Sun and Moon : 
 
 luna : lauddte Eum omnes all ye Stars and Light praise, 
 stellce et lumen. Him. 
 
 The Psalmist descends from the invisible and highest of 
 creatures to those which, though far lower in dignity, are yet 
 the highest and most glorious objects in the visible universe ; 
 that what is greatest in light may praise Him first. Light, the 
 primaeval creation, is an emblem of God. Light of Lights, is 
 one of the similies used in the Nicene Creed to express 
 the Divine Nature of God the Son. St. Gregory the Great 
 says : As Christ in His Manhood praises the Father, ascrib- 
 ing all glory to Him, that God may be all in all, so, too, 
 the Church, that moon which derives all her light from Him 
 and waxes and wanes in brightness here in the world, together 
 with all those righteous children of His who shine as 
 stars [i], praises Him in one hymn of thanksgiving. The 
 Light, as something diverse from the orbs of brightness, also 
 utter His laud, by typifying and disclosing Him. We may 
 also take light as signifying that light which enlighteneth every- 
 one coming into this world [2], the light of Reason, which is the 
 light of the Countenance of God which He has signed upon 
 us [3]. 
 
 (4) Lauddte Eum coeliccelor- Praise Him all ye heavens : 
 
 um: et aquce omnes, qua super and ye waters that are above 
 ccelos sunt, laudent nomen the heavens, let them praise the 
 Domini. Name of the Lord. 
 
 All ye heavens, words, says St. Augustine, implying at 
 once their vast extent and unsearchable height. The 
 Carmelite takes these words of our Blessed Lady, who for 
 nine months was the abode of God made Man : and ye waters 
 that are above the heavens of the Divine contemplation of the 
 doctrines of the Gospels and the Apostles. Origen and St. 
 Ambrose understand these waters as purely spiritual symbols ; 
 and Jorgius tells us they are the abundant grace of the Holy 
 Ghost : A pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding 
 from the throne of God and of the Lamb [4]. They may also be 
 
 i] Dan. xii. 3. [3] Cf. Ps. iv. 8. 
 
 [2] John i. 9. [4] Apoc. xxii. I. 
 
 18
 
 274 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 taken of the waters of Baptism, which open the way to us 
 through the gates of heaven and which take their rise in the 
 pierced Side of Jesus. St. Peter Chrysologus tells us that the 
 waters of penitential tears, the weeping of Mary Magdalen, are 
 above the heavens, because they rise at once and directly into 
 the very presence of God. 
 
 (5) ?*' tyse dixit et facta For He spoke the word and 
 sunt : Ipse manddvit et credta they were made : He com- 
 sunt. manded and they were created. 
 
 He spoke the Word when He said, before all Eternity : 
 Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee [i]. Thus says 
 St. Augustine : And they were made, for the Word was God and 
 all things were made by Him, and without Him was not any- 
 thing made [2]. 
 
 He commanded. Our Lord Himself says : The Father 
 loveth the Son and hath given all things into His Hands [3]. 
 So St. Paul draws out the doctrine that : Therefore by Him 
 were all things created that are in heaven and in earth, visible 
 and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or princi- 
 palities, or powers ; all things were created by Him and in 
 Him [4]. And as the Carmelite together with the Car- 
 thusian says : In that He not only made but created them, 
 His divine origin, power, as well as His plastic and artistic 
 wisdom, are implied. And also the whole sentence shows the 
 instantaneous result of the Divine Fiat ; for God calleth these 
 things which are not as though they were [5]. 
 
 (6) Stdtuit ea in ceternum He hath made them fast for 
 et in sceculum sceculi : prcecept- ever and ever ; He hath given 
 um posuit et non prceteribit. them a law which shall not be 
 
 broken. 
 
 Each created thing is not only formed to endure, in the 
 type or the development, if not in the individual, but also has 
 its place in the universe fixed by God's decree, that it may 
 fulfil its appointed share of working out His Will. This is so 
 even in the spiritual life. We have every one of us a state of 
 
 [i] Ps. ii. 7. [4] Col. i. 16. 
 
 [2] John i. i, 3. [5] Rom. iv. 17. 
 
 [3] John iii. 35.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 275 
 
 perfection to which God calls us, and towards which all His 
 graces are directed ; for instance, it is idle for a Sister of 
 Mercy to sigh after that kind of perfection which is part of the 
 vocation of a Poor Clare. To each one His Gift [i]. God's 
 will is for us to be perfect in our own vocation ; and it is 
 to this end that we must direct all our efforts. 
 
 The Law, which He hath given to all heavenly things, to 
 the Angels, to that bright and glorious City whence we are 
 exiled pilgrims, is that of everlasting praise, their one task 
 where there are no sins to struggle against, no wants to 
 minister to. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 (7) Lauddte D6minum de Praise the Lord from the 
 terra : dracones et omnes earth, ye dragons and all 
 abyssi. depths. 
 
 We begin with the lowest part of creation. Some of the 
 mediaeval commentators dwell on the words, dragons and all 
 depths, to teach us that even the great red dragon [2] and all 
 his brood in deepest hell are forced, however reluctantly, to 
 praise the Lord by working out His ends when striving to do 
 their own evil will. That devout anchoress, Mother Juliana of 
 Norwich, says of the Evil one : All that God suffereth him to 
 do turneth us to joy and him to shame and pain. And he 
 hath as much sorrow when God giveth him leave to work 
 as when he worketh not ; and that is, for he may never do as 
 ill as he would, for his might is all locked in God's hand [3], 
 
 Hugh of St. Victor, who explains this, as well as the suc- 
 ceeding verses, of various orders of saints, thinks great 
 eminence to be signified by the size of the dragons, and pro- 
 found wisdom in the depths where they lie ; and he gives as 
 examples of his meaning such names as Abraham, Isaias, 
 SS. Peter, John, Stephen and Nicholas. 
 
 (8) Ignis, gratido, nix, Fire, hail, snow, and ice : 
 glades, spiritns procellarum : ye spirits of the storms who 
 qucefdciunt verbum Ejus. fulfil His Word. 
 
 Bellarmine points out that this enumeration teaches two 
 lessons : that these are all agents of good, not of evil, in the 
 
 [i] Cf. I Cor. vii. 7. [2] Apoc. xii. 3. [3] P. 48.
 
 276 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 world, and that they are all under the absolute control of God. 
 Some commentators take these words as representing various 
 kinds of sinners : Fire, men of burning passions ; hail, which 
 crushes the grain, the persecutors ; snow, those cold in sin ; 
 ice, frozen in unbelief ; spirits of the storms, still fiercer per- 
 secutors ; yet all fulfilling His word. But Hugh of St. Victor 
 lakes these words in quite the opposite sense. With him fire 
 denotes souls fervent and glowing with charity ; hail, great 
 preachers who pour down storm and lasting rebukes on 
 sinners ; snow, those white in purity ; ice, such as by mortifi- 
 cation check whatever in them is too lax or flaccid ; and all 
 these, in their several ranks in the Church, cheerfully doing 
 God's will. Nor is there any real difference between the two 
 views ; for the opposition only denotes the various results of 
 these very same qualities when under the guidance of God 
 or when left to self-will. 
 
 (9) Monies et omnes colles : Mountains and all hills, 
 
 ligna fructifera et omnes cedri. fruitful trees and all cedars ; 
 
 (10) Bhticc et universa pecora : Beasts and all cattle; 
 
 serpentes et volucres penndtce. creeping things and feathered 
 
 fowls. 
 
 Following Hugh of St. Victor, mountains are saints 
 eminent in holiness ; hills, those who bring forth good 
 works, especially by teaching others ; cedars, those incorrupt 
 in mortification and excelling in contemplation ; wild beasts, 
 those called to practise solitude ; cattle, such as live together 
 in the common life ; creeping things, such who quietly and 
 steadily occupy themselves in the active life ; feathered fowl, 
 such as rise on high in heavenly contemplations. 
 
 (n) Reges terra et omnes Kings of the earth and 
 
 pdpuli: principes et omnes judices all people: princes and all 
 terrce. judges of the earth ; 
 
 (12) Juvenes ct virgines, senes Young men and maidens } 
 
 cum. junioribus laudent Nomen old men and children, praise 
 Domini : quia exaltdtum est the Name of the Lord : for 
 Nomen Ejus solius. His Name is alone exalted. 
 
 Here, at last, says the seraphic doctor, St. Bonaventure, is 
 the direct appeal to Man, as the highest of earthly beings, to 
 take his part in the great anthem of praise.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 277 
 
 Kings and princes, that is, all superiors, praise God, says 
 Albert the Great, when they rule for the good of the people ; 
 judges, when they decide with justice all cases that come before 
 them. And there is great force in the words, all people, inas- 
 much as the worship of the true God is not confined within 
 the limits of a single nation, but spreads all over the world. 
 
 Young men are those who are strong and in whom the Word 
 of the Lord abideth, and have overcome the wicked one |~i]. 
 Maidens, all those who in chastity serve God, even if they be 
 among the wedded ; but above all, such as are nearer to Him 
 by the Religious life ; while all others are included under the 
 remaining head. Then comes the reason ; no longer, as in 
 the fifth verse, the constraining force of an Eternal Law, too 
 strong to be broken, that suffices for inanimate creations ; 
 but Man must have his reason convinced, and his will moved 
 before he submits. 
 
 His Name alone is exalted. That Name, says Gerovius, of 
 Jesus, Who only is holy, Who only is the Lord, Who only is 
 most high, with the Holy Ghost in the glory of God the 
 Father : Who has a Name which is above every other name 
 before which every knee must bow [2]. 
 
 (13) Confessio Ejus super cos- His praise is above heaven 
 
 lum et terram : et exaltavit and earth : and He hath 
 cornu populi Sui. lifted up the horn of His 
 
 People. 
 
 His praise is above all created things ; for no creature, not 
 even our ever dear and blessed Lady, can praise God as His 
 Majesty demands. Only Infinity can worthily praise God ; 
 hence Jesus, the Word Incarnate, is the Adorer, the Praiser of 
 His Father. We join with Him in that eternal act of Praise 
 which is ever going up in the Mass and the Office, and in 
 every prayer which the Holy Ghost inspires. 
 
 He hath lifted up the horn of His people, that is, the power. 
 First, by the Incarnation, next by the Passion, then by the 
 
 [i] I John ii. 14. [2] Phil. ii. 9.
 
 278 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Resurrection and Ascension, and lastly by the dignity and 
 glory He bestows upon all who live His life and follow His 
 law. 
 
 (14) Hymnus dmnibus sanctis A hymn for all His saints : 
 
 Ejus : filiis Israel, populo appro- even the children of Israel, 
 pinqudnti Sibi. a people that draweth nigh 
 
 to Him. 
 
 What is a hymn, asked St. Augustine. A song with praise 
 of God. If you praise God and do not sing it is not a hymn ; 
 yea, rather, if you sing and do not praise God it is not a hymn 
 you utter ; if you sing and praise something which is not God, 
 song and praise together do not make you utter a hymn. A 
 hymn, then, has these three properties : song, praise, and all 
 directed to God. So this hymn is for all the children of the 
 true spiritual Israel, even the people that draweth nigh to Him. 
 The Carthusian says : It is truly said near; for the world to 
 come as well as for this one, since it would be easier to 
 annihilate heaven and earth than that any man who takes 
 delight in God's praises should not be saved. What is then the 
 hymn peculiar to these saints ? What but that very Alleluia 
 which is the title and close of this Psalm. 
 
 " This is the strain, the eternal strain, the Lord of all things loves : 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 This is the song, the heavenly song, that Christ Himself approves : 
 
 Alleluia." [ij 
 
 PSALM CXLIX. [2] 
 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That the praise of Christ should be celebrated 
 in all churches. The voice of Christ to the faithful concerning 
 the Resurrection, Judgment to come, promising rest to them 
 who suffer for His Name, and power over all that afflict them. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The Psalmist says that a New Song should 
 
 [l] Gotteschakus. 
 
 [2] A writer styles this Psalm " The New Song of the Church Suffering, those royal 
 souls like kings bound in chains, like nobles laden with links of iron.'
 
 279 
 
 be sung to Christ the Lord, Who in divers ways, of His loving 
 kindness, hath built up a universal Jerusalem out of the whole 
 world. In the foregoing psalm he urged all creatures to the 
 praises of the Lord ; here he hath furthermore plainly and 
 specially signified that Israel ought to sing a New song, and 
 be joyful in its own Lord Who caused it to be gathered 
 together out of the multitude of the Gentiles. And mention is 
 made of the power which is to be given to the saints in that 
 Judgment, that the might of the Lord may be acknowledged 
 in their glory. 
 
 (i) Cantate Domino cdnti- sing unto the Lord a new 
 
 cum novum : laus Ejus in song : let His praise be in the 
 eccUsia sanctorum. Church of the Saints. 
 
 No one that hath not put off the old man with his works [i] 
 shall sing the new song ; nay, it is, moreover, necessary to put 
 on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the Image 
 of Him that created him [2] in order to be able to sing it. 
 And a new song, looked at historically, is a glorious and 
 especial chant, sung in honour of some success and victory ; 
 but in the allegorical sense it is a Canticle of the New Testament. 
 For then all things were made new ; a new creation, a new man, 
 a new life, new commandments, new grace, new promises, new 
 sacraments, new precepts. The old man has an old song, the 
 new man a new one. The old song is the Old Testament, the 
 new song the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the 
 promises are temporal and earthly : whoso, then, loveth tem- 
 poral things sings the old songs ; but he who desires to sing 
 the new song must love things eternal. And this song is of 
 peace and charity. It cannot be sung apart from the Church of 
 the saints, from the united Canticle of all the whole earth [3]. 
 He who sings not in this wise, let him sing what he will, 
 he does not sing the new song. With his tongue he may 
 utter Alleluia all day and all night ; yet it is not the voice 
 of the singer but the conduct of the doer which has to be 
 noted. I ask and say, what art thou singing ? And one 
 answers Alleluia. What does Alleluia mean ? " Praise ye 
 
 [i] Col. iii. 9. [2] Ibid. 10. [3] Ps. xcv. i.
 
 280 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the Lord," or " O come, let us praise the Lord together." If 
 thou art praising the Lord and I am praising the Lord, 
 why are we at discord ? Charity praiseth the Lord, discord 
 blasphemes Him. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 His praise is in the Church of the saints. In the Catholic 
 Church, not in the congregations of those outside the Unity, 
 far less in the assemblies of the wicked ; for of Sion it is 
 written : Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving 
 and the voice of melody [i]. To the souls in Purgatory it is 
 a new song, the first echoes of which they caught at the Judg- 
 ment Seat when Christ was gracious to them. 
 
 In that Church of the Saints Purgatory God's praise is 
 unceasing ; for their salvation is secured ; and when the Red 
 Sea of suffering is passed and they join the Triumphant Church 
 of the Saints, the New Song, begun in Purgatory, will go on for 
 ever, swelling with more and more rapture. It is truly a new 
 song the blessed sing ; for the matter of it never grows old, 
 the delight of it never grows weary ; for that delight is always 
 fresh in love, and ever fresh in practice. Jesus Christ, the 
 same yesterday and to-day and for evermore [2]. It is truly 
 new, because it renews men's minds with eternal blessedness. 
 And so we read : Remember ye not the former things, neither 
 consider the things of old: Behold I will do a new thing [3]. 
 Says St. Bonaventure : Sing not therefore with Lucifer, who 
 began with a loud voice an anthem in heaven, saying : / will 
 ascend unto heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 
 I will be like the Most High [4] ; a voice beginning in pride, 
 then going on to suggestion, and ending in a cry of despair. 
 Sing not with Adam's three dissonant tones of credulity, con- 
 sent, and excuse ; but sit down at the feet of the New Man 
 and learn of Him to begin from the lowest note. He says : 
 Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart [5]. 
 
 (2) Lcetetur Israel in Eo qui Let Israel rejoice in Him 
 
 fecit eum : et filii Sion exsult- that made him : and let the 
 ent in Rege suo. children of Sion be joyful in 
 
 their King. 
 
 [l] Is. li. 3. [4] Ibid. xiv. 14. 
 
 [2] Heb. xiii. 8. [5] Matt. xi. 29. 
 
 [3] Is. xliii. 18.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 281 
 
 All those Israelites, indeed, in whom there is no guile, are 
 bidden to rejoice ; for God is worshipped chiefly by faith, 
 hope and charity ; and the companions and fruits of these are 
 righteousness, peace and joy. 
 
 While all Israel, God's chosen people, rejoice in their Maker, 
 it is the special privilege of the children of Sion, the saints 
 of the Church Militant, especially such as are striving after 
 perfection in the way of the Counsels, to be joyful in their 
 King, their Anointed Priest and Sovereign. For He bears to 
 them a special relation which He does not to any other beings 
 in creation. Wherefore Holy Church saith : But, am I by Him 
 appointed King upon His holy hill of Sion [i]. Yes, adds Cassio- 
 dorus, they shall indeed be joyful when they see Him, the 
 Almighty, Him the Bestower of everlasting rewards, Whose 
 future coming in majesty they have believed. What bounds 
 will there be to that joy of beholding the Lord of all things, 
 Whom we believe to have died for the salvation of all ? We 
 cannot know the measure of that gladness ; but we know 
 it will surpass all understanding ; for the Truth hath promised 
 it. Once more Israel, the Chosen princes of God, now 
 reigning in bliss, the future companions of the souls in 
 Purgatory, or they themselves exiled as Jacob was from his 
 father's home. 
 
 Children of Sion. Those who are united together by 
 charity and the assistance of prayer ; for they should be joyful 
 to their King in giving Him back the souls in Purgatory. 
 
 (3) Laudent Nomen Ejus Let them praise His Name 
 
 in choro : in tympano et psal- in the choir : let them sing 
 terio psallant Ei. praises unto Him with timbrel 
 
 and harp. 
 
 Choir is a figure of the Unity of the Faith ; and St. 
 Ambrose alleges that the introduction of choirs into the 
 Christian Church was not so much for musical effect as for 
 the purpose of symbolising concord of mind. Psalmody, says 
 he, unites those who were at variance, makes friends of 
 opponents, reconciles the offended. Who could help forgiving 
 a man with whom he has been uttering the same praise to 
 God? 
 
 [i] Ps. ii. 6.
 
 282 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 With timbrel and harp. The timbrel or tambourine, con- 
 sisting of a skin stretched tightly upon a frame of wood, is a 
 type of crucifixion to the world, and of bodily mortification ; 
 for this skin is that of a dead animal. On the other hand, the 
 harp, with its ten strings, resembles the timbrel, in so far as 
 immediate agent of sound (the strings) is strained to the 
 wooden framework. It also denotes active compliance with 
 the Ten Commandments of the Moral Law. 
 
 (4) Quia benepldcitum est The Lord is well pleased 
 Ddmino in populo Suo : et with His people : and exalteth 
 exaltdbit mansuttos in salu- the meek unto salvation. 
 
 tern. 
 
 The Lord is well pleased with His people. In those who submit 
 to His law, not with the subjects of the prince of this world. 
 
 He exalteth the meek unto salvation, raising them to His Own 
 right hand in the Judgment. The literal meaning is, He shall 
 beautify the meek unto salvation, that is, not only in the sense 
 of giving costly riches and precious gems instead of the torn, 
 soiled and dishevelled garb of sorrow, as the Prophet says : 
 To appoint unto them that mourn in Sion, to give them beauty for 
 ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the 
 spirit of heaviness [i] ; but in giving them, as St. Jerome says, 
 the Pearl of great Price for their ornament. 
 
 (5) Exsultdbunt sancti in Let the saints be joyful in 
 gloria: Icetabuntur in cubilibus glory : let them rejoice in their 
 suis. beds. 
 
 The saints rejoice even in Purgatory in their beds, in the 
 peaceful secrecy of divine contemplation, in their heart and 
 conscience, as knowing the night is far spent and the day is at 
 hand [2], and as being secure and at peace under the wings 
 of God, as it is written : / will break the bow and the sword and 
 the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down 
 safely [3]. Even here on earth those who seek God's will and 
 whose minds are set on Him rejoice in the security of His 
 love, and their joy no man can take from them. 
 
 And lastly, the majority of commentators take the words of 
 
 [i Is. Ixi. 3. [2] Rom. xiii. 12. [3] Osee ii. 18.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 283 
 
 the final consummation of bliss in the many mansions of the 
 kingdom of heaven, where the saints rest from their labours. 
 
 (6) Exaltationes Dei in Let the high praises of God 
 
 gutture eorum : et glddii and- be in their mouth, and two- 
 pitcs in mdnibus eorum. edged swords in their hands. 
 
 These high praises, according to St. John Chrysostom, are 
 the two-edged swords, which in the hands of the saints do 
 more to discomfort their foes than any worldly prowess. And 
 the praises of God set on our lips by Holy Church in Public 
 Prayer are taken for the most part out of Holy Scripture, 
 which St. Paul speaks of as sharper than any two-edged sword [i]. 
 Dwelling on this view of the two-edged sword, St. Augustine 
 draws out its meaning as smiting out of the Old and New 
 Testament ; having temporal promises and consolations in one 
 edge and eternal ones in the other. This sword draws men 
 from their nearest and dearest when their ties become incom- 
 patible with duty towards God ; and while thus severing, yet 
 consoles him who has courage to cut boldly with it even if he 
 smites off his own right hand. And this sword of the Word is 
 said to be in their hands, not their mouths, because of the 
 vigour and effect with which they use it. Then, again, it 
 may be taken of the pains the souls in Purgatory have to 
 undergo ; for the two-edged swords serve for the dividing 
 asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is 
 a discoverer of the thoughts and intents of the heart [2]. It is in 
 their hands, for it is their own faults for which they make 
 expiation. It is they who desire to go for a while from the 
 Face of Him in Whose sight they know they are not pure, as 
 St. Catherine of Genoa teaches. But while thus by their own 
 hands they suffer they never lose the high praises of God in 
 their mouth. And again, the words can be taken of that share 
 of the saints in the judicial power of Him out of Whose mouth 
 goes a sharp two-edged sword [3] to smite the sinner and cut him 
 asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites [4]. 
 
 [i] Heb. iv. 12. [3] Apoc. i. 16. 
 
 [2] Ibid. [4] Matt. xxiv. 51.
 
 284 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Wherefore follows : 
 
 (7) Ad faciendam vindict- To be avenged of the na-- 
 am in nationibus : increpa- tions : and to rebuke the 
 tidnes in populis. people. 
 
 (8) Ad alligandos reges To bind their kings in 
 edrum in compedibus : et n6- chains : and their nobles with 
 biles edrum in mdnicis ferreis. links of iron. 
 
 Now, says St. Augustine, we have seen the saints armed ; 
 let us watch the slaughter, watch the glorious battle. If Christ 
 is our general, then we also are soldiers. This implies we have 
 an enemy, and there is warfare and a victory behind. What 
 have Christ and His soldiers done with the two-edged sword in 
 their hands ? Used it to be avenged of the nations, by extin- 
 guishing paganism and breaking down the idols. 
 
 To rebuke the people. Let that two-edged sword of rebuke 
 go forth of you ; cease not, God has given it to you. When 
 the sinner begins to feel ashamed, when he suffers the prick 
 of conscience, the sword has made a wound, it reaches his 
 heart. He dies that he may live. 
 
 To bind their kings in chains, and their nobles with links oj 
 iron. Christ came for the good of all ; but He chose that the 
 Emperor of Rome, the type of the world, should be benefited 
 by the Fisherman, not the Fisherman by an Emperor. So He 
 chose things of no weight in the world ; He filled them with 
 the Holy Ghost ; He gave them two-edged swords ; He taught 
 them to preach the Gospel to the whole world. It raged, the 
 Lion lifted himself up against the Lamb, but the Lamb proved 
 sharper than the Lion. The Lion was conquered by his own 
 fury ; the Lamb conquered by suffering. Why links of iron f 
 As long as fear rules the heart, those conquered by the sword 
 of God are bound in chains of iron ; but let Love gain the 
 mastery, and then the Law, which pressed so heavily upon us, 
 becomes changed into the sweet Law of Liberty, whose links 
 are of gold. Looking at these verses in another way, we see 
 the light which Purgatory gives us upon the unutterable holiness 
 of God. The manifestation of the vengeance exacted for sin 
 is God's rebuke to Christians for their carelessness. Those 
 who have been looked up to as great in position, learning,
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 285 
 
 authority, and what not, may be nothing in God's sight but 
 sinners ; and if dying so, will be bound in chains and links 
 of iron and cast into the darkness outside the light of heaven, 
 until the last farthing of their debt is paid. Lastly, these 
 verses are taken of the sentence the saints shall assist in 
 passing at the Last Judgment on those who, of their own 
 freewill, remain in their wickedness. 
 
 (9) Ut fdcient in eis judi- To execute on them the judg- 
 
 cium conscriptutn : gloria hcec ment written : such glory is to 
 est Smnibus sanctis Ejus. all His saints. 
 
 Judgment written, that is pre-ordained, fixed, unalterable, 
 foreseen as the result of our free will. So God spoke by the 
 prophet : Behold it is written before Me : I will not keep silence, 
 but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom [ij. 
 
 Such glory is to all His saints. Because the judicial power 
 of Christ is not shared with the Apostles only, but with all the 
 righteous, as it is written : They shall purge the nations and 
 have dominion over the people : and the Lord shall reign for 
 ever [2]. So is it with the saints throughout the world ; so 
 they deal in every nation ; so they exalt God in their mouths ; 
 so they rejoice in their beds ; so they are beautified with 
 salvation ; so they sing the new song; so they say with heart, 
 voice and life, Alleluia. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 PSALM CL. [3] 
 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ is to be praised in all His saints by 
 spiritual harmony. The voice of Christ after overcoming the 
 world, comforting them that rejoice in His Kingdom. Christ 
 showeth praise in all. The Prophet urgeth posterity, as well 
 as the living, to be instant in the duty of holy song. The 
 voice of Christ rejoicing in His Kingdom. This last psalm 
 
 [i] Is. Ixv. 6. [2] Wis. iii. 8. 
 
 [3] The same writer says of this psalm : " It is the Song of the Church Triumphant 
 when the number of the elect is made up, that is, when the soldier is crowned with 
 victory and the exiled brought home."
 
 286 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 has, on account of the Ten Commandments, Praise ye said 
 ten times ; and, because of the four Gospels, four things are 
 mentioned, to wit : saints, the firmament, noble acts, and 
 multitude. Finally, there are eight kinds of musical instru- 
 ments mentioned ; because on the octave day of the first day 
 Christ rose again, and taught us the resurrection of the dead, 
 when every spirit, that is, Man made spiritual, shall praise the 
 Lord. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The City of God is counselled that being 
 gathered out of the compass of the world, it should sing praises 
 to Lord with voice and mind. This psalm, lifted up to that 
 harmonious country of all saints, ought not to have any 
 division, because it hath brought the end of the whole with the 
 might of the indivisible Trinity. 
 
 (1) Laudate Dominum in praise God in His saints ; 
 sanctis Ejus : laudate Eum in praise Him in the firmament 
 firmamento Ejus. of His power. 
 
 Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost ; and a pure 
 soul is the truest sanctuary of the Lord, in which stands His 
 spiritual Altar. How much more are they so when glorified in 
 heaven, when corruptible has put on incorruption and mortality 
 has put on immortality ? [i]. In praising His saints we are 
 praising their Lord ; for all their holiness consists in imitating 
 Him, and their power to do so is His grace. 
 
 The firmament of His power is His Sacred Death, by which 
 He overcame the power of the evil one, and established His 
 Church, against which the gates of hell shall never prevail. 
 
 (2) Laudate Eum in virtu- praise Him in His noble 
 tibus Ejus : laudate Eum se- deeds : Praise Him according 
 cundum multitiidinem magni- to the multitude of His great- 
 tudinis Ejus. ness. 
 
 Says Bellarmine : God is to be praised, not merely because 
 He dwells in heaven, but because He dwells there as Almighty 
 Ruler and Lord of all. And, says St. Bruno, we are here 
 bidden to praise God for every great deed of His holiness or 
 power wrought by His saints ; and the more eminent such 
 
 [i] i Cor. xv. 53.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 287 
 
 appears the more bound are we to refer it to the Unseen 
 Worker by and in Whose Name they were all done. When 
 the saints in glory look back and see how His mercy hath 
 followed them all the days of their life [i], and how He 
 hath done great things in them, their praise becomes more 
 ardent and more intense. Or, translating the words literally, 
 in His virtues we may take them as meaning that the saints, 
 wrapt in adoration of Jesus, are ravished at the glory of the 
 virtues of the Sacred Humanity of Whose fulness they have 
 all received, and therefore praise God for the humility of Jesus, 
 for the charity of Jesus, for the zeal of Jesus, for the patience 
 of Jesus, and for His other virtues. 
 
 According to the multitude of His greatness. How can we 
 do this ? St. Gregory the Great tells us : We most truly give 
 in full the acts of the Divine power when we know ourselves 
 unable to give them fully. We speak most eloquently when 
 we are silent in amazement at them. When our feebleness 
 tries to recount the works of God, the way to use the tongue 
 is to praise by adequate silence what we are not able adequately 
 to comprehend. He praises God according to the multitude 
 of His greatness who feels that he utterly breaks down in an 
 effort at fulfilling His praise. 
 
 (3) Lauddte Eum in sono praise Him in the sound 
 
 tubce : lauddte Eum in psal- of the trumpet : praise Him 
 tcriOy et cithara. upon the lute and the harp. 
 
 The trumpet is the war-like instrument and calls to battle 
 or proclaims victory. Hence the trumpet praises Christ as 
 He is our Captain and King. The trumpet represents also 
 preachers and teachers, as it is written : Cry aloud and spare 
 not: lift up thy voice as a trumpet [2]. The trumpet must be 
 held with the hand ; and so the preacher must do, as well as 
 speak. Its mouthpiece is smaller than the bell from which 
 the sound issues ; so the preacher ought to be far stricter with 
 himself than with his hearers. The trumpet is also the call of 
 the Last Judgment, when the praise of God will be manifested 
 to all the world. 
 
 [i] Ct. Ps. xxii. 6. [2] Is. Iviii. i.
 
 288 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The lute, or psaltery, which was used in religious music, 
 denotes service to God ; and as it sounds from above, denotes 
 the glorification of the soul. 
 
 The harp used at weddings and other festivals, praises 
 Christ, the Bridegroom, and summons us to His Marriage 
 Feast. Sounding from below, it praises Him for deliverance 
 from sorrow and rejoices in the glorification of the body. 
 
 (4) Lauddte Eum in tym- Praise Him with timbrel 
 
 pano et choro : lauddte Eum and choir : praise Him with 
 in chordis et organo. strings and pipe. 
 
 Timbrels, strained to the wood on every side, dry, and 
 sounding with blows, serve as a type of the Martyrs and of all 
 who are crucified to the world, uttering praise to God, most 
 clearly when most severely afflicted. 
 
 Choir, denoting peaceful fellowship and harmonious action, 
 which, St. Gregory reminds us, cannot be safely disregarded 
 by those who play the timbrel of mortification. 
 
 Strings, thin and strained with great tension, are types of 
 those who macerate the body with fasts and vigils and are 
 tightly fastened by the nails of the Cross, straining upwards 
 to God and giving forth sweet tones when touched by His 
 fingers. 
 
 The pipe, or hand-organ, formed of several tubes of unequal 
 lengths fastened together, signifies the Common Life, or the 
 harmonious concord of different graces and virtues united by 
 the bond of charity. 
 
 (5) Lauddte Eum in cym- praise Him with well- 
 
 balis benesonantibus; lauddte tuned cymbals : praise Him 
 
 Eum in cymbalis jubilationis : with loud cymbals : let every 
 
 omnis spiritus laudet Domi- spirit praise the Lord, 
 num. 
 
 Cymbals are always used in praise. They may fitly denote 
 those who consider one another, to provoke to love and good 
 works [i]. They are well-tuned from the holiness of their deeds 
 and words in accordance with the Divine will ; loud, in their 
 clear boldness and in their full rejoicing. The two Testaments 
 
 [i] Heb. x. 24.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 289 
 
 are well-tuned cymbals ; so also are the heart and lips of a saint 
 in prayer. And when the two great choirs of angels and men 
 shall join together, blending in concord and filling heaven and 
 and earth with melody, then shall God be praised with loud 
 cymbals. . 
 
 Lest anything should be lacking, lest the understanding 
 should fail to accompany the voice, the Psalmist ends his 
 great song with the words : Let every spirit praise the Lord. 
 St. Augustine thus interprets these words : Those who live 
 the true life of the soul, who are spiritual, are here 
 chiefly called on to praise the Lord, and to praise Him not 
 here alone, where the timbrel and strings tell of mortifica- 
 tion and suffering, and the cymbals of the need of mutual 
 aid, but in the full glory of heaven, when the flesh, now 
 incorruptible, and the spirit are agreed, and the song of one 
 is that of both. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, Who spake the word, Who is the 
 Maker of Israel, and Who abides in the firmament of His 
 power : Glory to the Son, the Word by Whom all things are 
 made, the King of the Children of Sion, Who by His virtues 
 hath wrought the salvation of mankind : Glory to the Holy 
 Ghost, Who came forth as a stormy wind to fulfil the Word 
 to the Apostles, Who giveth honour unto His saints, and in 
 Whose might every spirit saith, Alleluia. 
 
 THE LITTLE CHAPTER. 
 
 " A chapter is as much as to say as a ' lytel head ' ; it is 
 called 'little' for shortness. And it is called a 'head,' for it 
 is always taken of Holy Scripture and often of the Epistle that 
 is read in the Mass the same day. And Holy Scripture is 
 chief above all other scriptures, as the head is above all other 
 members of the body. And the Chapters are read at other 
 hours instead of lessons in the way of doctrine and teaching 
 as lessons are at Matins. And therefore, in other hours after 
 the Chapter followeth a response with a verse, which meaneth 
 the same as doth the lessons and response and verse at 
 Matins. But the Chapter is not begun with Jube Domine, 
 
 19
 
 290 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 nor ended with Tu autetn, because it is always said by the 
 hebdomadary who occupieth an office of perfection, to whom 
 it belongeth rather to give blessing than to ask it in that 
 office. And by the same way it is presumed that she should 
 not lightly offend in so short a reading that she should need 
 to ask mercy with Tu autem. But ye all answer Deo grdtias, 
 as ye do after another Lesson ; and for the same cause as is 
 said before, after the first Lesson at Matins " [i]. 
 
 CANTICLE vi. 9. 
 
 Viderunt earn filice Sion, et The daughters of Sion saw 
 
 beatissimam prcedicaverunt : her and call her most blessed : 
 regince laudaverunt earn. the queens, and they praised 
 
 her. 
 
 ty. Deo Grdtias. Thanks be to God. 
 
 The daughters. These are the daughters of Jerusalem who 
 celebrate the beauty of the King's spouse. In heaven it is a 
 never-failing joy to the angels to see our ever dear and blessed 
 Lady's glory and to acknowledge her as their queen ; on 
 earth, it is a never-failing example to the daughters of the 
 Church who, seeing her virtues, call her most blessed and 
 follow in her footsteps : the queens are those kings' daughters 
 spoken of in Psalm xliv., and represent these same holy 
 daughters who have followed Mary to the end and share in 
 her eternal reward. They are queens because they have 
 exercised on earth a regal sway over themselves by Poverty, 
 Chastity and Obedience ; they are queens because they are 
 spouses of the Great King and dwell for ever in His courts. 
 It was Mary's example that gave them heart to follow their 
 Divine Master along the mystic way of self-sacrifice ; it was 
 Mary's love that cherished them in the dark hour and who 
 got from her Son the wine of charity which kept them strong. 
 Therefore, never will they cease to praise her who has been 
 the channel of God's mercies towards them ; for her love was 
 only a showing of the love of Jesus for all mankind. 
 
 It is worth noting how the spirit of praise which is peculiar 
 
 [l] Myroure, p. 127.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 291 
 
 to this office of Lauds is kept up in the Little Chapter. We 
 have the two words " bless " and " praise " repeated here. 
 Bearing in mind that the mystery of this hour is that of the 
 Assumption, the words of this Little Chapter describe to us 
 the sentiments of heavenly citizens, when Mary, body and 
 soul, was assumed into heaven. They saw her and blessed 
 her ; and their highest even bowed down and acknowledged 
 her as their mistress; for she was the Mother of the King. 
 In union with them, and thanking God for all His mercies 
 towards her, we say the Deo Grdtias. 
 
 THE HYMN. 
 
 The hymn carries on the same thoughts : the glory Mary 
 has received, and the praise of God. Like the hymn at 
 Matins, it is the composition of the Bishop Venantius For- 
 tunatus. St. Anthony of Padua had a special devotion to this 
 hymn and died with it on his lips. 
 
 (i) Gloriosa Virginum, Queen of 'all the Virgin Choirs, 
 
 Sublimis inter sidera, Enthroned above the starry sky, 
 
 Qui te credvit pdtvulum, Who with thy bosom's milk 
 
 Lactente nutris ubere. didst feed 
 
 Thine own Creator, Lord most 
 High. 
 
 Our Lady is the most glorious of all the virgins whom she 
 has led after her to the King [i] ; inasmuch as she joins to her 
 crown of Virginity that peerless diadem of Motherhood. The 
 Virgin-Mother is fittingly raised up above the stars, which 
 surround her as a crown [2]. These stars are the saints ; St. 
 Paul says : There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the 
 moon, and another glory of the stars : for one star differeth from 
 another star in glory [3] ; that is, there is the glory of Jesus, 
 the glory of Mary, and the glory of the Saints each one a 
 very world of beauty and magnificence. And amid all her 
 glory Jesus, Who made her, never forgets that to her He 
 owes not only His mortal existence but all that wealth of love 
 that such a Mother had for such a Son. This human thought, 
 
 [i] Ps. xliv. 1 6. [2] Apoc. xii. I. [3] I Cor. xv. 41
 
 292 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 mixed up with the glory of heaven, gives us confidence in 
 Mary's power ; for she is still the Mother of the King. 
 Solomon, a type of our Lord, promised to grant his mother's 
 request : And the king rose up to meet her and bowed himself 
 unto her, and sat down on his throne and caused a seat to be set 
 for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. Then she 
 said, I desire one small petition of thee ,' I pray thee say me not 
 nay. And the king said unto her : Ask on, my mother, for I will 
 not say thee nay [i]. 
 
 (2) Quod Heva tristis dbstulit, What man had lost in hapless 
 
 Eve 
 Tu reddis almo germine : Thy sacred womb to man 
 
 restores : 
 Intrent ut astra flebiles, Thou to the wretched here 
 
 below 
 Cceli recludis cdrdines. Hast opened Heaven's eternal 
 
 doors. 
 
 Heva tristis. The sorrowful Eve is here contrasted with the 
 joyful Mother, Mary. As Jesus is the second Adam, the true 
 Head of our Race, so is Mary the second Eve, the real mother 
 of all the living. If Eve, by tempting Adam, took away our 
 right to heaven, Mary restored it by giving us Jesus. If Eve 
 brought sorrow by listening to the serpent, Mary brought joy 
 by listening to the angel. If Eve is the mother of our Race 
 according to Nature, Mary is the mother of mankind according 
 to Grace. 
 
 Cardines. Mary is the hinge on which hangs the door of 
 heaven ; for on her consent turned the mystery of the Incar- 
 nation. 
 
 Ut astra flebiles. Those who have been weeping for 
 their fall, return now like the stars in their glory, according to 
 the words of the Psalm : Those who sow in tears shall reap in 
 joy. Going they went and wept, casting their seed ; but coming 
 they came with joy, bearing their sheaves [2]. 
 
 [i] 3 Kings ii. 19, 20. [2] cxxv. 5, 6, 7.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 293 
 
 (3) Tu Regis alii jdnua, Hail O refulgent Hall of 
 
 Light, 
 
 Et aula lucis fulgida : Hail Gate august of Heaven's 
 
 high King : 
 
 Vitam datum per Virginem, Through Thee redeemed to end- 
 less Life, 
 
 Gentes redemptce, pldudite ! Thy praise let all the nations 
 
 sing. 
 
