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Introit

Rejoice we all in the Lord,
as we keep festival in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary:
whose solemnity makes angels joyful
and sets them praising the Son of God.
V. Joyful the thoughts that well up from my heart,
I shall speak of the works of the King (Ps 44:2).

Gaudeamus is a magnificent festal chant originally composed for the virgin martyr Saint Agatha, and then adapted to other occasions. It is used on a number of other feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary, making it familiar enough to be sung with a certain jubilant ease. The gentle balancing of the first mode melody evokes the ceaseless, sweeping joys of the heavenly liturgy celebrated by "the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands" (Ap 5:11). The verse, drawn from Psalm 44, the exuberant messianic wedding song, is placed in the mouth of the Church, the Bride of Christ, as she declares the wonders wrought through the intercession of the Virgin Mother of Perpetual Help.
Collect

Lord Jesus Christ, by whose gift Mary Thy Mother,
that Mary whose glorious image we revere,
is our Mother too, and ready at all times to succour us,
we pray Thee grant that we,
who earnestly beg her maternal help,
may be counted worthy to reap through all eternity
the fruit of Thy redeeming work.
Thou who art God living and reigning with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.

As are many liturgical prayers of recent composition, the Collect is addressed to Christ rather than to the Father. Orations addressed to the Son are exceptional in the Roman liturgy; in the East they are the norm. While it is not traditional to direct the Collect to the Son in the classic Roman liturgy, there are moments when it can be quite fitting to do so. The feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help may be one of those moments.

The Collect refers straightaway to the gift of the Virgin Mary's motherhood extended to every disciple of her Son, the very mystery that will be evoked in the Gospel; and to the veneration of her glorious image. It acknowledges that Mary is perpetually ready to help us, and asks that, through her motherly power, we may reap through all eternity the fruit of Christ's redemption. The last phrase is certainly an allusion to the charism of the Redemptorists, custodians of the miraculous icon and, in the tradition of Saint Alphonsus, tireless preachers of Mary's universal mediation and inexhaustible clemency.

The Initiative of Pope Pius XI

With the beginning of the Annus Sacerdotalis, a number of people have asked me about the Votive Mass of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest. Pope Pius XI ordered the preparation of this Votive Mass in 1935, intending that its celebration should become customary on the First Thursday of the month, in a manner analogous to the widespread Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on the First Friday. He announced the new Mass formulary at the end of his Encyclical Ad Catholici Sacerdotii Fastigium (20 December 1935):

Before concluding Our letter, to you, Venerable Brethren in the Episcopate, and through you to all Our beloved sons of both clergy, We are happy to add a solemn proof of Our gratitude for the holy cooperation by which, under your guidance and example, this Holy Year of Redemption has been made so fruitful to souls. We wish to perpetuate the memory and the glory of that Priesthood, of which Ours and yours, Venerable Brethren, and that of all priests of Christ, is but a participation and continuation. We have thought it opportune, after consulting the Sacred Congregation of Rites, to prepare a special votive Mass, for Thursdays, according to liturgical rules: De summo et aeterno Iesu Christi Sacerdotio, to honor "Jesus Christ, Supreme and Eternal Priest." It is Our pleasure and consolation to publish this Mass together with this, Our Encyclical Letter.

The Mass prepared by order of Pope Pius XI disappeared from the 1970 edition of the Missale Romanum or, more exactly, was replaced by another Mass formulary having the same title, but a different euchology. The Collect in the 1970 formulary emphasizes the common priesthood of all the baptized; the Collect in the formulary promulgated in 1935, on the other hand, emphasizes the priesthood of the ordained. I would suggest that the Mass formulary of Pope Pius XI, found in the 1962 Missale Romanum, better corresponds to the intentions of Pope Benedict XVI in calling for the Year of the Priest. Here are the English texts:

Introit / Entrance Antiphon

1962 Missal

The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech (P.T. Alleluia, alleluia). Ps. The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand. V. Glory be to the Father. (Psalm 109: 4, 1)

1970 Missal

The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchisedech. (Psalm 109: 4, 1)

Collect

1962 Missal

O God, by Whom Your only-begotten Son
has been established High and Eternal Priest,
to the glory of Your Majesty and for the salvation of mankind,
grant that those He has chosen as ministers and dispensers of His mysteries,
may be found faithful in fulfilling the ministry they have accepted.
Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.

