Matins canticles for Advent/2: Isaiah 42:10-16

The second of the third Nocturn canticles set for Advent is from Isaiah 42, and focuses on the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations.

Canticle of Isaiah 42: 10-16

Cantate Domino canticum novum, laus eius ab extrémis terræ:	Sing ye to the Lord a new song, his praise is from the ends of the earth:
Qui descénditis in mare, et plenitúdo eius; insulæ, et habitatóres eárum.	You that go down to the sea, and all that are therein: ye islands, and ye inhabitants of them.
Sublevétur desértum et civitátes eius. In dómibus habitábit Cedar:	Let the desert and the cities thereof be exalted: Cedar shall dwell in houses:
Laudáte, habitatóres petræ; de vértice móntium clamábunt.	Ye inhabitants of Petra, give praise, they shall cry from the top of the mountains.
Ponent Dómino glóriam, et laudem eius in ínsulis nuntiábunt.	They shall give glory to the Lord, and shall declare his praise in the islands.
Dóminus sicut fortis egrediétur, sicut vir præliátor suscitábit zelum;	The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man, as a man of war shall he stir up zeal;
Vociferábitur, et clamábit: super inimícos suos confortábitur.	he shall shout and cry: he shall prevail against his enemies.
Tácui semper, sílui, pátiens fui: sicut partúriens loquar:	I have always held my peace, I have I kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labour.
Dissipábo, et absorbébo simul. † Desértos fáciam montes et colles, et omne gramen eórum exsiccábo:	I will destroy, and swallow up at once. I will lay waste the mountains and hills, And will make all their grass to wither:
Et ponam flúmina in insúlas, et stagna arefáciam.	and I will turn rivers into islands, and will dry up the standing pools.
Et ducam cæcos in viam quam nésciunt, et in sémitis quas ignoravérunt ambuláre eos fáciam;	And I will lead the blind into the way which they know not: and in the paths which they were ignorant of I will make them walk;
Ponam tónebras coram eis in lucem, et prava in recta.	I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.

Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

 Pope St John Paul II gave a General Audience on this canticle (in the context of Lauds in the liturgy of the hours) on this canticle on 2 April 2003:

1. In the Book that bears the Prophet Isaiah's name, scholars have identified various voices all of which are placed under the patronage of this great prophet who lived in the eighth century B.C. This is the case with the vigorous hymn of joy and victory that has just been proclaimed as part of the Liturgy of Lauds of the Fourth Week. Exegetes refer to it as the so-called "Second Isaiah", a prophet who lived in the sixth century B.C., at the time of the return of the Hebrews from the Babylonian Exile. The hymn begins with an appeal to "sing to the Lord a new song" (cf. Is 42,10), as in other Psalms (cf. Ps 96,1 [95]: 1 and Ps 98,1 [97]: 1).

The "newness" of the song that the Prophet invites the Hebrews to sing certainly refers to the unfolding horizon of freedom, a radical turning-point in the history of a people which experienced oppression and exile in a foreign land (cf. Ps 137 [136]).

2. In the Bible, "newness" often has the flavour of a perfect and definitive reality. It is almost the sign of the beginning of an era of saving fullness that seals humanity's tormented history. The Canticle of Isaiah has this exalted tone that is well suited to Christian prayer.

The whole world, including the earth, sea, coastlands, deserts and cities, is invited to sing to the Lord a "new song" (cf. Is 42,10-12). All space is involved, even its furthest horizons that also contain the unknown, and its vertical dimension, which rises from the desert plain, the dwelling place of the nomadic tribes of Kedar (cf. Is 21,16-17), and soars to the mountains. High up, in the territory of the Edomites, we can locate the city of Sela which many people have identified with Petra, a city placed between the rocky peaks.

22 All the Earth's inhabitants are invited to become like an immense choir to acclaim the Lord with exultation and to give him glory.

3. After the solemn invitation to sing (cf. Is 42,10-12), the Prophet brings the Lord onto the scene, represented as the God of the Exodus, who has set his people free from slavery in Egypt: "The Lord goes forth like a mighty man, like a warrior" (Is 42,13). He sows terror among his foes, who oppress others and commit injustice.

The Canticle of Moses also portrays the Lord during the Red Sea crossing as a "man of war", ready to stretch out his right hand and destroy the enemy (cf. Ex 15,3-8). With the return of the Hebrews from the deportation to Babylon, a new exodus is about to take place, and the faithful must be assured that history is not at the mercy of destiny, chaos or oppressive powers: the last word rests with God who is just and strong. The Psalmist had already sung: "Grant us help against the foe, for vain is the help of man!" (Ps 60,13 [59]: 13).