 Jdnua. One of the invocations of the Litany of Loreto 
 is Janua cceli " gate of heaven." There is a difference 
 between a " gate " and a " door." The " door " is the opening 
 to the house itself ; the " gate " is the entrance to the garden 
 in which the house stands. Our Divine Lord is Himself the 
 " Door " of the Eternal Mansions : / am the Door : by Me if 
 any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and 
 find pasture [i]. But Mary is the gate by which we have 
 access to the door of the King's Palace. And in another 
 sense, of her maiden-motherhood, she is the " closed gate," of 
 which Ezekiel, in prophecy, says : The gate shall be shut, it 
 shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it ; because the 
 Lord God of Israel hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be 
 shut [2]. 
 
 Aula lucis : Her sacred womb was for nine months the 
 place of Him Who said : / am the Light of the world : He that 
 followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light 
 of Life [3]- 
 
 Vitam datam per Virginem. The life given by the Virgin. 
 What Life is this ? Not only the mortal Life of our Saviour, 
 but also the life of our souls, which we get from Him through 
 her. Also our vocation, her special care, which is that mani- 
 festation of the life of Jesus [4] which comes from bearing 
 about in our bodies His dying by the immolation of religious 
 profession. 
 
 The doxology of the hymn, Jesu, tibi sit gloria, is the same 
 as at Matins, and is now said in thanksgiving to the Adorable 
 Trinity in thanksgiving for Mary's glory in heaven. 
 
 [l] John x. 9. [3] John viii. 12. 
 
 [2] xliv. 2. [4] 2 Cor. iv. 10.
 
 294 TH E LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 VERSICLE AND RESPONSE AND ANTIPHON. 
 
 y. Benedicta tu in mulie- Blessed art thou among 
 
 ribus. women. 
 
 !. Et benedictus Fructus And blessed is the Fruit of 
 
 ventris tui. thy womb. 
 
 The same strain of praise is carried on and leads us to the 
 culminating point of the office, the Gospel Canticle. We have 
 been thinking of the glory of Mary, and praising God for it. 
 We are now about again to approach directly the throne of 
 God Himself. Just before we do so, as by a last effort to re- 
 mind us of the Divine Maternity of her under whose patronage 
 we approach the seat of Mercy, the Versicle and Response 
 which commemorate it are put upon our lips to increase our 
 fervour. It is this same thought which inspires the Antiphon 
 before the Canticle itself : 
 
 Bedta Dei Genitrix Maria, blessed Mother of God, 
 
 Virgo perpetua, templum Mary, ever maiden, temple of 
 Domini, sacrdrium Spiritus the Lord, Sanctuary of the 
 sancti : sola sine exemplo Holy Ghost : thou alone, un- 
 placuisti Domino nostro Jesu exampled, hath pleased our 
 Christo : ora pro pdpulo, inter- Lord Jesus Christ : Pray for 
 veni pro clero, intercede pro the people; beseech for the 
 devoto femineo sexu. clergy ; intercede for the devout 
 
 female sex. 
 
 Sacrdrium Spiritus sancti Sanctuary of the Holy Ghost. 
 As the Third Person is the Sanctifier and dwells in the souls 
 of those who are united by charity to God, so in a true way is 
 He the Sanctifier of our blessed Lady and makes her soul a 
 very special sanctuary. Spiritual writers speak of three great 
 sanctifications of our Lady, three special outpourings of the 
 Holy Ghost. The first, when He sanctified her by pre- 
 venting grace at the moment of her existence, the hallowing of 
 the Immaculate Conception ; then when, by overshadowing 
 grace, He poured out the fulness thereof at the moment of the 
 Incarnation ; and lastly, amidst the fires of Pentecost, when 
 that unutterable hallowing of the holy took place, and by 
 creative grace Mary was made the Mother of the Church : 
 once for herself, once for Jesus, and once for us.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 295 
 
 THE BENEDICTUS [l]. 
 
 " Ye have in your service three Gospels, that is, Benedictus 
 and Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis, and all three are sung 
 standing for reverence of the Gospel. Zachary, the father of 
 St. John Baptist, made Benedictus, and our Lady made 
 Magnificat, and the holy man, Simeon, made Nunc Dimittis. 
 These songs are not sung in the same order as they were 
 made ; for Magnificat was made first, then Benedictus, and 
 last, Nunc Dimittis. But Benedictus is sung first, for it maketh 
 mind of St. John Baptist who was the foregoer of our Lord, 
 Jesus Christ, as it is said in the same song. And as St. John 
 was likened to the day-star, for as that goeth before the sun, 
 so St. John went before our Lord in his conception, and 
 in his birth, and in his preaching and baptising, and in his 
 death ; therefore this song is sung at Lauds, that is, the 
 service of morrow-tide when the star appeareth ; and also for 
 this song beginneth with praising and thanking God for the 
 redemption of mankind, and Lauds are said to praise God 
 specially for the same benefit . . . therefore it is con- 
 venient that it be sung at Lauds " [2]. 
 
 M. Bacquez, in his treatise on the Divine Office, says that this 
 Canticle, the new song of Psalm cxlix., is the stepping-stone 
 between the Old Law and the New ; from the promise to the 
 fulfilment, from the figure to the reality. It was sung by one 
 of the last of the priests of the order of Aaron, the first of that 
 race who, having knowledge of our Lord's coming, proclaims 
 in a moment of exaltation the vocation of this new-born son 
 as the Foregoer of the Messias. 
 
 In order to understand the meaning of this Canticle it will 
 be well to recall the Gospel history as given by St. Luke, and 
 in passing we may draw attention to the fact that St. Luke is 
 the Liturgical Evangelist, and to him we owe the three Gospel 
 Canticles. This holy Evangelist, the friend of our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady, to whom she confided the mysteries of the 
 Annunciation, of the Visitation, of the Nativity, of the Pre- 
 sentation, of the Loss and Finding, and of the Hidden Life 
 
 [l] Luke i. 68-79. [2] Myroure, p. 131.
 
 296 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 at Nazareth, shall tell us the circumstances under which this 
 Canticle was first said : 
 
 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain 
 priest named Zacharias of the course of A bia : and his wife was 
 of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. They 
 were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments 
 and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. And they had no child, 
 because that Elizabeth was barren ; and they were now well stricken 
 in years. And it came to pass that while he executed the priestly 
 office before God in the order of his course, according to the custom 
 of the office of the priesthood, it was his turn to burn incense when 
 he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of 
 the people were praying without at the time of incense. And 
 there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord, standing on the 
 right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him 
 he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 
 
 But the angel said unto him : Fear not, Zacharias ; for thy 
 Prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son 
 and thou shall call his name John. And thou shall have joy 
 and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his biith. For he shall 
 be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine 
 nor strong drink, and shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even 
 from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel 
 shall he turn to the Lord their God. He shall go before Him in 
 the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to 
 the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just : to 
 make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 
 
 And Zacharias said unto the angel ; Whereby shall I know 
 this f For I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in 
 years. 
 
 And the angel answered and said unto him ; I am Gabriel, 
 that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto 
 thee, and show thee these glad tidings. And, behold, thou shalt 
 be dumb, and not able to speak until the day that these things 
 shall be performed ; because thou believest not my words, which 
 shall be fulfilled in their season. 
 
 And the people waited for Zacharias and marvelled that he 
 tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could 
 not speak unto them : and they perceived that he had seen a
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 297 
 
 vision in the temple ; for he beckoned unto them, and remained 
 speechless. And it came to pass that as soon as the days of 
 his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own 
 house. . . .[i]. 
 
 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country 
 with haste, into a city of Judea : and entered into the house of 
 Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass when 
 Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her 
 womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. . . . [2]. 
 
 Now Elizabeth's full time came that she should be delivered : 
 and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her 
 cousins heard how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her, 
 and they rejoiced with her. 
 
 And it came to pass that on the eighth day they came to 
 circumcise the child and they called him Zacharias, after the 
 name of his father. And his mother answered and said, Not so : 
 but he shall be called John. And they said unto her, There is 
 none of thy kindred that is called by this name. And they made 
 signs to his father, how he would have him called. And he asked 
 for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And 
 they marvelled all. 
 
 And his mouth was opened immediately and his tongue 
 loosed, and he spake and praised God. . . .[3]. 
 
 And his father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Ghost 
 and prophesied, saying [4] ; 
 
 (1) Benedictus Dominus Blessed be the Lord God of 
 Deus Israel, quia visitdvit et Israel: for He hath visited and 
 fecit redemptionem plebis Suce : wrought the redemption of His 
 
 people : 
 
 (2) Et erexit cornu salutis And hath raised up a horn 
 nobis : in domo David pueri of salvation for us in the house 
 Sui. of His servant David. 
 
 It was the God of Israel, that is, of Jacob, who was the 
 heir of the promises made to Isaac and to Abraham : In 
 thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed [5], Whom 
 the holy man blessed. For it was the promised Redeemer 
 
 [i] Luke i. 5-23. [4] M* d - 6 7- 
 
 [2] Ibid. 39-41. [5] Gen. xxii. 1 8. 
 
 [3] Ibid. 57-64.
 
 298 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Who although yet in Mary's womb now visited him and 
 began the work of redemption by hallowing the unborn babe 
 that had gladdened his old age. It was the infusion of the 
 Holy Ghost that made Zacharias recognise his God in Mary's 
 child ; even as it was that same Divine impulse which caused 
 his wife, three months before, to greet her as the mother of my 
 Lord [i]. It was this Divine light, too, which made the old 
 man speak of the redemption of God's people as something not 
 future but already accomplished. A horn is taken as a symbol 
 of power, and the horn of salvation as the agent or author of 
 salvation. "A horn," says the author of the Myroure, 
 "groweth in the highest part of a beast, and yet is harder 
 than the flesh and softer than the bone ; and therewith the 
 beast defendeth himself against noxious things. So our Lord 
 Jesus Christ took His Body of the highest and worthiest part 
 of mankind, that is our Lady; and that Manhood of His is 
 mightier above all mankind and weaker than God, and there- 
 with not only He overcame His enemies, but they also that 
 cleave thereto in faith and devotion may thereby surely be 
 defended from all contrary power. And therefore our Lord 
 Jesus is a horn of health to us in the house of David who was 
 God's child, for though He was a great king and a prophet, 
 yet He was meek and obedient to God as a child to his 
 father" [2]. 
 
 (3) Sicut locutus est per os As He spoke by the mouth 
 
 sanctorum, qui a sceculo stint of His saints who, since the 
 prophetdrum Ejus. world began, are His prophets. 
 
 From the very hour of the Fall, the promise of the 
 Redeemer was made : / will put enmity between thee and the 
 woman, between thy seed and her seed : she shall bruise thy head, 
 and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel [3], A long line of 
 prophets was sent to God's people, mostly in the hour of 
 affliction, to cheer them with the promise ; and their message 
 as the destined time drew near became more distinct and 
 precise. Listen to Jeremias : Behold the days come, saith the 
 Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a 
 
 [i] Luke i. 43. [2] pp. 131-2. [3] Gen. iii. 15.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 299 
 
 King shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and 
 justice in the earth. And in His days Judea shall be saved and 
 Israel shall dwell safely : and this is the Name whereby He shall 
 be called: The Lord, our Righteousness [i]. The earlier pro- 
 phecies of Jacob had specified the tribe of Judah from whom 
 the Sceptre should go forth and the Law-giver [2]. Balaam 
 had seen Him in vision : A Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre 
 rising out of Israel [3]. Moses had announced Him as a 
 Teacher and Law-giver of Whom he was but a type [4]. To 
 David's line had the promise been confined : The Lord hath 
 sworn in truth unto David, He will not deceive ; of the fruit of 
 thy body will I set upon thy throne [5], and he had sung of His 
 Eternal Priesthood [6]. Isaias, the royal seer, foretold His 
 miraculous birth : Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a 
 Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel : God with us, and had 
 described Him as a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
 grief [7]. Michias had foretold His birthplace : But thou, 
 Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of 
 Judea, yet out of thee shall come forth unto me He that is to be 
 the Ruler in Israel ; Whose goings forth have been from of old 
 from everlasting [8]. Aggeus had proclaimed that the Desired 
 of all nations should come and make the second Temple more 
 glorious than the first [9] ; and Daniel, the man of desires, had 
 fixed the time by the prophecy of the seventy weeks [10]. 
 Truly hath God at sundry times and in divers manners spoken 
 in times past unto the fathers by the prophets [u]. In this verse 
 is to be noted that there is but one mouth to all His prophets ; 
 for they all spoke by the Holy Ghost. The one word they 
 spoke was 
 
 (4) Salutem ex inimicis nos- Salvation from our enemies 
 
 iris, et de manu omnium, qui and from the hand of all that 
 oderunt nos. hate us. 
 
 [i] Jer. xxiii. 5, 6. [7] vii. 14 ; liii. 3. 
 
 [2] Cf. Gen. xlix. 10. [8] v. 2. 
 
 [3] Numbers xxiv. 17. [9] ii. 7. 
 
 [4] Deut. xviii. 15. [10] Cf. ix. 25-27. 
 
 [5] Ps. cxxxi. ii. [u] Heb. i. i. 
 
 [6] Ps. cix. 5.
 
 300 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (5) Ad faciendam miseri- To perform the Mercy pro- 
 
 cordiam cum pdtribus nos- mised to our fathers, and to 
 tris : et memordri testamenti remember His holy covenant. 
 Sui sancti. 
 
 God loved us, the work of His hand : / have loved thee with 
 an everlasting love [i]. That is why He took pity on us in our 
 fall and promised us Redemption and pledged Himself over 
 and over again to perform the Mercy of restoring us, and to 
 remember His holy covenant that He should be our God and we 
 His people [2]. And to whom was this covenant made ? The 
 answer is in the next verses. 
 
 (6) Jusjurdndum, quod ju- 
 rdvit ad Abraham patrem 
 nostrum, daturum Se nobis : 
 
 (7) Ut sine timore de manu 
 inimicorum nostrorum libe- 
 rdti, servidmus Illi, 
 
 (8) In sanctitdte, et justitia 
 coram Ipso, omnibus diebus 
 nostris. 
 
 The oath which He sware to 
 Abraham our father, that He 
 would give Himself to us : 
 
 That being delivered out of 
 the hands of our enemies we 
 might serve Him, 
 
 In holiness and righteous- 
 ness before Him all our days. 
 
 The oath was to Abraham, our father, for he was the 
 Father of the Faithful [3]. It was conceived in these terms : 
 In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed [4] ; in 
 other words, that He should give Himself to us by becoming 
 our Emmanuel, that is, God with us [5]. Says one of His 
 prophets : God Himself shall come to save us [6] : and the 
 reason of His coming is in verses 7 and 8. 
 
 Holiness is inward ; righteousness or justice has an outward 
 signification. This correspondence of Body and Soul has to 
 be real before Him, and has to be the rule of our whole life ; 
 " not one day to begin well, another day to leave off ; but all 
 days while we live " [7]. These words remind us of the claim 
 of our vocation. We have bound ourselves to serve God all 
 the days of our life in holiness and righteousness before Him. 
 
 [i] Jer. xxxi. 3. 
 [2] Ibid. xxx. 22. 
 [3] Gen. xvii. 5. 
 [4] Gen. xxii. 18. 
 
 [5] Is. vii. 14. 
 
 [6] Isaias xxxiii. 22. 
 
 [7] Myroure, p. 133.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 301 
 
 (9) Et tu puer, propheta And thou, child, shall be 
 Altissimi vocdberis : prceibis called the prophet of the Most 
 enim ante fdciem Domini High : for thou shalt go before 
 Pardre vias Ejus. the face of the Lord to prepare 
 
 His ways. 
 
 Turning his words now to his own son, the holy priest 
 extols the vocation in store for him. John was to be the 
 prophet and the foregoer, that is, he was to teach the people 
 that the Messias was come, and by his preachings and calls to 
 repentance, to prepare the way for the Lamb of God. The 
 thought of our vocation suggested in the last verse goes on 
 through all these following verses : Every one, in the measure 
 of God's appointment, is set to be a teacher of the things of 
 God, and to prepare His way, not only in one's own soul, but 
 in the souls of others. The great law of charity : Thou shalt 
 love thy neighbour as thyself [i] obliges us to this. But God 
 has many ways of dealing with His creatures. There is not 
 one hard, fast way ; for He has given us individuality, and we 
 stand each singly before Him, not as a class. Therefore, true 
 religion, while making us jealous for ourselves of the way in 
 which God is calling us, makes us respect and rejoice over the 
 many different ways in which He calls other souls. If we get 
 narrow-minded and exclusive and set up our own way as the 
 best (best it is for us), we may be sure there is something 
 wrong in ourselves. Now how we are to prepare the ways of 
 the Lord can be learnt from the rest of the Canticle. 
 
 (10) Ad dandam scientiam To give to His people know- 
 salutis plebi Ejus : in remis- ledge of salvation : for the 
 sionem peccatorum eorum : forgiveness of their sins. 
 
 (n) Per viscera misericor- Through the tender mercies 
 
 dice Dei nostri : in quibus of our God, in which the Day 
 visitdvit nos Oriens ex alto. Spring front on high hath 
 
 visited us. 
 
 The first step in preparing God's Way is to convince the 
 Reason ; for that, in its practical aspect, is Conscience. Men 
 must have a knowledge of the salvation prepared for them 
 
 [i] Matt. v. 43.
 
 302 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 before they value it. Hence the necessity of a Catholic edu- 
 cation, and of an accurate understanding of the whys and 
 wherefores of our Faith. God demands that we should serve 
 Him with our reason, not by acting without reason. We 
 have to submit it to Him ; but not to annihilate it. This 
 knowledge of salvation must be directed to its proper end ; it 
 is for the forgiveness of their sins, that is, the reason once con- 
 vinced must strive after moving the will, in the perverseness 
 of which sin consists. The motive to be used in thus in- 
 fluencing the will to conform itself to the Divine Will is that 
 of the tender mercies of God which moved Him to become Man 
 for our salvation. Hence from Knowledge comes Love, the 
 mainspring of action. As the Spouse says : He hath set 
 charity in order within me [i]. And this motive of influencing 
 the will is in accord with the very nature of God Himself, 
 which is Love : God is Charity [2]. As Love is the motive of 
 all God's dealing with His creatures, so it must be ours in 
 relation to Him. 
 
 The Day Spring from on high hath visited us. This may 
 be taken either of our Lord Himself, Who is called in the 
 Apocalypse the bright and Morning Star [3] ; or of our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady, the Morning Star that heralds in the rising 
 Sun. She was probably present at the birth of John the 
 Baptist, and she had come a bringer of blessings untold ; for 
 the Saviour of the world had already begun, through her, His 
 work of Salvation. 
 
 (12) Illumindre his qui in To lighten them that sit in 
 
 tenebris et in umbra mortis darkness and in the shadow 
 
 sedent : ad dirigendos pedes of death : and to guide our feet 
 
 nostros in mam pads. into the way of peace. 
 
 The result of preparing the ways of the Lord is enlighten- 
 ment and guidance. One is the perfection of the reason by 
 the first four of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost ; the second is the 
 perfection of the will by the other three. 
 
 Sit in darkness ; a habitual state due to dimness of the full 
 light of reason, which in its turn is perfected by the more 
 perfect light of faith. 
 
 [i] Cant. ii. 4. [2] I John viii. 16. [3] xxii. 16.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 
 
 303 
 
 To guide our feet ; not to force them, but by gentle per- 
 suasion to direct them. 
 
 The way of peace that is, to the end that we may obtain 
 perfect peace, the peace of God which passeth all understand- 
 ing^'] ; that peace we pray the Lamb of God to grant us, and 
 which by His innermost mercy we shall obtain in the heavenly 
 Jerusalem, the City which is the beata pads visio " the blest 
 vision of peace " [2]. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the Lord God of Israel Who hath 
 been mindful of His promise. Glory to the Son, the Day 
 Spring on high Who hath visited us and wrought the redemp- 
 tion of His people : Glory to the Holy Ghost, the Light- 
 Giver Who spoke by the prophets, and works in us holiness 
 and righteousness. 
 
 VERSICLES AND COLLECT. 
 
 Kyrie eleison. 
 Christe eleison. 
 Kyrie eleison. 
 
 f. Domine exdudi oratio- 
 nem meam. 
 
 ty. Et clamor meus ad Te 
 veniat. 
 Oremus. 
 
 Deus, qui de bedtce Marice 
 Virginis utero Verbutn Tuum, 
 Angela nuntidnte, carnem sus- 
 cipere voluisti, prcesta suppli- 
 cibus Tuts, ut qui vere earn 
 Genitricem Dei credinms, ejus 
 apud Te intercessionibus adju- 
 vemur. Per eumdetn Christum 
 Dominum nostrum. 
 . Amen. 
 
 Lord have mercy. 
 Christ have mercy. 
 Lord have mercy. 
 O Lord, hear my prayer. 
 
 And let my wy come unto 
 Thee. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 God Who hast willed by 
 the message of the angel that 
 Thy Wordshouldst take flesh in 
 the womb of the blessed Virgin 
 Mary, grant to Thy supplicants, 
 that we who believe her to be 
 verily the Mother of God may, 
 by her intercessions before Thee, 
 be helped. Through the same 
 Christ, our Lord. 
 
 . Amen. 
 
 [i] Phil. iv. 7. 
 
 [2] Hymn Ccelestis Urbs Jerusalem.
 
 304 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The three-fold invocation to the blessed Trinity is called 
 the smaller Litany and, together with the Lord's Prayer, 
 formed in the early ages the conclusion of the Office. But in 
 course of time the sentiments contained in the Pater Noster were 
 developed into a prayer which more particularly harmonised 
 with the special application of the Office. This prayer is 
 called a Collect, that is, the prayer of the people collected in 
 public worship, or a prayer in which the priest collects into 
 one the petitions of all present. Most of the Collects in the 
 Missal (from which these in the Office are taken) are the 
 arrangements of St. Leo the Great (461), St. Gelasius (496), 
 and St. Gregory (604). 
 
 The words of the preceding Versicle : Domine exdudi 
 oratidnem meam, are from the first verse of Psalm ci., and 
 form a fitting introduction to the Collect. We say Oremus in 
 the plural, even when reciting the Office by ourselves ; for we 
 are saying the prayer in the name of the whole Church. We 
 thus follow our Lord's injunction : When ye pray, ye shall say, 
 Our Father [i]. In this Collect we give the Incarnation as the 
 basis of prayer and simply express our petition, that we, who 
 believe Mary to be the Mother of God may be helped by her 
 intercession. A few words, but how they sum up in direct 
 prayer the thoughts that have been ever rising in our mind 
 during Matins and Lauds ! If she be the Mother of God, and 
 all her graces flow from this privilege, her intercession must 
 be of the greatest value. Therefore, we ask our heavenly 
 Father to grant it may be availing. To which all present 
 say : " So be it." 
 
 THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SAINTS. 
 
 Ant. Sancti Dei omnes in- All ye saints of God vouch- 
 
 tercedere dignemini pro safe to intercede for our salva- 
 
 nostra omniumque sa- lion and for that of all. 
 lute. 
 
 y. Lcetdmini in D6mino Be joyful in the Lord and 
 
 et exsultdte justi. rejoice, ye just. 
 
 [i] Matt. vi. 9.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 
 
 305 
 
 J%. Et gloridmini omnes 
 recti corde. 
 
 Oremus. 
 
 Protege Ddmine pdpulum 
 Tuum, et Apostolorum Tuorum 
 Petri et Pauli et aliorum 
 Apostolorum patrocinio confi- 
 dentem, perpetua defensione 
 conserva. 
 
 Omnes Sancti Tui, qucesu- 
 mus Ddmine, nos ubique ddju- 
 vent: ut dum edrum merita 
 recolimus, patrocinia sentid- 
 mus : et pacem Tuam nostris 
 concede temporibus ; et ab 
 Ecclesia Tua cunctam repelle 
 nequitiam : Her, actus et vol- 
 untdtes nostras, et omnium 
 famulorum Tuorum, in salutis 
 Tuce prosperitdte dispdne : be~ 
 nefactdribus nostris sempiterna 
 bona retribue : et omnibus 
 fidelibus defunctis requiem 
 ceternam concede. Per Domi- 
 num nostrum Jesum Christum 
 Filium Tuum : Qui Tecum 
 vivit et regnat in unitdte 
 Spiritus sancti Deus : per 
 omnia scecula sceculorum. 
 
 1^. Amen. 
 
 y. Domine exdudi oratid- 
 nem meam. 
 
 T%. Et clamor metis ad Te 
 veniat. 
 
 y. Benedicdmus Domino. 
 
 ~Rf. Deo grdtias. 
 
 y. Fidelium dnimce per 
 misericordiam Dei requiescat 
 in pace. 
 
 T3f. Amen. 
 20 
 
 And be ye glorified all ye 
 righteous in heart. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 Protect, Lord, Thy people, 
 and guard with perpetual 
 defence those who trust in the 
 patronage of Thine Apostles 
 Peter and Paul, and the other 
 Apostles. 
 
 May all Thy saints, we 
 beseech Thee, Lord, help us 
 everywhere : and while we 
 venerate their merits let us ex- 
 perience their patronage : and 
 grant peace in our times, 
 and ward off from Thy Church 
 all iniquity : dispose our life, 
 our deeds, our will, and those 
 of all Thy servants, in the pros- 
 perity of Thy salvation : give 
 to our benefactors the good 
 things everlasting : and to all 
 the faithful dead grant rest 
 eternal. Through Thy Son, 
 our Lord, Jesus Christ, Who 
 with Thee in the unity of the 
 Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth, 
 God, throughout all ages of 
 ages. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 Lord, hear my prayer. 
 
 And let my cry come unto 
 Thee. 
 
 Let us bless the Lord. 
 
 Thanks be to God. 
 
 May the souls of the faithful 
 through the mercy of God rest 
 in peace. 
 
 Amen.
 
 306 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Then is said one of the anthems of the Blessed Virgin, according 
 to the season and, at the end : 
 
 y. Divinum auxilium md- May the Divine help remain 
 
 neat semper nobiscum. with us alway. 
 
 ty. Amen. Amen. 
 
 But if another hour be recited immediately after the Pater 
 nosier, the y. Dominus del nobis, the Anthem, &c., are only said 
 at the end of the last Hour. 
 
 The origin of the commemoration is interesting. As we 
 have already pointed out the first addition to the Divine Office 
 was a Little Office of All Saints, consisting of Lauds and 
 Vespers. But when, at a later date, the Cursus of our Lady 
 took the place of the various Little Offices in use, a remem- 
 brance of them, in the shape of commemorations with Versicle 
 and Prayer, was introduced. These varied in different places. 
 For instance, in a Benedictine Cursus beatce Marice, belonging 
 to the Monastery of Scholoyi (1513), we find after the 
 Antiphon of All Saints, Sancti Dei omnes, prayers of SS. Peter 
 and Paul, St. Benedict, and then of All Saints, Omnes Sancti 
 tui. In the Dominican use (1529), the commemorations are 
 of the Saints and of Peace : Da pacem. In the Cursus beatce 
 Virginis of the Breviary for the Church of St. Donatus, Bruges 
 (1520), we find, besides that of All Saints, one of the Holy Ghost, 
 together with one of St. Basil, the local patron. In the old 
 English Use of Sarum (the Primer) about (1420-30), the com- 
 memorations or "memorials" are (i) of the Holy Ghost; 
 (2) of the Blessed Trinity ; (3) of All Saints ; (4) of Peace : 
 and to the various hours were joined as an additional cursus, 
 commemorations of the Passion. This accounts for the 
 various additional offices formerly in use, with the exception 
 of that for the Dead. In the revised Cursus used to-day we 
 can find in the commemoration of All Saints and its accom- 
 panying prayers traces of all the other little Offices in general 
 use. First, there is the Antiphon with Versicle and Response ; 
 then the prayer which recalls the Little Office of the Apostles. 
 This is followed by a long prayer made up of many ideas 
 blended into one : (i) That of All Saints corresponding to the 
 Antiphon ; (2) then the prayer for Peace ; (3) then the prayer 
 for the Dead ; (4) then the general prayer to the Blessed
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 307 
 
 Trinity. Between the prayer for Peace and that for the Dead 
 are inserted two other petitions, the idea of the first seem- 
 ingly taken from the two prayers at Prime in the Divine 
 Office, and the other a prayer for benefactors. Upon what 
 principle these two last came to be added we cannot tell, 
 except that the composite prayer, Ontnes sancti tut, having a 
 ring of a supplication for all estates of the Church, these two 
 were added for the sake of completeness [i]. 
 
 In this prayer we have all God's Church united, the Church 
 in heaven, in purgatory and on earth. And thus united we 
 place ourselves under the protection of the Queen of All 
 Saints, of the Mother of the whole Church, and then approach 
 the Throne of grace. 
 
 The concluding Versicles, which are used at most of the 
 hours, call for but little comment. The invitation to Bless the 
 Lord reminds us that, though we conclude our official act of 
 blessing God, we are not to cease in our private capacity from 
 continuing to praise God by a life of union with Him. 
 " Thus," says the author of the Myroure, "ye began your 
 Matins with prayer and ye end them with thanksgiving. For 
 like as at the beginning of any good deed, we ought to know 
 our own weakness and therefore pray for help ; rightly so 
 at the end, if aught be good, we ought to offer it up to Him 
 with thanksgiving for His part and humble ourselves for our 
 part. And take heed that ye say not : We bless God, or We 
 thank God ; but ye say Bless we, and Thank we, stirring 
 yourself to bless Him and thank Him more and more. For 
 ye can never bless Him nor thank Him as much as He is 
 worthy ; and therefore you end in desiring to bless Him and 
 thank Him ever more and more " [2]. 
 
 The aspiration for the Faithful departed is a touching proof 
 of the Church's care and love for her members who are in 
 Purgatory. At the end of every hour she thus prays for 
 them. It may serve to remind us, too, of our own death and 
 of the need we shall be in one day of these same prayers. It 
 
 [l] The idea of the prayer for benefactors would likely be taken from the 
 monastic additional prayers, the preces familiares mentioned on a former page. 
 [2] pp. 136-7.
 
 308 
 
 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 will therefore stir us up to say it with fervour. The conclud- 
 ing Pater nosier is evidently taken from the Holy Rule of St. 
 Benedict who orders his monks to end their hours with this 
 Divine prayer. 
 
 The Anthems of our Lady will be treated of at the end of 
 the Compline. 
 
 After our visit to the Heavenly Court and having conversed 
 face to face with God we should come down from the Mount 
 of God with deep peace in our soul, a peace the world can 
 neither give nor take away. The Versicle, May the Lord grant 
 us His peace, is an echo of the last verse of the Benedictus. 
 St. Paul's words should be in our minds when we say this : 
 And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall 
 keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ [ i ] . 
 
 During two seasons of the year Advent and Christmas- 
 tide certain variations are made in the Office on account of 
 the special relation of our Lady to these two periods. We 
 will now note them. 
 
 In Advent. 
 
 THE ANTIPHONS. 
 
 (1) Missus est Gabriel An- 
 gelus ad Mariam Virginem 
 desponsdtam Joseph. 
 
 (2) Ave Maria, gratia 
 plena : Dominus tecum : Bene- 
 dictatu inmulieribus. Alleluia. 
 
 (3) Ne timeas Maria, in- 
 venisti grdtiam apud Domi- 
 num : ecce concipies, et paries 
 F ilium. Alleluia. 
 
 (4) Dabit Ei Dominus sedem 
 David patris Ejits, et regndbit 
 in ceternum. 
 
 (5) Ecce ancilla Domini, 
 fiat mihi secundum Verbum 
 Tuum. 
 
 The angel Gabriel was sent 
 to Mary, a virgin espoused to 
 Joseph. 
 
 Hail Mary, full of grace ! 
 the Lord is with thee : blessed 
 art thou amongst women. 
 Alleluia. 
 
 Fear not, Mary, thou hast 
 found grace before the Lord ! 
 Behold thou shall conceive and 
 bear a Son. Alleluia. 
 
 The Lord shall give Him the 
 seat of David His father, and 
 He shall reign for ever. 
 
 Behold the handmaiden of 
 the Lord : be it done to me 
 according to Thy Word. 
 
 [i] Phil. iv. 7.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [l]. 
 
 309 
 
 Egredietur virga de radice 
 Jesse, et flos de radice ejus 
 ascendet. Et requiescet super 
 Eum spiritus Domini. 
 
 There shall come forth a rod 
 out of the stem of Jesse, and a 
 Flower shall grow up from his 
 root. And the Spirit of the 
 Lord shall rest upon Him. 
 
 AT THE BENEDICTUS. 
 
 Spiritus sanctus in te des- 
 cendet, Maria : ne Umeas, 
 habebis in utero Filium Dei. 
 Alleluia. 
 
 The Holy Ghost shall come 
 down upon Thee, Mary ; 
 thou shall have in thy womb 
 the Son of God. Alleluia. 
 
 THE COMMEMORATION OF SAINTS. 
 
 Ecce Dominus veniet et 
 omnes Sancti Ejus cum Eo : 
 et erit in die ilia lux magna. 
 Alleluia. 
 
 y. Ecce appartbit Dominus 
 super nubem cdndidam. 
 
 ty. Et cum Eo Sanctorum 
 millia. 
 
 Oremus. 
 
 Conscientias nostras, qu&su- 
 mus Domine, visitdndo puri- 
 fica : ut veniens Jesus Christus, 
 Filius Tuus, Dominus nosier, 
 cum omnibus Sanctis, pard- 
 tam Sibi in nobis inveniat 
 mansionem : Qui tecum vivit et 
 regnat in imitate Spiritus 
 sancti Deus : peromnia scecula 
 sceculdrum. Amen. 
 
 Lo, the Lord shall come 
 and with Him all His saints : 
 and in that day there shall be 
 a great light. 
 
 Behold the Lord shall appear 
 upon a shining cloud. 
 
 And with Him thousands of 
 saints. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 We beseech Thee, Lord f 
 by visiting purify our con- 
 sciences, that Jesus Christ, Thy 
 Son, our Lord, coming with 
 all the saints, may find in us 
 a dwelling-place prepared for 
 Him : Who with Thee in the 
 Unity of the Holy Ghost, liveth 
 and reigneth God, throughout 
 ages of ages. Amen. 
 
 [i] Is. xi. i, 2.
 
 3io THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The series of Antiphons are, as can be seen, taken from 
 St. Luke's account of the Annunciation. Bearing this in 
 mind, the Church would have us dwell on the sentiments of 
 our ever dear and blessed Lady during the nine months she 
 was preparing for the Birth of our Lord. In this spirit we 
 should praise God in the Psalms for the wonders of grace He 
 wrought in her soul at that period. The Antiphons are taken 
 from the Office for the Feast of the Expectation of our 
 Lady, which we mentioned as being made up of that earliest 
 of Western offices of our Lady, written by St. Idelphonsus, 
 bishop of Toledo. On the Little Chapter the author of the 
 Myroure remarks : " Jesse was the father of King David, of 
 whose lineage came our Lady, and therefore she is called the 
 rod that came out of that root, Jesse. And out of her sprung 
 a Flower, that is, our Lord Jesus Christ, upon Whom rested in 
 most excellence the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost " [i]. 
 
 The Antiphon at the Benedictus is taken from the first 
 Vesper of the same feast and completes the Gospel narrative. 
 The Commemoration of the Saints strikes another thought 
 suitable to Advent. We are to prepare ourselves, as each 
 year comes round, for the Coming of our Lord by mystical 
 birth at Christmas ; but this is only as a preparation for His 
 second Coming in the clouds and great majesty on the 
 Day of Doom. This final Coming of the Judge is the thought 
 which runs through the Commemoration. In the prayer 
 that follows we may take consciences in two senses, or rather 
 in two views, of the same thing, viz., our Reason to be 
 purified so that we may know and therefore act ; or our Soul 
 to be purified from the stains with which we have polluted 
 it by acting against our reason or conscience. We may also 
 notice that we pray our Lord may find in us a mansion pre- 
 pared for Him, that is by union with Him, we, at the Judg- 
 ment may hear from His lips the blissful sentence : Come to 
 the kingdom prepared for you. As we treat Him here so will 
 He treat us there : With what measure ye mete, so shall it be 
 meted unto you [2]. 
 
 [i] p. 147. [2] Matt. vii. 2.
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 
 
 At Christmastide. 
 
 THE ANTIPHONS. 
 
 (1) admirdbile commer- 
 cium: Creator generis humdni, 
 animdtum corpus sumens, de 
 Virgine nasci digndtus est : et 
 
 procedens sine semine, largitus 
 est nobis Suam deitdtem. 
 
 (2) Quando natus es ineffa- 
 biliterex Virgine, tune impletce 
 sunt Scriptures: sicut pluvia 
 in vellus descendisti, ut salvum 
 fdceres genus humdnum : Te 
 lauddmus Deus noster. 
 
 (3) Rubum quern viderat 
 Moyses incombustum, conservd- 
 tam agnovimus tuam lauddbi- 
 lent virginitdtem : Dei Geni- 
 trix, intercede pro nobis. 
 
 (4) Germindvit radix Jesse : 
 orta est stella ex Jacob : Virgo 
 peperit Salvattirem : Te laudd- 
 mus Deus noster. 
 
 (5) Ecce Maria genuit nobis 
 Salvatorem ; quern Joannes 
 videns exclamdvit, dicens : 
 Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit 
 peccdta mundi. Alleluia. 
 
 O wondrous intercourse I 
 The Maker of the human race, 
 taking a living body from the 
 Virgin, didst deign to be born : 
 and going forth as Man, with- 
 out a father, didst bestow on 
 us His Godhead. 
 
 When of the Virgin Thou 
 was born after a manner un- 
 speakable, then were fulfilled 
 the Scriptures: like the dew 
 on the fleece Thou didst come 
 down to save the Human Race : 
 We praise Thee, our God. 
 
 As the bush which Moses saw 
 unconsumed, we acknowledge 
 thy glorious Virginity to have 
 been preserved : O Mother of 
 God, intercede for us. 
 
 The stem of Jesse has 
 
 budded : the Star has risen 
 
 from Jacob : the Virgin hath 
 
 brought forth the Saviour. 
 
 We praise Thee, our God. 
 
 Lo, Mary hath borne for us 
 the Saviour Whom when John 
 saw he cried out, saying : 
 Behold the Lamb of God, 
 behold Him Who bears the 
 sins of the world. Alleluia. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER. 
 
 Viderunt earn filice Sion, et 
 beatissimam prcedicaverunt : 
 et regince laudaverunt earn. 
 
 The daughters of Sion have 
 seen her and have called her 
 most blessed : the queens, and 
 they praised her.
 
 312 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 AT THE BENEDICTUS. 
 
 Mirdbile mysterium declard- 
 tur hddie : innovdntur natures, 
 Dens homo factus est : id quod 
 fuit permdnsit, et quod non 
 erat assumpsit : non commixtio- 
 nem passus, neque divisionem. 
 
 A marvellous mystery is 
 declared to-day : natures are 
 newly set : God was made 
 man : that which He was He 
 remained : and that which 
 He was not He has assumed, 
 having undergone neither min- 
 gling nor division. 
 
 COLLECT. 
 
 Deus, qui salutis ccternce, be- 
 dice Marice virginitdtefecunda, 
 humdno generi prcemia prcesti- 
 tisti: tribue qucesumus, ut 
 ipsam pro nobis interctdere 
 sentidmus, perquam meruimus 
 Auctorem mice suscipere, D6- 
 minum nostrum Jesum Chris- 
 tum, F ilium tuum. Amen. 
 
 God, Who by the fruitful 
 maidenhood of blessed Mary 
 hath proffered rewards to the 
 human race, grant, we be- 
 seech Thee, that we may ex- 
 perience the intercession on 
 our behalf of her through 
 whom we merited to receive the 
 Author of Life, our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, Thy Son. Amen. 
 
 These Antiphons are taken from the Church's Office for the 
 Feast of the Circumcision. Occupied as she is on Christmas 
 Day with the Birth of the Son, the Church instituted, on the 
 octave day, a special commemoration of the Mother. As the 
 cycle of the feasts of the year developed, the Feast of the 
 Circumcision arose and with it was blended the older office 
 celebrated on this day. The Office of joy and admiration 
 at Mary's Maternity has been fittingly chosen for this holy 
 season. 
 