1970 Missal

O God, who for the glory of Your majesty
and for the salvation of mankind,
established Christ the Eternal High Priest,
grant that by participating in His memorial,
the people whom He acquired for you by His blood
may lay hold of the power of His cross and resurrection.
Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

The Mass in the 1962 Missal gives Hebrews 5:1-11 as the Epistle, followed by the Gradual and Alleluia:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me.
V. To bring good news to the poor He has sent Me,
to heal the contrite of heart. (Luke 4:18)

Alleluia, alleluia. V. But Jesus, because He continues forever, has an everlasting priesthood. Alleluia. (Hebrews 7:24)

The Gospel in the 1962 Missal is Luke 22:14-20, recounting the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist.

Offertory

1962 Missal

Christ having offered one sacrifice for sins, has taken His seat forever at the right hand of God: for by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified (P. T. Alleluia). (Hebrews 10: 12, 14)

Secret/Prayer Over the Oblations

1962 Missal

O Lord, may Jesus Christ, our Mediator,
render these offerings acceptable to You,
and may He present us with Himself as victims agreeable to You.
Who being God, lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
forever and ever.

1970 Missal

Grant us, we beseech you, O Lord,
worthily to enter into these mysteries:
for so often as this memorial sacrifice is celebrated,
the work of our redemption is carried out.
Through Christ our Lord.

The 1962 Missal calls for the use of the Preface of the Holy Cross. The whole question of the Preface for this Mass merits a separate entry, which I hope to write.

Communion Antiphon

1962 and 1970 Missals

This is My Body which shall be given up for you;
this cup is the new covenant in My Blood, said the Lord;
Do this as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me (P.T. Alleluia). (1 Corinthians 11: 24-25)

Postcommunion

1962 Missal

We pray, Lord, let the offering and reception of the Divine Victim vivify us,
that, united to You by perfect charity,
we may bear an everlasting fruit.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God forever and ever.

1970 Missal

We beseech you, Lord,
that by our participation in the sacrifice
which your Son commanded us to offer in commemoration of Him,
You would make us with Him an eternal oblation to you.
Through Christ our Lord.

Whether one uses the 1935 formulary given in the 1962 Missal or that found in the 1970 Missal, it is desirable, I think, that the First Thursday of the month, at least during this Annus Sacerdotalis, should be marked by the celebration of the Votive Mass of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest.

The antiphon Ad Benedictus this morning, with its lilting seventh mode melody, is an apt portrayal of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in the life of Saint Pachomius. The text is Isaiah 35:1.

Laetabitur deserta et exsultabit solitudo et florebit sicut lilium, alleluia.

Thrills the barren desert with rejoicing, the wilderness takes heart, and blossoms, fair as the lily, alleluia.

Julian Green wrote a book entitled "Chaque homme dans sa nuit," -- Each Man in His Night; one might also speak of "each man in his desert." Irrigated by the living water of the Holy Spirit life's deserts become gardens, and joy comes to inhabit the solitudes of the heart.

The Collect is a jewel:

Deus, qui beatum Pacomium abbatem
ad doctrinae virtutumque culmina pervenire fecisti,
concede, quaesumus, ut eius exemplo,
panem Verbi tui primum quaeramus
a quo mentes lumen accipunt et corda quietem.

O God, Who didst raise the blessed abbot Pachomius
to the heights of doctrine and of virtue,
grant that we, by following his example,
may seek before all else the bread of Thy Word:
light for our minds, and stillness for our hearts.

-- Or, one may want to render that last line, "by which our minds are illumined and our hearts quieted."