4. Having entered on the scene, the Lord speaks and his vehement words (cf. Is 42,14-16) combine judgement and salvation. He begins by recalling that "for a long time" he has "held [his] peace": in other words, he has not intervened. The divine silence is often a cause of perplexity to the just, and even scandalous, as Job's long lamentation attests (cf. Jb 3,1-26). However, it is not a silence that suggests absence as if history had been left in the hands of the perverse, or the Lord were indifferent and impassive. In fact, that silence gives vent to a reaction similar to a woman in labour who gasps and pants and screams with pain. It is the divine judgement on evil, presented with images of aridity, destruction, desert (cf. Is 42,15), which has a living and fruitful result as its goal.

In fact, the Lord brings forth a new world, an age of freedom and salvation. The eyes of the blind will be opened so that they may enjoy the brilliant light. The path will be levelled and hope will blossom (cf. Is 42,16), making it possible to continue to trust in God and in his future of peace and happiness.

5. Every day the believer must be able to discern the signs of divine action even when they are hidden by the apparently monotonous, aimless flow of time. As a highly-esteemed modern Christian author has written: "The earth is pervaded by a cosmic ecstasy: in it is an eternal reality and presence which, however, usually sleeps under the veil of habit. Eternal reality must now be revealed, as in an epiphany of God, through all that exists" (R. Guardini, Sapienza dei Salmi, Brescia, 1976, p. 52).

Discovering this divine presence, with the eyes of faith, in space and time but also within ourselves, is a source of hope and confidence, even when our hearts are agitated and shaken "as the trees of the forest shake before the wind" (Is 7,2). Indeed, the Lord enters the scene to govern and to judge "the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth" (Ps 96,13 [95]: 13).

Matins Canticles for Advent: Isaiah 40:10-17**

All three of the Sunday third nocturn canticles set for Advent come from Isaiah, the first of them being from Isaiah 40.

Advent 1: Isaiah 40:10-17

Ecce Dóminus Deus in fortitúdine véniet, * et bráchium eius dominábitur:	Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule:
Ecce merces eius cum eo, * et opus illíus coram illo.	Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.
Sicut pastor gregem suum pascet, † in bráchio suo congregábit agnos, et in sinu suo levábit; * fetas ipse portábit.	He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.
Quis mensus est pugíllo aquas, * et cælos palmo ponderávit?	Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm?
Quis appéndit tribus dígitis molem terræ, * et liberávit in póndere montes, et colles in statéra?	who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
Quis adiúvit spíritum Dómini? * aut quis consiliárius eius fuit, et osténdit illi?	Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?
Cum quo íniit consílium, et instrúxit eum, † et dócuit eum sémitam iustítiæ, * et erudívit eum sciéntiam, et viam prudéntiæ osténdit illi?	With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?
Ecce gentes quasi stilla sítulæ, * et quasi moméntum statéræ reputátæ sunt:	Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance:
Ecce ínsulæ quasi pulvis exíguus. † Et Líbanus non suffíciet ad succendéndum, * et animália eius non suffícient ad holocáustum.	behold the islands are as a little dust. And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
Omnes gentes quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo, * et quasi níhilum et ináne reputátæ sunt ei.	All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity
Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.	Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper, * et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	As it was in the beginning, is now, * and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Much of Isaiah chapter 40 is very well known indeed to most English speakers, courtesy of Handel's Messiah: indeed the chapter's opening verses are the text for its first three numbers (Comfort ye/Ev'ry valley/And the glory), and many of its other verses also get a guernsey.  This reflects the fact that the chapter opens the second part of Isaiah, a section which is centred on prophesies of the coming of Christ.

The opening verses of the canticle (vv1-3) announce that Christ will come with a bang and not a whimper: he comes with power and strength, bringing the gift of salvation to his people, those he guards as a shepherd.

This is the coming, the canticle reminds us, of the creator of the universe, the one who holds heaven and earth in his hands (v4-5); the source of all, both physical, intellectual and spiritual (v6-7).

In the face of God, we and all the nations are nothing: mere grass and ashes, our claims to greatness mere vanity (vv8-10).

Matins Canticles for Eastertide: Zephaniah 3:8-13

The last of the Third Nocturn Canticles said at Matins during Eastertide is from the prophet Zephaniah.