 In the first Antiphon the last words remind us of the 
 saying of one of the doctors of the Church : God became 
 Man that man might become God, meaning thereby that 
 sharing of the Divine Nature by grace of which St. Peter 
 speaks : Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath 
 given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness 
 . . . that by these ye might be made partakers of the Divine
 
 AT LAUDS, OR MORNING SONG 313 
 
 Nature [i] ; and St. Paul : For we were made partakers with 
 Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto 
 the end [2] ; or again ; In that we might be partakers of His 
 holiness [3] ; or once more : The Spirit Himself beareth witness 
 with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children His 
 heirs ; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ [4]. 
 
 The second Antiphon contemplates the mystery of the 
 Mother-maiden. As the dew fell on Gideon's fleece, but left 
 the earth round about all dry, so the operation of the over- 
 shadowing Holy Ghost made Mary to be a Mother without 
 ceasing to be a Maid. And as silently as falls the dew was 
 the mystery wrought : Whilst all things were in deep silence 
 and the night was in the midst of her course, Thine almighty 
 Word, Lord, leaped down from His royal seat [5]. 
 
 This miracle extorts from us the cry as we contemplate it : 
 We praise Thee, our God. The same thought is amplified 
 in the third Antiphon. As the burning bush was on fire and 
 not consumed, so Mary's maidenhood was fruitful and not 
 lost. And it was her purity and her grace that kept her 
 unconsumed in that intimate union with her Maker ; for what 
 Creature, unless specially supported by God, can be so near 
 without failing ; according to that word of the Prophet : Who 
 can dwell with everlasting burnings f [6] the everlasting burn- 
 ings of the holiness of the Godhead. 
 
 The root of Jesse, David's father, and the Star Balaam saw 
 in vision from Mount Peor [7], are celebrated in the next 
 Antiphon, and find their antitype in the Saviour born of the 
 Virgin. And again our praise bursts forth at the thought. 
 But Mary's Child is also the Lamb for the Sacrifice ; and the 
 Precursor points Him out as such : Behold the Lamb of God 
 Who bears the sins of the world [8]. The shadow of Calvary 
 thus falls across the Manger, and in the Babe we see Him of 
 Whom it was written : Surely He hath borne our griefs and 
 carried our infirmities, for the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity 
 
 [i] 2 Pet. i. 3, 4. [5] Wisdom xviii. 15. 
 
 [2] Heb. iii. 14. [6] Is. xxxiii. 14. 
 
 [3] Ibid. xii. 10. [7] Num. xxiv. 17. 
 
 [4] Rom. viii. 16, 17. [8] John i. 29.
 
 3H THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 of us all [i]. This fifth Antiphon gives a special meaning to 
 the Psalms of praise that follow. 
 
 The Little Chapter has already been commented on ; but 
 here we may take the words of God's servants on earth and 
 the blessed in heaven contemplating the blissful Mother in 
 adoration before her newborn Son ; for Jesus Christ the same 
 yesterday, to-day, and for ever [2], is always to His Mother the 
 Babe of Bethlehem, as well as the Boy of Nazareth, the Man 
 of Galilee, and the Victim of Calvary. 
 
 The Antiphon at the Benedictus is full of great thoughts. 
 The Incarnation which it celebrates is a mystery which leads 
 us into the very centre of the Godhead. The Second Person 
 of the Adorable Trinity, distinct from Father and Son, has 
 from all eternity the Nature of God. What He was He 
 remained when He became Man, that is, always God. What 
 He had not, that is, having a human Nature, He at that 
 moment assumed. In other words, He was God from all 
 eternity, and Man from the date of His Incarnation. There 
 was no mingling of the two Natures, each remained distinct ; 
 but they were united by the One divine Person Who made 
 them both His very Own. This is the mystery of the Incarna- 
 tion. We know what was done ; but for the rest we can only 
 worship in silent love. 
 
 In the Collect our Lord is called the Author of Life, 
 according to the words of St. Peter : But Jesus, the Author 
 of Life, ye have slain [3]. He is also called, with the same 
 meaning, the Author of Eternal Salvation [4], and the Author 
 and Finisher of our Faith [5]. In Him Who says of Himself, 
 I am the Life [6], the Apostle tells us was life and the life 
 was light [7]. It is that supernatural life of grace which 
 He shares with us, and which, beginning in Baptism, and 
 destined to go on for all eternity, we, in this Collect, put 
 specially under the patronage of our Lady. 
 
 [i] Is. liii. 4. [5] Ibid. xii. 2. 
 
 [2] Heb. xiii. 8. [6] John xi. 25. 
 
 [3] Acts iii. 15. [7] Ibid. i. 4- 
 [4] Heb. v. .
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 AT PRIME I THE FIRST HOUR. 
 
 AVE MARIA AND INTRODUCTORY VERSICLES AS BEFORE. 
 
 Hymn. 
 
 Remember, Creator Lord, 
 That in the Virgin's sacred 
 
 womb 
 Thou wast conceived, and of 
 
 her flesh 
 Didst our mortality assume. 
 
 Memento rerum Conditor, 
 Nostri quod olim corporis, 
 
 Sacrdta ab alvo Virginis 
 
 Nascendo, formam sumpseris. 
 Maria Mater grdtice, 
 
 Dulcis parens dementia, 
 Tu nos ab hoste, protege, 
 
 Et mortis hora suscipe. 
 
 Jesu, Tibi sit gloria, 
 Qui natus es de Virgine, 
 Cum Patre, et almo Spiritu, 
 In sempiterna scecula. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 Mother of grace ! Mary 
 
 blest! 
 To thee, sweet fount of love, we 
 
 fly; 
 
 Shield us through life and take 
 
 us home 
 To thy dear bosom when we die. 
 
 Jesus, born of Virgin bright, 
 Immortal glory be to Thee ,' 
 Praise to the Father Infinite, 
 And Holy Ghost eternally. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 The Hymn, a continuation of the preceding, is so direct 
 and simple that it needs but little comment. It is used at all 
 the Little Hours and at Compline as well. The second verse 
 is the same idea as the latter part of the " Hail Mary " ; and, 
 repeated so many times in the day, it will serve to remind us 
 that the enemy is always persevering, death is always at hand ;
 
 316 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 but, as surely, Mary, the Mother of Grace, is always nigh to 
 her children. 
 
 THE ANTIPHON. 
 
 This is taken from the first Antiphon at Lauds and varies 
 according to the season. For its explanation see under 
 Lauds. 
 
 PSALM LIII. 
 
 Title. (i) Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David. 
 (2) When the men of Ziph had come and said to Saul : Is not 
 David hidden with us? [i]. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, ascending the heavens, looked upon 
 His enemies with adverse face. The voice of one praying to 
 Christ. The voice of Christ praying to His Father in every 
 trouble. The Prophet concerning him who suffers persecu- 
 tions for the name of the Lord. 
 
 Venerable Bede : David, when beset with trouble, but 
 unexpectedly set free, understood what should happen to the 
 Church of Christ, whereof he himself was a member. The 
 occasion of the Psalm was when the Ziphites came to Saul in 
 Gibeah, saying : Doth not David hide himself with us in the 
 strongholds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on 
 the south of Jeshimon f The Prophet, freed from the perils 
 of Saul, thanks the Lord, throughout the Psalm, that the 
 treason of the Ziphites had not been able to hurt him. 
 
 (i) Deus in Nomine Tuo Save me, God, for Thy 
 
 salvum me fac : et in virtute Name's sake : and in Thy 
 Tua judica me. strength judge Thou me. 
 
 That Name the Name of Jesus Who shall save His people 
 from their sins [2]. 
 
 Judge me when Thou, Who earnest before in poverty, 
 comest again in majesty to the Doom, and burning up the 
 chaff, bring me as wheat into Thy garner. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 [i] I Kings xxiii. 19. St. Augustine commenting on this title says: Saul, the 
 persecutor of David, is a type of Satan ; David, hiding in the village of Ziph, is a 
 type of Christ. The Ziphites, who betrayed him, and whose name signifies "men 
 flourishing," signify the false friends of Christ and His cause. 
 
 [2] Matt. i. 21.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 317 
 
 In Thy strength. Of all strength love is the strongest : 
 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown 
 it [i]. And what is that strength ? asked Hugh of St. Victor. 
 It is nothing else but the weakness of the Gospel, where defeat 
 is victory, where shame is glory, where reprobation is crown- 
 ing, where death is life. Again, in Thy strength, that is, the 
 Holy Ghost, Who is the strength of the Most High and Who 
 rules us by the Law of Liberty, thus giving us strength over 
 the enemies who seek to enslave us. St. Bruno points out 
 that, taking the whole Psalm of our Lord Himself, we may 
 see here His prayer for His Resurrection ; and the clear 
 warning to the Jews of their peril. And that for Thy Name's 
 sake, for, I seek not Mine Own glory [2]. 
 
 (2) Deus exdudi orationem God, hear my prayer : and 
 meam : duribus percipe verba hearken unto the words of my 
 oris mei. mouth. 
 
 (3) Quoniam alieni insur- For strangers have risen up 
 rexerunt advtrsum me, et against me, and tyrants have 
 fortes qucesierunt dnimam sought my life : and they have 
 meam : et non proposuerunt not set God before their eyes. 
 Deum ante conspectum suum. 
 
 It is well said, remarks the Carthusian, Hear my prayer, 
 and then hearken. Hear, the weaker word ; but hearken, 
 that is to say, according to the exact words, perceive with the 
 ears, or, in other words, hear, in the sense of listening to, so 
 as to grant the words of my mouth. My Mouth, indeed, my 
 Mediator, my Advocate, hearken unto the words of the Word ; 
 to the words of Him, the true Aaron of Whom Thou hast 
 said : Is not Aaron thy Brother? I know that He can speak well [3]. 
 
 For strangers. The Ziphites were of David's own kinsmen 
 and dependants ; and yet they sought to betray him ; even as 
 the Jews did to our Lord, their King, giving Him over to 
 Pilate and Herod. In the mystical sense, Strangers ; my own 
 rebellious will and passion, have risen up against me, as in 
 a civil war in domestic rebellion. And tyrants, as being all 
 the servants of that one tyrant ; the tyrant in opposition to the 
 
 [i] Cant. viii. 7. [2] John viii. 50. [3] Exod. iv. 14.
 
 318 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 King ; the rebellious chief of Babylon in contradistinction to 
 the peaceful monarch in Jerusalem. Thus St. Bruno of Aste, 
 and St. Bonaventure. 
 
 (4) Ecce enim Deus ddjuvat Behold, for God is my helper: 
 me: et Dominus susceptor est and the Lord is the upholder 
 dnimce niece, of my soul. 
 
 How shall we take this ? With St. Gregory the Great, of 
 the Synagogue looking and longing for the Messias ? or of our 
 Lord Himself relying on the love of the Father, as with that 
 thought of the twelve legions of Angels [i] ; as with that 
 declaration : / know Thou hearest Me always [2] ? Or lastly, 
 shall we take it of the Church, knowing that as the Father was 
 the Helper of Christ, so that Father and that Christ will be her 
 aid and, against whatever enemies, will uphold her soul ? 
 
 (5) Averte mala inimicis Turn back evil on mine 
 meis : et in veritdte Tua dis- enemies : and in Thy truth 
 perde illos. scatter them. 
 
 Mine enemies, the devils, are confirmed in wickedness ; 
 and the evil they plan against God's servants recoil upon 
 themselves. 
 
 In Thy truth. Our sole hope of victory lies in the promise 
 of grace when we call upon God. Relying on this promise we 
 resist the devil, and he flees from us [3] ; and we find in the 
 hour of temptation that the Divine Word is ever faithful : The 
 God of all grace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly [4]. 
 
 (6) Voluntdrie sacnftcdbo Right willingly will I sacri- 
 Tibi et confitebor Nomini Tuo, fice to Thee, and praise Thy 
 Domine / quoniam bonum est. Name, O Lord ! because it is 
 
 good. 
 
 These words refer to the freewill offering of Christ Himself 
 upon the Cross ; and to that which is continually being 
 presented by Him, our Great High Priest, in the Adorable 
 Sacrifice of the Mass. Again, this verse, coming as it does 
 in the Morning Office, reminds us of the Mass we are so soon 
 
 [i] Matt. xxvi. 53. [3] James iv. 7. 
 
 [2] John xi. 42. [4] Rom. xvi. 20.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 319 
 
 to assist at. We must join willingly in that Sacrifice if we 
 would profit by it. For it is good. What ? The Name of 
 the Lord, or that which we are going to offer ? In the latter 
 sense our offering is indeed good; for it is nothing else but the 
 Body and Blood of the God-Man, a better gift than which 
 cannot be found. It is simply good. The verse also reminds 
 us of our own freewill consecration to God when we made, to 
 the praise of His Name, the sacrifice of our persons, our 
 wealth, and our wills in the clean oblation of religion. And 
 how good it is ! For day by day our Vocation grows dearer 
 as we grow more and more in intimacy with the Spouse of our 
 soul ; and we taste and see how good He is. The Sacrifice 
 we made to follow His Call is so small beside the gain, that 
 we should do it over and over again, counting all things loss if 
 we can gain Christ [i], 
 
 (7) Quoniam ex omni tribu- For Thou hast delivered me 
 
 latione eripuisti me : et super out of all trouble : and mine 
 
 inimicos meos despexit oculus eyes hath looked down upon all 
 
 meus. mine enemies. 
 
 Says the Carthusian : Let us in conclusion hear our Lord 
 speak in His Own Person : Thou hast delivered Me, indeed, from 
 the false witnesses that agree not together ; Thou hast delivered 
 Me from Annas, from Caiaphas, from Herod, from Pontius 
 Pilate ; Thou hast delivered Me from the Scourging, from the 
 Crowning, the Shame, and from the Crucifixion. But we 
 must mark the deliverance came not as man could wish or 
 imagine, but by that higher way which is the work of God's 
 right hand. 
 
 Mine eye hath looked down upon mine enemies, gazing at 
 them calmly and undismayed ; as a conqueror, says Bellar- 
 mine, surveys the bodies of his enemies on the battle-field, or 
 a king from his throne looks on the captives brought to his 
 feet. And in this latter sense the word suggests the crowning 
 glory of the Ascension : Thou hast led captivity captive [2], 
 
 [i] Phil. iii. 7- [2] Eph. iv. 8.
 
 320 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory to the Father Who is our Helper ; and to the Son 
 for Whose Name's sake we are saved ; and to the Holy Ghost 
 in Whose strength we are judged. 
 
 PSALM LXXXIV. [i] 
 Title. Unto the end, for the Sons of Core. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ vouchsafed to show us His mercy by 
 coming in the flesh. The voice of the Prophet to the Son. 
 The Apostolic voice to the New People, redeemed by the 
 Lord. 
 
 Venerable Bede : This Psalm, about to speak of the Lord's 
 first Coming, is suited to the persons of them who have 
 believed in Him with sincere minds. In the first part the 
 Prophet gives thanks to the Lord, because from the old time of 
 the Jewish nation the people have come to the worship of the 
 Lord. The second treats of God's merciful dealings with His 
 people, and looks for the Coming of Christ. In the third he 
 turns to himself and foretells the Incarnation. 
 
 (i) Benedixisti Domine ter- Thou hast blessed, Lord, 
 
 ram Tuam : avertisti captivi- Thy land : Thou hast turned 
 tdtem Jacob. away the captivity of Jacob. 
 
 The Son of God hath healed all things, filling the earth 
 with blessings through the fertilising stream of His precious 
 Blood. The Lord hath blessed the land, that is, says St. Bruno, 
 the whole of mankind, by taking earth to Himself and making 
 of it His Holy Flesh ; and, as our English mystic, Richard 
 Rolle, says, He has especially blessed one part of it, that garden 
 enclosed, His Own most blessed Maiden-mother, who brought 
 forth the Fruit of Salvation. Cardinal Hugo remarks : He 
 blesses every faithful soul which yields itself to His care ; for 
 the earth which drinketh in the rain that conieth oft upon it, and 
 bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth 
 
 [i] This is one of the Psalms used as a preparation for Mass.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 321 
 
 blessing from God [i]. That captivity is the bondage of 
 Original Sin, whereby men lay fettered in the chains 
 of the devil ; but now, saith the Lord of Hosts, He shall 
 let go My captives but not for price or reward [2] ; for Christ 
 hath turned away the captivity. But, as St. Augustine says, 
 not, however, of all, but only of Jacob ; that is, of the younger 
 people of all who by faith descend from Abraham ; of all who, 
 like Jacob, do not remain in slumber, but rise up and wrestle 
 against their sins. How specially true this is of the Immacu- 
 late Conception of our Lady, in which mystery the captivity 
 of Original Sin is turned away, is too clear to need further 
 comment. 
 
 (2) Remisisti iniquitdtem Thou hast forgiven the 
 plebis Tuce : operuisti omnia iniquity of Thy people : Thou 
 peccdta eorum. hast covered all their sins. 
 
 This, says St. Augustine, is the true explanation of the 
 previous verse. It teaches us that Sin is the hardest of all 
 captivity, and that God's Law is the most perfect of all 
 freedom. Cassiodorus observes that the word forgiven denotes 
 the bounty of God's grace. He is not spoken of as accepting 
 payment of our debts, but as remitting it freely. 
 
 And covered all their sins by plunging them beneath the 
 waters of Baptism and Penance. He does not merely cover 
 them, leaving them still there, He takes them away altogether, 
 as fire covers the blackness of coal when it has once made its 
 way into the substance of the coal, and destroys it in the very 
 act of so doing. So the fire which the Lord came to send 
 upon the earth takes away that sin which causes it to be said 
 of sinners : Their visage is blacker than the coal [3], Thus 
 Albert the Great. This, then, is His tender love, that Charity 
 which covereth a multitude of sins [4]. Lorin takes the for- 
 giveness as applying to Mortal, and the covering as referring 
 to Venial, offences. 
 
 (3) Mitigdsti omnem iram Thou hast taken away all 
 Tuam : avertisti ab ira indig- Thy displeasure : Thou hast 
 nationis Tuce. turned away from the anger 
 
 of Thy wrath. 
 
 [i] Heb. vi. 7. [3] Lam. iv. 8. 
 
 [2] Is. xlv. 13. [4] I Peter iv. 8. 
 
 21
 
 322 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Mitigated. Haymo says : God in this life punishes us for 
 our sin, but gently, and not beyond our endurance ; and that 
 He does not give us everything here, so that we may have 
 somewhat better to look for hereafter. And whereas it is said 
 all Thy displeasure, we are to understand on the one hand 
 God's wrath against both original and actual sin, and on the 
 other His temporal and eternal punishments, on account of 
 the infinite value of the Divine Victim of propitiation, so no 
 penalty will remain in such who make full use of the salvation 
 He offers to all. For, says the Carmelite, He stands before 
 His Father as our High Priest, and pleads on our behalf 
 with an intercession which must prevail, as He says by His 
 Prophet : Remember that I stood before Thee to speak good for 
 them, and to turn away Thy wrath from them [i]. Albert the 
 Great points out that in these three verses we have six blessings 
 of God set forth in as many words : Thou hast blessed Thy 
 land, Lord Jesus, by Thy birth ; Thou hast turned away the 
 captivity by Thy preaching ; Thou hast forgiven our offence 
 by Thy dying ; Thou hast covered all our sins by Thy resurrec- 
 tion ; Thou hast taken away Thy displeasure by sending the 
 Holy Ghost ; Thou hast turned away our sins by leading us to 
 heaven and averting the terrors of the Doom. 
 
 (4) ConvMe nos Dens Turn us, God, our Saviour ; 
 
 salutdris noster : et averte and turn away Thine anger 
 iram Tuam a nobis. from us. 
 
 These words are used at the beginning of Compline. 
 Cassiodorus understands the Prophet, after giving God thanks 
 for the promised Incarnation, to look forward and see the 
 Rejection and Crucifixion ; and so he here prays that these 
 new sins also may be pardoned. 
 
 Turn us, too, says St. Bruno, who have so ill-requited Thy 
 bounty, turn us from captivity to freedom, from cursing to 
 blessing, from sinfulness to forgiveness. 
 
 Turn away Thine anger from us. How is it that the weight 
 of God's wrath is kept from falling on the sinful world ? It is 
 the power of the Mass which stays His hand. It is also those 
 
 [i] Jer. xviii. 20.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 323 
 
 hidden lives of sacrifice, of penance, of prayer, which, unknown 
 to the world, are passed in the cloister, and, through the merits 
 of the Reedemer, go far to appease the anger of the Lord. 
 
 (5) Numquid in ceternum Wilt Thou be angry with 
 irasceris nobisf aut extendes us for ever? And wilt Thou 
 iram Tuam a generations in stretch out Thy wrath from 
 generationem f one generation to another ? 
 
 Not for ever, says St. Augustine, as God's displeasure means 
 the punishment He inflicts upon us here below for our sins. 
 He made us therefore in Adam, mortal and capable of suffer- 
 ing, but renews us in Christ, giving us a share in His im- 
 mortality and impassibility. He has thus shown that His 
 displeasure will pass away according to that saying : For as in 
 Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive [i], 
 
 From one generation to another. We may feel a doubt as to 
 His entire good-will towards us and fear lest He should visit 
 the sin of the fathers upon the children ; but we have His 
 word spoken by His Prophet : The son shall not bear the iniquity 
 of his father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the 
 son [2]. From this we learn that the guilt of sin is always 
 personal to him who commits it ; and that what we often 
 regard as the punishments of sin are not so in fact. They are 
 but God's way of working out the good He has in view. 
 Again, we may take the two generations to refer to the two 
 great dates in man's spiritual history ; from Adam to Christ, 
 and from Christ to Doom ; the generation of the Law, and the 
 generation of the Gospel. We therefore beseech God not to 
 be angry with us as He was with the former generation, because 
 we, though liable to fall into sin, desire to wash away its stains 
 by the sacraments of reconciliation. 
 
 (6) Deus Tu conversus vivi- Thou, God, being turned, 
 ficdbis nos : et plebs Tua wilt quicken us : and Thy 
 Icetdbitur in Te. people shall rejoice in Thee. 
 
 Says the Carmelite : When a man is turned from us we 
 see not his face, and cannot recognise him surely ; but when 
 
 [l] I Cor. xv. 22. [2] Ezek. xviii. 20.
 
 324 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 he turns round and shows it, then we know him at once. So 
 before the Incarnation God was, as it were, turned away from 
 men : For no man hath seen God at any time [i] ; but He 
 turned His face towards us in that Mystery which is the cause 
 of our justification, whereby we are quickened. Thus when 
 St. Peter fell he continued in his denial till the Lord turned 
 and looked on him [2], and that one look quickened the 
 hardened heart and brought a flood of penitential tears from 
 the Rock. And thus, too, does He deal with all other sinners 
 who do not keep their faces obstinately averted from Him ; so 
 that, as St. Bruno says, they rejoice at last in Him, no longer 
 in the world and in their sins. He does not confine His mercy 
 to this. But He will turn again and show us Himself in glory 
 at the Last Day, and quicken us in the Resurrection and make 
 us rejoice in immortality and blessedness. 
 
 (7) Ostende nobis Domine Show us, Lord, Thy mercy : 
 
 misericordiam Tuam : etSalu- and grant us Thy Salvation, 
 tare Tuum da nobis. 
 
 These words, together with the preceding verse, are used in 
 the beginning of the Mass. Thy mercy is Jesus. The fathers 
 universally interpret this verse as a prayer for the Coming of 
 Christ Who is the Mercy of God visiting us from on high. 
 The Carthusian explains these words in this way : Show us O 
 Lord Thy mercy, that is, show forth clearly and plenteously in 
 us the working of Thy loving kindness ; and grant us Thy 
 salvation, that is, Thy healing redemption, or even Christ 
 Himself, by giving Him to us daily in the Sacrament of the 
 Altar, and by His spiritual coming to dwell in us, as it is 
 written of Him, under the name of Wisdom : Give me Wisdom 
 that sitteth by Thy Throne [3]. Give us Thy Christ, says St. 
 Augustine, let us know Thy Christ, let us behold Thy Christ. 
 Not as the Jews beheld Him and crucified Him ; but as the 
 Angels behold Him and rejoice. Bellarmine explains the 
 verse of the perfect salvation which is completed in the final 
 Resurrection ; for then God will show us the fulness of His 
 mercy so that we may see it and, as it were, touch it ; when 
 
 [i] John i. 18. [2] Luke xxii. 6l. [3] Wisdom ix. 4.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 325 
 
 He shall crown us with His loving-kindness, and heal all our 
 infirmities, and satisfy our desire with good things, and renew 
 our youth as the eagle [i]. And He will then give us His 
 Salvation for an everlasting possession when He shall manifest 
 Himself to us. We ask first for mercy and then for salvation. 
 The first is the cause, and the second the effect. Mercy is 
 grace, and salvation is glory. 
 
 (8) Audiam quid loqudtur I will hear what the Lord 
 in me Dominus Deus : quo- God will say in me : For He 
 niam loqueturpacem inplebem shall speak peace unto His 
 Suam. people. 
 
 (9) Et super sanctos Suos : And unto His saints and 
 et in eos, qui convertuntur ad unto them who are converted 
 cor. at heart. 
 
 In me. The Prophet Habacuc saith : / will watch and see 
 what He will say in me [2] ; and the Apostle : Since ye seek a 
 proof of Christ speaking in me [3]. St. Augustine observes that 
 when Christ speaks in a man, He speaks to him ; and what He 
 speaks on this occasion is that peace which surpasseth all 
 understanding, and which is bestowed on all who render unto 
 God that which is God's, and are truly His saints because they 
 are converted to Him, not feignedly, but from the depths of 
 their heart. The Psalmist says, I will hearken, because the 
 roar and tumult of the world is all around him and he must 
 close his ears to it if he would hear the voice of God. St. 
 Bernard says : When evil thoughts arise within us, we speak 
 ourselves ; when good ones, it is God Who speaks within us : 
 our h,eart utters the first and hearkens to the second. The 
 Peace which God speaks, the Word He utters, is our Lord 
 Jesus Himself, the Prince of Peace. He spoke this Word to 
 His people and to His saints, that is, to all Jews and to those 
 who believed and loved Him such as the Apostles. 
 
 Unto them who are converted in heart. These form a third 
 class, to wit, the Gentiles. Cardinal Hugo applies the whole 
 verse to Christians. He takes the people as the laity ; the 
 saints, the clergy, and those converted at heart, as the religious 
 orders. He likewise remarks that peace is threefold : Peace 
 
 [I] Cf. Ps. civ. 3-5. [2] ii. I. [33 2 Cor. xiii. 3.
 
 326 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 with God, as it is written : He shall make peace with me [i] ; 
 Peace with ourselves, according to our Lord's words : These 
 things have I spoken unto you that in Me ye might have peace [2] ; 
 and Peace with our neighbour, as the Apostle says : As much 
 as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men [3]. 
 
 (10) Verumtamen prope For His salvation is nigh 
 
 timentes Eum salutdre ipsius : unto them that fear Him : that 
 
 ut inhdbitet gldria in terra glory may dwell in our land, 
 nostra. 
 
 Therefore did He appear first among the Jews where there 
 were some, at least, to fear Him. Yet even, as St. Augustine 
 says, this fear was a carnal one, a dread of temporal punish- 
 ments and loss. The Jews asked for just the same things as 
 the Pagans did. There was only this difference they asked 
 of the true God. Nevertheless, even this imperfect knowledge 
 and service was so far rewarded that Glory did dwell in the 
 land. For they had the Patriarchs and Prophets, they had the 
 Temple, the centre of worship ; with them dwelt the Maiden 
 who bore Her Lord ; then in their midst was He Himself 
 born and held converse among men, wrought His miracles, 
 founded His Church, and finished our Redemption. His 
 salvation is nigh unto them that fear Him ; in that they are 
 careful to watch lest they should fall, that at the end of their 
 trial glory, the glory of immortality, may dwell in that earth 
 of their now mortal bodies. He makes another glory, a good 
 conscience, dwell within His servants, as St. Paul says : For 
 our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience [4], Again, 
 in the Blessed Eucharist: His salvation is nigh to all that fear 
 Him ; for in this Sacrament of the Altar He has given food to 
 those that fear Him[$]. Wherefore it is written : The Word is 
 very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart [6]. And 
 lastly, the glory of holiness and good works done by the saints 
 dwells in our land, and so shines before men that they glorify 
 our Father Who is in heaven. 
 
 [l] Is. xxvii. 5. [4] 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 
 [2] John xvi. 33. [5] Ps. ex. 4. 
 
 [3] Rom. xii. 18. [6] Deut. xxx. 14.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 327 
 
 (n) Misericordia et veritas Mercy and Truth are met 
 
 obviaverunt Sibi : justitia et together : and Justice and 
 pax osciddtce sunt. Peace have kissed. 
 
 Man, says St. Bernard, lost Justice when Eve obeyed the 
 serpent's voice, and Adam the woman's rather than the Divine 
 One. He lost Mercy, in that Eve, to satisfy her desires, spared 
 neither herself, her husband, nor posterity, but bound all alike 
 under the curse : and Adam, in that he exposed the woman, 
 for whom he had sinned, to the Divine Wrath, trying to shun 
 the arrow, as it were, behind her back. Woman and Man lost 
 Truth, the first by perverting the warning, Thou shall surely 
 die [i], into the milder, Lest ye die [2] ; while Adam offered 
 a vain and false excuse. And lastly, they lost Peace, for saith 
 the Lord : There is no peace to the wicked [3]. Hence, after the 
 Fall there was, as it were, a serious conflict between the four 
 virtues ; for Truth and Justice were for punishing the wretched 
 sinner, while Peace and Mercy were for sparing him. How 
 these four virtues, parted in the First Man, met again in the 
 Second, we may readily learn. For Christ showed Mercy in 
 healing the sick ; Truth in teaching and speaking ; Justice 
 when He reproved sinners, and praised the godly ; and Peace 
 in His meekness and gentleness. Further, the Divine Nature 
 of Christ may be called Mercy, for it forgives sins ; and His 
 Human Nature Truth, because no guile was found in Him. 
 
 They met together, that is, they were united in the Hypo- 
 static Union. Justice also is taken for the Divine Nature ; 
 for God alone is the righteous Judge. Peace, on the other 
 hand, stands for the Human Nature, on account of our 
 Lord's noble and innate meekness. Again, Mercy and Truth 
 met together in the Incarnation, because it was Mercy which 
 drew the Lord down to His creatures, that the Truth of the 
 promises might be fulfilled, that Justice might be satisfied by a 
 Divine Victim, and that Peace might be re-established between 
 God and Man. If we lay stress on the words met and kissed, 
 they will denote that the union of persons coming from 
 opposite directions is expressed ; we may therefore take the 
 verses as signifying the reconciliation of God and Man. 
 
 [i] Gen. ii. 17. [2] Ibid. iii. 3. [3] Is. xlviii. 22.
 
 328 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 God's Mercy encourages man to confess his sins, and so to 
 meet Mercy with Truth. God's Justice in fulfilling His 
 promises gives the comfort of Peace to the conscience of His 
 people. 
 
 (12) Veritas de terra orta Truth hath sprung from the 
 est : et justitia de ccelo pro- earth : and righteousness hath 
 spexit. looked down from heaven. 
 
 The very Truth, the Son of God, hath sprung out of the 
 earth, being born of His Maiden-mother. Righteousness looked 
 down from heaven when the Eternal Word stooped from His 
 Throne of Glory and united Himself in hypostatic union 
 to the Nature of Man. Thus was fulfilled that prayer : Drop 
 down ye heavens from above, and let the clouds pour down the 
 Righteous One : Let the earth open and let it bring forth a 
 Saviour [i]. There is another sense, says St. Augustine, for 
 these words : Now that man has been brought near to God, 
 he is moved to confession of his sins, so that the truth springs 
 up in frank acknowledgment of transgressions from the sinner 
 who is but earth, and righteousness then looks down from 
 heaven to pardon and wash away the offences. 
 
 (13) Etenim Dominus da- Yea, the Lord shall show 
 bit benignitdtem : et terra loving-kindness : and our land 
 nostra dabit Fructuni suum. shall give its Fruit. 
 
 The Psalmist proceeds to explain the mystery of the Incar- 
 nation, and shows that Truth will spring out of the earth, not 
 in the manner that fruits spring out of the ground ploughed 
 and sown by the labour of man, but as flowers spring up in 
 the open plains without human culture, by the rain from 
 heaven and the sunshine that falls upon them. For, saith he, 
 the Lord shall give His loving-kindness, that is, shall send His 
 Holy Spirit from heaven to overshadow the Maiden ; and so 
 our land, untilled, unsown, and altogether virginal, shall give 
 her Fruit. Wherefore He saith of Himself in the Canticles : / 
 am the Flower of the field and the Lily of the valley [2] ; or again, 
 the Divine Nature of Christ is the loving-kindness of God ; 
 His Human Nature the Fruit of our land. Thus Bellarmine. 
 
 [i] Is. xlv. 8. [2] ii. I.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 329 
 
 Some of the earlier commentators see, in these words, the 
 result of our Lord's Coming in the fruits of penance and good 
 works put forth by men under the genial rays of the Sun of 
 Righteousness, when the rain of tears poured forth in sorrow 
 for sin has caused the good seed sown in their hearts by the 
 Sower to spring up and yield increase. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 (14) Justitia ante Bum Righteousness shall walk 
 
 ambuldbit : et ponet in via before Him : and He shall set 
 gressus Suos. His steps in the way. 
 
 That is, righteousness shall go behind Him as well as before, 
 deepening, as it were, His track, that they who follow may 
 not miss it. Observe, says Arnobius [i], that where righteous- 
 ness goes first, God steadily follows. Others take it that when 
 righteousness hath so prepared the way for Christ, then will He 
 Himself set His feet upon the road and come to visit those 
 who have thus made ready for His coming. Says the Car- 
 melite : He makes this road henceforth a way for all those 
 who would follow Him ; and, even in the works of penance, 
 He Who did no sin was not content to be a preacher only, but 
 gave us example of His vigils, fasts, journeyings, and other 
 bodily toils. Again, Righteousness goes before the people of 
 Christ to show them the way to Him, and to set their feet in 
 it that they may not err. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who speaketh Peace unto His 
 saints. Glory to the Son in Whom Mercy and Truth are met 
 together. Glory to the Holy Ghost the Loving-kindness of 
 the Lord. 
 
 PSALM cxvi. 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ by the Coming of the Holy Ghost 
 hath stablished His Mercy upon us. The voice of the Apostles 
 to the Gentiles. A speech of the Prophet concerning God's 
 praise. 
 
 [l] He flourished in France at the latter part of the fifth century, and wrote a Com- 
 mentary on the whole Psalter.
 
 330 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Venerable Bede : There are but two verses ; yet words, 
 however few, in praise of the Lord are always most full. We 
 should apply this Psalm also to the person of the martyrs who 
 now, having as it were achieved their glorious passion, arouse 
 all other nations to the praises of the Lord Who hath done 
 such things for His servants that they too may be the rather 
 imbued with His example. 
 
 (1) Laudate Dominum om- praise the Lord all ye 
 nes gentes : lauddte Eum heathen : praise ye Him all 
 omnes populi. ye nations. 
 
 This Psalm, says a Jewish commentator, consists but of two 
 verses and refers to the days of the Messias. And by making 
 it consist of only two verses, the Psalmist implies that all 
 nations shall be put into two classes Israel and the Gentiles. 
 As these latter form the more numerous and more zealous 
 portion, says Lorin, they are placed before the Jews in the 
 order of the verse. St. Paul cites this verse when arguing for 
 the union of Jew and Gentile in one church [i]. An old 
 commentator bids us note that the first part of the injunction 
 began to be fulfilled when the Wise Men came with the gifts 
 to Bethlehem, and the latter when the inscription in Greek, 
 Latin, and Hebrew was set up over the Cross. The Carmelite 
 says it is fulfilled continually in three classes of worshippers 
 devout pilgrims here on earth, souls in purgatory, and the 
 blessed in heaven ; all of whom join in the chorus of praise 
 to God. 
 
 (2) Quoniam confirmdta est For His mercy is confirmed 
 super nos misericordia Ejus : upon us : and the Truth of the 
 et veritas Domini manet in Lord abideth for ever. 
 ceternum. 
 
 
 
 The Jews dwelt on the word us ; and St. Paul allows this 
 saying : Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the cir- 
 cumcision for the Truth of God, to confirm the promises made to 
 the fathers [2]. But he goes on to show that the word us is 
 used in a wider and more loving sense, which identifies Jew 
 and Gentile as one new people ; for he continues : And that 
 the Gentile should glorify God for His Mercy. 
 
 [i] Rom. xv. 4. [2] Rom. xv. 8.
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 331 
 
 And the Truth of the Lord abideth for ever. That Truth 
 is the Eternal Word, Who said : / am the Way, the Truth and 
 the Life [i]. The Gospel, the truth that came by Jesus, abideth 
 for ever : Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall 
 not pass away [2] . And the Mercy, when He said, It is finished ; 
 for then, having tasted of the sharpness of death, He opened 
 the gates of heaven to all believers. Bellarmine remarks that 
 the Apostle, when he says the Gentiles are to praise God for 
 His Mercy and that Truth belongs to the Jews because God 
 confirmed to them the promises made to the fathers, does not 
 mean that the Jews have no part in the Mercy ; but that Mercy 
 alone is shown to the Gentiles, to whom God had made no 
 promises whatever ; whereas in sending the Messias to the 
 Jews He gave them both Truth and Mercy. His Mercy and 
 Truth will abide for ever in yet another sense : in the enduring 
 result of the sentence at the Doom, when He will save or 
 condemn according to their deserts all who stand before His 
 Judgment Seat. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father the Lord God of all. Glory to 
 the Son, Whose Mercy is confirmed upon us. Glory to the 
 Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, Who abides ever with the 
 Church. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [3]. 
 
 Qua? est ista, quce progreditur Who is she that cometh Jorth, 
 
 quasi aurora consurgens, pul- as the rising morn, fair as the 
 
 chra ut luna, electa ut sol, moon, clear as the sun, and 
 
 terribilis ut castrorum deles terrible as an army in battle 
 
 ordindta f array ? 
 
 fy. Deo gratias. ^. Thanks be to God. 
 
 As the material sun is rising in the skies at the hour of 
 Prime it reminds us of our ever dear and blessed Lady who, 
 by her rising in all the beauty of the Immaculate Conception, 
 put an end to the long night which had overshadowed the 
 
 [l] John xiv, 6. [2] Matt. xxiv. 35. [3] Cant. vi. 10.
 
 332 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 world since the Fall. She is fair as the moon, for she shines 
 with a light not her own, but borrowed from the Sun of 
 Righteousness Himself ; she is clear as the sun, for she became 
 clothed with the same Sun of Righteousness, and charity 
 covered her as with a mantle. She is terrible to our enemies ; 
 for enmity has been put between them and her. This last 
 thought encourages us to seek her protection during the 
 coming day, for our enemies are hers. And this thought is 
 carried on in the following versicle. 
 
 VERSICLE AND COLLECT. 
 
 y. Digndre me lauddre te, Grant me grace to praise 
 
 Virgo sacrdta. thee, sacred Virgin. 
 
 T%. Da mihi virtutem con- Give me strength against 
 
 tra hostes tuos. thine enemies. 
 
 These words of St. Ephrem were used as the Second 
 Antiphon of the Third Nocturn, to which we refer the reader. 
 Here only will we say they get a new force from the last words 
 of the Little Chapter. We may note we do not ask for strength 
 against our enemies, but against her enemies. For often those 
 we count as our friends our Lady counts as her enemies ; 
 for she sees that they are false friends to us and endanger the 
 salvation of our souls. 
 
 The Kyrie eleison with the Versicle follow as at Lauds ; then 
 is said the Prayer : 
 
 Deus, qui virgindlem aulam God, Who didst deign to 
 
 bedtce Marice in qua habitdre choose the virginal womb of 
 
 eligere digndtus es : da quce- Blessed Mary in which to 
 
 sumus, ut sua nos defensione dwell : grant, we beseech, that 
 
 munitos, juciindos facias suce guarded by her defence we 
 
 interesse commemorationi : may gladly take part in her 
 
 Qui vivis, &c. commemoration : Who liveth 
 
 and reigneth, &c. 
 