The example of the Desert Fathers, of desert-dwellers, of hermits, and of monks speaks to all of us. There is no desert that cannot be reclaimed for Christ; there is no barrenness that cannot be made fertile by the action of the Holy Spirit.

The 2002 editio typica of the Missale Romanum contains the following Collect for the memorial of Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, Priest. The Collect is an admirable synthesis of the charism of Saint Louis-Marie. Every line of the text alludes to an element characteristic of his spirituality. The English translation is my own.

O God, who willed to guide the steps
of your priest, saint Louis-Marie,
into the way of salvation and of delight in Christ
in the company of the Blessed Virgin,
grant that we, by following his example,
may meditate the mysteries of your love
and devote ourselves tirelessly to the upbuilding of your Church.

The stained-glass window depicts King Athelstan the Glorious.

Acts 4: 23-31

"And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said,

God Is Addressed

Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who by the mouth of our father David, thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit,

The Psalm Quoted: Meditatio

`Why did the Gentiles rage,and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed' --

Historical Fulfillment of David's Prophecy

for truly in this city there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy plan had predestined to take place.

The Petition: Oratio

And now, Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness, while thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

God's Response: An Outpouring of the Holy Spirit

And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness."

Praying Out of a Psalm

Today's First Reading at Holy Mass gave us the earliest example of an Oration or Collect based on a psalm. Already in the first centuries of the Church, authorized by the teaching of Our Lord Himself in Luke 24:44-45, the faithful began to recognize Christ and His Mysteries in the psalms they were accustomed to chant. A Trinitarian doxology (Gloria Patri) came to be appended to each psalm, and before long the psalms were enriched with refrains or framed with antiphons.

Collects on the Psalms

In both East and West, it was not uncommon to rise, or kneel, or prostrate, and pray in silence at the end of a psalm. The priest officiating would then gather up (colligere) the silent supplications of the faithful, and express them in an Oration or Collect recited in the name of all. Egeria, writing in about 415 A.D., Cassian, writing in about 420 A.D., and the 6th century Rule of the Master, all attest to the existence of this custom both in urban churches and in monastic assemblies.

The custom of inserting Collects into the psalmody of the Divine Office did not survive the test of time. It seems to have disappeared quite early in the East, and Saint Benedict, so careful to note the details of monastic psalmody in the West, makes no mention of Collects on the psalms.

Even while Collects on the psalms fell out of public liturgical use, they continued to be popular through the Middle Ages in personal devotions. Thus, one finds them in various Psalters for personal use and Books of Hours.

The Orations at the Paschal Vigil

The only place where Collects on the psalms survive in the actual liturgical practice of the Roman Rite is in the orations that, at the Paschal Vigil, conclude each of the Tracts or Responsorial Psalms that follow the readings. The Collect, of course, follows the repetition of the antiphon (or refrain) and never comes between the psalm and the repetition of the antiphon.

A Stupid Editorial Mistake

Some forty years ago the editors of the American edition of the Liturgia Horarum included Collects on the psalms in their books. The editors in question appear to have had no experience whatsoever of the choral celebration of the Divine Office. Consequently, with a total disregard for the musical and theological function of the antiphon -- to indicate the mode of the psalmody, and to serve as a Christological and ecclesiological key to it -- they wrongly inserted the "Psalm Prayers" between the doxology and the repetition of the antiphon. Musically, this is a disaster.

Doing It Right

I would argue that the last thing one needs in liturgical prayer is more wordiness, and the "Psalm Prayers" often give the impression of adding words for the sake of pious bulk. If, however, one judges the inclusion of Collects on the psalms of some pastoral benefit in the public celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, one should model the practice after what is done at the Paschal Vigil:

1) After the final repetition of the antiphon, all rise.
2) The celebrant sings, "Let us pray."
3) After a pause, he sings the Collect, taking care to conclude it using the shorter ending: "Through Christ our Lord," or "Who live and reign forever and ever."
4) The people respond "Amen."