Zephaniah (Sophonia) 3:8-13

Exspécta me, dicit Dóminus, in die resurrectiónis meæ in futúrum, * quia iudícium meum ut cóngregem gentes, et cólligam regna,	Wherefore expect me, saith the Lord, in the day of my resurrection that is to come, for my judgment is to assemble the Gentiles, and to gather the kingdoms
Et effúndam super eos indignatiónem meam, * omnem iram furóris mei.	and to pour upon them my indignation, all my fierce anger.
In igne enim zeli mei * devorábitur omnis terra.	For with the fire of my jealousy shall all the earth be devoured.
Quia tunc reddam pópulis lábium eléctum, † ut ínvocent omnes in nómine Dómini, * et sérviant ei húmero uno.	Because then I will restore to the people a chosen lip, that all may call upon the name of the Lord, and may serve him with one shoulder.
Ultra flúmina Æthiópiæ, inde súpplices mei; * fílii dispersórum meórum déferent munus mihi.	From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, shall my suppliants the children of my dispersed people bring me an offering.
In die illa non confundéris super cunctis adinventiónibus tuis, * quibus prævaricáta es in me.	In that day thou shalt not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against me.
Quia tunc áuferam de médio tui magníloquos supérbiæ tuæ, * et non adícies exaltári ámplius in monte sancto meo.	For then I will take away out of the midst of thee thy proud boasters, and thou shalt no more be lifted up because of my holy mountain.
Et derelínquam in médio tui pópulum páuperem et egénum: * et sperábunt in nómine Dómini.	And I will leave in the midst of thee a poor and needy people: and they shall hope in the name of the Lord.
Relíquiæ Israël non fácient iniquitátem, † nec loquéntur mendácium, * et non inveniétur in ore eórum lingua dolósa:	The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth:
Quóniam ipsi pascéntur, et accubábunt, * et non erit qui extérreat.	for they shall feed, and shall lie down, and there shall be none to make them afraid.

 It is in the nature of Old Testament prophesies that they often refer simultaneously to several different separate sets of events, including those at the time the prophet was writing, which in the case of Zephaniah (Sophronius) was under King Josiah (circa 635-630 BC); to the time of the Incarnation; to our own times; and to the Second Coming.  This particular Canticle is a nice example of this.

The Old Catholic Encyclopedia's take on the verses that come immediately before the canticle, and its opening, is all too pertinent to the Church of our time:

"The Prophet then turns again to Jerusalem: "Woe to the provoking, and redeemed city. . . She hath not hearkened to the voice, neither hath she received discipline"; the severest reckoning will be required of the aristocrats and the administrators of the law (as the leading classes of the civil community), and of the Prophets and priests, as the directors of public worship."

Haydock's Commentary on verses 1-3 (in the liturgical arrangement of the text) also point to its relevance to New Testament times, as well as to the Second Coming:

"About forty years after Christ's resurrection, the Jews for the most part continuing obstinate, Titus ruined their city; which is a figure of the world's destruction, and of the eternal punishment of the wicked... After the resurrection, the Church was to be gathered from all nations. Christ will rise again at the last day to judge all."

The main content of the canticle though, encourages us to look forward to the future,  It is, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"A consolatory prophecy, or prophetic glance at the Kingdom of God of the future, in which all the world, united in one faith and one worship, will turn to one God, and the goods of the Messianic Kingdom, whose capital is the daughter of Sion, will be enjoyed..."

Above all though, the canticle invites us to be part of the faithful, purified remnant, the Church, whose sins will not be held against them (v6-7), and can act rightly through grace, a status made possible by the Resurrection. 

I've included Brenton's translation from the Septuagint from the Septuagint, as well as Knox's translation in a table below, as I think the Septuagint gives a better sense of the Messianic content of the Canticle, and both translations are a lot easier to understand than the Douay-Rheims!

Brenton from the Septuagint	Knox
Therefore wait upon me, saith the Lord, until the day when I rise up for a witness: because my judgment shall be on the gatherings of the nations, to draw to me kings,	Hope, then, is none, till the day, long hence, when I will stand revealed; what gathering, then, of the nations, all kingdoms joined in one!
to pour out upon them all my fierce anger:	And upon these, my doom is, vengeance shall fall, fierce anger of mine shall fall;
for the whole earth shall be consumed with the fire of my jealousy	the whole earth shall be consumed with the fire of my slighted love.
For then will I turn to the peoples a tongue for her generation, that all may call on the name of the Lord, to serve him under one yoke.	And after that, all the peoples of the world shall have pure lips, invoking one and all the Lord’s name, straining at a single yoke in the Lord’s service.
From the boundaries of the rivers of Ethiopia will I receive my dispersed ones; they shall offer sacrifices to me.	From far away, beyond Ethiop rivers, my suppliants shall come to me, sons of my exiled people the bloodless offering shall bring
In that day thou shalt not be ashamed of all thy practices, wherein thou hast transgressed against me	No need, then, to blush for wayward thoughts that defied me;
for then will I take away from thee thy disdainful pride, and thou shalt no more magnify thyself upon my holy mountain	gone from thy midst the high-sounding boast; no room, in that mountain sanctuary of mine, for pride henceforward
And I will leave in thee a meek and lowly people; and the remnant of Israel shall fear the name of the Lord,	a poor folk and a friendless I will leave in thy confines, but one that puts its trust in the Lord’s name.
and shall do no iniquity, neither shall they speak vanity; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth:	The remnant of Israel, strangers now to treachery and wrong, the true word ever on their lips!
for they shall feed, and lie down, and there shall be none to terrify them.	Yonder flock may graze and lie down to rest, none to dismay it.