 We find thoughts which suggest this prayer in the Little 
 Chapter and in the 84th Psalm. There is also the note of 
 warfare, of a struggle against her enemies. When she protects 
 us, with joy and gladness we shall serve her and show our love
 
 AT PRIME: THE FIRST HOUR 333 
 
 and gratitude by our devotion. The Office concludes with the 
 same Versicles as at Lauds. 
 
 During Advent. 
 
 THE LITTLE CHAPTER [l]. 
 
 Ecce virgo concipiet et pdriet Behold a virgin shall con- 
 
 Filium, et vocdbitur nomen ceive and bear a Son, and 
 ejus Emmanuel. Butyrum, et shall call His name Em- 
 mel comedet ut sciat reprobdre manuel. Butter and honey 
 malum, et eligere bonum. shall He eat, that He may 
 
 know to forsake Evil and 
 choose Good. 
 
 These prophetic words of Isaias, declaring the Maiden- 
 Motherhood of our Lady, are peculiarly appropriate to the 
 Season of Advent. She was to be a virgin not only in con- 
 ceiving but in bringing forth ; and her Child was to be no 
 ordinary Son, but Emmanuel, which, being interpreted is, God 
 with us. Says the Myroure : " Emmanuel is as much as to say, 
 God with us. For while He is God in His Own Nature, and 
 with us in our Nature, so is He God and Man in one Person. 
 By butter and honey we understand all other meats according 
 to Man, whereby is shown that He was very man and lived, 
 after His body, by man's meat. And He shall know to forsake 
 evil and choose good; for though He were fed as an infant, 
 yet He was as wise as when He came to man's age. They that 
 treat of Nature say that cheese is evil, and the less it have of 
 butter the worse it is. Therefore our Child ate butter that is 
 without cheese, for He took our Nature without sin. He ate 
 also honey, that is, sweet, for He delighted Him to do mercy 
 to sinners and to all that were in disease or in need, the doing 
 of which mercy was to Him sweeter than honey. A bee giveth 
 honey and stingeth. So our sweet bee, Jesus Christ, in His 
 first Coming gave honey of mercy and of pity. But they that 
 will not dispose themselves to receive this honey here shall be 
 stung with the tongue of sharp rigour at His second Coming, 
 when He shall forsake the evil to endless pain and choose the 
 good to everlasting bliss" [2]. 
 
 [i] Is. vii. 14, 15. [2] pp. 127-8.
 
 334 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The prayer is the same as at Lauds and is said at all the 
 hours during the season. 
 
 At Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Little Chapter is Quce est ista, as above ; and the Collect 
 is that said at Lauds. The same prayer is said throughout the 
 Office during this season.
 
 335 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 AT TERCE I THE THIRD HOUR. 
 
 The introductory Prayers and Hymns are the same as at 
 Prime. The Antiphon is taken from Lauds (the second) 
 according to the season. 
 
 PSALM cxix. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees [i]. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may bestow on us a dart wherewith 
 to confound unrighteous tongues. The voice of Christ in the 
 Passion. The voice of Christ to the Father touching the Jews. 
 The Songs of Degrees are the progresses of souls, whereby, 
 ascending from the desire of a holy life to better things, they 
 are perfectly delivered in heaven from trouble and perils of 
 this present life. 
 
 Venerable Bede : " Songs of Degrees " are songs of Ascen- 
 sions, whence the more significant Greek name is Songs of 
 goings up, because they lead only towards heavenly things ; as 
 though one had fallen into a pit and a ladder were set that he 
 
 [i] This Psalm begins what are called the "Gradual Psalms" or "Songs of 
 Degrees." One ancient Jewish view is that they were intended to be liturgically 
 used in processions to the Temple, one upon each of the fifteen steps leading up to 
 the great portal. But the most ancient Christian tradition, without being inconsis- 
 tent with this one, is more probable, viz., that they are originally pilgrim songs for 
 going up to Jerusalem. These Psalms were said daily before Matins in the reforms 
 begun by St. Benedict of Aniane. At present they are said, in choirs, on Wednes- 
 days in Lent, and are divided into three sets, each with its own Versicles and Collect : 
 the first for the dead, the second for sinners, the third for all Christian folk. The 
 recitation of the fifteen "Gradual Psalms" was a favourite private devotion of our 
 catholic forefathers.
 
 336 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 might be able to ascend. So when the people of Israel were 
 come to the pit of captivity, and in their trouble called upon 
 the Lord, they were heard and brought back to their country. 
 After this example, whosoever falls into the pit of sin has 
 degrees of humility whereby he may return above. Through- 
 out the Psalm the Prophet speaks. 
 
 (1) Ad Dominum cum tri- When I was in trouble I 
 buldrer clamdvi : et exaudivit called upon the Lord : and He 
 me. heard me. 
 
 Says St. John Chrysostom : Seest thou the gain of affliction, 
 seest thou the readiness of mercy ? The gain of affliction, in 
 that it brings men to pour forth holy prayers ; the readiness 
 of mercy, granted at once when they call. Therefore Christ 
 declares those blessed who mourn [i]. If, then, thou wouldest 
 ascend these steps, cut away whatever is luxurious and relaxed 
 in thy life, gird thyself with diligent conduct, and withdraw 
 from earthly things. This is the first going-up. Even one 
 step upwards is leaving earth ; and lowly as the place is, it is 
 not the less the first elevation. Note the admirable order of 
 the words. First comes trouble, then a cry, lastly a hearing ; 
 to make us know that the prayers of the faithful reach the Lord 
 in an appointed order. The trouble against which the saints 
 call on God is not such as the world fears, but the snares of 
 sin in all its forms, lest they should subdue our weak natures 
 and drag us down to the depths of evil. And all true prayer 
 for deliverance must unite in itself the three marks of this one ; 
 necessity, when I was in trouble ; devotion, / called ; direction 
 in the right way, upon the Lord. Thus St. Hilary and 
 Cardinal Hugo. 
 
 (2) Ddmine libera dnimam Deliver my soul, Lord, 
 meam a Idbiis iniquis : et a from unrighteous lips : and 
 lingua dolosa. from a deceitful tongue. 
 
 St. Basil says, the moment a man begins to go up, that is, 
 to think of advancing in spiritual things and of despising the 
 world that he may cling to God alone, he begins to suffer 
 from the tongues of adversaries, and, what is more grievous, 
 
 [i] Matt. v. 4.
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 337 
 
 from those who try to turn him away from salvation. He 
 who does not suffer opposition may know that he is not even 
 trying to advance. 
 
 Unrighteous lips. Such as are shameless, open in daring 
 and execution. A deceitful tongue is treacherous and mis- 
 chievous, by reason of dissembling, because it aims at over- 
 throwing religion under the name of religion, and bends down 
 to death with the hope of life. . . . ' . We find them both 
 in the history of our first parents. Unrighteous lips said, Eat. 
 Then the deceitful tongue added, Ye shall be as gods, ye shall not 
 surely die [i]. The Carmelite adds, it is not only from the 
 wicked lips and tongues of others that the disciple of Christ 
 needs to be delivered, but from his own ; from all boastfulness, 
 spiritual pride and glorying in his own merits. 
 
 (3) Quid detur tibi, aut What shall be given to thee, 
 quid appondtur tibi : ad lin- or what shall be added to 
 guam dolosam f thee : unto the deceitful 
 
 tongue f 
 
 (4) Sagittce potentis acutce : The sharp arrows of the 
 cum carbdnibus desolatoriis. Mighty, with desolating coals. 
 
 St. Hilary explains this verse as, What weapons of defence 
 shall be given to thee against evil speakers ? In which case the 
 next verse supplies the answer : the Word of God, sharp as an 
 arrow in the hands of a strong man and consuming as red-hot 
 coals. St. Augustine takes the coals as denoting the examples 
 of those sinners, once cold and black, but now converted to 
 God and glowing with His love. But other commentators, 
 dwelling on the word desolating, think it is an awful warning 
 against the destruction that attends the deeds of sinners and 
 awaits themselves. Others take coals as fervent prayer in 
 reference to the touching of Isaias' lips with a coal from the 
 altar [2]. Another commentator notes that arrows at most 
 take away life, and may be the cause of glory, as with martyrs ; 
 but coals brand where they touch and add dishonour to death. 
 Another explanation takes arrows as the sting of conscience 
 and coals as the punishment of a deceitful tongue. 
 
 [i] Gen. iii. 4, 5. [2] Is. vi 6. 
 
 22
 
 338 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (5) Heu mihi, quia inco- Woe is me that my sojourn- 
 
 Idtus meus prolongdtus est ; ing is prolonged ; I have dwelt 
 
 habitdvi cum habitdntibus with the dwellers of Cedar: 
 
 Cedar : multum incola fuit my soul hath been long a 
 
 dnima mea. sojourner. 
 
 St. Hilary explains the verse in this manner : The saints 
 long to be dissolved and to be with Christ [i]. The body is 
 the dark tent (Cedar meaning black) in which the soul is 
 imprisoned. He also lays stress on the word with (the dwellers 
 of Cedar), as being something different from in their company. 
 This denotes that although the saints live in the flesh, yet the 
 arms of their warfare, not being carnal, they do not dwell in 
 the tents of Cedar, but only beside them, and are not in the flesh 
 but in the spirit [2]. Says St. Augustine, sojourning is a 
 pilgrimage. He who dwells in a foreign land, not in his own 
 country, is called a sojourner. St. Paul tells us the same : 
 Here we have no abiding city, but seek one to come [3]. Heaven, 
 says Bellarmine, is our true fatherland, and unhappy are they 
 who are away from it ; for the stateliest palaces of earthly 
 monarchs, in comparison with the Golden City, are but as the 
 rough tents of the wandering Arabs. Long a sojourner. And 
 yet three-score and ten is no very long sojourn as time goes ; 
 but it is very long, and very weary, and full of sorrow to those 
 who regard themselves, and sigh after the Life without end 
 given us in our Fatherland [4]. 
 
 (6) Cum his qui oderunt With them that hate peace I 
 
 pacem eram pacificus : cum was peaceful : when I spoke 
 
 loquebar illis impugndbant unto them that assailed me 
 
 me gratis. without cause. 
 
 St. Augustine observes that we have here the voice of the 
 Church protesting against any unwise attempts to narrow 
 her limits, to break her unity, to rend her fellowship, on the 
 ground that within her pale are found many whose lives are 
 in contradiction to her teaching. Says St. Prosper : It is a 
 
 [l] Phil. i. 2. [2] Rom. viii. 9. [3] Heb. xiii. 14. 
 
 [4] Qui vitam sine termino 
 Nobis donet in Patria. 
 
 St. Thomas Aquinas.
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 339 
 
 part of Christian perfection to be peaceful, even with them 
 that hate peace, in the hope of amending them, not through 
 assent to their evil ways. The deepest sense is, with the 
 Carmelite, to take these words of our Divine Lord. For 
 three and thirty years He was in the midst of men who hated 
 Peace. He is the Prince of Peace ; and when He spoke to 
 carnal Israel, as man never spoke before, they tried to cast 
 Him headlong, then to stone Him, and at last cried out : Away 
 with Him I Away with Him I Crucify Him ! [i] Not less does 
 the earlier part tell us of Him Who cried out to His Father all 
 night in prayer, and in the Garden, and on the Cross ; and 
 Who was heard and raised again and exalted. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who hears us in the day of trouble. 
 Glory to the Son Who is Peace. Glory to the Holy Ghost 
 Who comforts us in our sojourning with Cedar. 
 
 PSALM cxx. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ unsleeping overshadows and guards 
 Jerusalem. The voice of the Church to the Apostles. The 
 voice of the Church to Christ concerning the Prophets or the 
 peoples. 
 
 Venerable Bede : At the first step (of the Gradual Psalms) 
 the Prophet, yet in trouble, sought that he might be delivered 
 from unrighteous lips and a deceitful tongue. But now taking 
 breath on the second step he lifted up his eyes unto the hills, 
 that is, to the interceding saints, by whose prayers he hoped 
 to attain heavenly gifts. The Prophet ascending to the 
 heavenly Jerusalem in the first clause says he has lifted up 
 his eyes to the merits of the saints, that he might be helped 
 by their prayers, lest his soul should give way to the attack of 
 the enemy. In the second place he promises himself what he 
 knows to be asked for fittingly, teaching us that the good we 
 
 [i] John xix. 15.
 
 340 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 pray for with a steady heart we are to believe without doubt 
 will be given us. 
 
 (1) Levavi oculos meos in I have lifted mine eyes to 
 monies : unde veniet auxilium the mountains : whence cometh 
 mihi. help to me. 
 
 (2) Auxilium meum a My help is from the Lord: 
 Domino: qui fecit cesium et Who made heaven and earth . 
 terram. 
 
 This Psalm, as already noted, is a song for the pilgrims to 
 Jerusalem, as they lift their eyes from the plains of Babylon 
 to the mountain ranges which gird their native land, and to 
 that Mount Sion, the holy spot where dwelt the Presence 
 of the Lord. What are these mountains ? The mountains 
 in which the Lord is pleased to dwell [i] ; the fat mountains, 
 the curdled mountains [2], which are the saints. They are 
 our intercessors ; but the help that comes in answer to our 
 prayers is a help from the Lord. Our hope in the saints is 
 only a hope of intercession. The Lord, Himself, is the 
 Mountain of mountains, from Whom alone comes the light 
 which shines on those lofty summits, dark without Him, the 
 true Light enlightening every man that cometh into the world. 
 St. Hilary says that the mountains are the two Testaments 
 with their lofty and difficult secrets admirably fitted to raise 
 the soul from earth, and full of rich veins of spiritual wealth. 
 St. Augustine takes the mountains as the Apostles, and ex- 
 plains that by means of their preaching of the word of God 
 help did come from them on whom the light of heaven shone 
 forth to those in the valley below. He made those Apostles 
 heavens themselves whence the refreshing rains of doctrine 
 came down upon the parched and sterile earth of the Gentile 
 world below, as St. Bruno remarks. 
 
 (3) Nondetincommotionem He will not suffer thy foot to 
 pedem tuum : neque dormitet be moved : and He that keepeth 
 Qui custodit te. thee will not sleep. 
 
 (4) Ecce non dormitdbit, Behold He that watches over 
 neque dormiet : Qui custodit Israel : slumbers not, nor sleeps. 
 Israel. 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixvii. 17. [2] Ibid. 1 6.
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 341 
 
 As the foot is that member of the body which carries it 
 about to the scenes of its actions, so its spiritual meaning is 
 the motion and advances of the mind. Pride was the motion 
 of the soul which drove Lucifer from heaven and Man from 
 Paradise. God keeps the foot of His saints safe from this, but 
 gives them the motion of love ; that instead of falling, they 
 may walk, advance, and go up in the right way. Thus St. 
 Augustine. The Carmelite points out that He so kept the foot 
 of His Apostles that no toils or terrors might daunt them from 
 preaching the Gospel in all lands. 
 
 He that keepeth thee will not sleep. This probably in the 
 literal sense refers to the night-watch round about the pilgrims 
 on their way to the Holy City. In the mystical sense God 
 does not slumber as one fatigued, nor sleep as needing repose. 
 It is necessary, says St. Bernard, that He Who keepeth Israel 
 should neither slumber nor sleep, for he who assails Israel 
 neither slumbers nor sleeps. And as the first seeks our safety, 
 so the other desires to slay and destroy us, and his only care 
 is that the man once turned aside may never come back. 
 There is, remarks the Carthusian, a stress on Israel, to whom 
 alone this unceasing ward is given ; teaching us thereby that 
 it is he who sees God, and wrestles with Him in prayer, who 
 may surely look for His protection. Other commentators, in 
 a beautiful sense, take the verse of the Resurrection. Jesus, 
 the true Keeper of Israel, did indeed sleep in the grave, 
 according to His human nature. But the ever- wakeful God- 
 head slumbered not, but kept the watch over Israel, which, in 
 those hours of desolation, was only to be found in Mary's 
 heart. Others take this verse of the religious orders who, 
 by the Office, never cease, as a body, their watch over the 
 Christian Israel, according to the words of Isaias : / have set 
 watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem, who shall never hold 
 their peace day and night [i]. 
 
 (5) Do minus custodit te } The Lord guards thee, the 
 Dominus protectio tua : super Lord is thy protection : upon 
 manum dexteram tuam. thy right hand. 
 
 (6) Per diem sol non uret The sun shall not burn thee 
 te : neque luna per noctem. by day : nor the moon by night. 
 
 [I] Ixii. 6.
 
 342 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Right hand means, according to the geographical sense of 
 the term in the Old Testament, the south, the quarter from 
 which the burning rays of the mid-day sun pour forth their 
 pitiless heat and glare. In the mystical sense St. Hilary takes 
 the words to refer to God's strengthening our power of action, 
 and therefore of resistance in spiritual combat ; or, with 
 St. Augustine, we may take them as meaning the gift of 
 eternal life denoted by the right hand; while the left hand 
 holds only temporal bounties. The obvious literal sense of 
 the reference to the sun and moon is that of sunstroke and 
 moonstroke to which the pilgrims were exposed. But St. 
 Augustine tells us that the Sun is Christ's Godhead ; the Moon 
 the Church, deriving all its light from Him and waxing and 
 waning here ; while tlje night is the Flesh of Christ wherein 
 the Sun is hid and the moon shines, because faith in the 
 Incarnation is the very life and meaning of the Church. The 
 contemplation of these mysteries shall not burn us away with 
 their awful glory, but rather strengthen and quicken us to 
 live in accordance with God's gracious mercy towards us. 
 
 (7) Dominus custodit te ab The Lord shall guard thee 
 
 omni malo : custodial dni- from all evil : the Lord shall 
 mam tuam Dominus. guard thy soul. 
 
 It is no promise, says St. Hilary, of warding off the 
 common evil of the body, for these are no real evils. It is the 
 soul the Lord will guard, that the moth of evil may not enter 
 in, the thief creep not upon it, the wolf not tear it, the bear not 
 rage against it, the leopard not spring upon it, the tiger not fly 
 at it, the lion not destroy it. For all these in this life are instru- 
 ments of the evil one who employs cruel beasts to eat away 
 the soul with sin, to creep upon it with flattery, to tear it with 
 allurements, to spring upon it with ambition, to fly upon it 
 with lusts, to destroy it with all his power. It is against such 
 evils as these that we can look to God for protection. Thus it 
 was, as St. Augustine says, God kept the souls of His martyrs 
 safe while suffering their bodies to be the prey of the per- 
 secutor. God's ways of keeping are fourfold : as a Watchman 
 seeing that no enemies approach the city He guards ; as a 
 Defender standing on the right hand ; as a Porter opening
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 343 
 
 the gates of mercy ; as a Physician tending and binding up the 
 wounds of a sufferer. Thus Cardinal Hugo. 
 
 (8) Dominus custodial in- May the Lord preserve thy 
 
 trditum tuum, et exitum tuum : coming in and thy going out : 
 
 ex hoc nunc et usque in scecu- from this time forth and for 
 
 lum. ever. 
 
 God keeps the goings out from sin of His servants and also 
 keeps their comings in to the Land of Promise. Taking these 
 words as they are in the verse, St. Augustine tells us that 
 coming in is entering into the Church Militant, going ou1 
 returning from it into the Church Triumphant : and God 
 keeps our coming in when He takes care that we are not 
 exposed to temptations too powerful for us to overcome ; and 
 our going out by granting us perseverance and means of 
 escape. Or, He keeps the first beginnings of our yet weak 
 faith when we are entering into a knowledge of Him ; and 
 preserves it to its close, that at our going out we may die as 
 true subjects of His in the confession of His Name. Thus 
 St. Bruno. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who made heaven and earth. 
 Glory to the Son, the Watcher Who slumbers not nor sleeps. 
 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost from Whom is all our help. 
 i 
 
 PSALM cxxi. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ sitteth and makes seats for sitting in 
 judgment. The voice of the Church to the Apostles. The 
 voice of Christ to the Church. 
 
 Venerable Bede : Another step higher up. The Prophet is 
 lifted to the third degree, reaching higher than the second, and 
 is declared to have made a beginning of the Psalm in his very 
 gladness. He rejoices that he has been counselled to come to 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, where the saints abide ever now in sure 
 prosperity and shall judge together with the Lord. He then
 
 344 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 speaks to the citizens of Jerusalem concerning their abundant 
 peace. 
 
 (1) Lcetatus sum in his quce I rejoiced in those things 
 dicta sunt mihi : in Domum which were said unto me : we 
 DSminiibimus. will go into the House of the 
 
 Lord. 
 
 Who have said these things f The Prophets who foretold 
 the return from Captivity, and in that figure, the return to the 
 heavenly Jerusalem. And again, who are the we who speak ? 
 The Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity speaking to us by 
 the Prophets and Apostles, and saying not Go, but We will go 
 and be your Guides and Companions on the road to that House 
 which admits the righteous only. In that They say it to me, 
 the unity of the Church, the individuality of the promises, is 
 denoted. In that it is added, we will go the multitude of them 
 that are of one heart and mind is shown forth. There are four 
 Houses of God into which the faithful soul goes. First, the 
 Church Militant ; then the inner House of Conscience ; then 
 the House of Suffering ; and lastly, the House of Heaven in 
 which there are many mansions. How are we to go ? On the 
 two feet of charity, answers a saint, Love of God and Love of 
 our neighbour. Richard of St. Victor takes this verse in an 
 allegorical sense as referring to our first parents rejoicing in 
 the hopes of regaining Paradise. It is said we will go because 
 neither the hand alone nor the heart suffice for that journey. 
 Adam does not desire to enter without Eve, for Knowledge 
 without Love is unprofitable ; it is altogether impossible for 
 Eve to enter without Adam, for if we knew nothing of Divine 
 things we shall not love them at all. And lastly, it is taken of 
 the gladness of the saints at entering into their rest through 
 the gate of Death. 
 
 (2) Stantes erant pedes nos- Our feet were standing : in 
 tri : in dtriis tuis Jerusalem. thy courts Jerusalem. 
 
 The Carthusian says : The very sign and cause of our hope 
 that we shall go into the House of the Lord is that our feet are 
 even now standing within the gates of Jerusalem, that is, in 
 God's Holy Church where our desires and contemplations are 
 fixed and set on the mansions above, because our conversation
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 345 
 
 is in heaven [i]. He stands there who delights himself in 
 God : and he whose delight is in himself cannot stand, but 
 must, as Lucifer, fall through his pride. Thus St. Augustine. 
 The oratory, the choir, are the very courts of Jerusalem ; for 
 there we gain that peace of which that City is the Vision. 
 
 (3) Jerusalem quce cedifi- Jerusalem which is built as 
 cdtur ut civitas : cujus parti- a city : which is at unity with 
 cipdtio ejus in idipsum. itself. 
 
 St. Hilary points out that the Psalmist, referring to the 
 temporal city, does not say that it is a city, but only that it is 
 built as a city ; because it is, at the best, but a faint and 
 shadowy type of the true Jerusalem, the City Eternal made 
 without hands. This heavenly City is being built now, of 
 living stones ; and it is a true City, for its inhabitants are 
 united together and share in unity with Him Who is no 
 other than Jesus Christ, by Whose merits they become 
 citizens of heaven, and Whose Headship they all acknowledge. 
 The heavenly Jerusalem has points of resemblance to an 
 earthly city ; its many mansions [2] ; its unity of law, love ; 
 its one king, Jesus ; its fountain, Mary ; its twelve gates, the 
 Apostles [3] ; its citizens, the angels and saints ; its walls and 
 bulwarks, salvation. 
 
 (4) Illuc enim ascenderunt For thither the tribes go up, 
 tribns, tribus Domini ; testi- even the tribes of the Lord : the 
 monium Israel ad confittndum testimony unto Israel to praise 
 Nomini Domini. the Name of the Lord. 
 
 In the Law it was ordered that all males three times a year 
 should present themselves before the Lord [4] to attest their 
 loyalty to Him and to claim the privilege of the Covenant [5] . 
 It is not said the tribes of Israel but the tribes of the Lord ; that 
 is, the Gentiles ; those who have come into the Church, not 
 by inheritance. They are often by their earnestness and devo- 
 tion, a testimony unto Israel. They go up to Israel ', for out of 
 Sion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from 
 
 [l] Phil. iii. 20. [4] Exod. xxiii. 17. 
 
 [2] John xiv. 2. [5] Deut. xvi. 16. 
 
 [3] Apoc. xxi. 12.
 
 346 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Jerusalem [i]. Their presence in Jerusalem is a witness of 
 their obedience and an example given to others. 
 
 (5) Quia illic sederunt sedes For there they have set 
 in judicio : sedes super domuni thrones of judgment, thrones 
 David. over the house of David. 
 
 Here is the third glory of Jerusalem, says St. John Chry- 
 sostom. It is not merely stately and strong in beauty, the 
 gathering-place of all the tribes, but it is also the seat of kingly 
 power and justice. Thrones : for all manner of causes come 
 before the judges, even the judging of the world. Ye shall sit 
 on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel [2]. The 
 apostolic thrones are over the house of David ; for his throne 
 was an earthly one ; and theirs are set to judge angels [3] as 
 well as men. 
 
 (6) Rogdte qucc ad pacem pray for the peace of 
 sunt Jerusalem : et abunddn- Jerusalem : and plenteousness 
 tia diligentibus te. to them that love thee. 
 
 (7) Fiat pax in virtute tua : Peace be within thy strength : 
 et abunddntia in turribus and plenteousness within thy 
 tuis. towers. 
 
 Jerusalem is not only a type of heaven ; it also, being the 
 Vision of Peace and at unity with itself, is a type of the Church. 
 In this verse a prayer is made for peace in our days. For 
 although the Church must always be prepared for battle, and 
 lives in an armed truce, peace is necessary for her development 
 and for the legitimate exercise of her influence. Peace is 
 secured by attending to the strength of the walls and to the 
 abundance of provisions for its citizens. The first secures 
 it from without ; and the second from want within. The 
 Church's walls are Faith, Hope, and Charity ; and in her 
 sacraments she has provision enough for all the children of 
 men. And that the faithful may enjoy to the full these 
 benefits, she wants peace. St. Bernard takes the strength to 
 be the Passion of our Lord ; and the towers the height of 
 heavenly grace and glory attained by those who love Him. 
 
 (8) Propter fratres meos ct For my brethren and com- 
 proximos meos: loqucbar pa- panions' sakes, I will speak 
 cem de te. peace of thee. 
 
 [l] Is. ii. 3. [2] Matt. xix. 28. [3] I Cor. vi. 3.
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 347 
 
 There are two senses in which we may take this verse : 
 because all thy citizens are my brethren, or because my brethren 
 now in exile are to be brought home. One, for it gives us 
 the rejoicing sense of fellowship in the communion of saints ; 
 the other, the eager yearning of all devout souls for those who 
 have gone astray. Some commentators take these words as 
 those of Christ Himself promising present blessings and future 
 glory to the Church on earth, for both He that sanctified and 
 they who are sanctified are all of one : for which cause He is not 
 ashamed to call them brethren [i], 
 
 (9) Propter donum Domini Yea, because of the House of 
 
 Dei nostri : qucesivi bona tibi. the Lord our God, I have sought 
 
 good things to thee. 
 
 We must carry good-will with action ; first that of earnest 
 prayer that God may grant His City all desirable blessings, 
 and next diligently seeking out all good things to increase the 
 power and wealth of that City. Good things ; all that can tend 
 to the increase of God's Church. Souls, above all ; for they 
 are the future citizens of heaven : virtue and merit in our own 
 soul ; for that increases the wealth and attractiveness of the 
 Church. We should have put the last first ; for the surest 
 way of converting others is first of all to convert oneself. A 
 man who is set upon self-conversion will do far greater work 
 in secretly influencing souls in a practical, healthy way, than 
 one who deliberately sets himself out to gain converts. The 
 real work is done by example, not by word. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father the Builder of the heavenly Jeru- 
 salem. Glory to the Son in Whom the citizens are all at unity. 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost Who has told us that we shall go 
 into the House of the Lord. 
 
 [i] Heb. ii. n.
 
 348 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [l]. 
 
 Et sic in Sion firmdta sum And so was I strengthened 
 
 et in civitdte sanctificdta simi- in Sion, and likewise in the 
 
 liter requiem, et in Jerusalem holy City did I rest, and in 
 
 potestas mea. Jerusalem was my power. 
 
 B?. Deo gratias. 1^. Thanks be to God. 
 
 y. Diffusa est grdtia in f. Grace is poured forth 
 
 Idbiis tuis. on thy lips. 
 
 ty. Propterea benedixit te ~Rf. Therefore hath God 
 
 Deus in ceternum. blessed thee for ever. 
 
 The words of the Little Chapter direct our minds to Mary, 
 of whom all these Psalms speak. She who was so peaceful 
 and yet suffered ; who dwelt so high on the holy mountain, 
 and watched over Israel's God ; She who was the New 
 Jerusalem in which the King dwelt and whose unity was 
 in Him ; She is given a place in the Church which is strong 
 like the Rock on which it is built. She has been set as the 
 Mother of the Church ; through her cometh the help we look 
 for from the Lord ; for in heaven, where her power is, she 
 reigns as Queen of Angels and Saints. The thought of the 
 powerful advocate we have makes us say a fervent thanks- 
 giving to God Who has so blessed her on account of the grace 
 that is in her. The Myroure says on this Little Chapter : 
 " These words are read both of our Lord Jesus Christ and also 
 of our Lady ; for by her we have Him. Here are named three 
 places : Sion, City, and Jerusalem. By Sion, that is as much 
 as to say ' beholding,' is understood souls that are given to 
 contemplation wherein our Lord Jesus Christ is surely 
 stablished, for they are not troubled about many things as 
 others are. By the hallowed City is understood souls given to 
 active life wherein our Lord Jesus Christ resteth by charity 
 that they have to their fellow-Christians. For City is as much 
 as to say one body of citizens, and it is said ' hallowed ' by the 
 pureness of intention that they offer to God in all their works. 
 By Jerusalem is understood prelates and governors that have 
 power and care upon both contemplative and active life ; and 
 
 [i] Eccle. xxiv. 2.
 
 AT TERCE: THE THIRD HOUR 349 
 
 therefore their life is called the mixed life, as being a mean 
 between action and contemplation, having part with both. 
 For they ought to see that both be kept in peace, according to 
 their calling ; and therefore they are understood by Jerusalem, 
 that is as much as to say, the ' sight of peace ' ; for they ought 
 to have sight of wisdom and of discretion to know how to 
 keep peace with all parties. And to that end He hath shared 
 with them His own power ; and therefore He saith : And in 
 Jerusalem is my power [ I ] ." 
 
 For a fuller treatment of the Versicle and Response see the 
 first Psalm of the Second Nocturn, third verse. 
 
 COLLECT. 
 
 Deusquisalutisceternce,bed- God Who by the Fruitful 
 
 tee Marice virginitdte fecunda, Virginity of the blessed virgin 
 humdno generi prcemia prcesti- Maty hath given to the human 
 tisti : tribue qucesumus, ut race the rewards of eternal 
 ipsam pro nobis intercedere salvation : grant we beseech 
 scntidmus, per quam merui- Thee that we may experience 
 mus Auctorem vitce suscipere, the intercession of her throng/! 
 Dominum nostrum Jcsum whom we merited to receive 
 Christum Filium Tuum : Qui the Author of Life, our Lord 
 Tecum, &c. Jesus Christ, Thy Son : &c. 
 
 As usual, the Collect sums up all the thoughts of the whole 
 hour and unites those of Jesus and Mary in the full expression 
 of them all. The Author of Life of Whom speak the Psalms ; 
 His Mother, the type of the Christian soul. We get all the 
 goods of eternal life through her divine Motherhood ; for in 
 giving us Jesus she has given us Life itself. 
 
 During Advent. 
 
 The Antiphon (second), Little Chapter, and Prayer are the 
 same as are said at Lauds during this season ; the Versicle as 
 above. 
 
 During Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Antiphon (second), and Prayer are as at Lauds during 
 this season ; the Little Chapter and Versicle as above. The 
 thought of the Mother by the side of the Crib gives another 
 turning to the idea of the Little Chapter. 
 
 [i] Pp. 147-8.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 AT SEXT I THE SIXTH HOUR. 
 
 After the same introductory Prayers, Hymn and Antiphon 
 (the third of Lauds according to the season), the Psalmody 
 begins and three more of the Gradual Psalms are said. 
 
 PSALM cxxn. 
 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ having pity on us may deliver us from 
 the contempt of the proud. The voice of Christ to the Father, 
 or of the Church to Christ. The first step is faith, the second 
 hope, and the third charity ; and now here the fourth declares 
 the perseverance of him that prayeth. 
 
 Venerable Bede : He who previously lifted his eyes to the 
 hills now raiseth his heart to the Lord Himself. He first 
 engages in persevering prayers that he may retain the gifts he 
 has acquired by the Royal bounty. In the second he makes 
 supplication. 
 
 (i) Ad te levdvi oculos mcos : Unto Thee I lift up min 
 
 qui hdbitas in ccelis. eyes : Thou that dwellest in 
 
 the heavens. 
 
 There is a great advance made in this Psalm, says St. 
 Hilary, since, from merely lifting up the eyes unto the hills, 
 the singer raises them to God Himself Who is to be found 
 everywhere. The Carmelite tells us that the eyes are the con- 
 templative and the active life ; the first to learn His will, the 
 second to do it. As the heavens are above the earth so is the 
 success we seek from God above anything this earth can give.
 
 AT SEXT: THE SIXTH HOUR 351 
 
 (2) Ecce sicut 6culi servo- Behold, even as the eyes of 
 rum : in mdnibus dominorum servants : look unto the hands 
 suorum. of their masters. 
 
 (3) Sicut dculi andllce in As the eyes of a maiden unto 
 mdnibus domince sues : ita the hands of her mistress : even 
 oculi nostri ad Dominum so our eyes wait on the Lord 
 Deum nostrum donee misered- God until He have mercy on us. 
 tut nostri. 
 
 Servants look for the slightest gesture which indicates 
 their master's will ; they also look to their master's hand for 
 reward and punishment. Why are men-servants and women- 
 servants mentioned ? That the share of both sexes in the 
 duties and rewards of faithful service may be asserted ; then 
 to teach that the strong and the weak are alike called to bring 
 forth good works. And servants are spoken of in the plural, 
 and handmaiden in the singular. The reason of this, says 
 Cardinal Hugo, is to teach us that all the various mighty 
 nations of the world, with all their masculine vigour, are to be 
 united in that one Church which is the maiden before being 
 the Bride of the Lamb. 
 
 Until He have mercy on us. This does not mean that we 
 are to cease looking unto Him when He has shown us His 
 pity. If we always keep our look upon His Face we will see 
 His image there and we shall be like Him ; for we shall see 
 Him as He is, and behold our own likeness in His glorious 
 Face [i]. Even here on earth we may look to His hand, by 
 seeking to know His Will through careful and assiduous study 
 of the Holy Scriptures He has given for our learning, that 
 guiding our conduct thereby we may please Him and obtain 
 His mercy. Thus St. Gregory the Great. 
 
 (4) Miserere nostri Domine, Have mercy upon us 
 miserere nostri : quia midtum Lord, have mercy upon us ; 
 repleti sumus despectiond. for we are filled exceedingly 
 
 with scorn. 
 
 (5) Quia midtum repleta Our soul is exceeding filled : 
 cst dnima nostra : opprobrium opprobrium from the rich and 
 abundant ibus, et despectio despitefulness from the proud, 
 superbis. 
 
 [i] I John iii. 2. ,
 
 352 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 The Apostles after the triumph of the Resurrection looked 
 for a speedy restoration of the kingdom of Israel ; yet almost 
 their first experience after Pentecost was the imprisonment 
 and scourging of two of their number, and their later history 
 one of them describes as being made a spectacle unto the. world 
 and Angels, made as the refuse of the world, and the off-scouring of 
 all, even until now [i]. And in the Church to-day Holy Poverty 
 meets with the scornful rebuke of the rich, and Obedience 
 with the contempt of the proud. It is when the world treats 
 our lives as folly that we turn with greater confidence to our 
 Master Whose bounteous hand is never closed to us, Whose 
 aid is always nigh. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who dwelleth in heaven ; Glory to 
 the Son the Hand of the Lord ; Glory to the Holy Ghost 
 Who comforts the despised. 
 
 PSALM cxxin. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ, breaking the snare of death, delivered 
 us by the help of His Name. The voice of the Apostles and 
 of all believers. Here is the fifth step. The voice of the 
 Apostles concerning the ungodly Jew and unbelievers who 
 walk in sin. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The fifth step is gratitude. The saints, 
 remembering how many perils like a rushing torrent they have 
 escaped through the Mercy of God at the very begining, 
 confess their deliverance ever the work of God. They then 
 give thanks that they have not been deceived by their perse- 
 cutors but have been rescued from their broken snares. 
 
 (i) Nisi quia Do minus erat Unless the Lord had been in 
 
 in nobis, dicat nunc Israel : us, now may Israel say : unless 
 
 nisi quia Dominus erat in the Lord had been in us, 
 nobis. 
 
 [i] Cor. iv. 13.
 
 AT SEXT: THE SIXTH HOUR 353 
 
 (2) Cum exsurgerent hdm- When men arose against us : 
 lues in nos : forte vivos deglu- perchance they would have 
 tisscnt nos. swallowed us up. 
 
 In us. This is something more than being at our side : 
 Thou, Lord, art in us . . . . forsake us not Lord our 
 God, says Jeremias [i]. When God is the possessor and 
 inhabitant of our heart, then, and then only, are we safe from 
 any foe. In us as a Pilot of a storm-tossed ship ; in us as a 
 Captain of an army in battle ; in us as Head and Heart to the 
 body, directing its thoughts and affections. And it is said in 
 us and not in me ; because as the pilgrims go up they sing at 
 times one by one, and at other times in chorus ; because the 
 many are one, since Christ is one, and the members of Christ 
 are one in Him. 
 
 They had swallowed us up alive, that is, although wicked 
 men can destroy the life of the body, the soul passes alive and 
 scathless through the torments on to the reward. 
 
 (3) Cum irasceretur furor When their fury was cn- 
 eorum in nos : forsitan aqua kindled against us : perchance 
 absorbuisset nos. the water had drowned us. 
 
 (4) Torrentem pertransivit Our soul hath passed 
 dnima nostra : forsitan per- through the torrent : perchance 
 transisset dnima nostra aquam our soul would have had to 
 intolerdbilem. pass through water unbear- 
 able. 
 
 In the midst of the danger God is with us, even when the 
 torrent threatens destruction, according to the words of the 
 Prophet : When thou passest through the waters I will be with 
 thee : and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee [2]. 
 As used in Scripture waters stand for nations which pass 
 away ; but the Rock in the midst remains unmoved. As it 
 was with the persecutions the nations raised against the 
 Church, so it was with the persecutors. And though the 
 torrent submerged many, yet the Church emerged safely, and 
 therefore it follows : 
 
 [i] xiv. 9. [2] Is. xliii. 2. 
 
 23
 
 354 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (5) Benedictus Dominus : Blessed be the Lord : Who 
 qui non dedit nos in captionem hath not given us over for a 
 dentibus eorum. prey to their teeth. 
 
 The devil, the roaring lion seeking whom he may devour [i], 
 has allies and instruments among men, of whom it is written : 
 There is a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw 
 teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy 
 from among men [2]. These bite and devour one another [3], 
 and the saints, too, with slander and detraction ; and en- 
 deavour to make their prey as evil as themselves by incor- 
 porating them with their own body. Thus St. Bruno. 
 
 (6) Anima nostra sicut Our soul is escaped as a 
 passer erepta est : de Idqueo sparrow : out of the fowler's 
 vendntium. net. 
 
 (7) Ldqueus contritus est : The snare is broken : and 
 el nos liber all sumus. we are delivered. 
 