Here is the psalm Collect given for the same Psalm 2 in the prayerbook of Athelstan, King of England from 924 to 939:

O Lord, we beseech Thee,
break the chains of our sins;
so that, bound to the yoke of Thy service,
we may be able to serve Thee in fear and reverence.
Through Christ our Lord.

And here is a Collect I composed to conclude today's General Intercessions:

Almighty and ever-living God
who on Sion your holy mountain
established your Christ as King,
mercifully grant that we may spurn
the insurrection of sinful passions,
so as to stand with humble confidence on the last day
before the Judge of all,
the Lord of clemency,
the Prince of Peace,
who is Lord forever and ever.

This is the lovely translation of the Stabat Mater given in Maurice Zundel's classic, The Splendour of the Liturgy (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1939).

Plunged in grief the mother stood,
Weeping where the crimsoned wood
Held on high her dying son.

Through her soul, whose mourning low,
Told how grievous was her woe,
Sorrow like a sword had gone.

Oh! how sad, how sorrow laden,
Stood the meek and blessed maiden,
God's true mother undefiled.

Trembling, weeping, whelmed in woes,
Winessing the dying throes
Of her own immortal child.

Who is he who would not weep,
Could he know what anguish deep,
Pierced the mother of the Lord?

Who from sorrow could refrain,
Gazing on that mother's pain,
Weeping with her son adored?

Although the Roman Martyrology commemorates the anniversary of Saint Bernadette's death on April 16th, her liturgical memorial is kept on February 18th at Lourdes itself, at Nevers where her body rests, and in all of France. The Church honours her under her name in religion: Marie-Bernard. In the past year several friends of mine, including Philip Johnson and the Father Abbot who received my solemn vows, have had recourse to Saint Bernadette in their hours of need. Bernadette has a way of making herself close to those who seek her intercession.

The liturgical texts provided for her feast provide us with a portrait of the little saint of Lourdes. I give here the Latin text and my own translation, with such a few words of commentary.

Ad Laudes matutinas

V. Diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis.
R. Propterea benedixit te Deus in aeternum.

V. Grace is poured out upon thy lips.
R. Therefore hath God blessed thee forever.

Yes, when one reads the words of Saint Bernadette, one is struck by her simplicity, a simplicity that is the fruit and sign of Divine Grace at work in her soul.

Ad Benedictus

Libenter gloriabor * in infirmitatibus meis,
ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi. (2 Cor 12:9)

Gladly will I glory in my infirmities
that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

The liturgy places the words of the Apostle Paul in the mouth of Saint Bernadette. Like the Apostle, she experienced the power of Christ in her infirmity, her poverty, and her littleness. Her whole life -- from the hovel where she lived as a girl with her family in Lourdes to the infirmary of the Sisters of Charity at Nevers -- displays the power of Christ in weakness.

Oratio

Humilium, Deus, protector, amator, et corona,
qui beatam Mariam Bernardam, virginem
mira patientia et caritate clarescere fecisti,
praesta, quaesumus, eius intercessione et exemplo,
per simplices fidei semitas,
ad tuam in caelis visionem pervenire mereamur.
Per Dominum.

O God, protector, lover, and crown of the humble,
who didst make the virgin, blessed Mary Bernard
shine with a wondrous patience and charity,
grant, we beseech Thee, by her intercession and example,
that [walking] in the simple paths of faith,
we may at length be found worthy
of beholding Thee in heaven.
Through Our Lord.

What a beautiful Collect! It begins by addressing God the Father with three titles: He is the protector of the humble, of the lowly in heart; He is the One who loves them; and He is their crown in the glory of heaven. He caused Bernardette to shine, clarescere, like a lamp in a dark place, by means of a the virtues of a wondrous patience and charity. The petition of the prayer alludes not to the singular grace of the apparitions of the Immaculate Virgin at Lourdes, but rather to the simple paths of faith that Bernadette trod after the apparitions, especially in the monotony of daily life at Nevers. These the same paths of faith, quite empty of all that is extraordinary, become our way to the vision of God in heaven.