Matins canticles for Eastertide/2 - Hosea 6

The second of the Matins Third Nocturn Canticles for Eastertide, from Hosea 6, is a particularly important one: it is cited several times in the New Testament, and it is referenced several times in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Hosea 6:1-6

Veníte, et revertámur ad Dóminum: † quia ipse cepit, et sanábit nos; * percútiet, et curábit nos.	Come, and let us return to the Lord: For he hath taken us, and he will heal us: he will strike, and he will cure us.
Vivificabit nos post duos dies; † in die tertia suscitabit nos, * et vivemus in conspectu eius.	He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
Sciémus, sequemúrque, * ut cognoscámus Dóminum.	We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord.
Quasi dilúculum præparátus est egréssus eius, * et véniet quasi imber nobis temporáneus et serótinus terræ.	His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth
Quid fáciam tibi, Ephraim? quid fáciam tibi, Iuda? † misericórdia vestra quasi nubes matutína, * et quasi ros mane pertránsiens.	What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning.
Propter hoc dolávi in prophétis; † occídi eos in verbis oris mei: * et iudícia tua quasi lux egrediéntur.	For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.
Quia misericórdiam vólui, et non sacrifícium; et sciéntiam Dei plus quam holocáusta.	For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.

Resurrection, redemption and salvation

The placement of this text in the Eastertide selection is clearly due to verse 2: from the early Fathers such as Tertullian (d225AD) onwards, it has been interpreted by Christians as a prophecy of the Resurrection, and of our invitation to rise again to eternal life with and through Christ.  St Augustine in his City of God, for example, tell us:

"This prophet has also foretold the resurrection of Christ on the third day, as it behoved to be foretold, with prophetic loftiness, when he says, “He will heal us after two days, and in the third day we shall rise again.”" (18:28)

Christ's Resurrection, then, opens the way for us, but this canticle also serves as a reminder that we have to take up this invitation, to repent and accept his healing action in our lives in order to make it our own.  In particular, verse 5 contains a warning from the history of Israel: all too often the fervour of our conversion dries up like morning dew, and we fall back into sin, as St John Chrysostom explains:

 "Let us therefore draw nigh unto Him, and say, “Truth, Lord; for even the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Let us draw nigh “in season, out of season:” or rather, one can never draw nigh out of season, for it is unseasonable not to be continually approaching. For of Him who desires to give it is always seasonable to ask: yea, as breathing is never out of season, so neither is praying unseasonable, but rather not praying. Since as we need this breath, so do we also the help that comes from Him; and if we be willing, we shall easily draw Him to us. And the prophet, to manifest this, and to point out the constant readiness of His beneficence, said, “We shall find Him prepared as the morning.” For as often as we may draw nigh, we shall see Him awaiting our movements. And if we fail to draw from out of His ever-springing goodness, the blame is all ours. This, for example, was His complaint against certain Jews, when He said, “My mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.” And His meaning is like this; “I indeed have supplied all my part, but ye, as a hot sun coming over scatters both the cloud and the dew, and makes them vanish, so have ye by your great wickedness restrained the unspeakable Beneficence.” (Homily 22 on Matthew)

The message of verse 5 is particularly important in these times when judging is so despised: the verse tells us that God sends prophets to judge us as a means to convert us.  Irenaeus for example comments: 

"Thus does He bear witness to the prophets, that they preached the truth; but accuses these men (His hearers) of being foolish through their own fault." (Against heresies, 4:17:4)

Mercy and knowledge

What then is needed?  Mercy and knowledge of God, verse 7 tells us.  

The Hebrew word underlying mercy here, is hesed, which perhaps best translates to 'steadfast love' and certainly conveys an important concept.  

But it is the Greek-Latin interpretation of the word, meaning mercy, is that used in the New Testament, and taken up by the tradition.  St John Chrysostom for example, draws on this canticle to instruct us to continue to pray, continue to try and amend our lives, and ever to trust in God's willingness to forgive us:  

"Which also itself again is an instance of providential care: that even when He sees us unworthy to receive good, He withholds His benefits, lest He render us careless. But if we change a little, even but so much as to know that we have sinned, He gushes out beyond the fountains, He is poured forth beyond the ocean; and the more thou receivest, so much the more doth He rejoice; and in this way is stirred up again to give us more. For indeed He accounts it as His own wealth, that we should be saved, and that He should give largely to them that ask. And this, it may seem, Paul was declaring when He said, that He is “rich unto all and over all that call upon Him.” Because when we pray not, then He is wroth; when we pray not, then doth He turn away from us. For this cause “He became poor, that He might make us rich;” for this cause He underwent all those sufferings, that He might incite us to ask.

Let us not therefore despair, but having so many motives and good hopes, though we sin every day, let us approach Him, entreating, beseeching, asking the forgiveness of our sins. For thus we shall be more backward to sin for the time to come; thus shall we drive away the devil, and shall call forth the lovingkindness of God, and attain unto the good things to come, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and might forever and ever. Amen."