 A snare, says St. Augustine, needs to be baited ; and the 
 devil's bait for the souls of men is usually the pleasure of life. 
 He hides it, says the Carmelite, in some unsuspected place ; 
 not on the highway, where it soon may be detected and de- 
 stroyed, but in some place near to it. He masks it carefully, 
 and puts ease, wealth, self-indulgence, over it to tempt us. 
 God cries aloud to us with His warnings and threats, lest we 
 should give way to the tempter. If we do not listen, but fall 
 into the snare, how can we save ourselves ? What is more 
 helpless than a bird once entangled in the net ? It it said : 
 The snare is broken. When ? When Christ broke the power 
 of Satan. Why fearest thou ? Knowest thou not Who is thy 
 Helper ? Yes, answer Christ's true soldiers, we know well. 
 It is not our own strength or skill which has saved us ; we 
 have not broken the snare ourselves. Thus St. Ambrose. 
 
 (8) Adjutorium nostrum in Our help is in the Name of 
 nomine Domini ; qui fecit coz- the Lord: Who hath made 
 him et terram. both heaven and earth. 
 
 [i] i Pet. v. 8. [2] Prov. xxx. 14. 
 
 [3] Gal. v. 15.
 
 AT SEXT: THE SIXTH HOUR 355 
 
 He hath made the earth whereon the snare is set : so 
 that of right He can destroy that snare as laid unlawfully in 
 His domain. He hath made the heaven for the souls He 
 has delivered ; so that they may fly upward, rejoicing. He 
 Himself came down to earth that He might break the snare ; 
 He returned to heaven that we might fly as doves to their win- 
 dows [i], following where He showed the way. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Maker of heaven and earth ; Glory 
 to the Son the Breaker of the snare ; Glory to the Holy Ghost 
 our abiding Guest. 
 
 PSALM cxxiv. 
 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may defend us with His help lest 
 the rod, that is, the tyranny of sin, should be upon us. The 
 voice of the Church. This is the sixth step of them that hold 
 out and are unmoved amidst their suffering, and in whom, 
 stretching not out their hands to unrighteousness, the peace 
 of Israel will abide. 
 
 Venerable Bede : In the sixth step the Prophet cries to 
 us to put our trust in the Lord lest we labour in vain. He 
 first makes the firm assertion that they who trust in the Lord 
 can in no wise be moved ; he then prays that prosperity may 
 come to the good and vengeance to the bad. 
 
 (i)Quiconfidunt in Domino, They that put their trust in 
 
 sicut mons Sion : non com- the Lord shall be as Mount 
 
 movebitur in ceternum qui Sion : he shall not be moved 
 
 habitat in Jerusalem. who dwelleth in Jerusalem. 
 
 (2) Monies in circuitu ejus : The mountains gird it round 
 
 et Dominus in circuitu populi about : and the Lord is in the 
 
 sui ex hoc mine et usque in midst of His people from this 
 
 speculum, time forth and for ever. 
 
 [i] Is. lx. 8.
 
 356 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 They who trust in the Lord, says St. Bruno of Aste, shall be 
 as Mount Sion, that is, they shall have for their own use all 
 the grace and strength stored up in the Church of God. Most 
 of the commentators here go beyond the usual interpretation 
 and take Sion to mean not so much the Church as the Divine 
 Head thereof. So, those who trust in the Lord shall share in 
 the strength of the Rock, which is Christ. While he who dwelleth 
 in Jerusalem, or as St. Paul says, whose conversation is in 
 heaven [i], shall never be moved ; for the Church prays in one 
 of the Collects "that where true joys are there may our hearts 
 be fixed " (Fourth Sunday after Easter). 
 
 The hills are round about them. This they interpret as the 
 Angels watching and defending as guardians the Sion of wait- 
 ing souls on earth, compassing about the Heavenly City with 
 their shining ranks. But, says St. Augustine, while these Angels 
 of the Lord have the charge of those who put their trust in 
 Him because they fear Him, as it is written : The angel of the 
 Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him [2] ; a stronger 
 defender, a more blessed gift, is for them who truly dwell in 
 Jerusalem, submitting themselves to all its laws, for the Lord is 
 round about His people. 
 
 (3) Quia non relinquet For the Lord shall not leave 
 
 Dominus virgam peccatorum the rod of the ungodly over the 
 
 super sortem justorum : ut non lot of the righteous : lest the 
 
 extendant justi ad iniquitdtem righteous put their hands to 
 
 manus suas. iniquity. 
 
 For the rod we are to understand the sceptre of authority 
 and power. Says St. Hilary : The Lord does not leave this 
 rod in the hands of the ungodly ; troubles come, but they 
 do not last ; persecutions come, but they do not continue ; 
 they may have mastery over the body, but never over 
 our conscience. The rod of the ungodly is not left upon 
 us if we turn to Him when we have been conquered and 
 stretched forth our hands to sin ; for God is faithful and will 
 not suffer us to be tried above our strength [3]. Our suffering 
 
 l] Phil. iii. 20. [2] Ps. xxxiii. 7. [3] i Cor. x. 13.
 
 AT SEXT: THE SIXTH HOUR 357 
 
 at the hands of God's adversaries is brief and wins the reward 
 of victory, albeit it involves no long toil of battle. 
 
 The lot of the righteous is the Church, which He does not 
 permit to be continually afflicted, however He may chastise 
 it for a time. 
 
 (4) Benefac Domine bonis : Do well Lord unto the 
 ct rectis corde. good : and to the true of heart. 
 
 Good refers to external and godly behaviour ; true of heart, 
 to internal holiness. The conjunction and implies that real 
 external goodness (such as will merit supernatural reward) 
 cannot be found without internal sanctity, for the outward is 
 only the expression of the inward. Deeds that seem good 
 may be performed for worldly motives. But these God is not 
 asked to reward, for He says : Amen, I say to you they have 
 their reward [i] in the approval of men. But those deeds, 
 really good because they are done by the righteous in heart, 
 we do ask God to reward ; and the reward He gives is grace 
 here, and glory hereafter ; or, in other words, Himself [2], 
 the reward exceeding great. 
 
 (5) Declindntes autem in Such as turn aside unto 
 obligatidnes adducet Dominus bonds the Lord shall lead forth 
 cum operdntibus iniquitdtem : with the workers of iniquity : 
 pax super Israel. but peace shall be upon Israel. 
 
 Turn aside, such as go out of the King's Highway and cease 
 to obey ; bonds, the sins in which they become entangled. 
 Those who, under the pressure of the rod of the ungodly, 
 stretch forth their hands to iniquity are here spoken of ; that 
 have put their conscience under bonds and have turned away 
 from its dictates, and yet know the judgment of God, that who 
 commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same 
 but consort with them that do the same [3] ; their lot is with 
 the workers of iniquity. But to Israel, to those who see God 
 with unclouded conscience, there shall be peace ; for a ruler, 
 the Prince of Peace [4] is set over us. There shall come 
 forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse [5] ; and a Sceptre shall rise 
 
 [l] Math. vi. 2. [4] Isaias ix. 6. 
 
 [2] Gen. xv. i. [5] Isaias xi. I. 
 
 [3] Rom. i. 32.
 
 358 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 out of Israel [i] ; and with this rod He shall feed His people 
 Israel, the flock of His heritage ; for He is our Peace who hath 
 made but one [2], Jews and Gentiles alike, unto one Israel, 
 even Jesus Christ our Lord. Thus St. Hilary. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father, the Lord Who is in the midst of 
 His people. Glory to the Son the Peace upon Israel. Glory 
 to the Holy Ghost Who doth well to the good and right of 
 heart. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [3], 
 
 Et radicdvi in populo hono- And I took root in an 
 
 rificato, et in parte Dei mei honourable people, and in the 
 
 hereditas illius, et in plenitu- Lot of the Lord was my in- 
 
 dine sanctorum detentio mea. heritance ; and my staying 
 
 in the fulness of the saints. 
 
 ty. Deo gratias. Thanks be to God. 
 
 y. Benedicta tu in muli- Blessed art thou amongst 
 
 eribus. women. 
 
 . Et benedictus Fructus And blessed is the Fruit 
 
 ventris tui. of thy womb. 
 
 The sense of confidence and firmness which pervades the 
 Psalms finds its echo in the Little Chapter. Here we get 
 it concentrated, as it were, upon one object, our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady. As the day goes on (it is now the office 
 for mid-day) and worldly trials are surrounding us, and the 
 noon-day devil [4] is roaring, we need a renewal of con- 
 fidence ; and the " valiant woman," Mary, that Mount Sion 
 girt about with such mountains of grace, she who escaped 
 from the snare of the fowler who sought to bring all under 
 sin, she the Handmaid of the Lord who always kept her eyes 
 fixed on Him, she, we are told, is a ground for sure confi- 
 dence. For she has taken root, and is in the peaceful en- 
 joyment of her heritage, and abides in heaven. All these are 
 
 [i] Num. xxiv., 17. [3] Eccle. xxiv. 2. 
 
 [2] Ephesians ii. 14. [4] Ps. xc. 6.
 
 AT SEXT: THE SIXTH HOUR 359 
 
 ideas of fixity. So confidence in her is reasonable ; for she 
 trusts in the Lord and is therefore immovable. Her special 
 heritage is in the Lot of the Lord, that is, in those souls who 
 have chosen Him for their part of the heritage and their cup. 
 They are specially dear to her and feel above all others her 
 protection. On this Little Chapter let us hear the author 
 of the Myroure : "Christian people are honoured above all 
 people in knowledge of right belief and in the sacrament of 
 holy Church. And therefore in them our Lady is rooted by 
 spiritual help and favour, namely, in such as seek their chief 
 heritage in heaven and not on earth. Also, our Lady abideth 
 in the fulness of saints, for there never was a saint on earth 
 nor angel in heaven that was or is so full of virtues and 
 graces, but that our Lady had and hath them all in more 
 fulness and perfection than they. And therefore, says St. 
 Bernard : Verily her abiding is in the fulness of saints, for 
 she failed not in the faith of patriarchs, nor in the spirit of 
 prophets, nor in the zeal of the apostles, nor in the steadfast- 
 ness of martyrs, nor in the soberness of confessors, nor in the 
 chastity of virgins, nor in the plenteousness of the wedded, 
 nor in the purity of angels " [i]. 
 
 These thoughts lend a peculiar significance to the Deo 
 gratias and to the praise we give her as " Blessed among 
 women." 
 
 COLLECT. 
 
 Concede misericors Deus fra- Grant merciful God help 
 
 gilitdti nostrce presidium : ut to our weakness : that we who 
 
 qui sanctce Dei Genii-rids venerate the Holy Mother of 
 
 memoriam dgimus, interces- God, may, by the help of her 
 
 sionis ejus auxilio, a nostris intercession, rise up from our 
 
 iniquitdtibus resurgdmus. Per sins. Through the same Jesus 
 
 Eiimdem, &c. Christ, &c. 
 
 The prayer sums up the thoughts of the whole Office. We 
 ask of God that we may in very truth feel the protection of her 
 in whom we have been led to trust. Her protection serves 
 only to one end, that we may rise out of sin. All is based on 
 
 [i] p. 149.
 
 360 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 that. At the Marriage Feast of Cana she took pity on the 
 temporal need of her hosts and interceded with her Son ; but 
 it was on the condition that Whatsoever He tells you to do, that 
 do ye [i]. So it is with us. She helps us in all things, but 
 for one end only : to get us to do the Divine Will and 
 avoid sin. 
 
 During Advent. 
 
 The Antiphon and Collect is from Lauds according to the 
 season ; the Versicle is as above. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [2]. 
 
 Dabit Illi Dominus Deus The Lord God shall give 
 
 sedem David patris Ejus : et Him the throne of David His 
 regndbit in domo Jacob in father, and He shall reign in 
 (vternum, et regni Ejus 11011 the house of Jacob for ever : 
 erit finis. and of His Kingdom there 
 
 shall be no end. 
 
 The spirit of confidence which runs through the Psalms is 
 strengthened here by the thought of the everlasting Kingship 
 of Him Who comes to strengthen us and in Whose grace we 
 can do all things. The last words, used in the Credo at Mass, 
 are a promise of the Eternal Glory of the Kingdom we are 
 invited to share. St. Teresa never heard these words either 
 in the Office or the Mass without a special thrill of exultation. 
 And in that Eternal Kingdom who is it that stands at the side 
 of the King but the Queen, the "cause of our joy" and "our 
 hope ? " So the thought of our Lord, Who alone is our refuge 
 and confidence, does not take away our trust in Mary ; for 
 she is but His instrument and the dealer of His good gifts 
 to men. 
 
 During Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Antiphon and Prayer are from Lauds ; the Little 
 Chapter and Versicle is the Common. 
 
 [i] John ii/5. [2] Luke i. 32, 33.
 
 361 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 AT NONE : THE NINTH HOUR. 
 
 After the introductory Prayers, Versicle, Hymn and 
 Antiphon, the recital of the Gradual Psalms is continued. 
 
 PSALM cxxv. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may fill us with joy of eternal glad- 
 ness. The voice of the Apostles to the Lord concerning the 
 ungodly Jews. This, the seventh step, contains the consolation 
 of the martyrs who, sowing in tears here for a time, shall reap 
 eternal joys. 
 
 Venerable Bede : After captivity to sin, sweet is the ascent 
 to the New Jerusalem. Delivered by the Divine pity the 
 blessed souls in the first part of this Psalm give thanks for the 
 grace which came after so much sin ; and in the second pray 
 that future joy may crown their work of tears. 
 
 (i) In convertendo Domi- When the Lord turned the 
 
 nus captivitatem Sion : facti captivity of Sion : then were 
 sumus sicut consoldti, we made like men comforted. 
 
 Jerusalem above is free in the bliss of the angels ; but Sion 
 here below is captive in the sins of men. When the Lord 
 turned its captivity by proclaiming the forgiveness of sins, then 
 were we as men comforted. Not altogether comforted, but only 
 like it ; because comfort implies sorrow and tears which 
 belong to our exile here and are not to be wiped away till we 
 are again at home. Thus St. Augustine. In another sense the 
 word is taken as telling of the wondering and hesitating joy of 
 the Apostles in the Resurrection, when Christ had indeed
 
 362 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 turned the captivity of Sion, by His descent into hell bringing 
 the waiting Patriarchs away with Him into the joy of Paradise, 
 and still more when He ascended on high, leading Captivity 
 captive. The Carthusian refers it to the coming of each 
 ransomed soul out of the spiritual Babylon of sin, into the 
 grace and glorious liberty of the children of God. In the 
 word comforted we may see a reference to the Holy Ghost, 
 the Comforter, Who acts as our Sanctifier in the sacraments 
 and turns away the captivity of sin. 
 
 (2) Tune repletum est gdu- Then shall our mouth be 
 dio os nostrum : et lingua filled with joy : and our tongue 
 nostra exsultatione. with exultation. 
 
 Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh [i], 
 says our Lord ; and where the Holy Ghost dwells and rules 
 there will be Liberty and the fruits of His presence. Now, 
 according to St. Paul, the second of these fruits is joy [2] 
 which is an inward consolation and gladness which comes to 
 those souls who are united to God's will. Spiritual joy does 
 not impede earthly sorrow, which comes from external objects. 
 Our Lady at the foot of the Cross, although stricken with 
 sorrow greater than any other creature bore, never lost her 
 interior joy or allowed her will to swerve for a moment from 
 its conformity to God's. It is this spirit of joy which is the 
 secret of the happiness and light-heartedness of those who are 
 really trying to serve God. Gloom and low spirits do not 
 come from God. They show that something in ourself is at 
 fault. 
 
 (3) Tuncdicent inter gentes: Then shall they say among 
 Magnificdvit Dominus fdcere the heathen : The Lord hath 
 cum eis. done great things for them. 
 
 (4) Magnificdvit Dominus Yea, the Lord hath done 
 fdcere nobiscum : facti sumus great things for us : we have 
 Icetdntes. become men rejoicing. 
 
 The return from the seventy years Captivity struck, indeed, 
 the Gentiles as a wonder ; but as St. Augustine says, the 
 future shall they say implies what will yet come to pass : for 
 
 [i] Luke vi. 45. [2] Gal. v. 22.
 
 AT NONE: THE NINTH HOUR 363 
 
 neither at the first, nor at the Lord's Coming, nor in time 
 to come, did or will all Gentiles accept the truth, but only 
 certain among them who were moved by the holiness and 
 works of His people. 
 
 Great things ; not only as the Carmelite says, the miracles 
 and preaching of the Apostles and the endurance of the 
 Martyrs ; but, as St. Bruno says, the obedience of body and 
 soul to God, the heavenly conversation of those who truly 
 turn to Him. Not only do these start the admiration of 
 the Gentiles, but we ourselves, comparing our state in 
 captivity with that under the Law of Liberty, are filled with 
 astonishment and confess that the work is entirely God's, 
 and contrary at once to our deservings and expectations. 
 Thus Bellarmine. Gerohus makes a beautiful application of 
 these last words by applying them to the souls in Purgatory and 
 the saints above. These last without us, cannot be entirely 
 perfect, and therefore follows : 
 
 (5) Converte Domine capti- Turn our captivity, Lord : 
 
 vitdtem nostram : sicut torrens as a river in the south wind. 
 in Austro. 
 
 The primary sense shows that this Psalm was composed 
 during the first migration after the decree of Cyrus, and that 
 the first colony of the Jews, now safe at Jerusalem, pray that 
 their brethren still in exile may be soon united to them. So 
 in the mystical sense the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, 
 together with us who are still exiles in the Babylon of this 
 world, pray for our deliverance out of bondage and for the 
 conversion of unbelievers. 
 
 As a river in the south wind. As a river frozen under the 
 icy blasts of the north wind is set free by the genial warmth 
 of the southern breeze and pours fourth in a torrent, so here 
 we get the idea of captivity broken, of sorrow turned into joy. 
 This south wind, says St. Augustine, is the Holy Spirit Him- 
 self, of Whom it is written in the Canticles : Come Thou South 
 Wind and blow upon -my garden, that the spices thereof may 
 flow [i]. And again : He bloweth with His Wind and the waters 
 
 [l] iv. 16.
 
 364 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 flow[i~\. What that means we learn in Ecclesiasticus : Thy 
 sins also shall melt away, as the ice in the fire and in the fair 
 weather [2]. Where shall the torrent flow? All rivers run 
 to the sea ; and therefore our cry to the Lord when He has 
 stirred us from our wintry sleep is : Direct the channel of 
 our waters in the one true course. 
 
 (6) Qui seminant in Idcry- They that sow in tears : shall 
 mis : in exsultatione metent. reap in joy. 
 
 (7) Euntes ibant et flebant : Going forth they went their 
 mittentes semina sua. way weeping : casting their 
 
 seeds. 
 
 (8) Venientes autem venient But returning they shall 
 cum exsultatione : portdntes come back with joy .' bearing 
 manipulos suos. their sheaves. 
 
 There are two sowings, says the Apostle : one in the spirit, 
 and one in the flesh. Each man shall reap as he has sown : 
 of the flesh, corruption; of the spirit, life everlasting [3]. 
 Our Lord has taught us, Ye shall weep and lament, but the world 
 shall rejoice ; ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall turn 
 into joy [4]. Before Christ's coming, says Father Corder, 
 the Jesuit, before He consecrated weeping by His own strong 
 crying and tears, nothing but salt drops of bitter water flowed 
 from the eyes of men, but now they are costly pearls, dear 
 and precious in God's sight. Our tears are fivefold, says St. 
 Augustine : tears of penance, tears of the fear of judgment, 
 tears of weariness of exile, tears of compassion for others, 
 tears of desire for heaven. St. Bernard in his sermon on 
 St. Benedict says : O race of Adam, how many have been 
 sowing in thee and what precious seed ! How terribly must 
 they perish and how deservingly if such seed and the toil of 
 the sowers at the same time should perish in thee. The whole 
 Trinity sowed in our land, the Angels and Apostles sowed 
 together, the Martyrs, Confessors and Virgins sowed too. 
 The Father sowed Bread from heaven ; the Son, Truth ; the 
 Holy Ghost, Charity. The Apostles went forth and wept, 
 casting their seeds, but coming again they shall come with 
 
 [i] Ps. cxlvii. 7. [3] Cf. Gal. vi. 8. 
 
 [2] iii. 15. [4] John xvi. 20.
 
 AT NONE: THE NINTH HOUR 365 
 
 great joy bearing their sheaves. Two are the sheaves which 
 thou seekest honour and rest. They who sow and toil in 
 lowliness shall reap honour and rest together. The Carmelite, 
 with most commentators, refers the verse to the abundant 
 reward and gladness of the righteous in the manifestation of 
 the Son of Man, when the Sower, Who sowed the goodly 
 seed of His Word in the field of this world, triumphs finally 
 over the secret enemy who sowed the tares. In that day, the 
 glad harvest time, the redeemed of the Lord shall return and 
 come with singing unto Sion ; and everlasting joy shall be upon 
 their head : they shall obtain gladness and joy : and sorrow and 
 mourning shall flee away [i]. We are to expect the fruit of 
 our labour when God calls to the harvest home, not before. 
 Ours is to work and to work for Him. The result is in His 
 hands ; and He will draw the profit out of our labour when 
 and how He pleases. Cast thy bread upon the running waters ; 
 thou shall find it after many days [2] ; for, We know in Whom 
 we trust [3]. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who turneth the Captivity of Sion. 
 Glory to the Son the Sower of good seed. Glory to the Holy 
 Ghost the Joy of the ransomed people of God. 
 
 PSALM cxxvi. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may build up what is good in us, 
 and does build it up unto Himself. The voice of Christ to 
 the coming Church. The voice of the Church to the faithful. 
 Venerable Bede : The Prophet rejoicing in having fore- 
 seen by the Spirit the grace of the New Testament, teaches at 
 the beginning (lest any hurtful presumptuousness because of 
 so great a gift should seize thee) that no one should ascribe 
 any good results to his own powers, since all things are placed 
 under God's authority, nor desire to outrun the time appointed 
 by the ordinances of the Lord. 
 
 [i] Is. li. II. [2] Eccles. xi. I. [3] 2 Tim. i. 12.
 
 366 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (1) Nisi Dominus cedifi- Unless the Lord hath built 
 averit domum : in vanutn the house : they labour in vain 
 laboraverunt qni cedificant who build it. 
 
 earn. 
 
 They who built the Tower of Babel built in vain. The 
 true House of the Lord, says St. Hilary, is that Temple of God 
 which is made up of ourselves, as living stones, wherein the 
 Spirit is pleased to dwell. No human skill can rear it, nor is 
 it planned by worldly art. It is not built upon the earth nor 
 on the shifting sand. Its foundation is laid upon the apostles 
 and prophets, Jesus Christ being Himself the Corner-stone [i]. 
 The whole building is the work of God, although under Him 
 skilled workmen have laboured ; and not in vain, for He was 
 with them. The Lord has come to us. He has ransomed us 
 from captivity and the House and the City are being built up : 
 but they who go up thither must know that He alone is 
 Builder and Keeper : Neither is he that planteth anything, 
 neither he that watereth ; but God Who giveth the increase [2]. 
 No man can build up by his own unaided power even the 
 single dwelling of his conscience ; for, as St. Gregory says, 
 God pulls down the human heart when He leaves it, and 
 builds it up when He fills it. It is not by making war against 
 the mind of man that He destroys it, but by leaving it ; and 
 when this is so and sin has dominion, the heart of a hearer 
 is vainly counselled, because every mouth is dumb if He does 
 not cry aloud in the heart. 
 
 (2) Nisi Dominus custodi- Unless the Lord keep the city : 
 erit civitdtcin : fmstra vigilat in vain doth he watch who 
 qui custodit earn. guards it. 
 
 Building, no matter how solid or lofty, is not sufficient 
 for the protection of the house or city ; and what is even more 
 important, that the fact of being within the city, with its 
 numerous houses, dense population and strong walls, does not 
 secure the safety of one single dwelling. This teaches us that 
 it is not enough to be in the Church of God ; since all the 
 sacraments, and God's ministers and our own will cannot 
 
 [i] Eph. ii. 19. [2] I Cor. iii. 7.
 
 AT NONE: THE NINTH HOUR 367 
 
 protect one human soul, unless the Lord Himself be the 
 Captain of the watch. And if so, how little can the soul of 
 man avail to guard itself ? And note, that whereas it is said 
 in the first verse Except the Lord build, yet it is not here said 
 Except the Lord wake (since He that watcheth over Israel 
 slumbers not nor sleeps), but except the Lord keep ,' there can 
 be no doubt of His power, and only our own sins can oppose 
 His good will. 
 
 (3) Vanum est vobis ante It is vain for you to rise 
 lucem surgere : surgite post- before the light : rise after ye 
 quam sederitis qui manducdtis have been sitting, ye who cat 
 panem doloris. bread of sorrow. 
 
 Says St. Augustine : There is no use in rising, that is, 
 in being proud and self-reliant, before the Light, which is 
 Christ, arises on our souls. It is good to rise after Him, 
 not before Him ; that is, not to set our own will before Him, 
 as the mother of James and John did when she asked for the 
 chief seats in His kingdom [i] ; as Peter did when he strove 
 to dissuade Him from His Passion [2]. After we have been 
 sitting in humility at the Master's feet, it will be time enough 
 for us to rise when we have eaten of that bread of sorrow which 
 it is His will to give us. 
 
 (4) Cum dederit dilectis Suis When He giveth His beloved 
 somnum : ecce hereditas Do- sleep : lo, the heritage of the 
 mini filii ; merces, fructus Lord, sons; the reward, the 
 ventris. Fruit of the womb. 
 
 When He giveth His beloved sleep, that peaceful sleep of a 
 holy death, whose waking is in heaven ; a gift given by the 
 Father as the fruit of that time when He gave His beloved sleep 
 upon the Cross. 
 
 Behold the heritage of the Lord, sons. Reading these two 
 together we see that God's own special heritage are those 
 saints who have fallen asleep in Jesus, the reward of the Fruit 
 of the womb of Mary, the purchased possession of which the 
 Incarnation and Passion were the price. Sons, born of water 
 and the Holy Ghost, are the Lord's heritage ; and the reward, 
 
 [i] Matt. xx. 22. [2] Ibid. xvi. 22.
 
 368 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the priceless possession bestowed on these sons is Himself, 
 the Fruit of the Virgin's womb. 
 
 (5) Sicut sagittce in manu Like arrows in the hand of 
 potentis : ita filii excussorum. the mighty one: even so are 
 
 children of the shaken. 
 
 Children of the shaken. These words are explained as 
 meaning "shaken out," "rejected," or "shot swiftly" from 
 the bow. In any sense, says St. Augustine, the word shaken 
 means the Apostles themselves, shot as from the bow of 
 Christ, the Mighty One, to pierce the hearts of the nations ; 
 children mean the generation of teachers whom the same 
 apostles sent in turn. Holy teachers, says Cardinal Hugo, 
 are like an arrow, shapely, because humble ; slender, because 
 poor ; straight in charity ; smooth in equity ; long in long- 
 suffering ; feathered with divers virtues ; headed with the 
 steel of patience ; sharp in keen intellect : piercing in zeal ; 
 swift in readiness of obedience ; motionless of themselves ; 
 but when shot forth by Him, in Whose hands they are, they 
 go straight and surely to the mark. 
 
 (6) Bedtus vir qui implcvit Happy is the man who 
 dcsiderium suum ex ipsis : non filleth his desire of them : he 
 confundetur cum loquetur shall not be ashamed when he 
 inimicis suis in porta. speaks with his enemies in the 
 
 gate. 
 
 St. Augustine explains this verse as follows. The man who 
 has taken to himself, or filled his desire with the teaching of 
 the Apostles, will feel no shame or confusion at openly con- 
 tending with the teachers of false doctrine in the gate, that is 
 in the matter of Christ Himself, by boldly declaring the truth 
 concerning Him, as the Apostles did themselves when brought 
 before kings and governors. They who stand at His side are 
 in the gate; they who are against Him are shut outside, and 
 may not enter into the city until they have confessed Him in 
 Whose Name He bids them knock and ask for entrance. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father the Builder and Keeper of the 
 House and City ; Glory to the Son the Fruit of the Virgin's 
 Womb ; Glory to the Holy Ghost Who giveth His beloved 
 Sleep. 

 
 AT NONE: THE NINTH HOUR 369 
 
 PSALM cxxvu. 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ bestows eternal blessedness on them 
 that fear Him. The voice of the Prophet touching Christ and 
 the Church. This, the ninth step, declares, under the type of 
 a wife, that all who fear the Lord flourish about the table of 
 the Altar, and that they see children's children of their own 
 doctrine and example, and peace upon Israel in heaven is 
 their end. The voice of all that fear the Lord. 
 
 Venerable Bede : In the first paragraph the Prophet, under 
 certain figures, counts up the blessings of them that fear the 
 Lord, that he may kindle the minds of the devout with the 
 force of heavenly reward. In the second he blesses them that 
 they may receive eternal joys ; lest every one should be afraid 
 of this most sweet joy. 
 
 (i) Beati omnes qui timent Blessed are all they that fear 
 
 Ddminum ; qui ambulant in the Lord : that walk in His 
 viis Ejus. ways. 
 
 St. Hilary remarks that where the Fear of the Lord is 
 mentioned in Holy Writ it is never set by itself, as though 
 sufficing for the consummation of our faith ; but it always has 
 something added or prefixed by which we can estimate its due 
 proportion of perfection. Of the Fear of the Lord, one of 
 the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost, it is written : Come ye 
 children, hearken unto me, I will teach you the Fear of the 
 Lord [i]. Therefore, it is something we ought to learn. Our 
 Fear of God, says St. Hilary, is to be pure and filial and is to be 
 found in our love of Him. Love is the outcome of that awe, 
 a love which makes us walk in His ways. And although there 
 be only one Way, Christ Himself, yet here many ways are 
 spoken of, to show us that entrance is easy and not limited to 
 any particular calling or mode of serving God. Nevertheless 
 all these subordinate ways are reducible to two ; for all the 
 ways of the Lord are Mercy and Truth [2] ; both of which must 
 
 [i] Ps. xxxv. II. [2] Ps. xxv. 10. 
 
 24
 
 370 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 be followed together, because Mercy without Truth leads to 
 laxity, and Truth without Mercy degenerates into sternness. 
 
 (2) Labores mdnuum tu- For thou shall eat the 
 
 drum quia manducdbis : bed- labours of thy hands ; happy 
 tus es et bene tibi erit. art thou, and it shall be well 
 
 with thee. 
 
 There is a fourfold literal sense here : Thou shalt live by 
 honest, peaceful labour ; not by rapine and violence, nor yet 
 indolently and luxuriously ; thou shalt eat, and not as a 
 miser, stint thyself and others ; thy crops shall not be 
 blighted, but shall bring forth abundantly ; and no enemy 
 shall destroy or carry off thy harvest. 
 
 Thou shalt eat the labours of thy hands. But he who hates 
 labour, does not eat of it, nor can he say : My meat is to do 
 the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work [i]. On 
 the other hand, he to whom such labour is a delight does not 
 merely look forward in hope to the future fruits or rewards of 
 labour, but even, here and now, finds sustenance and pleasure 
 in toiling for God ; so it is well with him in this world, even 
 amidst all its cares and troubles, and it shall be well with him 
 in that which is to come. Thus the Carthusian. There is in 
 this verse also a reference to the Blessed Eucharist. Jesus, the 
 great High Priest, is the One who consecrates at Mass. 
 The Blessed Sacrament does indeed come from the work of 
 His hands, and He is the Head of that Mystical Body which 
 eats and drinks of Him daily therein ; as He will be, in 
 another fashion, the food of His elect in heaven : then shall 
 be fulfilled that prophecy which Isaias spoke of Him : He 
 shall see the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied [2]. 
 
 (3) Uxor tua sicut vitis Thy wife shall be as thefruit- 
 
 abundans : in lateribus domus ful vine : upon the sides of thy 
 tuce. house. 
 
 The whole figure St. Augustine takes of the Church as the 
 Bride of Christ, an interpretation enforced by Our Lord's 
 styling Himself the Vine [3], Close to Him, to His sides, 
 those sacred walls of His human Body, His Bride clings ; 
 
 [i] John iv. 34. [2] liii. II. [3] John xv. I.
 
 AT NONE : THE NINTH HOUR 371 
 
 there only can she flourish and bring forth fruit. Turning 
 from the Head to the members, we find other interpretations. 
 The wife is our bodily frame, subjected with all its affections 
 to the Reason, and bearing, trained against the walls of 
 thought and action, abundant fruit of holy aspirations and 
 good work. Another view is that Wisdom is meant, as we 
 read : / loved her and sought her out from youth, I desired to 
 make her my spouse, and I was a lover of her beauty [i]. This 
 last is St. Hilary's. 
 
 (4) Filii tui sicut novMce Thy children like olive plants : 
 olivdrum : in circuitu menscc round about thy table. 
 
 tuce. 
 
 The olive is the type of prosperity, because evergreen, 
 strong, and fruitful. Round about, Bellarmine explains as all 
 in their father's sight and as being ready to wait on him for 
 any service. These earthly children are figures, says St. 
 Augustine, of the spiritual children of the Church, who was 
 herself born from the side of her dying Spouse ; fruitful, 
 peaceful, gathered round God's Altar to feed there, set about 
 the table of Holy Writ to taste of the sweets it furnishes to 
 to them. And observe that we have in the inner courts of the 
 House Mystical both the vine and the olive; because, as 
 Cassiodorus says, oil and wine are needful to be poured into 
 the wounds of those whom the Good Samaritan brings to be 
 tended there ; the strength and severity of the Old Testament, 
 the softness and tenderness of the New. So, too, says the 
 Carmelite, in those goods works of ours which are, as it were, 
 our children, Justice and Mercy shall meet, and they should 
 be gathered round Him Who is Himself the Table of the 
 Lord's House, looking to Him only and waiting to minister 
 to His wishes. 
 
 (5) Ecce sic benedicetur Lo, thus shall a man be 
 homo ; qui timet Dominum. blessed : that feareth the Lord. 
 
 (6) Benedicat tibi Dominus The Lord from out of Sion 
 ex Sion : et videas bona Jeru- bless thee : and mayest thou sec 
 salem omnibus diebus vitce the good things of Jerusalem 
 tuce. all the days of thy life. 
 
 [i] Wisdom viii. 2.
 
 372 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Here again we have the contrast between Sion, the Church 
 Militant, and Jerusalem, the Church Triumphant. God shall 
 so keep thee with the grace and strength stored up in His 
 Church on earth for all the wants of every day of our life, 
 that thou shalt overcome all enemies and obstacles in thy way 
 and attain to the unending joys of Jerusalem which is above. 
 Thus the Carthusian. And note, we are to seek God's blessing 
 from the Church. This is His covenanted way. It is there- 
 fore wisdom to put ourselves in harmony with her practice, 
 to make her prayers our prayer, and to do her work in her 
 own way. 
 
 (7) Et videas filios filiorum And thou shalt see the 
 
 tuorum : pacem super Israel. children of thy children : peace 
 
 upon Israel. 
 
 We shall one day, in heaven at least, see the fruit of our 
 good works. For nothing done for God goes without its 
 effect. And peace upon Israel, the crowning joy of the Beatific 
 Vision, when, after we have ceased to wrestle as Jacob and 
 have become the Israel of God, we shall see Him Who is 
 our Peace, face to face. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who blesses us out of Sion ; Glory 
 to the Son Who feeds us around His Table ; Glory to the 
 Holy Ghost the Giver of Peace upon Israel. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [l], 
 
 In plateis sicut cinnamo- In the streets like the cinna- 
 
 num et bdlsamum aromati- mon and sweet-smelling balm 
 
 zans odorem dedi : quasi did I give forth my odour ; 
 
 myrrha electa dedi suavitdtem like choice myrrh I yielded a 
 
 odoris. sweetness of smell. 
 
 B?. Deo gratias. Thanks be to God. 
 
 [l] Eccle. xxiv.
 
 AT NONE: THE NINTH HOUR 373 
 
 y. Post partiim Virgo in- After bearing thou didst 
 
 violdta permansisti. remain a spotless maiden. 
 
 ty. Dei Genitrix, intercede Mother of God intercede for 
 
 pro nobis. us. 
 
 We have heard these words in the Third Lesson of Matins. 
 Here, coming after the Gradual Psalms, we may take them as 
 words of encouragement. The sweet example of Mary attracts 
 souls to follow her virtues, as the smell of rich spices attracts 
 the passers-by in the streets. The spices mentioned are 
 referred to our Lady in this way. St. Bonaventure says : The 
 fragrance of Mary was like cinnamon in outward intercourse ; 
 like balm in the interior unction of devotion ; and like myrrh 
 in the bitterness of trouble. O rich indeed, says St. Bernard, 
 is she who was filled with the balm of the Holy Ghost ; this 
 precious balm was given to thee in such superabundant 
 measure that it overflows in all directions. The mention of 
 myrrh, coming at this ninth hour when Jesus died, reminds 
 us of the Mother of Sorrows. Taken altogether the Little 
 Chapter is a fitting comment on the three preceding Psalms 
 and is to be understood in reference to the thoughts they 
 have suggested. 
 
 The Versicle and Response celebrate the Divine truth that 
 Mary, in and after childbearing, remained ever a Virgin ; for 
 she was the closed Door through which only the Lord could 
 pass. 
 
 COLLECT. 
 
 Famulorum tuorum, quce- We beseech Thee, O Lord, 
 
 sumus Domine, delict is ignosce: pardon the sins of Thy ser- 
 
 ut qui Tibi placere de actibus vants : that we who cannot 
 
 nostris non valemus, Genitricis please Thee by our actions, may 
 
 Filii Tui Domini nostri inter- be saved by the intercession of 
 
 cessione salvemur : Qui tecum, the Mother of Thy Son, our 
 
 &c. Lord, Who, with Thee, &c. 
 
 This prayer sums up all the thoughts of this Office : the 
 captivity of sin, our own helplessness, and the good things of 
 Jerusalem, high among which is Mary, by whose intercession 
 we hope to reach them.
 
 374 TH E LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 During Advent. 
 
 The Antiphon and Prayer are from Lauds for this season. 
 The Little Chapter is from Prime. The Versicle and Response 
 commemorate the Annunciation. 
 
 During Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Antiphon and Prayer are from the Proper of Lauds ; 
 the Little Chapter and Versicle as above.
 
 375 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 AT VESPERS [l], OR EVENSONG. 
 
 The introductory Prayers are as at Lauds. 
 
 FIRST ANTIPHON. 
 
 Dum esset Rex in accubitu While the King was at His 
 
 Suo nardus med dedit odorem repose my spikenard gave forth 
 suavitdtis. its odour of sweetness. 
 
 The Antiphons of this office form a series of pictures of 
 Our Lady's relations with our Lord. This first one refers to 
 the Incarnation. While the King was reposing in the unspeak- 
 able joy of the Father He was attracted to earth by the 
 immaculate soul of Mary, which, like spikenard, gave forth its 
 odour. Mary was thus a sharer in the sacrifice of the Lamb, 
 which was the purpose of the Incarnation ; and this thought 
 must be borne in mind while saying the following Psalm 
 which treats of the Eternal Priesthood of her Son. 
 
 PSALM cix. 
 Title. A Psalm of David. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ was born from the spiritual 
 womb of God the Father, before the morning star. The 
 voice of the Church and of Christ to the Father. The voice 
 
 [l] Vespers is the hour of the Evening Incense, and together with Lauds forms the 
 original office. It follows the general lines of the Morning Song. Says Durandus : 
 The Church in this hour says five Psalms first, on account of the five wounds of 
 Christ Who offered His sacrifice for us at the Vespertide of the world. Secondly,
 
 376 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 of the Church concerning the Father and the Son. The 
 Promise of the Father to the Son. A prophecy of future 
 victory and concerning the Incarnation. It is sung concerning 
 Christ the Lord. 
 
 Venerable Bede : This Psalm sings most fully and briefly 
 of the Incarnation and Divinity of our Lord. In the first 
 verse the Prophet narrates what the Father said to the Son ; 
 in the second the Father to some extent, according to the 
 measure of our captivity, declares the nature of the Godhead. 
 In the third part the Prophet speaks until the end, showing 
 the form of His manhood. 
 
 (1) Dixit Dominus Domino The Lord said to my Lord : 
 meo : Sede a dextris Meis. Sit Thou at My right hand. 
 
 (2) Donee ponam inimi- Until I place Thine enemies .' 
 cos Tuos : scabellum pedum as a footstool for Thy feet. 
 Tuorum. 
 