Ad Vesperas

V. Elegit eam Deus et praeelegit eam.
R. In tabernaculo suo habitare facit eam.

V. God chose her and set her apart.
R. He made her dwell in His tabernacle.

The choice of God: "You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain." (Jn 15:16). God chose Bernadette and drew her into intimacy with Himself, hiding her in the secret of His tabernacle.

Ad Magnificat

Veni, electa mea, * et ponam in te thronum meum.

Come, my chosen one, and I shall set my throne within thee.

The Magnificat Antiphon expresses the call of the Bridegroom at each Holy Communion, and again at the viaticum given in the hour of our death.

Preface of Saint Scholastica, Virgin*

Truly it is right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

Saint Scholastica, obedient to the teaching of Saint Benedict, her brother,
inclined the ear of her heart to the voice of Christ
who led her into the wilderness
and there espoused her in mercy and faithfulness.

This holy virgin chose the best part,
and in preferring nothing to the love of Christ,
reached that love of yours which, being perfect,
drove out all fear.

When in earnest prayer she sought your help,
you answered her outpouring of tears
with a sudden downpour of rain amidst lightning and thunder,
and in this you revealed the surpassing power of love.

In the form of a dove,
her pure soul entered the glory of heaven;
seeing this her brother was filled with joy
and raised his voice in glad thanksgiving.

Now Saint Scholastica rejoices in you who called her,
and praises you forever with the powers of heaven,
with whom we also raise our voices
in this, their endless hymn of praise:

* Presented here for study purposes.

Happy Onomastico to novice Brother Stephen of the Abbey of Our Lady of Spring Bank! Be sure to visit him at Sub Tuum today!

Collect

Almighty and ever-living God,
who are Yourself the reward exceeding great
of those who leave all things for the sake of Christ Your Son,
grant, we beseech You,
that by the example and prayers
of the holy abbots Robert, Alberic, and Stephen,
we too may hasten with all fervour and zeal
to the fullness of eternal life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Preface

Truly it is right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

Knit together in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
the blessed abbots Robert, Alberic, and Stephen
chose to be poor with the poor Christ,
and so went forth to a desert wilderness
to abide in the place you had prepared for them.

Schooled in all things by the Rule of Saint Benedict, their father,
they sought only to live in peace
according to the truth of the Gospel.

Setting nothing before the love of Christ,
and zealous for the praise of your Majesty,
their example drew many
to take up the strong and glorious weapons of obedience.

And so, on their feast day, we join with them to adore you
and with heart and mind in harmony with our voices,
in the sight of the angels
we sing the ageless hymn of your praise:

General Intercessions

That the Church in East and West
may persevere in seeking the unity willed for her by Christ
from whom the whole Body is joined and knit together
to be built up in charity (cf. Eph 4:16),
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That missionary zeal will conquer the world for Christ.,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That the thoughts of the powerful of the earth may be turned from war
and opened to the making of peace,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That those who journey in darkness
may be given friends and companions to lead them by the hand;
and that those whose hearts are hardened against Christ and the Church
may be touched by an inbreaking of grace,
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

That we who partake of these Holy Mysteries
may be illumined by the same light
that blazed before the eyes of Saint Paul on the road to Damascus,
and, like him, live by faith in the Son of God
who loved us and gave himself up for us (Gal 2:20),
to the Lord we pray, Christ, hear us. R. Christ, graciously hear us.

Collect at the General Intercessions

Almighty and ever-living God,
who, by a wonderful inbreaking of your grace,
opened the heart of the blessed Apostle Paul
to the knowledge of your will,
to the bright vision of the Just One,
and to the sound of his voice (cf. Ac 22: 14);
mercifully grant that we,
having received in Baptism the sight that comes from faith,
may walk as children of the light and of the day (1 Th 5:5),
eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:3).
Through Christ our Lord.