Matins canticles for Eastertide: Isaiah 63

Every Sunday, Matins in the Benedictine Office is celebrated as something of a mini-Easter Vigil, with a set of psalms focused on the Resurrection, and a third nocturn consisting of three canticles.  In Eastertide, the celebration of the Resurrection becomes even more intense, with the canticles particularly focused on that subject.  Accordingly, this post takes a look at the first of the three, which comes from Isaiah 63.

Isaiah 63:1-5

Quis est iste, qui venit de Edom, * tinctis véstibus de Bosra?	Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra
Iste formósus in stola sua, * grádiens in multitúdine fortitúdinis suæ?	This beautiful one in his robe, walking in the greatness of his strength.
Ego qui loquor iustítiam, * et propugnátor sum ad salvándum.	I, that speak justice, and am a defender to save.
Quare ergo rubrum est induméntum tuum, * et vestiménta tua sicut calcántium in torculári?	Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress?
Tórcular calcávi solus, * et de géntibus non est vir mecum;	I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with me
Calcávi eos in furóre meo, * et conculcávi eos in ira mea:	I have trampled on them in my indignation, and have trodden them down in my wrath
Et aspérsus est sanguis eórum super vestiménta mea, * et omnia induménta mea inquinávi.	and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all my apparel.
Dies enim ultiónis in corde meo, * annus redemptiónis meæ venit.	For the day of vengeance is in my heart, the year of my redemption is come.
Circumspéxi, et non erat auxiliátor; * quæsívi, et non fuit qui adiuváret:	I looked about, and there was none to help: I sought, and there was none to give aid:
Et salvávit mihi bráchium meum, * et indignátio mea ipsa auxiliáta est mihi.	and my own arm hath saved for me, and my indignation itself hath helped me.

 This is one of those texts whose connections to the Resurrection looks, at first glance at least, obscure to modern eyes.  

Yet its association with it is attested to by Scripture itself, for Revelation 19 draws heavily on this canticle (see also Rev 14:19-20):

"11 Then, in my vision, heaven opened, and I saw a white horse appear. Its rider bore for his title, the Faithful, the True; he judges and goes to battle in the cause of right. 12 His eyes were like flaming fire, and on his brow were many royal diadems; the name written there is one that only he knows. 13 He went clad in a garment deep dyed with blood, and the name by which he is called is the Word of God;14 the armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses, and clad in linen, white and clean. 15 From his mouth came a two-edged sword, ready to smite the nations; he will herd them like sheep with a crook of iron. He treads out for them the wine-press, whose wine is the avenging anger of almighty God. 16 And this title is written on his cloak, over his thigh, The King of kings, and the Lord of lords." (Knox translation)

Decoding the canticle

Unsurprisingly then the passage was the subject of numerous commentaries by the Fathers, including Tertullian (d. 220), Origen (d. 254), Cyprian (d. 258), Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386), Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) as well as many of the later Fathers.  Accordingly, it is worth drawing on their decoding of the key references.

In verse 1, Edom was taken not as a reference to the place, but as meaning both red or bloody, and 'of the earth' - so who is it who comes from the earth is a reference to the Resurrection of Christ. 

The 'dyed garments' of verse 1 (red in verses 3&7) are Christ's bloodstained clothing.

The references to his beauty in strength in verse 2 were generally interpreted as references to the attributes of his risen body (cf 1 Cor 15:44).

The justice that saves of verse 3 is the Gospel, and Christ's intervention on our behalf.

The image of the winepress (v5) gives us the image of Christ alone working to achieve the hard-fought victory: he was abandoned by all of his disciples (v5, 9). 

The final verse, then, takes us to the victory of the Resurrection. 

The liturgical genius of St Benedict: Christ the fulfillment of the law**

Those who have been listening to Fr Cassian Folsom's series on Praying without Ceasing will know that one of his key themes has been the need to recover the reading of the psalms as the Fathers and St Benedict would have read them, above all, Christologically.   Fr Cassian has also drawn attention to the idea that St Benedict literally interprets the Office as being about Christ: put nothing before the work of God/Put nothing before Christ.

I came across a possible solution to something that has been puzzling me yesterday, and it is a nice example, I think, that takes what Fr Cassian has been talking about just a step further.  Accordingly, I thought I would share it partly by way of encouragement to catch up with his talks if you haven't already done so; partly as a taster for some broader research on the structure of the Office I hope to share here in due course; and also to stimulate your own meditations on the Office.

Any  comments on the plausibility or otherwise of my hypotheses below will be gratefully received on or offline.

The puzzle of Prime

One of the key features of the Benedictine Office, compared to the Roman Office that St Benedict took as his starting point, is the design of Prime.  In the old Roman Office, Prime to None were the same every day, featuring Psalm 118.  St Benedict instead varies the psalms for this hour every day, using Psalms 1-2, 6-19 and four stanzas of Psalm 118.