 The beginning of this Psalm can only be compared in 
 sublimity to the opening words of St. John's Gospel : In the 
 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
 Word was God [i]. The Father said unto the Son, that 
 which the One did not utter with the mouth, nor the Other 
 hear with the ear. The Father willeth, and the Son knoweth 
 it : the Son willeth, and the Father knoweth it. We are in 
 the presence of the awful mystery of the Blessed Trinity. 
 Let us fall down and worship. The words are not spoken 
 to the Eternal Son in respect of His Godhead ; but as 
 incarnate in time, and therefore inferior to the Father as 
 touching His Manhood. The Psalmist calls Him my Lord, 
 because He is flesh of our flesh, our Brother, our very own in 
 right of His Mother. 
 
 Sit thon at My right hand. Our Lord, as Man, occupies the 
 highest place in heaven, and to Him is committed the judg- 
 
 because we pray for forgiveness of those sins which in the course of the day we have 
 committed through the five senses of our bodies. Thirdly, by those five Psalms the 
 Church protects herself against nocturnal tribulations. For this hour brings to mind 
 the weeping of those on whom the Sun of Righteousness hath set and who therefore 
 are in darkness." 
 [i] John i. i.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 377 
 
 ment of the world, as it is written : They shall see the Son of Man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [i]. 
 The word sit denotes the Human Nature of Christ, inasmuch 
 as sitting cannot be predicated of the incorporeal Godhead ; 
 and in contrast to the prominence of standing, it implies His 
 present invisibility. St. Augustine says on these words : Sit Thou, 
 not only on high, but also in secret, exalted that Thou mayest 
 rule, hidden that Thou mayest be the object of belief ; for 
 what reward can there be for faith unless that which we believe 
 be hidden ? The Carmelite observes that it also denotes His 
 perfect rest after all His sufferings, in contrast to the time 
 when weary with His journey [2] He sat beside Jacob's well ; 
 and still more to that day when He was exalted on the painful 
 throne of the Cross; so that He, Whom His mother called 
 Benoni, Son of my sorrow, is called by His Father, Benjamin, 
 that is, Son of My right hand [3]. Sit Thou, rest Thyself beside 
 Me, rule with Me, enjoy My glory, be nearest unto Me, partake 
 of My Majesty and power, reign with Me in co-equal power, 
 as to Godhead with the same, and nearest, as to Thy Manhood. 
 Until I make Thine enemies as a footstool for Thy feet. The 
 word until is often used in Scripture without implying cessation 
 when the point of time indicated as future has been reached. 
 But in this case there seems to be a limit implied, for St. Paul 
 says : Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the 
 kingdom to God, even the Father ; when He shall have put down 
 all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until 
 He hath put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that 
 shall be destroyed is Death. For He hath put all things under 
 His feet. . . . And when all shall be subdued unto Him, 
 then shall the Son also Himself be subjected unto Him that put 
 all things under Him, that God may be all in all [4]. From 
 this we must not suppose, as Lorin points out, that our 
 Lord's Human Nature will be absorbed in His Divine, or that 
 He will cease to bear Rule ; whereas it is said of Him : Thy 
 throne, God, is for ever and ever [5]. The true meaning is 
 that His Mediatorial Office and task of administering the 
 
 [l] Matt. xxiv. 30. [4] I Cor. xv. 24-28. 
 
 [2] John iv. 6. [5] Ps. xlvi. 7. 
 
 [3] Gen. xxxv. 18.
 
 378 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 government of the Church Militant will then cease, as there 
 will be no more sin requiring His intercession, no more war 
 demanding His invincible leadership. But His Priesthood is 
 eternal and He always will be the mouthpiece of Creation, 
 worshipping the Father with a perfect and complete adoration. 
 His enemies, sin and evil, shall be made His footstool, whether 
 trodden in His anger and trampled in His fury, as in the case 
 of the finally impenitent, or voluntarily humbling themselves 
 to worship at His footstool ; for He is holy [i]. Bellarmine notes 
 that it is the Father Who speaks these words ; not as implying 
 the Son cannot do it for Himself, since whatever the Father 
 doth the Son doth likewise, but because this is part of the 
 Son's reward for His obedience as Man : Wherefore God hath 
 highly exalted Him [2], By reason of the close union which 
 exists between Jesus and Mary, we may now read this verse 
 of her set at His right hand and given the victory. May we 
 be her willing captives ! 
 
 (3) Virgam virtutis Tuce The Lord shall send forth 
 
 emittet Dominus ex Sion : the rod of Thy power out of 
 
 domindre in media inimi- Sion : Rule Thou in the midst 
 
 corum Tuorum. of Thine enemies. 
 
 Christ Himself is the Rod out of the stem of Jesse [3], but as 
 He in His Manhood went forth not from Sion, but from 
 Bethlehem, commentators take the words generally of the 
 Gospel Law preached first from Jerusalem, and more especially 
 of the Cross, the sceptre of Christ's Kingdom, His strong staff 
 and beautiful rod [4] ; wherewith He, as with a bar of iron, 
 bruises His opponents to make their hearts contrite ; where- 
 with He, by the hands of the Apostles, subdued the world. 
 
 In the midst of Thine enemies, that is to say, in the very hearts 
 of those who were once Thy bitterest foes. And therefore 
 it is said Rule not slay because the Kingdom of Christ is 
 enlarged not by destruction but by the conversion of sinners. 
 
 [i] Ps. c. 5. [3] Is. xi. i. 
 
 [2] Phil. ii. 9. [4] Jer. xlviii. 17.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 379 
 
 (4) Tecum principium in With Thee is the beginning, 
 
 die virtu tis Tuce in splendori- in the day of Thy power, in the 
 bus sanctorum : Ex utero ante splendours of the saints : from 
 ludferum ginui Te. the womb before the morning 
 
 star have I begotten Thee. 
 
 With Thee, inherent in Thy Nature. In the day of Thy 
 power, when taking on Thee our flesh. In the splendours of 
 the saints, when Thou shalt give light unto the world by the 
 beauty and radiance of Thine Apostles and disciples ; or 
 when Thou shalt come to judge and display Thy force and 
 power in marvellous fashion and make the splendours of Thy 
 rising saints more glorious than that of the sun. Such exalted 
 power is in Thee, because Thou art of the same substance 
 with Me and partake of the same Nature, seeing that / begot 
 Thee from the womb before the morning star. From the womb. 
 The Sonship of our Lord is not an adoption, but natural and 
 inherent. Some see here a reference to that " Fruit of the 
 generous womb" of which the Angelical sings in the Pange 
 Lingua, and to the Immaculate Conception, which made of 
 Mary's womb a sanctified tabernacle for the operations of the 
 Holy Ghost. The Birth of our Lord was in the splendour of 
 the saints, because of the glorious vision of the angelic hosts 
 which proclaimed His Nativity, because of the presence of 
 the Queen of Saints, and St. Joseph, the just man. St. Augus- 
 tine thus explains this difficult verse : The beginning means 
 the Eternal Father, the Source of all things, even of the Son 
 and Holy Ghost ; and that His union with the Son, always 
 perfect, though hidden, will be disclosed and revealed in the 
 day of the Son's power at the Judgment, amidst the glories 
 of the risen saints. The Doctor of Grace takes the last clause 
 to denote not only the eternal Generation of the Word before 
 the stars of heaven, but also the miraculous Birth of Christ 
 in the early morning of Christmas day ; or, as others will have 
 it, of her who looketh forth as the morning [i] in her beauty 
 and purity. 
 
 [i] Cant. vi. 10.
 
 380 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (5) Jurdvit Dominus et non The Lord swore and will 
 
 pcenitebit Eum : Tu es Sdcerdos not repent Him : Thou art a 
 
 in ceternum secunduni ordinem Priest for ever according to the 
 
 Melchisedech. order of Melchisedech. 
 
 Father Lorin points out that we have an Apostle, St. Paul, 
 to explain this glorious revelation. The Lord swore. The 
 Apostle dwells on the exceeding solemnity of this rite of 
 inauguration, distinguishing Christ from the Aaronic ministry. 
 For those priests were made without an oath, but this with an 
 oath made by Him thai said unto Hun : The Lord swore and 
 will not repent : Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of 
 Melchisedech : by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better 
 Testament [i]. Next the Apostle emphasises the words for 
 ever, as forming another ground of distinction. And they truly 
 were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by 
 reason of death ; but this Man, because He continueth ever, hath 
 an eternal Priesthood : wherefore He is able also to save them 
 to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth 
 to make intercession for them [2]. And thereby the mystical 
 character of Melchisedech and his superiority over Abraham 
 are pointed out, in that his name and office indicate Him as 
 King of Righteousness and King of Peace ; and as being a 
 type of an Eternal Priest, having no earthly origin, no begin- 
 ning nor ending ; and that by receiving tithes from the 
 ancestors of Levi he must rank, of necessity, above the 
 Levitical priesthood. Therefore, himself a Gentile, he typifies 
 that King and Priest who should be the Ruler and Head of 
 the Church made up of Jew and Gentile [3]. The word order 
 implies the union of the Priestly office with the Kingly rank, 
 as in the prophet Zacharias : He shall be a priest upon His 
 throne [4]. From the offering of Melchisedech, Bread and 
 Wine, we shall see here the obvious reference to the 
 Eucharistic Sacrifice. 
 
 (6) Dominus a dextris Tuis : The Lord at Thy right hand : 
 
 confregit in die irce SUCK reges. He shall wound even kings in 
 
 the day of His wrath. 
 
 [l] Heb. vii. 21. [3] Ibid. 2. 
 
 [2] Ibid. 23. [4] vi. 13.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 381 
 
 The Psalmist here directs his words to the Eternal Father 
 at Whose right hand is the Lord Who is to do these wondrous 
 deeds. Although kings may rise up against the Anointed and 
 strive to overthrow His Church, yet He will rout them. He 
 has done so in the past and will do so finally at the Doom. 
 
 (7) Judicdbit in nationibus, He shall judge among the 
 implebit ruinas : conquassdbit nations, He shall fill the ruins : 
 capita in terra multorum. He shall dash to pieces the heads 
 
 in the land of many. 
 
 St. Augustine understands this verse of the dealings of 
 God and Christ with the enemies of the Church in this world ; 
 and takes the words as denoting His work in the conversion 
 of souls. St. Bruno takes the first clause of our Lord's rule 
 over Jew and Gentile alike ; not judging them, but judging 
 and overthrowing Satan's power among them ; the second 
 clause of the restoration of His ruined Sion by building up 
 again those who level themselves low in humility, or by filling 
 up anew with men the heavenly ranks left vacant by the fate 
 of the angels ; while the last paragraph is taken as meaning 
 that He makes Himself the one Head, overthrowing all rivals 
 which set up many heads other than Himself in the world. 
 Some of the Fathers take the verse of the Day of Judgment, 
 and look upon our Lord as the Divine Conqueror and Avenger 
 of God's insulted Majesty. 
 
 (8) De torrente in via bibet : He shall drink of the torrent 
 propterea exaltdbit caput. in the way : therefore shall He 
 
 lift up His head. 
 
 To the splendours of the Psalm, the pomp and majesty 
 therein revealed, there comes now a minor chord of intense 
 poignancy. The Divine King and Priest is to suffer ; for He 
 is the pre-ordained Victim. Torrent, that is, an intermittent 
 water-course temporarily swollen by storms which bring down 
 the rains from the hills. And this is explained as typifying 
 the hurried, turbid, noisy, yet brief course of human life, to 
 which our Lord bound Himself by His Incarnation, from His 
 throne in heaven ; drinking of the troubles of our mortal 
 condition truly in the way; for He was a stranger and a
 
 382 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 pilgrim on earth, far from His country ; nay, going down 
 by His Passion, which He began by crossing over the brook 
 Cedron [i], into the lowest depths of the torrent, so as not 
 to drink for refreshment and pleasure, but allowing the waters 
 to come in even to His Soul [2], when His Head was lifted up 
 on the Cross as he drank the last drops of that cup His Father 
 had given Him. For His obedience thus carried out God 
 hath highly lifted Him up, first in the Resurrection and then 
 in the Ascension, and hath given Him a Name above every other 
 name [3]. Thus St. Augustine. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory to the Father Who said unto my Lord : Sit Thou 
 at My right hand ; Glory to the Son, my Lord, the Priest 
 for ever according to the order of Melchisedech ; Glory to 
 the Holy Ghost the Power amidst the splendours of the Saints. 
 
 SECOND ANTIPHON. 
 
 Lceva Ejus sub cdpite meo, His left hand is under my 
 
 et dextera Illius amplexdbitur head, and His right hand 
 me. embraces me. 
 
 The gracious vision of the Maiden Mother bearing in her 
 arms her Son Who tenderly embraces her is at once suggested 
 by this Antiphon. If He in all the weakness and helplessness 
 of babyhood clung to her and caressed her, how much more 
 now does He in heaven reward her with His unspeakable love 
 for all she did for Him on earth ? The thought of the dignity 
 accruing to our Lady through the Divine Maternity gives a 
 point to the Psalm which follows ; for she has been taken 
 from her humility and set above the princes of heaven. She, 
 the Virgin, has become the joyful mother of children, having 
 borne us all in Jesus Christ. Therefore, as says St. Bernard, 
 is she the happy soul resting on the heart of Christ and 
 reposing in the arms of the Divine Word ! 
 
 [l] John xviii. i. [2] Ps. Ixx. I. [3] Phil. ii. 9.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 383 
 
 PSALM cxn. 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ turneth the Church, long barren, 
 into the fruitfulness of holiness. The voice of the Church 
 with praise. The voice of the Church concerning her faithful 
 ones. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The Prophet in the first part exhorts the 
 devout children to offer praise to God and to proclaim Him 
 in all the world. Secondly he does himself what he exhorts 
 others to do. The calling of the New People. 
 
 (1) Laudate pueri Domi- Praise the Lord ye children : 
 num: lauddte nomen Domini. praise the Name of the Lord. 
 
 (2) Sit Nomen Domini be- Blessed be the Name of the 
 nedictum : ex hoc nunc et Lord : from this time and for 
 usque in sceculum. evermore. 
 
 A triple utterance of the Divine Name, the triple call to 
 praise it, veils here the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. Ye 
 children : St. Augustine bids us note purity, innocence, and 
 docility are here denoted, not any special time of life ; as the 
 Apostle says : Brethren, be not children in understanding ; how- 
 beit in malice be ye children ; but in understanding be men [i]. 
 It is out of the mouths of such babes and sucklings as these 
 that He hath perfected praise, as He accepted that of the 
 children in the Temple when the voices of men were silent. 
 
 From this time forth, God's praises are not to cease with our 
 advancing years. The words do not mean that He begins to 
 be praised only now ; but that each of us makes a beginning 
 of joining in the hymn of creation ; while if we only persevere 
 in His service our song shall go on for evermore in heaven. 
 
 (3) A solis ortu usque ad From the rising of the sun 
 
 occdsum : lauddbile Nomen to the going down : the Lord's 
 Domini. Name is worthy of praise. 
 
 Here is a further instruction. God's praise is to be not 
 merely ceaseless but universal ; not restricted by the limits of 
 
 [i] I Cor. xiv. 20.
 
 384 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Judea, but extending to the utmost bounds of the earth. This 
 is achieved by the Sacrifice of the Mass which was foretold 
 by the prophet Malachias : From the rising of the sun till the 
 going down of the same My Name shall be great among the 
 Gentiles : and in every place incense shall be offered to My Name 
 and a clean oblation : For My Name shall be great among the 
 heathen, saith the Lord of Hosts [i]. In which prophecy there 
 is exactly the same three-fold proclamation of the Holy Name, 
 pointing, as in the Psalm, to the same mystery. And we, too, 
 says Cardinal Hugo, in life and in death, in the morning and 
 the evening of our mortal career, praise the Lord Jesus for 
 His arising as the Sun of Righteousness in His Nativity, His 
 setting in the ruddy glow of His Passion. 
 
 (4) Excelsus super omnes The Lord is high above all 
 gentes Dominus : et super ccelos the heathen : and His glory 
 gldria Ejus. above the heavens. 
 
 By the preaching of the Gospel the Lord is high above all 
 the heathen, for His Name is known and loved by those who 
 heretofore were darkness, but now are light. 
 
 His glory above the heavens. We may here see a reference 
 to the angelic songs at the Nativity, and again to the renewed 
 paean of triumph at the Ascension, as well as to His Mission 
 of the Paraclete thereupon to the lower heavens, the Apostles, 
 who brought the Gentiles to confess His Name. 
 
 (5) Quis sicut Dominus Deus Who is like the Lord our 
 noster, Qui in altis habitat : et God, Who dwells on high : and 
 humilia respicit in codo et in regardeth the things that are 
 terra f lowly in heaven and earth ? 
 
 What are the things that are lowly in heaven f There is not 
 a creature there who is not penetrated through and through 
 with humility. Now humility or lowliness means an acknow- 
 ledgment that we are creatures having nothing of ourselves 
 and owing all to God's love. The Prophet says : Thus saith 
 the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth eternity : Whose Name 
 is Holy ; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that 
 
 [i] Mai. i. ii.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 385 
 
 is of a contrite and humble spirit ; to revive the spirit of the 
 lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite ones [i]. If these 
 words are true of God's saints, how much more perfectly are 
 they fulfilled in her who, filled with the same Spirit that 
 inspired this Psalm, said : He hath regarded the lowliness of 
 His handmaiden [2] ; and how much more of Him Who, 
 as God, ceased not to be in heaven while as Man He was 
 the pattern of humility : Learn of Me because I am meek and 
 lowly of heart [3] . 
 
 (6) Suscitans a terra in- He taketh the needy out of 
 opem : et de stercore erigens the dust : and raiseth up the 
 pauperem. poor man from the dunghill. 
 
 (7) Ut cdllocet eum cum That He may set him with 
 principibus : cum principibus the princes : even with the 
 popidi Sui. princes of His people. 
 
 These words are taken almost without variation from the 
 Song of Anna [4], and are recalled in the Song of our Lady. 
 The needy the poor man. Some commentators take these of 
 Christ Himself, that Poor One Who had nowhere to lay His 
 head, and Who was abased to the lowest in His Passion, 
 becoming a worm and no man [5], and then by His Resurrec- 
 tion was set on high. The earth and the dunghill are taken 
 by some to refer respectively to the Jews and Gentiles ; and 
 they tell us that Christ chooses His elect from both these 
 indiscriminately, to set them with His angels and saints in 
 heaven. Referring the verse to our Lord, St. Bernard reminds 
 us of His Birth in the manger. He was literally brought 
 down to the humiliation of the dunghill, whence He was 
 exalted again to riches and honour. So we are reminded 
 that humility and penance are the first steps towards being 
 lifted up by the Lord and set among His princes. These 
 verses find a special echo in the souls of those who have been 
 called to the religious life. Taken out of their own nothing- 
 ness and misery, God has set them among His chosen ones ; 
 here on earth ruling, as princes, their bodies by enlightened 
 
 [i] Is. Ivii. 15. [4] I Kings ii. 8. 
 
 [2] Luke i. 48. [5] Ps. xxi. 6. 
 
 [3] Matt. xi. 29. 
 
 25
 
 386 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Reason, and in heaven reigning with Him for ever. A Voca- 
 tion is indeed a fellowship with the saints and a principality 
 exceeding all earthly honours. 
 
 (6) Qui habitdrefacit steri- He maketh the barren 
 
 lent in domo : matrem filiorum woman to keep the house : a 
 latdntem. joyful mother of children. 
 
 This verse is taken in three senses. The first refers to the 
 Gentiles brought into the Church. Isaias prophesies thus : 
 Sing barren, thou that didst not bear : break forth into 
 singing and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child : 
 for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the 
 married wife, saith the Lord. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and 
 let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations : spare 
 not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. For thou 
 shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy 
 seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be 
 inhabited. Fear not ; for thou shall not be ashamed : neither 
 be thou confounded : for thou shall not be put to shame : for 
 thou shall forget the shame of thy youth, and shall not remember 
 the reproach of thy widowhood any more; For thy Maker is 
 thine husband : the Lord of Hosts is His Name : and thy 
 Redeemer the Holy One of Israel : The God of the whole earth 
 shall He be called [i]. The second interpretation is of a soul 
 hitherto unfruitful in good works, but now wedded to Christ 
 by penance and love and bringing forth abundant fruits to 
 Christ ; as we see in the religious orders and the lives of the 
 saints. The third interpretation is of the fruitful virginity of 
 our ever dear and blessed Lady who has become, at the foot 
 of the Cross, the Mother of Christians. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who dwelleth on high ; Glory to 
 the Son Who lifts us up from the dunghill ; Glory to the 
 Holy Ghost Who maketh the barren to keep house. 
 
 [I] liv. 1-5-
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 387 
 
 THIRD ANTIPHON. 
 
 Nigrasum sedform6sa,filice I am black but comely, 
 
 Jerusalem : idea dilexit me daughters of Jerusalem: there- 
 Rex et introduxit me in cubi- fore hath the King loved me 
 culum Suum. and brought me into His 
 
 innermost chamber. 
 
 It is the Maiden-mother, smitten with grief and plunged 
 in a sea of woe, that we contemplate in this Antiphon. Mary 
 is at the foot of the Cross. Sorrow has discoloured her. Her 
 compassion with her Divine Son has pierced her to the heart. 
 She could have laid down her life for Him had He wished 
 it : and she lives to see Him die ; and willingly sees she this 
 (though it break her heart), for such is His will. Her 
 perfect conformity with the Divine will in this supreme hour 
 is the last test of that Mother beyond all compare. There- 
 fore is she, in the peace of Jerusalem, the object of her Son's 
 tenderest love. 
 
 PSALM cxxi. 
 
 This, the same as the third Psalm of Terce, will be found 
 at page 343. 
 
 FOURTH ANTIPHON. 
 
 Jam hiems trdnsiit, imber The winter is past, the rain 
 
 dbiit et recessit : surge arnica is over and gone : Arise, My 
 Mea, et veni. friend, and come away. 
 
 The chilly winter of sorrow is past, the rain of affliction 
 is over and gone ; Mary has been made conformable to the 
 Image of her Divine Son. The exile is at an end. For twelve 
 years has she helped on the infant Church ; and now the 
 moment of reunion is at hand. Come, My beloved, arise and 
 come away. And like she did after the Angel's first visit, 
 Mary in those days arose and went with haste into the hill- 
 country [i], into that City among the mountains, whence 
 
 [i] Luke i. 39.
 
 388 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 cometh help, where the Son abides. It is the picture of 
 Mary assumed into heaven we contemplate in this Antiphon, 
 and of the sleep He giveth His beloved. 
 
 PSALM cxxvi. 
 
 This, the same as the second Psalm at None, will be found 
 at page 365. 
 
 FIFTH ANTIPHON. 
 
 Speciosa facia es ei sitavis Thou art made beauteous 
 
 in deliciis tuis, sancta Dei and sweet in thy delights, O 
 Genitrix. holy Mother of God. 
 
 In this Antiphon Mary crowned and rewarded in heaven 
 is the joyful and hopeful picture set before us. The woman 
 set in the heavens clothed with the sun with the moon beneath 
 her feet, and about her head a crown of twelve stars [i]. She 
 is there for our sakes, in the King's house, as Esther, to 
 beseech for her people, to do God's mercy towards them, 
 to make His Word run swiftly in their hearts, to scatter the 
 ashes of penance over their lives, to break up the icy-bound 
 hearts and to be ever the monument and example to all Israel 
 of God's righteousness and judgment. 
 
 PSALM CXLVII. 
 
 Title. Alleluia. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may fill His Church with peace and 
 abundance of spiritual wheat. The voice of Christ to the 
 Church that she may praise the Father : or the voice of the 
 Holy Ghost by the Prophet to the same that she may not 
 cease to praise Christ. 
 
 Venerable Bede : In the first part the Prophet accosts 
 Jerusalem, that is, the City on high, that now, made secure in 
 her citizens she ought to praise the Lord with continual 
 
 [i] Apoc. xii. i.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 389 
 
 rejoicing. Secondly he counts up at more length, in mystical 
 expression, what great kindness the Loving and Merciful One 
 hath bestowed on His people. 
 
 (1) Lauda Jerusalem Do- Praise the Lord Jeru- 
 minum : lauda Deum tuum salem : Praise thy God 
 Siow. Stow. 
 
 The two names denote the one Church under two aspects. 
 St. Paul knew the first as the heavenly one, when He spoke 
 of Jerusalem which is above, is free, which is the Mother of 
 us all [i]. 
 
 And he knew what Sion meant who said : Ye are come unto 
 Mount Sion and the Church of the first-born which are written 
 in heaven [2]. Both of them, the Triumphant and Militant 
 Church, have the praise of God as their one occupation. But, 
 says the Carmelite, they perform it in different ways. The 
 Church Militant praises Him by persevering in works of 
 mercy ; the Church Triumphant by pure enjoyment and 
 delight in Him, an occupation full of sweetness : interrupted 
 by no trouble, weakened by no fatigue, disturbed by no cloud. 
 Our work will be to praise God and to love Him : Blessed are 
 they that dwell in Thy house, Lord, they shall be always prais- 
 ing Thee [3]. Why ? Unless that they shall be always loving 
 Thee. Why ? Unless that they shall be always beholding 
 Thee. 
 
 (2) Quoniam confortdvit For He hath strengthened 
 seras portdrum tudrum : bene- the bars of thy gates : and hath 
 dixit filiis tuis in te. blessed thy children in thee. 
 
 The true bar of these gates , says St. John Chrysostom, that 
 by which they are fastened on the right hand and the left, is 
 the Cross to which He, Who is the Door, was nailed. It is 
 the bar of the heavenly as well as of the earthly Church, and 
 it was in the might of its strong resistance that the gates of 
 hell did not prevail against the Gospel, when all kings and 
 nations and cities and hosts of evil spirits endeavoured to 
 sweep it away. The lesser, but still important, bars of the 
 Church on earth are the keys of St. Peter, the doctrine of 
 
 [i] Gal. iv. 26. [2] Heb. xii. 23. [3] Ps. Ixxxv. 4.
 
 390 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 the Apostles, the bishops, doctors, and priests, by whose vigour 
 and watchfulness the assaults of heresy and unbelief are 
 driven back. The clear living Voice of the Church, speaking 
 through its Infallible Head, teaches us what we have to 
 believe and what we have to do, and guards us from wander- 
 ing. Faith, Hope and Charity are three good bars against 
 the devil and his angels ; but Faith faileth, Hope groweth 
 feeble, and Charity waxeth cold, unless each and all be 
 strengthened by the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 And hath blessed thy children, that is, not only made them 
 happy, but also (a frequent meaning in Scripture) numerous ; 
 granting to the Church to increase and multiply and fill the 
 earth. 
 
 In thee. The promise is confined to the Church. St. 
 Augustine asks, if the Lord has strengthened the bars of the 
 gates, how comes it to pass that there are so many scandals in 
 the Church ? Because here the wheat and tares are mingled 
 together ; this world is the threshing floor, not the garner. It 
 is not said that God has shot the bars of the gates, but that He 
 has strengthened them and that for future use ; for the time 
 when the Bridegroom comes, and they that be ready to go 
 in with Him to the Marriage. Then shall the door be shut. 
 Then, says the Carthusian, no foe may enter, for the law of 
 absolute holiness keeps sin aloof ; no friends shall pass out, 
 for the blessed are confirmed for ever in grace, according 
 to the saying : Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the 
 temple of My God, and he shall go out no more [i], 
 
 And hath blessed thy children within thee, since Blessed ate 
 they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the 
 Tree of Life and may enter through the gates of the City [2]. 
 
 (3) Q u i Posuit fines tuos He maketh peace in thy 
 
 pacem : et adipe frumenti borders : and with the fat of 
 sdtiat te. wheat satisfieth thee- 
 
 Jerusalem is too strong to be assailed, and no foe may 
 cross the frontier of her territory. In that City on high there 
 is peace even in the borders, for the last and lowest saint in 
 heaven is filled with tranquil rejoicing. Here, in the Church 
 
 [i] Apoc. iii. 12. [2] Apoc. xxii. 14.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 391 
 
 below, although without are fightings and within alarms, yet 
 being justified by faith we have peace with God through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord [i]. There is another sense in which we can 
 understand peace in thy borders ; and that is as a prophecy of 
 the Reunion of Christendom when those sects which border 
 on the Church in doctrine and worship shall no longer make 
 war against her, but be reconciled in purest friendship. 
 
 And with the fat of wheat satisfieth thee. St. John Chrysos- 
 tom points out that here the Blessed Sacrament is meant. 
 Its only home, according to the intention of God, is the 
 Catholic Church. He who eats the Lamb outside the House 
 is profane, says one of the Fathers. And observe how by 
 these words peace and wheat we are taught, says St. Cyril of 
 Jerusalem, how truly the Sacrament of the Altar is the bond 
 of union and mutual charity among the children of Sion. 
 The word satisfieth belongs, says Bellarmine, to Jerusalem 
 above, not Sion below. Here we are indeed fed with the 
 fat of wheat, but we feed on the Word of God under the 
 Sacramental veils ; we drink the water of wisdom, but only 
 from the droppings of the Holy Writ ; therefore we are not 
 yet satisfied, nay, our very blessedness consists in hungering 
 and thirsting after righteousness [2]. But there the saints 
 shall know the sweetness of the Eternal Word with no type 
 nor veil between them ; there they shall put their lips to the 
 very Source of wisdom, and no longer drink of the mere rills 
 of droppings which come down to water the earth. 
 
 (4) Qui emittit eloquium He sendeth forth His com- 
 
 Suum terra : velociter currit mandment upon the earth : 
 sermo Ejus. His Word runneth swiftly. 
 
 The commandment of the New Law of His kingdom upon 
 earth was sent when He ordered it to be preached to every 
 nation : His Word ran swiftly, rejoicing as a giant to run his 
 course [3], when the Only Begotten, the Almighty Word, leaped 
 down from heaven out of the regal throne [4], to be born of 
 our ever dear and Blessed Lady, to show Himself for a brief 
 time on earth, to renew the world by His Death, and to carry, 
 by means of His Apostles, the glad tidings into all lands. His 
 
 [i] Rom. v. i. [3] Ps. xix. 5. 
 
 [2] Cf. Matt. v. 6. [4] Wisdom xviii. 15.
 
 392 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Word runneth swiftly in him who is free from sin and, giving 
 himself up to God, widens his heart : / have run in Thy com- 
 mandments when Thou didst enlarge my heart [i]. 
 
 (5) Qui dat nivem sicut He giveth snow like wool : 
 lanam : nebulam sicut ci- and scattereth hoar-frost like 
 nerem spargit. ashes. 
 
 The snow God sends is not merely like wool in its white- 
 ness, but because it serves, in spite of its coldness, as a coverlet 
 to keep the earth sheltered and warm from the keen blasts 
 of winter. The hoar-frost, powdered lightly over the ground 
 everywhere like ashes, also penetrates below the surface of the 
 earth, and, expanding as it does so, breaks up the soil, making 
 it friable and easier for plants to shoot upwards through ; it 
 also kills most of the insect life that would destroy the vegeta- 
 tion if unchecked. St. Augustine points out that God takes 
 sinners, cold and lifeless, with neither spiritual fervour nor 
 practical activity and so transfigures them that, as Christ's 
 raiment when He flashed forth His radiance for a moment 
 on earth, they became shining, exceeding white as the snow [2]. 
 Conversely this chill snow becomes the raiment of Christ, 
 without spot or wrinkle, and keeps His members warm in 
 new-found charity. The frost which breaks up the hard 
 ground, and the deeper it goes does more good, what is it 
 save those salutary afflictions which God sends to soften 
 sinners, and make them fit to receive the seed of His Word ; 
 till they themselves are colder than the snow itself, but now 
 kindled through and through with the fervour of Divine love, 
 become like ashes, tokens alike of fire and repentance, the 
 relics of a whole burnt offering upon the altar of God ? 
 
 (6) Mittit crystdllum Suam He casteth forth His ice like 
 sicut bucellas : ante fdciem morsels : who is able to abide 
 frigoris Ejus quis sustinebit ? His frost ? 
 
 St. Augustine explains that ice, more solid and cold than 
 snow or frost, denotes the most hardened sinners, not so 
 much coarse and depraved ones, as hard, keen, clear enemies 
 of truth, who are not ignorant of it, but deliberately resist it, 
 
 [i] Mark ix. 3. [2] Ps. cxviii. 32.
 
 AT VESPEKS, OR EVENSONG 393 
 
 like Saul of Tarsus ; yet he, in God's providence, was cast 
 forth to feed the Gentiles hungering for the Bread of Life ; 
 himself, as a member of Christ, being a morsel of that Bread. 
 And when God did so send forth the mighty preacher, who 
 was able to abide His frost ? Another interpreter has it that 
 as ice is pure and transparent, so that pure and crystalline 
 substance which is sent forth as morsels of bread is the Blessed 
 Sacrament of Christ's Body. Again, ice in its stern rigidity 
 and coldness is an emblem of the Mosaic Law broken up by 
 God's grace, since who could abide that frost ? 
 
 Who can abide His frost f Who is really in love with sin ? 
 Who can bear to be cold and hard, unwarmed by the genial 
 rays of the Sun of Righteousness ? Does any despair because 
 he is snow and ice when he fain would be fire and heat ? Let 
 him be of good cheer, for 
 
 (7) Emittet Verbum Suum, He will send forth His Word 
 et liquefdciet ea : flabit Spiri- and will melt them : His Spirit 
 tus Ejus et fluent aquce. will blow and the waters will 
 
 flow. 
 
 The remedy for sin is at hand, the prison of winter is 
 unlocked by the bright sun, and warm breezes, by the Incar- 
 nation of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Ghost, the 
 Southern Wind which blows through the garden of God and 
 the perfume of its spices flows out [i]. The waters will flow 
 when the hard heart melts into tears of repentance ; the 
 waters flow when all the mighty powers of heart and head, 
 but lately frozen up in unbelief, melt and come down in 
 eloquent torrents of doctrine, and irrigate the fields below ; 
 as they did when the Word, with His one cry of Saul, Saul, 
 why persecutest thou Me f [2] melted that persecutor ; as 
 they did when the Holy Ghost set him apart for the work of 
 preaching to the Gentiles. Wherefore it follows : 
 ( 
 
 (8) Qui annuntiat Verbum He showeth His Word unto 
 
 suum Jacob : justitias et Jacob : His stattites and 
 judicia Sua Israel. judgments unto Israel. 
 
 [i] Cant. iv. 16. [2] Acts ix. 4.
 
 394 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (9) Non fecit tdliter omni He hath not dealt so with 
 
 nationi : et judicia Sua non any nation ; neither hath He 
 manifestdvit eis. manifested His judgments to 
 
 them. 
 
 The younger people, the Gentile Church, has had the 
 Word manifested to it before its eyes : Jesus Christ has 
 been evidently set forth [i]. The Word came first to the Jews, 
 the literal but carnal Jacob : He came unto His own, and His 
 own received Him not [2]. The new Jacob has supplanted his 
 elder brother : For blindness in part is happened unto Israel 
 until the fulness of the Gentiles is come in [3]. St. Bruno 
 remarks, the first part of God's grace is showing His Word, 
 that we may embrace Him by faith while we are still struggling 
 as Jacob ; the next is the process of sanctification through 
 obedience, when, after promising allegiance to our King, He 
 explains to us the laws of His kingdom and makes us Israel, 
 that is, princes of God. 
 
 He hath not dealt so with any nation ; as in spite of their 
 privileges, the Jews would not listen to the Word, these 
 have been taken away and applied to the Christian Church 
 gathered out of those very heathen to whom He had not 
 manifested His judgments, but now are favoured by His 
 grace ; while the carnal Israel is rejected even as they rejected 
 Him. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who sendeth forth His Word; 
 Glory to the Son Himself the Word that melteth sinners ; 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost the Spirit Who maketh the waters 
 flow. 
 
 LITTLE CHAPTER [4]. 
 
 Ab initio et ante scecula From the beginning and 
 
 credta sum; et usque ad futu- before the ages was I created; 
 
 rum scEculum non desinam : et and for all eternity I shall 
 
 in habitatione sancta coram never cease : and in the holy 
 
 ipso ministrdvi. dwelling have I ministered 
 
 before Him. 
 
 ~Rf. Deo gratias. Thanks be to God. 
 
 [l] Gal. iii. I. [2] John i. II. [3] Rom. xi. 25. [4] Eccl. xxiv. 14.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 395 
 
 These words apply in the first place to the Eternal Wisdom 
 of God, the Second Person of the Adorable Trinity. But 
 Holy Church, the only Mistress and Explainer of Scripture, 
 also applies them to her who is the " Seat of Wisdom," and 
 whose holiness is a mark of the great work which the Divine 
 Wisdom has done. As in the five Antiphons and Psalms we have 
 had our Lady in her five relations with God, so here we have her 
 as for ever pre-ordained, the Mother of the Living ; God having 
 decreed Creation, in the same decree were pre-ordained Jesus 
 and Mary : He as the Head of Creation, she as the way by 
 which He was to enter it. He is therefore the real Adam, 
 and she the real Eve. Our first parents according to the 
 flesh were created on the model of Jesus and Mary : For 
 Whom all things were made, that He might have in all things the 
 principality [i] ; and as these models existed in the mind of 
 God before the Fall was discerned, it follows that they were 
 not included in it ; Jesus on account of His Godhead, Mary 
 on account of her Motherhood. We may believe that Jesus 
 would have come in any case, so as to be able to give His Father 
 that worship which Creation could not. But when the Fall 
 was foreseen then did the Incarnation take its remedial 
 character, and show us depths upon depths of God's infinite 
 love. Without the Fall we might have had Jesus Incarnate, 
 but not the infinite pathos of the Crucifix. We should not 
 have known the Man of Sorrows, nor the Mother thereof. 
 This is the teaching of Scotus on the Incarnation, and in it 
 the dogma of the Immaculate Conception seems to find its 
 natural place. The Myroure explains this Little Chapter : " The 
 Chapter is said in the person of our Lady thus : ab initio. 
 This is thus to mean : Endlessly, before all time, I was fore- 
 known and ordained of God to be made. . . . And I 
 shall never fail, neither in soul by any sin, nor in body by any 
 corruption. For our Lady's holy body is not turned to cor- 
 ruption in earth, but taken up and knit with the soul in the 
 glory of heaven. . . . Was it not a holy dwelling when 
 our Lord Jesus Christ dwelt in His Mother's womb, where she 
 ministered to Him the matter of His holy Body ? Was it not 
 
 [i] Cf. Colos. i. 16, 18.
 
 396 
 
 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 also a holy dwelling where our Lord Jesus Christ and our 
 Lady, His Mother, and Joseph dwelt together in one house, 
 where our Lady served her blessed Son Jesus Christ with 
 meat and drink and clothes ? Full pleasant was that service 
 before Him and before all the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son 
 and Holy Ghost. It is also a holy dwelling where God's 
 servants dwell together in one congregation and in one 
 charity ; for there is our Lord Jesus Christ in the midst 
 among them, as He Himself says in His Gospel [i] ; and 
 there our Lady ministered her help and grace full busily that 
 they may serve her Son to His pleasure" [2]. 
 
 HYMN. 
 
 Ave maris stella, 
 Dei Mater alma, 
 Atque semper Virgo, 
 Felix cceli porta. 
 
 Sumens illud Ave 
 Gabrielis ore, 
 Funda nos in pace, 
 Mutans Hevce no men. 
 
 Solve vincla reis, 
 Profer lumen ccecis, 
 Mala nostra pelle, 
 Bona cuncta posce. 
 
 Monstra te esse matrem, 
 Sumat per te preces, 
 Qui pro nobis natus, 
 Tulit esse tuns. 
 
 Virgo singuldris 
 Inter omnes mitis, 
 Nos culpis solutos 
 Mites fac et castos. 
 
 Gentle star of ocean, 
 Portal of the sky, 
 Ever Virgin-mother 
 Of the Lord most high. 
 
 by Gabriel's Ave, 
 Uttered long ago, 
 Eva's name reversing 
 'Stablish peace below I 
 
 Break the captives fetters, 
 Light on blindness pour ; 
 All our ills expelling. 
 Every bliss implore. 
 