In many ways the use of these particular psalms is an odd one on the face of it, for instead of Sunday Matins starting the week with Psalm 1, it starts seemingly in the middle of things, with Psalm 20 (though as it turns out, that psalm is particularly apt to Sunday given that the Fathers saw it as pertaining to the Resurrection; and the likewise the psalms that follow).

Once one starts looking more closely though, there are in fact several reasons why St Benedict might have chosen to highlight these particular psalms.  Dom John Fortin pointed out some years back, for example, that they seem to echo some of the key themes in the Rule [1].

Christ the fulfillment of the law?

The particular feature of the Prime psalms that I've been interested in though, is their emphasis on the law. There are, in the psalter, three psalms that deal above all with the law, known as the three 'Torah psalms', namely Psalms 1, 18 (19) and 118 (119).  All three feature at Prime one day after another: Psalm 18, which features the line 'The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul' on Saturday (the old Sabbath); four stanzas of Psalm 118, the long hymn in praise of the law, on Sunday; and Psalm 1, 'Happy the man...who meditates on the law day and night', on Monday.

The threefold repetition is surely no accident, but rather symbolises the Trinity and perfection.

But what seemed particularly puzzling to me is why St Benedict arranges things so that this little trilogy starts on Saturday.  One possible answer is suggested, I think, by yesterday's Matins readings (for Thursday in the third week of Lent).

One of the most important themes of the Fathers was the idea of Christ as the fulfilment of the law.  A nice example of how this theme plays out in Patristic Scriptural exegesis is provided by St Ambrose's comments on why the first miracles recorded in St Luke's Gospel are of Christ healing on the Sabbath.  St Ambrose comments that:

"That the Lord began to heal on the Sabbath-day showeth in a figure how that the new creation beginneth where the old creation ended. 

It showeth, moreover, that the Son of God, Who is come not to destroy the law but to fulfil the law, is not under the law, but above the law.

Neither was it by the law, but by the Word, that the world was created, as it is written "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made."

The law, then, is not destroyed, but fulfilled, in the Redemption of fallen man. Whence also the Apostle saith: "Put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

Our hymn of praise to the law at Prime then, starts, as St Ambrose suggests on the Sabbath, to symbolise that the new creation starts where the old ends.

It continues on the 'eighth day', that celebrates the Resurrection and our redemption.

And is repeated a third time on Monday, a day I suggest that St Benedict makes a celebration of the Incarnation (most of the psalms of Matins are clearly linked to this theme by the patristic commentaries, indeed virtually the whole of the Benedictus and Magnificat can be reconstructed from lines in these psalms; moreover, Psalm 2 at Prime gives us the Introit verse for the Midnight Mass of Christmas).

It is a nice tie in that seems to me to illustrate the deeply Christological approach that St Benedict took to the design of his Office.

Christ the King

Just to reinforce that point, I should note that St Benedict actually takes the repetition of ideas further than the idea of Christ as the fulfillment of the law, for it is not just the 'Torah' psalms themselves we should look at, but also the other psalms placed with them.

In particular, on both Saturday and Monday we are also presented, in the following psalm, with the image of Christ the victorious king.  Michael Barber, in his book Singing in the Reign [2], drew attention to the similarities in content between Psalms 1 and 2 (Monday), and Psalms 18 (19) and 19 (20) (Saturday):

"Psalm 19 [18] is unique because of  its strong emphasis on wisdom.  Its role may be better understood when examined in light of Psalm 20 [19].  Together these two psalms - situated at the centre of book I - mirror Psalms 1 and 2.  Psalm 19 exalts the law of the Lord, the source of wisdom: "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (v. 7).  Them Psalm 20 evokes Psalm 2, speaking of the Lord's deliverance of the Davidic king from his enemies, sending support from Zion.  Thus, as in Psalms 1 and 2, wisdom is connected with the victorious Davidic king."

A similar point can be made on the similarities in content between these two sets of psalms, and the first four stanzas of Psalm 118 St Benedict uses at Sunday Prime.  Both Sunday Prime and Monday, for example, begin with a beatitude, praise the importance of the law, call for or prophesy the destruction of enemies and point to the victory 'over princes' (Ps 2; Ps 118, esp 21-23).

There is also arguably a reason why St Benedict uses Psalm 118 at Sunday Prime rather than Saturday or Monday, for on Monday, the beatitude contained in Psalm 1 'Happy the Man' is singular, referring as St Augustine insists in his commentary, to Christ himself.  Psalm 118, on the other hand, opens with a plural beatitude (Happy those who...): for Christ has opened the way to many through his Resurrection.

This particular example of a key motif in the Benedictine Office is also strongly suggestive of the linkages between the organisation of the Benedictine Office and St Benedict's spirituality more generally.

The dominant image of Christ as King certainly seems to echo through the Rule of St Benedict, for the very opening lines of the Prologue invite the monk to enlist in the army of the true King, Christ, and its an image that is repeated several times through the Rule directly (eg 42.4; 61.10), as well as underpinning the directions on how to pray (Chapter 20) and how to welcome visitors (RB 53).  A similar point can be made about the association between the Rule and the law.

The spirituality of St Benedict's Office?

Is this all too much of a stretch?  Personally I think that this example serves to illustrate the importance of looking at the psalms the way St Benedict would have, in order to unpack the true depths of meaning of his Office, and has hopefully served as a taster for a more thorough reconsideration of the design of the Benedictine Office.

Most contemporary commentators on St Benedict's Office, it has to be said, have struggled to find any systematic thematic or programmatic intent in St Benedict's psalm selections [3].  The consensus view has long been that established by Dom Adalbert de Vogue back in the 1960s, to the effect that St Benedict's changes to the old Roman Psalter were essentially minor ones, aimed primarily at giving the hours from Prime to None a little more variety. [4]  Indeed, James McKinnon summarised the received view on St Benedict's reforms of the Office as follows:

"The process was clearly not one motivated by selecting thematically appropriate psalms.  There was a measure of that only at Lauds and Compline.  Rather, the process was, in Vogues words, a "mechanistic" one, "a matter of a very modest task of arithmetic."[5]

My view is though, that a careful look at the psalms read in the light of the Fathers, as well as close examination of what actually lies behind the liturgical provisions of the Rule, will lead to a rather different conclusion.

Far from being purely mechanistic, I think St Benedict's construction of his Office was a very deliberate work indeed, with his ordering of the psalter aimed at providing both horizontal and vertical unity to it, and reflects a deeply Christological theology.

I'm certainly not the first to suggest this: there have been a few lonely voices that have hints of a deeper spirituality behind St Benedict's design of his psalter, and my comments build on this work. [6]  One key recent contribution, I think, is that of ex-Trappist turned Orthodox scholar Patrick Reardon, who has pointed to the existence of a weekly cycle in both the Orthodox and Benedictine Offices, that runs from Wednesday to Sunday each week and echoes the events of Holy Week. [7]  This cycle, he suggests, starts on Wednesday, with the betrayal of Christ by Judas (reflected in the fact that this was traditionally a fast day in the Benedictine Rule), takes in the events of the Triduum, and ends on Sunday, with a weekly mini-Easter Day celebration of the Resurrection.  All the same, he argues that the Benedictine psalter's programmatic focus is relatively limited, particularly compared to the Orthodox version.

My own view is that closer examination reveals that St Benedict's program is actually much more far reaching.  The bottom line is that in my view, far from representing a purely mechanistic process of adaptation, St Benedict's Office arguably represents a very deliberate spiritual agenda indeed.

Such an agenda does not, of course, have to be understood explicitly in order to shape a particular spirituality: as the experience of the old and new rites of the Mass suggests, an implicit theology can be a surprisingly powerful force in shaping attitudes and understandings.

Prime is of course, one of those hours that no longer exists in the horariums of most modern monasteries.  Indeed, even many monasteries that still say the entire psalter each week have abolished the hour.

Accordingly, making explicit what is implicit in St Benedict's Office may help make the case for the recovery of St Benedict's Office as part of the patrimony of his Order, as well as stimulate our own meditations on the psalms, and enhance our understanding of the Office more generally.  Accordingly, I hope you have found this 'taster' of interest.

Footnotes

[1] John D Fortin, “The Presence of God: a linguistic and thematic link between the doctrinal and liturgical sections of the Rule of Saint Benedict”, Downside Review 117 (1999) 293-308.

[2] Michael Barber, Singing in the Reign The Psalms and the Liturgy of God's Kingdom (with an introduction by Scott Hahn), Emmaus Road Publishing, 2001; pp90.

[3]  The two standard histories of the Office in general, which draw together and provide references to most of the key research on the Benedictine Office are Robert Taft, The Liturgy of the Hours in East and West The Origins of the Divine Office and its Meaning for Today, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, rev ed, 1993, and Paul F Bradshaw, Daily Prayer in the Early Church A Study of the Origin and Early Development of the Divine Office, Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008 reprint.

[4] For the mainstream views of the Office within the Order, see Adalbert de Vogüé, OSB, The Rule of Saint Benedict A Doctrinal and Spiritual Commentary, trans John Baptist Hasbrouck, Cistercian Publications: Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1983, pp 127-163; Timothy Fry OSB, Imogene Baker OSB, Timothy Horner OSB, Augusta Raabe OSB and Mark Sheridan OSB editors.  RB 1980. The Rule of St Benedict in Latin and English with Notes. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1981; and Terrence G. Kardong, OSB, Benedict’s Rule. A Translation and Commentary. Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1996, pp209-217.

[5] James McKinnon, "The Origins of the Western Office", pp 63-73 in The Divine Office in the Middle Ages, Methodology and Source Studies, Regional Developments, Hagiography, Written in Honor of Professor Ruth Steiner, edited by Ruth Steiner, Margot Elsbeth Fassler, Rebecca Anne Baltzer, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000: 72.