 Show thyself a Mother ; 
 Offer Him our sighs, 
 Who for us incarnate 
 Did not thee despise. 
 
 Virgin of all Virgins ! 
 To thy shelter take us ; 
 Gentlest of the gentle ! 
 Chaste and gentle make us. 
 
 [i] Matt, xviii. 20. 
 
 [2] pp. 141-2.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 397 
 
 Vitam prcesta puram, Still, as on our journey, 
 
 Her para tutum, Help our weak endeavour ; 
 
 Ut -videntes Jesum Till with thee and Jesus, 
 
 Semper collcetemur. We rejoice for ever. 
 
 Sit laus Deo Patri, Through the highest heavens, 
 
 Summo Christo decus, To the Almighty Three, 
 
 Spiritui sancto, Father, Son, and Spirit, 
 
 Tribus honor unus. One same glory be. 
 
 Amen. Amen. 
 
 y. Diffusa est gratia in Grace is poured forth on thy lips. 
 Idbiis tuis. Wherefore hath God blessed 
 
 ~8j. Propterea benedixit te thee for ever. 
 Deus in ceternum. 
 
 On this Hymn the pious author of the Myroure thus 
 comments : 
 
 " In the first verse you praise our Lady for four things. 
 One is that she is called ' star of the sea ' ; for as that is com- 
 fortable to ship-men, so is our Lady comfort to all that are 
 in bitterness of tribulation or temptation in the sea of this 
 world [i]. And therefore her name, Maria, is as much as to 
 say, 'star of the sea.' And so Ave Maria and Ave Marts stella 
 is all one sentence. The second is that she is the Mother of 
 God. The third is that she is everlasting Virgin. The fourth 
 is that she is the gate of heaven. Her Son called Himself in 
 His Gospel, the Door [2] ; for as a man may not well come 
 into a house but by the door, nor to the door but by the gate, 
 so may there none come in to heaven but by our Lord Jesus 
 
 [l] Says St. Bernard: "O whoever thou art, who knows that thou art tossed 
 in the flood of this world amidst its storms and tempests, turn not thine eyes away 
 from the shining of this Star, unless thou wishest to be overwhelmed in the storms. 
 If the waves of temptation rise up, if thou founder on the rock of temptation, look 
 up at the Star, call upon Mary. If thou struggle with the waves of pride, ambition, 
 distraction, envy, look at the Star, call upon Mary. If wrath or avarice, or sen- 
 suality, shake the boat of thy mind, look to Mary. If terrified at the enormity of 
 thy crimes and confused at the filth of thy conscience, thou art struck with fear 
 of the Judge, and begin to sink into the depths of sorrow and slough of despond, 
 think of Mary. In perils, in difficulties, in doubts, think of Mary, call upon Mary."- 
 Hom. 2, super Missus est. 
 
 [2] John x. 9.
 
 398 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Christ, that is, the Door ; nor to our Lord Jesus Christ but by 
 our Lady, that is, the Gate. Therefore you say thus to her, 
 Ave Marts stella Hail star of the sea, holy Mother of God, 
 and always Virgin, the blessed Gate of heaven. 
 
 "In the second verse ye praise our Lady for two things, 
 and one thing ye ask of her. For ye thank her that she 
 assented to the greeting of Gabriel, for thereby began our 
 salvation ; like as our perdition began by the assent of Eve to the 
 fiend. . . . The second, for she hath turned that woe that 
 Eve brought us into joy. And so she hath changed her name 
 Eva into Ave ; for Eva spelt backwards maketh Ave, and Eva 
 is as much as to say, Woe, and Ave is a word of joy. Then 
 ye ask of her stability of peace, and say thus : Taking that Ave 
 of the mouth of Gabriel, ground us in peace, changing the 
 name of Eve. 
 
 " In the third verse ye ask of her four things that man 
 needeth to have help in, after he has fallen into sin. For by 
 sin he falleth into four great mischiefs, one is that he is so 
 bound therein that he may not of himself come out thereof. 
 And as a man may yield himself bound to a lord, but he may 
 not be free again when he will, right so is it of a man that 
 maketh himself thrall to the fiend by deadly sin. And therefore 
 ye pray our Lady that she will loose the bonds of sinners and 
 make them free. Another mischief is that when a man is 
 fallen into deadly sin, the fiend blindeth him so in his sight 
 that he can neither see the peril in which he standeth in nor 
 how to get him help of deliverance. And therefore in this 
 ye ask our Lady's help. The third mischief is the great 
 vengeance that man deserveth by sin, both temporal and 
 everlasting. And the fourth is the loss of all goods of grace 
 and glory. And therefore against all these four mischiefs ye 
 pray to our Lady and say : Loose thou the bands of them 
 that are guilty, for the first Give them light to them that are 
 blind, for the second. Do away our evils, for the third. 
 And ask all goods, for the fourth. 
 
 " In the fourth verse ye pray her to show herself a Mother 
 to God and to the wretched. As a mother tendeth her child 
 in all manner of perils and diseases that he is in, so she 
 vouchsafes to show motherly tenderness to us in all our needs,
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 399 
 
 bodily and ghostly. And as a mother may get of her son 
 what she will reasonably desire of him, so she vouchsafed 
 to speed our errands before God that it may appear well that 
 that she is His Mother. Therefore ye say thus to her : Show 
 thyself to be a Mother, and He must take prayers by thee That 
 vouchsafed to be thy Son for us. 
 
 " In the fifth verse ye praise her in two virtues, that is, 
 maidenhood and mildness ; and ye ask of her three virtues 
 according to the same, that is, deliverance from sin, meekness 
 and chastity. Therefore ye say thus : Singular and mild 
 Virgin amongst all, make us loosed from sin, and mild and 
 chaste. 
 
 "In the sixth verse ye ask of her three things. The first 
 is clean life. The second is true continuance therein unto 
 the end that you may then have true passage. And the third 
 is endless joy in the sight and beholding of God. Therefore 
 you say : Grant us clean life, make ready a true way, that 
 we, seeing Jesus, may evermore be glad. 
 
 "In the seventh verse ye praise the Blessed Trinity and 
 say : Praising be to God the Father ; to highest Christ be 
 glory ; and to the Holy Ghost ; One honour to the Three [i]. 
 Amen." 
 
 The Versicle and Response are these favourite words so 
 often repeated in this office. See the Versicle at the end of 
 each of the three Nocturns, and Psalm xliv. 3 in the second 
 Nocturn. 
 
 THE ANTIPHON AT THE MAGNIFICAT. 
 
 Bedta Mater et Intacta Blessed Mother and Maiden 
 
 Virgo, gloriosa Regina mundi, undefiled, Glorious Queen of 
 
 intercede pro nobis ad Domi- the world, intercede for us to 
 
 num. the Lord. 
 
 We now reach the culminating point of Vespers. The 
 Myroure gives us the following reasons for the Magnificat at 
 Vespers : " One for in the Evensong time of the world our 
 
 [i] The Doxology given here is a translation of the one used in the Office. The 
 one given in the Myroure varies somewhat from the Roman use.
 
 400 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Lady, by her singular assent, brought health to mankind. 
 Another cause is that we should daily have in mind the 
 Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was wrought in 
 the eventide of the world, for joy of which this song is made. 
 The third cause is for our Lord is likened to appear in the 
 eventide. The fourth cause is that the minds that have been 
 laboured and wearied in the day with many thoughts and 
 businesses should then be comforted with the song of joy of 
 our Lady and be helped by her prayers against temptations of 
 the night." 
 
 Explaining some of the ceremonial observances connected 
 with this hour, Durandus says : To represent the rejoicing 
 expressed in this Canticle, lights are lit at Vespers ; either 
 because the Canticle is of the Gospel, or that we, being of the 
 number of the wise virgins, may run with the lamp of good 
 works in the odour of the ointment of the Blessed Virgin, 
 entering with her into the joy of our Lord. And because our 
 works are not radiant in lamps, except they be moulded by 
 love, therefore the Canticle closes with the Antiphon whereby 
 love is signified. 
 
 Incense is offered at the Magnificat [i] ; and Origen thus 
 explains its use : Behold how our High Priest standeth and 
 offereth Himself, to separate the living from the dead. Rise 
 to the loftier heights of His Word, and behold how the very 
 High Priest, Jesus Christ, having assumed the censer of 
 human flesh and set therein the fire of the Altar, that is, 
 the glorious Soul wherewith He was born according to His 
 Human Nature, and adding thereunto the incense, which is 
 His Immaculate Spirit, stood between the living and the dead 
 and suffered death to rule us no longer. 
 
 The preliminary Antiphon directs our minds towards her 
 whose song we are about to sing, so that we may enter into 
 all her dispositions. Our ever dear and blessed Lady ever 
 kept singing in her heart the Magnificat. Even in the hour 
 
 [i] The solemn incensing of the altar, which typifies our Lord, is reserved to the 
 priest when officiating at the Office. But there is nothing to prevent incense being 
 burnt at the Magnificat in a choir of nuns. The smoking thurible set in the midst 
 of the choir at the Magnificat would preserve the symbolism of the " Hour of 
 Incense."
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 401 
 
 of her deepest sorrow she was magnifying the Lord Who had 
 done great things for her. And we, with our Magnificat, in 
 days of trial, sorrow and gloom, must never forget His mercy 
 towards us, or lose that inward joy which inspired this heavenly 
 Canticle. Let us therefore apply the words to ourselves and 
 sing it with the love, gratitude and humility our Lady had, 
 when at the Visitation she was greeted by St. Elizabeth as, 
 Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy 
 womb [i], and accepted the blessing but referred it all to her 
 Maker. Let us read the Gospel narrative of the Visitation : 
 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country 
 with haste, into a city of Juda ; and entered into the house of 
 Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that, 
 when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped 
 in her womb ; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost : 
 and she spake out with a loud voice, and said : Blessed art 
 thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb. And 
 whence is this to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to 
 me f For lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in 
 my ears, the babe leapt in my womb for joy. And blessed is she 
 that believed : for there shall be fulfilled those things which were 
 told her from the Lord. And Mary said [2] ; 
 
 (1) Magnificat dnima mea My soul doth magnify the 
 Dominum : Lord : 
 
 (2) Et exsultdvit spiritus And my spirit hath rejoiced 
 meus in Deo salutdri meo. in God my Saviour. 
 
 " Here," says the Myroure, " we may learn of our Lady 
 to forsake all vain joy. For after the Angel had been with her 
 from heaven, after she had conceived the Son of God, and 
 after Elizabeth had blessed her and praised her as most worthy 
 Mother of God, in all this she was moved to no vanity, or to 
 no presumption in herself, but to more meekness and to 
 praising and rejoicing in God. And that not feignedly, only 
 with the tongue, but of all the inwardness of soul. And there- 
 fore she saith not my mouth, but my soul praiseth and my spirit 
 rejoiceth. And that not in herself but in God Who is Maker 
 of all things and now is become Man and so Saviour of 
 
 [i] Luke L 42. [2] Luke i. 39-46. 
 
 26
 
 402 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 mankind, and also that of our Lady. And therefore He is 
 specially and singularly her Saviour [on account of the pre- 
 eminent grace of the Immaculate Conception], and none other 
 in that wise. For by her health and salvation are come to 
 Man. Therefore she saith my spirit, that is, my soul, hath 
 joyed in God my Saviour : Here saith St. Bede, we note that 
 his spirit joyeth in God his Saviour who delighteth in nothing 
 that is on earth, neither is pleased with plenty of goods or of 
 worship, nor is broken with grudging or impatience in any 
 tribulation or disease, but only delighteth and joyeth in mind 
 of his Maker, of Whom he hopeth to have endless health." 
 
 (3) Quia respexit humilitd- For He hath regarded the 
 tern ancillce Sues : ecce enim ex lowliness of His handmaiden : 
 hoc bedlam, me dicent omnes for lo ! from henceforth all 
 generationes. generations shall call me 
 
 blessed. 
 
 " Here our Lady telleth why she praised, why she joyed 
 in God, why God was so singularly hers. For He beheld her 
 meekness, whereby you may see that meekness was the cause 
 why God chose her to be His mother. And therefore, says 
 St. Jerome, what is more noble and worthy than to be the 
 Mother of God ? What is more bright and worshipful than 
 she whom the brightness of the Father's glory chose to Him- 
 self ? What is more chaste than she that bore in her body the 
 Body of Christ ? And yet she saith that God beheld only her 
 meekness that is the keeper of all virtues. And what follows 
 thereupon : Lo ! from henceforth all generations shall call me 
 blessed. All generations of heaven and of earth, of Christians 
 and of heathen, of Jews and of Saracens, of men and of 
 women, of poor and of rich, of men and of angels, of right- 
 wise and of sinners, of wedded and of single, of sovereigns 
 and of subjects ; all shall say me blessed, all shall praise the 
 blessedness that God, my Saviour, hath wrought with me and 
 hath given to them by me. For of every nation and people 
 some are turned to the faith of Christ, [and] praise His holy 
 Mother." 
 
 (4) Quia fecit mihi magna For He that is mighty hath 
 Qui potens est : et sanctum done great things to me : and 
 Nomen Ejus. holy is His Name.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 403 
 
 " What be these great things that He did to her ? That He 
 kept her clean from all sin. That He hallowed her and 
 endowed her with gifts of the Holy Ghost ; that He took His 
 body from her. That she a creature brought forth her Maker ; 
 she His servant bore her Lord ; that she a Virgin is Mother 
 of God. That by her He purchased mankind and brought 
 His chosen to endless life. These great things did He that 
 is mighty to reward above all that any man may deserve. 
 And as He is mighty He hath done mighty and great things, 
 and Holy is His Name; for He is more good and holy than 
 may be thought or spoken. And for His holy Name, not 
 for man's merits, hath He done great things for the health 
 of man." 
 
 (5) Et misericordia Ejus a And His mercy is from 
 
 progenie in progenies : timenti- generation unto generation : to 
 bus Eum. them that fear Him. 
 
 "This is that mercy that He hath wrought by our Lady and 
 by His Incarnation and Passion to mankind. The mercy of 
 salvation that David asked after when he said : Lord show us 
 Thy mercy [i] ; as if he said : Thou hast shown Thy power 
 in making all things out of nothing ; Thou hast shown us Thy 
 wisdom in marvellously governing all things ; Thou hast 
 shown us Thy righteousness in punishing sinners both in 
 angels and] in men; and therefore show us now Thy mercy, 
 by the Incarnation of Thy Son for the Salvation of mankind. 
 This mercy bringeth our Lady forth and saith : His mercy is 
 from generation unto generation. From one kindred unto 
 kindred, from the kindred of the Jews unto all kindreds of the 
 world. For amongst the Jews Thy mercy was wrought, and 
 afterwards spread abroad unto all people. But all take not 
 profit and salvation by this mercy ; for though it be more 
 sufficient that all men needeth, yet it availeth not but to them 
 that dispose themselves thereto. And what is that disposition ? 
 The fear of God ; for without that fear none may be saved. 
 Not the fear of pain, but the fear of God ; as our Lady saith : 
 His mercy is to them that fear Him." 
 
 [i] Ps. Ixxxiv. 8.
 
 404 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (6) Fecit potentiam in bra- He hath done might in His 
 chio Suo : dispersit superbos arm : He hath scattered the 
 mente cordis Sui. proudinthe will of His heart, [i] 
 
 "That is to say, His Son. For as the arm cometh from 
 the body and the hand from both arm and body, so the Son 
 hath His being from the Father, and the Holy Ghost from 
 the Father and the Son. In this arm, that is, His Son, He 
 hath done might ; for by Him He hath made all things, and 
 by Him He hath saved mankind, and by Him He hath 
 thrown down the power of fiends. And therefore saith our 
 Lady : He hath scattered the proud in the will of His heart. 
 These proud are fiends, and Jews are all proud people. For 
 as a host that is dispersed is not mighty to fight, right so the 
 proud fiends are dispersed by the Passion of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ and not mighty to war against Man as they were before. 
 The proud Jews also that would not humble themselves to the 
 faith of Jesus Christ are dispersed abroad in the world, so 
 much that they have neither land nor country, nor city, nor 
 town to dwell in all the earth. But some dwell in one land 
 and some in another, and some in one city and some in 
 another, under tribute and thraldom of Christian people. 
 Thus are these fiends and Jews dispersed by our Lord in the 
 will of His heart, that is to say, in the rightful judgment of 
 His privy Doom. All proud people also are dispersed in the 
 mind of their own heart ; for as meek people live in unity and 
 rest, right so proud people are both scattered in their own 
 hearts by many vanities and unlawful desires, and also they 
 are divided against others by trouble and envy and debate." 
 
 (7) Deposuit potentes de He hath put down the mighty 
 sede : et exaltdvit humiles. from their seat : and hath 
 
 exalted the lowly. 
 
 "These mighty are they that have great power, temporal or 
 spiritual, and misuse it against the Will of God, and against 
 their fellow Christians, and against their own soul's health. 
 And these mighty God throweth down from the seat of Grace ; 
 for by grace God should have His seat in their hearts ; and 
 from the seat of dignity and power which they misuse ; and 
 
 [i] This is the old pre-reformation English translation of the Vulgate. Both St. 
 Augustine and the Carthusian follow this reading instead of the more usual their 
 hearts.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 405 
 
 from the seat of knowledge and wisdom, for they are blinded 
 in their own malice ; and at last from the seat of Doom where 
 the apostolic power shall sit and judge with Christ them that 
 shall be judged at the end of the world [i]. From that seat 
 shall such mighty be thrown down, and to that seat shall the 
 lowly be lifted up. For He hath lifted up the meek here in 
 grace and afterwards to bliss everlasting. These words our 
 Lady spoke as prophecy of things to come, and yet she saith 
 as if the fulfilling were passed ; for it was as sure to be fulfilled 
 in time to come as if it had been already past. And for that 
 cause prophets used often such manner of speaking." 
 
 (S)Esurientesimplevitbonis: The hungry He hath filled 
 
 et divites dimtsit indnes. with good things : and the rich 
 
 He hath sent empty away. 
 
 " Bodily hunger is an appetite for meat, so ghostly hunger 
 is a desire of grace and of virtue. He that is hungry hath need 
 of meat ; so he that is spiritually hungry thinketh that he hath 
 nought that is good, namely, not of himself nor by his own 
 merits. And because he feeleth himself needy of all goods, 
 therefore he seeketh and desireth and laboureth fast to get 
 them. And such hungry (ones) God filleth with goods spiritual 
 in grace and endless in bliss. But the rich are they that 
 presume of themselves and think themselves to be better than 
 they are, and to have more than they have, or to know more 
 than they can. And what they have, or can, or may, they 
 count it to their own merits and worthiness as though it all 
 came from themselves. These rich (ones) God leaveth empty 
 of grace and glory. For they that are here wilfully poor of 
 worldly wealth and comfort, and hunger and desire God's 
 grace and heavenly comforts, their desire shall be fulfilled ; 
 but they that have here riches, and worldly property and take 
 their joyous comforts therein and seek after none other, they 
 shall be left void from all goods temporal and everlasting." 
 
 (9) Suscepit Israel puerum He hath taken Israel His 
 
 Suum : recorddtus misericordia: servant : being mindful of His 
 Suce. mercy. 
 
 " Israel was one of the patriarchs that was called Jacob, 
 of whose lineage our Lady came. And therefore she saith 
 
 [I] Cf. Matt. xix. 28.
 
 406 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 that God hath taken Israel, that is to say, a Body of mankind, 
 of the lineage of Israel ; which Israel is called God's child for 
 He was meek and obedient to God as a child to His father. 
 And in this deed God hath been mindful of His mercy, by which 
 He promised to the patriarchs and prophets that He would 
 become Man. And therefore saith our Lady further : 
 
 (10) Sicut locutus est ad As He spoke to our fathers : 
 
 patres nostros : Abraham et to Abraham and to his seed for 
 semini ejits in scecula. ever. 
 
 "That is, to Abraham and to the people that came from 
 Abraham by bodily generation, of whom came our Lady, and 
 from her our Lord Jesus Christ, not only to the help of that 
 people, but of all that truly follow the faith and living of 
 Abraham unto the end of the world. For they are properly 
 called the seed and the children of Abraham with whom they 
 should be partners of the fruit of our Lord's coming endlessly 
 in joy and bliss. Amen." [i]. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who regardeth the lowliness of 
 His handmaiden. Glory to the Son Who is God her Saviour. 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost Who hath done great things to her. 
 
 The Kyrie and Versicle as at Lauds (see page 303). 
 
 THE COLLECT. 
 
 Concede nos fdmulos Tuos, Grant us Thy servants, we 
 
 qucesumus Domine Deus, per- beseech, Lord God, to rejoice 
 
 petua mentis et corporis sani- in perpetual health in soul 
 
 tdte gaudere : et gloridsa bedtce and body : and, by the glorious 
 
 Marice semper Virginis inter- intercession of the Blessed Mary 
 
 cessione, a prcesenti liberdri ever a Virgin, to be delivered 
 
 tristitia et ceterna perfrui Ice- from present sorrow and to 
 
 titia. Per Christum Dominum attain eternal glory. Through 
 
 nostrum. B?. Amen. Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 Perpetual health of soul and body. That is all we need for 
 keeping our soul in God's favour, and our body fit to do the 
 
 [i] Myroure, pp. 157-163.
 
 AT VESPERS, OR EVENSONG 407 
 
 work He allots us. It is the same idea as the words in the 
 Hymn, Bona cuncta posce : Ask for us all good things. 
 Present sorrow is the need of this health of soul and body, sin 
 and the various ills of life which impede us from serving God 
 with a pure heart. Eternal joy is that state when our joy shall 
 be made full and no man can take it from us ; the joy which 
 here below was intermittent, which never ends or fades ; the 
 joy which the God of all joy has prepared for them that 
 love Him. 
 
 Vespers, like Lauds, ends with the Commemoration of the 
 Saints and the Versicles (see page 304). 
 
 During Advent. 
 
 The Antiphons for the Psalms are the same as at Lauds for 
 this season. Also the Little Chapter. The Hymn and Ver- 
 sicle is as above. The Collect is that of Lauds, and the 
 Commemoration of the Saints follows the same (see page 308). 
 
 During Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Antiphons for the Psalms are as at Lauds during this 
 season. The Little Chapter is from the Common. The 
 Hymn and Versicle are from the Common, but the Antiphon 
 at the Magnificat is proper (see page 311). 
 
 Magnum hereditdtis myste- A great mystery of inheri- 
 
 rium ; templum Dei factus est tance : the womb of one not 
 
 uterus nescientis virum : non knowing man becomes the tem- 
 
 est pollutus ex ea carnemassu- pie of God : taking flesh from 
 
 mens. Omnes gentes venient her He is not defiled. All the 
 
 dicentes : Gloria tibi Domine. Gentiles shall come, saying : 
 
 Glory be to Thee, Lord. 
 
 God's inheritance is the hearts of His people ; and in order 
 to win it unto Himself He wrought the great mystery of the 
 Incarnation. The Jews and Gentiles form the inhabitants of 
 this inheritance and they all came testifying to the new-born 
 King. The shepherds first, led on by the angels' song of Gloria 
 in excelsis Deo ; and the three Wise Men who came from afar
 
 4 o8 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 to worship, with mystic gifts, Him Who was born King of the 
 Jews. 
 
 The prayer is from Lauds and the Commemoration of the 
 Saints that of the Common. 
 
 During Paschal Time. 
 
 The Antiphon at the Magnificat is Regina cceli, for which 
 see after Compline.
 
 409 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG. 
 
 The end of our day has arrived, and before seeking rest 
 we come once more for our Father's blessing, and to pay 
 the last tribute of love to our Mother. This Office, says 
 the Myroure, " is the seventh and the last hour of Divine 
 Service, and it is as much as to say, a ' fulfilling ' ; for in the 
 end thereof the seven hours of Divine service are fulfilled ; 
 and therewith also is ended and fulfilled speaking, eating, 
 and drinking, and labouring, and all bodily business. So 
 that after that time ought to be great stillness and strict 
 silence, not only from words, but also from all noises and 
 deeds save only quiet and private prayer, and holy thinking 
 and bodily sleep. For Compline betokens the end of Man's 
 life, or the end of the world when the chosen of our Lord 
 shall be delivered from all travail and woe and be brought to 
 endless quiet and rest. And therefore each person ought to 
 dispose himself to bedward as if his bed were his grave. For 
 as a man dieth or he be born to his grave and buried, right so 
 at Compline tyme ye should be disposed as if ye were dying. 
 And keep ye so sober and still afterwards as if ye were dead 
 for all bodily deeds and words " [i]. 
 
 The Office of Compline is due to St. Benedict, who made 
 it the night prayer for his monks. The present office, 
 however, dispenses with the monastic introduction of con- 
 ference and mutual confession. Like the old English use of 
 Sarum, it starts at once after a preparatory Ave with the follow- 
 ing Versicles : 
 
 [i] Pp. 164-5.
 
 410 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 y. Converte nos Deus salu- Turn us God our Salva- 
 
 idris noster. tion. 
 
 B/. Et averte iram Tuam And turn away Thine anger 
 
 a nobis. from us. 
 
 y. Deus adjutdrium, &c. God come to my assist- 
 
 ance, &c. 
 
 This Office, says Durandus, begins contrary to the manner 
 of the other hours ; for, because as we have been, as it were, 
 singing Psalms all day, and it is well-nigh impossible but that 
 we should have contracted some dust of pride, therefore we 
 humble ourselves, saying : Turn us God our Salvation ; 
 for, says the Apostle : // we say we have no sin we deceive our- 
 selves [i]. . . . We then proceed to call on the Divine 
 help, saying : God come to my assistance. Turn us refers 
 to the taking away of past sins ; God come to the doing of 
 future good works . . . And because all is done in praise 
 of the Blessed Trinity, therefore follows the Gloria [2]. 
 
 This is followed by three more of the " Gradual Psalms," 
 which we may say in honour of the Blessed Trinity and of 
 our Lady's relationship to the Divine Persons. 
 
 PSALM CXXVIH. 
 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ routs those who fight against us, 
 lest we should be hurt by them. The voice of the Church. 
 This tenth step contains the voice of Christ against the Jews 
 who, fighting against Him on the Cross, are shown to have 
 done Him no hurt, because it proved that He rose again from 
 the dead. 
 
 Venerable Bede : Endurance in suffering is counselled 
 in this tenth step. In the first paragraph the Prophet counsels 
 Jerusalem to say what conflicts and fights she has endured 
 from her enemies, lest any of the faithful should despair 
 
 [l] I John i. 8. 
 
 [2] See also the explanation of this verse in the second Psalm at Prime, p. 322.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 411 
 
 because of his own troubles. In the second he prays in 
 parables against the enemies of the Church that there may 
 come upon them that which he knows will happen in the 
 future Judgment. 
 
 (1) Scepe expugnav&runt me Many a time have they 
 a juventiite mea : dicat nunc fought against me from my 
 Israel. youth up : may Israel now say. 
 
 (2) Scepe expugnaverunt me Yea, many a time have they 
 a juventute mea : etenim non vexed me from my youth up : 
 portuerunt mihi. but they have not prevailed 
 
 against me. 
 
 St. Augustine applies these words to the true Israel, the 
 Church, in her struggles against sin from the Fall of Man, yet 
 in his early youth ; from the days of the righteous Abel, and 
 in the early days of the Christian Dispensation. And it is true 
 of the Head as it was of His members ; for He was sought 
 after as the King of Israel, by Herod to slay Him in the 
 Cradle ; driven by necessity into Egypt ; harrassed by the 
 incessant plots of His enemies ; and, finally, was put to 
 death. It holds good, says St. Bruno, of every saint who, 
 having put off the Old Man with his works and put on the 
 New, has begun in this wise a spiritual youth ; for at once he 
 becomes the mark for the hatred of the doer of iniquity. 
 
 Many a time; for, adds St. Hilary, when once the Tempter 
 is overcome he does not therefore leave us, but returns and 
 tries again and again to conquer. 
 
 But they have not prevailed against me ; for, says St. Peter : 
 Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is 
 good [i] ; and St. Paul adds : If God be for us who can be 
 against us? [2]. 
 
 (3) Supra dorsum meum Sinners have wrought upon 
 fabricaverunt peccatores : pro- my back : they have prolonged 
 longaverunt iniquitdtemsuam. their iniquity. 
 
 The figure which commentators have seen in the words 
 is a mass of precious metal lying on the anvil and beaten out 
 into greater breadth and length by the hammers of the smith 
 
 [i] I Peter iii. 13. [2] Rom. viii. 31.
 
 412 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 until a costly vessel is produced by their labour. Some have 
 it that the mention of the back implies what does not show 
 itself before the face ; and thus secret injury, calumny, and 
 detraction ; but St. Augustine's view, that it is the sense of 
 meekly bearing a burthen, seems to suit better with the mention 
 of open violence in the preceding verses. 
 
 (4) Dominus Justus concidit But the righteous Lord hath 
 cervices peccatorum : confun- broken the neck's of the ungodly : 
 ddntur et convertdntur retror- let them be confounded and 
 sum, omnes qui oderunt Sion. turned backward, all they who 
 
 hate Sion. 
 
 St. Augustine sees here the punishment of the proud and 
 stiff-necked enemies of God's Church who refuse to bear His 
 easy yoke, and loudly proclaim that they have done no 
 wrong. The latter clause admits of a twofold interpretation : 
 the one stern and literal, of a sense of punishment in this world 
 and in the next ; and in the other more gentle, which hints 
 at repentance, reclaiming the sinner, and withdrawing him 
 from the broad road leading to destruction, thus changing 
 him from a rebel into a servant. 
 
 (5) Fiant sicut foenum feet- Let them be even as the grass 
 drum : quod priusquam evel- upon the house-tops : which 
 Idtur, exdruit. withereth away afore it be 
 
 plucked up. 
 
 (6) De quo non implevit Wherewith the mower filleth 
 manum suam qui metit : et not his hand : nor he that 
 sinum suum qui manipulos bindeth sheaves his bosom, 
 colligit. 
 
 St. Gregory the Great says : That as grass growing on the 
 roof has no firm root, so a hypocrite while making a show 
 of doing great things is not established ; for his heart is not 
 sincere. And as grass on the roof withers before it can be 
 rooted up, so, when a hypocrite undertakes any good work, 
 without first making his conscience right, he loses all the merit 
 thereof, and shows he was flourishing without a root. Upon 
 which St. Augustine remarks it were wiser to grow lower down 
 and thrive better. Such as these, proud, violent, hypocrites, 
 unlike those sheaves the angel-mowers carry back rejoicing
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 413 
 
 from the field of this world, shall be left in the field, as they 
 have borne no fruit and are fit for nothing but to be burnt. 
 But, says Haymo, those who have passed their life in good 
 deeds shall be led by the hands of the Mower, and those who 
 have served God in contemplation shall be carried in angels' 
 bosoms to their heavenly rest. 
 
 (7) Et non dixerunt qui And they that passed by 
 
 prceteribant, Benedictio Do- have not said, The blessing of 
 mini super vos : benediximus the Lord be upon you : we 
 vobis in Nomine Domini. have blessed you in the Name 
 
 of the Lord. 
 
 That is, remarks St. Augustine, as the mowers will take no 
 heed of the worthless grass on the house-tops, there will be 
 nothing to attract the passers-by, or draw from them a blessing. 
 They that pass by are our fellow-pilgrims in this world who 
 bless by their prayers those who help them along the way by 
 giving a good example. It is especially here taken of the 
 Prophets and Apostles who do not bless those whom they see 
 striving after worldly honours and lacking the love of God 
 which is the root of all real good. So, says the Carthusian, 
 the teachers of the Old Law have no blessings, but only warn- 
 ings and threats for their people if they refuse to hear their 
 King and reject Sion, His new Covenant. Perez takes the 
 whole Psalm as a prophecy of the rejection of the Synagogue, 
 and compares its ceremonial law, bearing no fruit of itself, to 
 grass on the house-top, withering away from want of grace 
 and not being planted in the rich soil of the foundation which 
 is our Lord. St. Hilary ends up his commentary on this 
 Psalm with this advice : Let us, then, sow profitably, that we 
 may make our labours ready for filling both hands and bosom 
 and become sharers of that blessing of God which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who ever protects Israel. Glory to 
 the Son, the Mower Who bears us in His bosom. Glory to the 
 Holy Ghost Who blesseth His people.
 
 4H THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 PSALM cxxix. [i]. 
 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ may grant us forgiveness of our sins 
 without marking our iniquities. The voice of Christ and of 
 the Church. This Psalm is to be read with the Prophet Jonas. 
 Wherefore this eleventh step denotes the voice of St. Peter 
 weeping bitterly after his fall ; hence it is that of repenting 
 sinners. 
 
 Venerable Bede : The Prophet, placed on the eleventh step, 
 prostrates himself to fulfil his penance, because no saint, so 
 long as he is in the flesh, can be entirely free from sin. And 
 this, too, is to be said, that every sin belongs, as it were, to the 
 number eleven, because it over-passes the perfection of the 
 Ten Commandments. The Prophet cries to the Lord for 
 deliverance out of the depths of sin and from the troubles 
 he experiences. Then, without delay, he comes to the joys 
 of thanksgiving, that penitents may know with what favour 
 they will be received, and how soon the remedy is bestowed 
 on them. 
 
 (i) De profundis clamdvi Out of the depths I hare 
 
 adTeDomine: D6mine,exdudi cried to Thee, Lord : Lord, 
 vocem ineam. hear my voice. 
 
 Out of the depths. A cry of the Jews from the depths of 
 their Captivity, seemingly without hope ; for, as says St. 
 Augustine, it is the cry of any one trying to ascend out of the 
 abyss of sin ; even as Jonas cried unto the Lord out of the 
 belly of the great fish [2]. The depths in which we find our- 
 selves are the depths of this world. All who realise that they 
 are in this abyss cry, groan, and sigh till they be freed from it, 
 and come to Him Who sitteth over all the depths and upon 
 
 [i] This Psalm, the eleventh Gradual Psalm, St. Augustine tells us, consisting 
 as it does of eight verses, teaches that no man can so live throughout the perfect 
 term of his working life here (denoted by the Six Days of Creation) without trans- 
 gressing the Ten Commandments, and so pass on to Eleven, the symbol of evil ; 
 but that by persevering in penance and prayer the sinner may at last reach that 
 Octave of the Resurrection, when Christ shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. 
 
 [2] Jonas ii. I.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 415 
 
 the Cherubim. Whence, then, does this cry come ? Out of 
 the depths. Who is it that cries ? A sinner. And with what 
 hope does he cry ? Because He Who came to loose the 
 bonds of sin hath also given hope even to a sinner in the 
 depths of his iniquity. Man must needs call, too, out of the 
 depths of humility, recognising the abyss of misery into 
 which he is plunged, and call upon the depths of God's 
 mercy : Depth calleth upon depth [i]. Note, too, says 
 St. Gregory the Great, it is not written " I am calling," 
 but / have called, showing us thereby not to end our 
 prayer until by perseverance it has been granted. God loves 
 to be asked, to be constrained, to be overcome, as it were, 
 by importunity ; for the loving repetition of His Name marks 
 the affection and confidence of His client. It has been 
 pointed out that this verse puts before us six conditions of 
 a good prayer it is humble, out of the depths ; fervent, have I 
 cried ; direct to God, unto Thee ; reverent, Lord ; awed, Lord 
 repeated ; one's very own, hear my prayer. This Psalm is 
 used so frequently for the Dead that a reference here to it in 
 that sense will not be out of place. It is the prayer of souls 
 abiding in the depths of Purgatory, overwhelmed with the 
 sense of their own impurity and imploring the Ix^rd to take 
 them to His rest. 
 
 (2) Fiant aures Tuce inten- Let Thine ears be attentive : 
 
 denies : in vocem deprecationis to the voice of my supplication, 
 niece. 
 
 It is not enough to be heard, says Bellarmine, that we 
 should cry aloud; He Who is called upon must also listen. 
 It is true God sees and hears everything ; but when He 
 remains silent it seems as though He heard not. So the 
 Psalmist in the vehemence of his desire beseeches God to turn 
 an attentive ear to his cry and grant him speedily his petition. 
 God, says the Carmelite, is said to bow down His ear, that is, 
 His readiness and mercy, to us ; but we, on the other hand, 
 are to lift up ours to Him. And it is to be noted that the 
 form of the human ear teaches three silent lessons : It is 
 always open, not like the eyes or lips, signifying we should 
 
 [i] Ps. xli. 8.
 
 4i6 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 be more ready to hear than to see or speak ; it is small, not 
 like that of the brute animals, warning us to take heed how 
 we hear, and not to believe everything that is spoken ; it is 
 erect because we ought to listen for words coming from 
 heaven rather than from earth. 
 
 (3) Si iniquitdtes observd- If Thou shalt mark iniqui- 
 veris :D6mine quis sustinebit? ties ; Lord, who shall abide it ? 
 
 No man is safe from sins, which howl around him like 
 angry beasts ; none is of spotless conscience, none pure of 
 heart because of his own righteousness. When God marks 
 down in the Book of Doom all our sins and reads them out, 
 who shall abide it, that is, endure the shame and the guilt ? 
 Wherefore we beseech God not to act as Judge only, but to 
 exert as King His prerogatives of mercy, and add : 
 
 (4) Quia apud Te propi- For there is with Thee for- 
 tidtio est : et propter legem giveness : because of Thy Law 
 Tuam sustinui Te Domine. I have waited for Thee, Lord. 
 
 If Thou wast strict in judgment, and punishment fell 
 swift upon the sin, all would perish. Therefore if Thou desirest 
 to be feared, forgive, and drive not sinners into despair, 
 wherein they cease to fear because they have lost all. There is 
 with Thee forgiveness, since He Who is the propitiation for our 
 sins [i] is seated in glory at Thy right hand. 
 
 Because of Thy Law : God's Law, by which He rules us 
 now, is Mercy and Love ; confiding in this the Psalmist 
 awaits His Coming, though well aware of his own unworthi- 
 ness to abide it. / have waited patiently, bearing all chas- 
 tisement because of Thy Law, knowing that Thou actest 
 righteously and mercifully in all things, and in judgment 
 forgetteth not mercy. 
 
 (5) Sustinuit dnima mea My soul hath relied on His 
 in Verbo Ejus : sperdvit dnima Word : my soul hath hoped 
 mea in Domino. in the Lord. 
 
 (6) A custodia matutina From the morning watch 
 usque ad noctem : speret Israel even until the night : let Israel 
 in Domino. hope in the Lord. 
 
 [i] i John ii. 2.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 417 
 
 God has promised mercy through the Incarnation and 
 Sacrifice of the Word, His only-begotton Son ; and the 
 Psalmist declares that he is relying upon a promise which 
 can never fail. 
 
 From the morning watch even until the night. St. Augustine 
 takes these words of the trust of the Church in Christ 
 from the early morning of His Resurrection until that Night 
 in which no man can work [i], which is to be followed 
 by that other Resurrection Morning for us all. Others take 
 it of the breaking of the Light of Faith upon the soul till the 
 close of life, working, as St. Hilary says, through all the 
 burthen and heat of the day until the Reward we know is 
 awaiting us is bestowed. 
 
 (7) Quia apud Dominum For with the Lord there is 
 misericordia : et copiosa apud mercy : and with Him plentiful 
 Eum redemptio. redemption. 
 
 Says Cassiodorus on this glorious verse : Here is the reason 
 for Israel to hope in the Lord : because in His hand is Mercy 
 which can make the sinner righteous, the weak strong, and 
 give to the carnal the purity of angels. There is also the 
 plentiful redemption which is the Precious Blood stored up 
 for us in the Church and ready to do its healing work at every 
 turn of our life. Daily and hourly It is being offered in the 
 Sacrifice of the Mass on our behalf to the Eternal Father ; 
 daily It is washing away Original Sin and Actual Sin ; daily 
 It is giving grace to all men by the Sacraments of the New 
 Law, the channels by which It is brought to the soul. This 
 Precious Blood gives the force and the Divine influence to 
 all the Sacramentals of the Church, and covers her and all 
 her members with a blood-stained robe, so that she can say 
 to Her Head, Jesus, : Thou art a Spouse of blood to me [2]. 
 It is this Blood pleading for forgiveness and shed so 
 abundantly in the Passion which is the plentiful Redemption 
 which our good God in His mercy hath arranged for us. 
 
 (8) Et Ipse redimet Israel: And He Himself shall redeem 
 ex Omnibus iniquitdtibus ejus. Israel : from all his iniquities. 
 
 [i] John ix. 4. [ 2] Exod. iv. 25. 
 
 27
 
 418 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 No one else but God is our Redeemer ; as the prophet 
 said : God Himself will come and will save you [i]. Before He 
 came on His errand of mercy the name of Saviour was given 
 to Him : Thou shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His 
 People from their sins [2]. 
 
 From all his iniquities : not from temporal captivity and 
 suffering, which is our appointed share in the work of release, 
 but from the more bitter bondage of sin, a work He alone 
 can do. And mark, iniquity is entirely taken away, blotted 
 out : For He that sitteth on the throne said : Lo t I make all things 
 new [3]. 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father unto Whom we call from the 
 depths. Glory to the Son, His Word in Whom we rely. 
 Glory to the Holy Ghost with Whom there is mercy. 
 
 PSALM cxxx. 
 
 Title. A Song of Degrees. 
 Argument. 
 
 Tomasi : That Christ teaches us not to be lifted up in 
 pride. The voice of Christ to the Father. This twelfth step 
 is understood of the Blessed Virgin-mother of Christ and of 
 every soul that rendereth not evil for evil, nor cursing for 
 cursing, but contrariwise. The voice of the Church. 
 
 Venerable Bede : After penance comes sweetness. The 
 whole of this Psalm concerns meekness and humility, that the 
 sweetness of glorious devotion may refresh those whom the 
 toil of previous confession hath wearied. In the first part 
 the Prophet appoints a heavy punishment for himself if he 
 does not receive God's command in all humility. In the 
 second he bids Israel hope always in the Lord, that so we 
 may be able to endure all the troubles of the world. 
 
 (i) Domine non est exaltd- Lord, my heart is not 
 
 turn cor meum : neque eldti haughty : nor are mine eyes 
 sunt oculi mei. lifted up. 
 
 [i] Is. xxxv. 4. [2] Matt. i. 21. [3] Apoc. xxi. 5.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 419 
 
 (2) Nequc ambuldvi in mag- I do not walk in great 
 
 nis : neque in mirabilibus things : nor in things too 
 super me. wonderful for me. 
 
 In the first verse there is, says St. Bruno, a confession 
 that only God's grace, not man's inherent strength, has 
 enabled him to climb so far as this degree of ascent from 
 the Valley of Weeping. Here, says Albert the Great, is a 
 check put on inward thoughts of pride, and outward tokens 
 of the same, such as are shown by uplifted glances and proud 
 looks. The Pharisee looked up brazenly and boastingly ; 
 the Publican would not so much as lift up his eyes towards 
 heaven [i]. In saying My heart is not haughty, says St. 
 Augustine, we must understand the Psalmist to say less than 
 he means, for his intent is to declare his heart is contrite and 
 humble, and therefore a sacrifice pleasing to God [2]. 
 
 / do not walk in great things. But while, as St. Hilary says, it 
 is a very perilous thing to be content with walking in moderate 
 things and not to dwell amidst wonderful things (for God's 
 words are great and He is wonderful in the highest), we 
 must note the words above me ; for they show how we are to 
 understand the Psalmist. God's commandments are not 
 beyond us, for He said : This commandment which I command 
 thee, this day, is not above thee, nor far off from thee [3]. The 
 meaning is clear. We are to be contented with serving God in 
 the Vocation He has called us to, and not waste our time in 
 day dreams about the wonderful things of other Vocations ; as, 
 for instance, for a Sister of Mercy to long after the silent, retired 
 life of a Carmelite. The great art of the spiritual life is to 
 serve God as He wishes, not as we wish. The perfection we 
 have to strive after is the perfection to which He calls us in 
 our Vocation. Everything else is a wonderful thing above us. 
 Again, we can take the verse of the homage that Reason pays 
 to Faith. There are doctrines far above the comprehension 
 of our Reason. They are not against it, but simply above it. 
 Faith teaches us these doctrines ; and the light of Faith 
 enables us to believe them without doubting. These are the 
 
 [i] Luke xviii. 13. [2] Ps. 1. 17. [3] Deut. xxx. n.
 
 420 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 wonderful things that are above us, and the highest and most 
 perfect act of our Reason is to know its own limits and to 
 bow itself to the higher light of Faith. 
 
 (3) Si non humiliter senti- If I was not humbly minded : 
 ebam : sed exdltdvi dnimam but exalted my soul. 
 
 meam. 
 
 (4) Sicut ablactatus est super As a child that is weaned 
 matre sua : ita retributio in towards his mother : so be re- 
 dnima mea. tribution upon my soul. 
 
 If I have been proud let God withdraw nourishment from 
 my soul till it becomes weak, as an infant refused the breast, 
 and unable to take any other food ; or, as it has been taken : 
 Let vengeance cling to me and lie as closely upon me as a 
 babe does upon its mother's breast. But another interpretation, 
 that of St. Bruno of Aste, is deeper and truer : God makes this 
 world, with all its sorrows and disappointments, the training 
 school of His servants ; so that whereas St. Paul saith to his 
 imperfect converts : / have fed you with milk and not with meat, 
 for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither are ye now able, 
 for ye are yet carnal [i] ; Isaias, on the other hand, says : Whom 
 shall He teach knowledge f And whom shall He make to under- 
 stand doctrine f Them that are weaned from the milk and drawn 
 from the breasts [2]. Here, says the Carmelite, we, newly born 
 in faith, must be nourished with the Milk of Christ's Manhood 
 before we are able to receive the Bread of His Godhead and 
 see Him face to face. 
 
 (5) Speret Israel in Domino : Let Israel trust in the Lord : 
 ex hoc nunc et usque in scecu- from this time forth for ever- 
 lum. more. 
 
 This ending of the Psalm, says Bellarmine, tells us whither 
 true humility tends. The Psalmist, preaching the duty of 
 holiness to the people, does not tell them to look to himself, 
 to follow his teaching, to mould themselves to his will, but, 
 as St. Augustine says, to trust in the Lord, and that not for 
 a time only, nor at intervals, but through the whole of life on 
 earth, and through the endless years of eternity. 
 
 [i] I Cor. iii. 2. [2] xxviii. 9.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 421 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who is the Hope of Israel. Glory 
 to the Son Who lay a Child on Mary's breast. Glory to the 
 Holy Ghost in Whose grace we are humble. 
 
 With this Psalm ends the recital, in the Little Office, of the 
 Gradual Psalms, to wit, twelve out of fifteen. And it is not 
 without reason that a pause is made here and we rest on the 
 step of humility ; for unless we are thoroughly practised in 
 lowliness we shall never ascend the other three which lead 
 into the presence of the King. So the fruit of each day's 
 office is to be more humility as the foundation of all our 
 spiritual life. 
 
 The Hymn is Memento rerum Conditor, as at Prime. 
 
 THE LITTLE CHAPTER [l]. 
 
 Ego Mater pulchrce dilec- I am the Mother of fair love 
 
 tidnis et timoris et agnitionis and of fear and of knowledge 
 
 et sanctce spei. and of holy hope. 
 
 Deo Gratias. Thanks be to God. 
 
 y. Ora pro nobis santa Dei Pray for tis, holy Mother 
 
 Genitrix. of God. 
 
 1%. Us digni efficiamur pro- That we may be made worthy 
 
 missionibus Christi. of the promises of Christ. 
 
 At the end of the day, when Sleep, the image of Death, 
 awaits us, the Little Chapter comes to complete the work the 
 Psalms have begun in us. It directs us to Mary, who is our 
 example of all the virtues a creature can possess. Faith, Hope, 
 Charity, and the Fear of God are the lessons she teaches us ; 
 and in them all is summed up. She is the Mother of the 
 Knowledge of Faith, for without her we can never understand 
 Jesus : Whom to know is Life Eternal [2]. She is the Mother 
 of hope; for she is the Mother of Him Who is our Redemption 
 and our Advocate with the Father. She is the Mother of fair 
 love; for she is the Mother of the Incarnate Love of God; 
 and she, full of the love of God, loves us as her most dear 
 children in Him. She is also the Mother of holy fear; of 
 
 [i] Eccle. xxiv. 24. [2] Cf. John xvii. 3.
 
 422 
 
 reverence and awe for Him Who has done such great things 
 for her. She therefore teaches us Whom to believe in, Whom 
 to hope in, Whom to love, and Whom to fear. So in the 
 Versicle and Response we pray that she, God's Own Mother, 
 may pray for us that we may be made worthy of receiving the 
 promises Her Son has made to those who believe, trust, love, 
 and fear Him. 
 
 ANTIPHON. 
 
 Sub tuum prcesidium confu- Beneath thy patronage we 
 
 gimus, sancta Dei Genitrix : fly, holy Mother of God : 
 
 nostras deprecationes ne despi- despise not our prayers in 
 
 das in necessitdtibus, sed a necessities, but from all dangers 
 
 periculis cunctis libera nos deliver us, ever Virgin, 
 
 semper Virgo gloridsa et bene- glorious and blessed, 
 dicta. 
 
 This Antiphon gives the keynote to the Song of departure, 
 the Nunc Dimittis. It is under the safe patronage of God's 
 Own Mother that we close our day's course of prayer and 
 praise, and it is holding her hand we ask God to dismiss His 
 servants in peace. 
 
 CANTICLE: NUNC DIMITTIS [i]. 
 
 We sing the Song of Simeon, Nunc Dimittis, says 
 Durandus, first, in order that, finding peace after his example, 
 we may attain the true Light which is Christ ; secondly, 
 because as holy Simeon said these words, desiring to pass from 
 this life to another, so when we are about to sleep it is as 
 though we were to die ; for sleep is an image of death, and 
 by the saying of this hymn we commend ourselves to the 
 Lord. Thirdly, the Song of Simeon is sung in the seventh 
 hour, by reason of the seventh age of the world, that is, rest. 
 And the author of the Myroure adds another reason : " For by 
 this Compline is betokened your death and by your going to 
 bed your burial, as I said before ; therefore this song is said 
 at Compline rather than at other hours, that ye should every 
 
 [l] Luke ii. 29-32.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 423 
 
 night be ready to desire death as Simeon did." The reference 
 to peace reminds us, too, of our Lord's visit on Easter Evening 
 to His disciples and His gracious salutation, twice repeated : 
 Peace be unto you [i]. 
 
 St. Luke thus tells the history of the Canticle : [2] 
 And when the days of her purification according to the Law 
 of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem to 
 Present Him to the Lord, (as it is written in the Law of the Lord : 
 Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the 
 Lord [3]), and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said 
 in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. 
 And behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was 
 Simeon, and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the 
 consolation of Israel ; and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it 
 was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not sec 
 death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. And he came 
 by the Spirit into the Temple. And when the parents brought in 
 the Child Jesus to do for Him after the custom of the Law, then 
 took he Him in his arms and blessed God and said : 
 
 (i) Nunc dimittis servum Lord, now lettest Thou Thy 
 
 tuum Domine : secundum servant depart in peace -.accord- 
 verbum Tuum in pace. ing to Thy Word. 
 
 Says the pious author of the Myroure : " This man was 
 now glad to die ; for the very Peace of Mankind was come by 
 Whom he should be brought to endless peace. Before that 
 time all went to hell [4] and knew not when they would be 
 delivered. But this man was surer of his deliverance, for he had 
 his Saviour in his arms, and therefore joyfully he said : Lord, 
 now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy 
 Word ; to the promise that he should not see death till he 
 had seen the Christ [5]." 
 
 Or again, his departure was to be in peace according to 
 Thy Word Who is the King of Peace, and our Peace, and Who 
 through His death was to overcome the sharpness thereof. 
 
 [i] John xx. 19. [2] Luke ii. 22-32. [3] Exod. xiii. 2. 
 
 [4] That is to hell in the same sense as in Creed : He descended into hell, i.e., 
 Limbo. 
 
 [Si PP- 170-171-
 
 424 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (2) Quia viderunt oculi mei: For mine eyes have seen ', Thy 
 salutdre Tuum. salvation. 
 
 " That was the same Child that he bore in his arms, which 
 was and is the Saviour of all His true people. Him he saw 
 with his bodily eyes in His Manhood, and Him he saw with 
 his ghostly eyes by faith after His Godhead" [i]. 
 
 Thus were the words of the Holy Ghost fulfilled. The 
 promise was kept, and the old man had nought else to live 
 for. He had seen Thy salvation, that salvation in which he 
 was to share ; and he had seen Him in the arms of that 
 Virgin-mother, whose heart he foresaw was to be riven with 
 sorrow. 
 
 (3) Q nod pardsti: ante fdciem Which Thou hast prepared : 
 omnium populdrum. before the face of all people. 
 
 " He that is before a man's face may be easily seen. So the 
 faith and knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ was made 
 open to him by His Apostles before all people. And therefore 
 at the Last Doom He shall be seen in His Manhood as a 
 merciful Saviour to all that in faith, and in dread, and in love 
 behold Him there before their face. And to all others that 
 turn their backs to Him here, by misbelief or deadly sin, and 
 so die, He shall be seen as a most fearful Judge. Thus as this 
 holy man saith : He is made ready before the face of all 
 people, not only of Jews, but also of heathens : And therefore 
 he saith further [2] : 
 
 (4) Lumen ad revelationem A Light to enlighten the Gen- 
 gen Hum : et gloriam plebis Tucc tiles : and to be the glory of Thy 
 Israel. people Israel. 
 
 Compare this verse with the last verse of the Benedictus. 
 To enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of 
 death. It is the same thought, for it was said of Him Who is 
 the Light of men, the Light shining in the darkness which did not 
 comprehend it [3]. "The heathen were then all in darkness of 
 misbelief, and therefore our Lord Jesus Christ was to them 
 Light, to bring them out of all darkness into the light of Faith 
 and Grace, as the Apostle St. Paul said to them afterwards : Ye 
 
 [I] Ibid. [2] Ibid. [3] John i. 5.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 425 
 
 were sometime darkness but now are light in the Lord [i]. The 
 Jews that were in the light of right belief had great worship of 
 our Lord Jesus, in that He took His Manhood amongst them 
 of their own kindred. And therefore Simeon calleth Him the 
 Glory, that is, the joy and the worship of the people Israel. 
 . . . . In this song our Lord Jesus Christ is called Salva- 
 tion, Light and Glory. He is Salvation to sinners of mercy ; 
 and whom He saveth from sin He enlighteneth by grace, and 
 therefore He is called Light ; and whom He enlighteneth by 
 grace He rewardeth by endless bliss, and so He is called the 
 Glory of His people [2]." 
 
 GLORIA PATRI. 
 
 Glory be to the Father Who dismisses us in peace. Glory 
 to the Son our Salvation. Glory to the Holy Ghost the Glory 
 of Israel. 
 
 After the Kyrie and ordinary Versicles follows 
 
 THE COLLECT. 
 
 Beatce et gloriosce semper We beseech Thee, Lord, 
 
 virginis Marice, qucesumus that the glorious intercession of 
 Doming, intercessio gloriosa the blessed and glorious ever 
 nos protegat : et ad vitam Virgin Mary may protect us 
 perducat ceternam. PerDomi- and bring us to life eternal, 
 num nostrum, &c. Through our Lord, &c. 
 
 This short, simple, direct prayer includes everything and is 
 a model for our own private prayers. It is only the second 
 part of the Hail, Mary, that she may pray for us here and at 
 the hour of our death. What can be simpler, more childlike 
 and more true ? 
 
 This hour, unlike the others, ends up with a solemn invo- 
 cation of the blessing of the Holy Trinity upon us now going 
 to rest. 
 
 Benedicat et custodial nos May the Almighty and mer- 
 
 omnipotens et misericors Do- ciful Lord, Father, Son, and 
 minus, Pater, et Filius, et Holy Ghost, bless and guard its. 
 Spiritus sanctus. Amen. Amen. 
 
 [i] Eph. v. 8. [2] Myroure,
 
 426 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Duritig Advent-tide. 
 
 The Little Chapter and Versicle are the same as at None 
 during this season. And the Antiphon at the Nunc Dimittis 
 as at Lauds, followed by the ordinary Advent Collect. 
 
 During Christmas-tide. 
 
 The Little Chapter and Versicle are as above ; the Antiphon 
 at the Nunc Dimittis is the same as at the Magnificat during 
 this season, together with the Christmas Collect. 
 
 During Easter-tide. 
 
 The Antiphon at the Nunc Dimittis is Regina Cceli (see page 
 429). 
 
 THE ANTIPHONS. 
 
 The following Antiphons of our Lady are said according 
 to the Rubrics for the various seasons of the year. These 
 concluding hymns seem to have been introduced into the 
 Office by the Franciscans, who began to add them to the 
 daily recital. St. Bonaventure, about 1274, is credited with 
 being the first to add them to the Liturgical Prayer. Among 
 the English Benedictines the use seems to have been general 
 at an early date ; for by the acts of the Chapter of the English 
 Congregation, held at Northampton, 1444, a decree was re- 
 newed ordering their recitation every day at the end of Com- 
 pline, " in order before sleep to implore her help by whom the 
 serpent's head was crushed." They were made of obligation 
 to the whole Church by St. Pius V. in his reform of the Roman 
 Breviary. 
 
 I. 
 
 From Vespers on the Saturday before the first Sunday of 
 Advent to the second Vespers of the Purification inclusively. 
 
 Alma Redemptoris Mater, Mother of Christ, hear thou 
 
 qucK pervia cceli thy people's cry, 
 
 Porta manes, et stella marts, Star of the deep and portal of 
 
 succure cadenti, the sky, 
 
 Surgere qui curat, populo : tu Mother of Him Who thee from 
 
 genuisti, nothing made,
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 
 
 427 
 
 Natura mirdnte, tuum sanc- 
 tum Genitorem, 
 
 Virgo prius ac posterius, 
 Gabrielis ab ore 
 
 Sumens illud Ave, peccatdrum 
 miserere. 
 
 y. Angelus Domini nuntid- 
 vit Maria. 
 
 E?. Et concepit de Spiritu 
 sancto. 
 
 Oremus. 
 
 Gratiam Tuam, qucesumus 
 Domine, mentibus nostris in- 
 funde : ut qui, Angela nunti- 
 dnte, Christe Filii Tui incar- 
 nationem cognovimus, per 
 passionem Ejus et crucem ad 
 resurrectionis gloriam perdu- 
 cdmur. Per Etimdem, &c. 
 
 Sinking we strive and call to 
 
 thee for aid : 
 O by that joy which Gabriel 
 
 brought to thee, 
 Thou Virgin, first and last, let 
 
 us thy mercy see. 
 
 The Angel of the Lord de- 
 clared unto Mary. 
 
 And she conceived by the 
 Holy Ghost. 
 
 Pour forth, we beseech Thee, 
 O Lord, Thy grace into our 
 hearts : that we who know the 
 Incarnation of Christ Thy Son 
 by the message of the Angel, 
 may by His Passion and Cross 
 be brought to the glory of His 
 Resurrection. Through the 
 same, &c. 
 
 From the first Vespers of Christmas to the second Vespers of 
 the Purification (February 2nd) the following is said : 
 
 Jf. Post partum Virgo in- After bearing thou didst 
 
 violdta permansisti. remain a maiden undefiled. 
 
 1^. Dei Genitrix intercede Mother of God intercede for 
 
 pro nobis. us. 
 
 followed by the ordinary Christmas Collect : Deus qui salutis 
 ceternce, &c. 
 
 This Antiphon, made up of words borrowed from St. Ful- 
 gentius, St. Epiphanius, and St. Irenaeus, is said to have been 
 composed by a Benedictine monk of the monastery of Reiche- 
 nau, Herman Contractus, who died 1054. There is but little 
 need for exposition as most of the expressions have been 
 explained. Cadenti populo, the people, sinking beneath the 
 black waters of sin, stretch forth their arms to Mary for help. 
 Natura mirdnte. Nature struck with wonder at the unheard- 
 of thing, a Virgin conceiving and bearing a Son, the Creature 
 given birth to her Maker.
 
 428 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 II. 
 
 From Compline on the Feast of the Purification till Easter. 
 Ave Regina ccelorum : 
 
 Ave Domina Angelorum : 
 
 Salve Radix, salve Porta, 
 Ex qua mundo Lux est orla. 
 
 Gaude Virgo gloriosa, 
 Super omnes speciosa, 
 
 Vale valde decora, 
 Etpro nobis Christum exdra. 
 
 y. Digndre me lauddre te, 
 Virgo sacrdta. 
 
 1%. Da mihi virtutem con- 
 tra hostes tuos. 
 
 Hail, Queen of Heaven 
 
 enthroned : 
 Hail, by angels Mistress 
 
 crowned : 
 
 Root of Jesse ; Gate of Morn ! 
 Whence the world's true Light 
 
 was born. 
 
 Glorious Virgin, joy to thee ; 
 Loveliest whom in Heaven they 
 
 see, 
 
 Fairest thou where all are fair 
 Plead with Christ our sins to 
 
 spare. 
 
 Make me worthy to praise thee 
 Blessed Virgin. 
 
 Give me strength against 
 thine enemies. 
 
 The prayer is the common prayer at Vespers : Concede 
 misericors. 
 
 The author of this Antiphon is not known. Like the 
 former, the various praises are to be found in the works of 
 the fathers of the Church, and the expressions used have been 
 already explained, i.e., Radix, the stem of Jesse ; Porta, the 
 Gate closed to all except the Lord, and also the Gate through 
 which the Day-spring from on high hath visited us. Super 
 omnes speciosa. The grace of the stainless Conception was 
 increased by that of the Divine Motherhood ; and then, once 
 more, by that of the Sanctification in the Pentecostal Fires. 
 Thus, as the grace which possessed the soul of our ever dear 
 and blessed Lady far exceeded that of any created being, 
 so was her spiritual beauty above that of all others. " Thou 
 art all fair, O Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in 
 thee," sings Holy Church on the Feast of the Immaculate 
 Conception.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 
 
 429 
 
 III. 
 
 From Compline on Holy Saturday to None on the Saturday 
 after Pentecost inclusively. 
 
 Regina ccdi Icetdre, Alleluia, Joy to thee,0 Queen of heaven, 
 
 Alleluia, 
 He Whom thou wast meet to 
 
 bear, Alleluia, 
 As He promised hath arisen. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 Pour forth to Him thy prayer. 
 
 Quia Quern meruisti portare, 
 Alleluia, 
 
 Resurrexit sicut dixit. Alle- 
 luia. 
 
 Ora pro nobis Deum. Alle- 
 luia. 
 
 y. Gaude et Icetdre Virgo 
 Maria, Alleluia. 
 
 ty. Quia surrexit Ddminus 
 verc. Alleluia. 
 
 Alleluia. 
 
 Rejoice and be glad, 
 Virgin Mary, Alleluia. 
 
 For the Lord is truly risen. 
 Alleluia. 
 
 Oremus. 
 
 Deus, qui per resurrecti6nem 
 Filii Tui Ddmini nostri Jesu 
 Christi mundum Icetificdre dig- 
 ndtus es : prcssta qucesumus, 
 ut per Ejus Genitricem Vir- 
 ginemMariamperpetua capid- 
 musgaudiavitce. Pereumdem, 
 &c. 
 
 Let us pray. 
 
 God, Who by the rising of 
 Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 hath vouchsafed to fill the 
 world with joy : grant, we 
 beseech Thee, that by His 
 Mother, the Virgin Mary, we 
 may attain the joys of eternal 
 life. Through the same, &c. 
 
 In 596, during Easter-time, a pestilence was ravaging Rome, 
 and St. Gregory the Great appointed a procession to be held to 
 avert the scourge. On the day appointed he came with his 
 clergy at dawn to the church of Ara Ccdi and, bearing in his 
 hand the picture of our Lady attributed to St. Luke, he set 
 out in procession to St. Peter's. But whilst passing what was 
 then called the Castle or Mole of Hadrian, voices were heard 
 high up in the air singing Regina Ccdi. The holy Pope, aston- 
 ished and enraptured, replied with a loud voice : Ora pro nobis 
 Deum. Alleluia. At that moment an Angel shining with a 
 glorious light appeared and sheathed the sword of pestilence in 
 its scabbard. The plague ceased from that day. The name 
 was then changed from that of the Emperor to the Castle of San
 
 430 
 
 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 Angelo, and the heavenly words were inscribed on the roof of 
 the church of Ara Cceli. In memory of the event the religious 
 of that convent used to sing the Antiphon whenever any public 
 procession passed their church. This simple anthem is one 
 burst of joy which recalls the exultation which filled the heart 
 of our ever dear and blessed Lady when, on that Resurrection 
 Day, she first saw her Son in the glory of the new life. The 
 Angels share in this joy and call upon us to join with them in 
 the heavenly song of Alleluia. 
 
 IV. 
 
 From the first Vespers of Trinity Sunday to None on the 
 Saturday before the first Sunday of Advent. 
 
 Salve Regina, Mater miseri- 
 cordia, Vita, Dulcedo, et Spes 
 nostra, salve. 
 
 Ad tc clamdmus exsules, 
 filii Hevce. Ad te suspirdmus 
 gementes etflentes in hac lacry- 
 mdrum voile. 
 
 Eia, ergo, Advocdta nostra, 
 illos tuos misericordes oculos 
 ad nos converte. 
 
 Et Jesum benedictum Fruct- 
 um ventris tui, nobis post hoc 
 exilium ostende. 
 
 clemcns, pia, dulcis 
 Virgo Maria. 
 
 y. Ora pro nobis, &c. 
 B?. Ut digni, &c. 
 
 Mother of Mercy, Hail, 
 gentle Queen ; our Life, our 
 Sweetness, and our Hope, all 
 hail. 
 
 Children of Eve, to thee we 
 cry from our sad banishment ; 
 to thee we send our sighs, weep- 
 ing and mourning in this tear- 
 ful vale. 
 
 Come, then, our Advocate; 
 turn to us those pitying eyes 
 of thine. And our long exile 
 
 Past, show us at last Jesus, 
 of thy pure womb the Fruit 
 Divine. 
 
 Virgin Mary ! Mother 
 
 blest ! 
 holiest ! 
 
 sweetest, gentlest, 
 
 Pray for us, &c. 
 That we may, &c.
 
 AT COMPLINE, OR NIGHT-SONG 
 
 Qmntyotens sempiterne Deus, 
 qui gloriosce Virginis Mains 
 Marice corpus el dnimam, ut 
 dignum Filii Tui habitdculum 
 effici mereretur, Spiritu sancto 
 cooperdnte prcepardsti : da, ut 
 cujus commemoratione Icetd- 
 mur, ejus pia intercession ab 
 instdntibus malis et a morte 
 perpetua liberemur- Pereum- 
 dem Christum Dominum nos- 
 trum. Amen. 
 
 Almighty and Eternal 
 God, Who hath prepared by 
 the co-operation of the Holy 
 Ghost the body and soul of the 
 Virgin-mother Mary as an 
 abode worthy for Thy Son, 
 grant that we who rejoice in 
 her commemoration, may by 
 her kind intercession be freed 
 from present evils and from 
 death eternal. Through the 
 same Christ our Lord. Amen. 
 
 This Antiphon is sung for six months in the year. It is 
 generally attributed to the Benedictine monk, Herman Con- 
 tractus. St. Bernard, it is said, added the last invocation 
 during a visit to the Abbey of Affligheim. The Antiphon, 
 which is expanded at length by St. Alphonsus, in " The 
 Glories of Mary," is very sweet. Its fragrance lingers over 
 our soul when, at the end of a long day, or at the end of any 
 hour, we place our prayers in Mary's hands, that she, the 
 pure and glorious one, may offer it with all the power of a 
 Mother's love to her God, to that Son, the blessed Fruit of 
 her womb. Thus do we put all under her care ; and we go 
 to Jesus, the Door of Life Eternal, through her, the appointed 
 Gate. All for Jesus through Mary, as one of her servants used 
 to say. Our prayers coming through her hands will be 
 doubly acceptable to her Son ; and we shall be the sooner 
 heard for the reverence He has for His Mother. 
 
 At the end of the Antiphon is said : 
 
 y. Divinum auxilium md- 
 neat semper nobiscum. 
 ty. Amen. 
 
 PATER. AVE. CREDO. 
 
 May the Divine assistance 
 remain with us alway. 
 Amen. 
 
 And this closes the Office. We began by calling on God 
 to come to our aid. He has heard our prayer, now as always. 
 So we conclude by asking that His help should be ever with 
 us ; for His grace is sufficient to free us from present evils and
 
 432 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 from death eternal, and to bring to us the joys of life eternal. 
 This powerful assistance, which the Divine Goodness has given 
 to men, is the love of Mary, the Mother of Divine grace, 
 exalted by her Son to be the Refuge of sinners and the Help 
 of the afflicted. She is the appointed channel of the grace 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ to man ; for having given us our 
 Saviour, she gives us all things in Him. 
 
 A PRAYER AFTER THE OFFICE. 
 
 In respect of which Pope Leo X. has granted to all persons 
 who, after saying the Office, shall devoutly recite it on their knees, 
 forgiveness of the shortcomings and faults of human weakness 
 committed by them in saying the Office. 
 
 To the most holy and undivided Trinity : 
 
 To the Manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified : 
 
 To the fruitful Virginity of the most blessed and most 
 
 glorious Mary, always a virgin : 
 
 And to the whole body of all the Saints : 
 
 Be praise everlasting, honour and glory from all creatures : 
 
 And to us the forgiveness of all our sins. World without 
 
 end. Amen. 
 
 y. Blessed be the womb of the Virgin Mary which bore 
 the Son of the Eternal Father. 
 
 7. And blessed be the breasts that gave suck to Christ the 
 Lord. 
 
 PATER. AVE. 
 
 FINIS.
 
 433 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 That ye may approve the better things, that ye may be sincere and -without 
 offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruit of righteousness 
 through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God [i]. 
 
 CEREMONIAL. 
 
 Lei all things be done decently and in order, says St. Paul [2], 
 The use of Ceremonial is towards this end, and is inspired by 
 the spirit of reverence. In the following we offer sugges- 
 tions, based upon the practices of well-organised communities, 
 which have been found to answer. 
 
 (1) At the sound of the bell the community meet at some 
 place outside the chapel and form into two ranks, the youngest 
 nearest the entrance, the Superior last. At the given signal 
 they enter the choir, two and two, and, after genuflecting, 
 proceed to their respective stalls. 
 
 (2) Kneeling, they say silently the introductory prayer. 
 
 (3) When the Superior gives the signal (by a tap on the 
 desk) they rise, and bowing profoundly (so that the tips of 
 fingers may touch the knees), say in silence the Ave Maria. 
 
 (4) At the signal, all turning Eastward (i.e., towards the altar), 
 the Superior, or the Hebdomadary, that is, the one who for the 
 week conducts the service, begins Domine labia mea aperies, 
 making a sign of the Cross upon the lips ; then, Deus in 
 adjutorium meum intende, making the sign of the Cross on 
 the whole person. 
 
 (5) At the Gloria- all turn, facing each other, and bow 
 profoundly. 
 
 [i] Phil. i. 10, II. [2] i Cor. xiv. 40. 
 
 28
 
 434 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 (6) Then the first Cantor goes into the middle to the 
 Lectern and commences the Invitatory, to which both sides 
 of the choir respond. The Psalm is said by the Cantor. On 
 the greater festivals two Cantors should be used. 
 
 (7) In the third verse at the words Venite adoremus all 
 kneel till the words Nos autem, when they rise for the repetition 
 of the Invitatory. 
 
 (8) The first line of the Hymn is given out by the first 
 Cantor and the rest of the verse is taken up by his side of the 
 choir ; then the second choir take up the second verse, and 
 so on, both choirs joining in and bowing profoundly for the 
 last verse. 
 
 (9) The Antiphon is given out by the first Cantor, and 
 also the Psalm up to the asterisk, then all his side of the 
 choir take it up. At the end the Cantor repeats the Antiphon, 
 and the second Cantor from the other side begins the second 
 Antiphon and Psalms. 
 
 (10) While the Psalms are being said the choir can recline 
 in their stalls or sit down. 
 
 (n) A short pause ought to be made just after the last 
 verse, and all, rising and bowing profoundly, say the Gloria 
 Pain. 
 
 N.B. This always takes place before the Gloria Patri 
 whenever said at the end of a Psalm. 
 
 (12) The Psalms over, all rise ; the first Cantor says the 
 Versicle, to which all respond. 
 
 (13) The Superior, or Hebdomadary, says Paternoster aloud, 
 then all, bowing, continue it in secret till Et ne nos, which is 
 said by the Superior aloud, and all, rising, make the answer. 
 
 (14) The Superior then gives the Absolution. 
 
 (15) The Reader goes to the lectern and after genuflecting 
 turns, bowing towards the Superior, and says Jube domine. 
 After the blessing, given by the Superior, to which all reply 
 Amen, the choir sits while the Reader reads the Lesson. 
 
 (16) At the end of the Lesson the choir, started by the 
 Cantor, say the Responsory ; but the Versicle is said by the 
 Reader, who having said it retires to his place, while the next 
 one in order comes out to read the second Lesson. 
 
 (17) The Superior, or Hebdomadary, ought to read in his
 
 APPENDIX 435 
 
 place the Third Lesson, during which, if it be the Superior, 
 all stand out of respect. 
 
 (18) The Lessons over, the Te Deum is started by the 
 Cantor, all rising and facing eastward. 
 
 (19) At the Te ergo all kneel, facing one another, rising at 
 the next verse. 
 
 (20) If Matins is not followed at once by Lauds, after 
 the Te Deum the Versicle, Domine exdudi orationem, with 
 the Prayer from Lauds and the concluding Versicles, are 
 said. Otherwise 
 
 AT LAUDS. 
 
 (1) All turning towards the east, the Superior or Heb- 
 domadary begins, making the sign of the Cross, Deus in 
 adjutorium. At the Gloria all turn, facing one another, and 
 bowing profoundly, say the Gloria Patri. 
 
 N.B. This ceremonial is used at all the hours. 
 
 (2) The first Cantor starts the first Antiphon and Psalm 
 and repeats the former at the end, and so with the third and 
 fifth. 
 
 (3) The second Antiphon and Psalm are started by the 
 second Cantor, and so with the fourth. 
 
 (4) During the Psalms in this and all other hours the choir 
 recline in their stalls or sit, as the custom may be. The 
 former for preference. 
 
 (5) If it is found that the reciting note is lowered after 
 several Psalms, at the Laudate it will be well for the first 
 Cantor to raise the pitch when giving out the Antiphon. 
 
 (6) The Psalmody over, all rise and face eastward while 
 the Superior, or the Hebdomadary, says the Little Chapter, to 
 which all answer, Deo Gratias. Then, all turning faceways, 
 the first Cantor gives out the first line of the hymn and 
 all his side continue it. The second verse is said by the 
 opposite choir, and all bow during the last verse. 
 
 (7) The Versicle is said by the Cantor, and all make the 
 Response. 
 
 (8) Then he starts the Antiphon and the Benedictus. 
 
 (9) At the Canticle, which is to be said more solemnly
 
 436 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 than the rest of the7Office, all turn eastwards and make the 
 sign of the Cross. 
 
 N.B. This is done at the three Canticles. The Gloria is 
 said as usual. 
 
 (10) After the repetition by the Cantor of the Antiphon, the 
 first Cantor's side start Kyrie eleison, to which the second 
 Cantor's side respond Christi eleison, both sides joining in the 
 last invocation. Then the Superior, or Hebdomadary, says the 
 Versicles, to which all respond, and the prayer, during which 
 all except the reciter bow profoundly, rising to answer Amen. 
 Then follows the Commemoration. All say the Antiphon ; 
 the Cantor follows with the Versicle, to which all respond ; 
 the Superior, or other, recites the prayer. 
 
 (u) After the concluding Versicles, all bow while saying 
 together in secret the Pater, rising for the Dominus dot nobis. 
 
 (12) All then kneel (except from Saturday Vespers until 
 after Sunday's Compline and during Paschal time, when all 
 remain standing, but facing eastwards) for the Antiphon of 
 our Lady, which being over, after a few moments' private 
 prayer, all retire as they entered. Having arrived at the 
 appointed place (called the statio) the Superior passes through 
 the ranks and turning, salutes each side, and then all depart 
 in peace. 
 
 THE LITTLE HOURS. 
 
 (1) These are said in the same way. 
 
 (2) The Hymn comes before the Psalms. 
 
 VESPERS. 
 
 (1) All as at Lauds, with the following exception : 
 
 (2) In the second Psalm all bow while saying the Sit nomen 
 Domini benedictum. 
 
 (3) All kneel for the first verse of the Ave Maria stella. 
 
 COMPLINE. 
 
 (1) The Converte is said turned eastwards. 
 
 (2) The rest of the Office as above. 
 
 (3) The Superior gives the final blessing, during which all 
 bow profoundly. 
 
 (4) The Antiphon of our Lady follows at once.
 
 APPENDIX 437 
 
 SOME GENERAL SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 (1) If the Antiphons are sung the Antiphons are taken up 
 by both sides of the choir. 
 
 (2) There should be, if possible, two Cantors, one for 
 either side of the choir. The ruling of the choir should 
 change every Saturday [i] at Vespers for the ensuing week, 
 so that each side in turn should have the first Cantor. 
 
 (3) The Hebdomadary should also take office from Satur- 
 day evening ; but the Superior always presides and leads the 
 Office on the greater feasts. 
 
 (4) The ordinary form of the Office is said from the 
 Matins of February 3 until the Vespers of the Saturday 
 before the first Sunday in Advent. The only change during 
 Paschal time is the Antiphon at the Three Canticles. 
 
 (5) The Advent Office is said from the Vespers of the 
 Saturday preceding the First Sunday of Advent until after 
 None on Christmas Eve. 
 
 (6) The Christmas Office begins at the Vespers on Christ- 
 mas Eve and goes on till after Compline on February 2. 
 
 (7) The Paschal Office begins at Vespers on Holy Saturday 
 and continues till after None Whit Sunday. 
 
 (8) On the feast of the Annunciation (even when trans- 
 ferred) the Office from Vespers of the Eve until Compline 
 of the feast is said according to the Advent Rite [2]. 
 
 (9) From the beginning of Vespers on the Saturday before 
 Septuagesima until the beginning of Vespers on Holy Saturday, 
 Alleluia is omitted and Laus tibi Domine Rex ceternce glorm 
 is said instead. 
 
 (10) Te Deum is not said, except on feasts of our Lady 
 (even when transferred) in Advent, or from Septuagesima 
 until Easter. 
 
 N.B. The feasts of our Lady are those observed in the 
 diocese. 
 
 (u) During Passion time the Gloria is to be said as usual. 
 (12) It is forbidden during the three days of Holy Week 
 
 [i] The Sunday celebration begins with Saturday Vespers. 
 [2] S.R.C., July 16, 1866, ad. iii.
 
 438 THE LITTLE OFFICE OF OUR LADY 
 
 to recite the Little Office publicly [ i ] . On these days it would 
 be more in the mind of the Church to say the Greater Office. 
 
 (13) On these days which are kept as doubles in the 
 diocesan calendar, all the Antiphons to the Psalms and 
 Canticles have to be said in full before and after. Hence the 
 term double, i.e., the Antiphon doubled [2]. 
 
 (14) When several Little Hours are said together, separately 
 from Lauds, Pater nosier is only said after the last one. When 
 Compline is followed immediately after Matins, the concluding 
 Pater, Ave, and Credo must be said before the Ave Maria 
 of Matins. 
 
 (15) In private recitation it will be well to observe, as far 
 as possible, the ceremonial of the choir ; being mindful of the 
 words of the Psalmist : In the sight of the Angels will I sing 
 praises unto Thee; I will worship towards Thy holy Temple, 
 and will praise Thy Name because of Thy loving-kindness 
 and Truth [3]. 
 
 That God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, 
 to Whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen [4]. 
 
 [i] S.R.C., July 16, 1866, ad. IT. [3] Ps. cxxxvii. 2. 
 
 [2] S.R.C., July 1 6, 1866, ad. ir. [4] i Peter iv. n.

 
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