[6] See for example Laszlo Dobszay,“Critical Reflections on the Bugnini Liturgy: The Divine Office”, 1983 PDF available from http://musicasacra.com/literature/

[7] Patrick Henry Reardon, Christ in the Psalms, Conciliar Press, revised 2011.  See especially pp 125-126; 181-182.  It should be noted that helpful as this book is, it needs to be treated with some care from a Catholic perspective.  I should also note that I've recently come across a reference to a book on the psalms of the Benedictine psalter by the German monk Georg Braulik, which from its blurb at least sounds promising in this context; my copy has yet to arrive however.

**Update: I've now got the Braulik book, and at first glance at least, though of academic interest at least (providing you can read German) it is less relevant than I had hoped, being concerned primarily with modern arrangements of the psalter rather than St Benedict's (though there is a chapter on the Sunday Office that may have some relevant material in it).


**Cross-posted from Saints Will Arise

The Sunday Canticles for Lent: Ezekiel 36

The third and final of the three Lenten Third Nocturn Matins Canticles in the Benedictine Office is  surely the most beautiful of all of them, and one whose every line we should beg and entreat God to make true for us personally.  

Taken from Ezekiel 36, it prophesies the New Covenant, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Church, and our hope of heaven.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 

Vulgate	Douay-Rheims
1. Tollam quippe vos de gentibus, et congregabo vos de universis terris, et adducam vos in terram vestram.	24 For I will take you from among the Gentiles, and will gather you together out of all the countries, and will bring you into your own land.
2. Et effundam super vos aquam mundam, et mundabimini ab omnibus inquinamentis vestris, et ab universis idolis vestris mundabo vos.	25 And I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.
3. Et dabo vobis cor novum, et spiritum novum ponam in medio vestri:	26 And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you:
4. et auferam cor lapideum de carne vestra, et dabo vobis cor carneum	and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and will give you a heart of flesh.
5. Et spiritum meum ponam in medio vestri: et faciam ut in præceptis meis ambuletis, et judicia mea custodiatis et operemini.	27 And I will put my spirit in the midst of you: and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.
6. Et habitabitis in terra quam dedi patribus vestris: et eritis mihi in populum, et ego ero vobis in Deum.	28 And you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The original historical context for these verses was the siege and fall of Jerusalem, and the Exile that followed.  The Exile, Ezekiel makes clear, is God's punishment for the failure to uphold the covenant; yet despite their fall to idolatry and disobedience, God promises that he will restore Israel once again, and bring the people back to their true homeland. 

Ezekiel's words foreshadowed the eventual ending of the Exile  of the Jewish people.  It is clear, though, that that event merely foreshadowed the true fulfillment of this prophecy in Christ and his Church.

The Church and heaven

The opening and closing verses of this canticle have long been interpreted as speaking of the Church, both Militant and Triumphant.  

The Church, after all, is made up of those from all nations, as Revelation  makes clear:

out of every tribe, every language, every people, every nation thou hast ransomed us with thy blood and given us to God (5:9, Knox translation)

and will lead us to dwell forever in a land where:

God’s tabernacle [is] pitched among men; he will dwell with them, and they will be his own people, and he will be among them, their own God (21:3)

Through the Holy Ghost

The second verse can be interpreted as a reference to the cleaning power of baptism, as St Cyril of Jerusalem pointed out:

"Through Baptism all sins are forgiven, even the most serious transgressions.  Have faith, Jerusalem, the Lord will remove your wickedness from you (cf. Zep 3: 14-15). The Lord will cleanse you from your misdeeds...; he "will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses' (Ez 36: 25). The angels will encircle you rejoicing and they will soon sing: "Who is that coming up from the wilderness', immaculate, and "leaning upon her beloved?' (Sg 8: 5). In fact, it is the soul, formerly a slave and now free to address as her adopted brother her Lord, who says to her, accepting her sincere resolution, "Behold, you are beautiful, beautiful!' (Sg 4: 1).... Thus, he exclaims, alluding to the fruits of a confession made with a clear conscience,... may heaven deign that you all... keep alive the remembrance of these words and draw fruits from them, expressing them in holy deeds in order to present yourselves faultless before the mystical Bridegroom and obtain from the Father the forgiveness of your sins" (n. 16; Le Catechesi,Rome 1993, pp. 79-80; quoted in a General Audience of Pope John Paul II on the canticle).

The effect of our baptism is to give us the law written not on stone tablets, as the Ten Commandments were, but on our very hearts (v3); to turn our stony hearts into life (v4); and to give us the grace to keep us on the right path (v5).

Let us pray that we too may use this Lent to be brought to holy repentance, turning our stony hearts once again to life through the sacrament of confession; that we be cleansed of all attachment to the false idols we have made for ourselves; that we be granted the grace to avoid sin and do good in the future; and that we be granted that grace that will lead us into heaven.