(k) Antiphon. (1) Antiphon. (m) Antiphon. (n) Verse and Response. Lesson 7. NOCTURN III. The Angel Gabriel: spake unto Mary, saying, Hail thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women. Mary said: What meaneth this salutation? for my soul is troubled, and I shall bear my King, and yet remain a virgin. Before the coming: of the great King, let the hearts of men be cleansed, to walk worthily to meet Him, for behold He will come, and will not tarry. The Lord will come forth of His holy place. He will come to save His people. SUNDAY 1. At that time Jesus said to his disciples, There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and Luke xxi. 25-33. in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; (Homily of Pope Gregory.) Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Our Lord and Redeemer, desirous of finding us ready, foretels what evils shall attend the ageing world, in order to sober us from the love of it. He makes known how great strokes shall precede its approaching end; that, if we wil not fear God in prosperity, at least when afflicted by His strokes we may dread His near judgment. Response 7. Lesson 8. Response 8. Lesson 9. Response 9. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, saith the Lord, and His name shall be called Wonderful, the mighty God. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom shall He reign for ever. And His name shall, &c. Shortly before the passage of the holy Gospel, which my brethren have been hearing, the Lord had said, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and pestilences and famines. Then after some additions, He says what you have just heard; There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring. Of all these signs certainly some we see fulfilled already, others we fear as soon coming. Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it Declare it and make it heard; speak and cry out. For nation is rising against nation, and distress from them presses upon the countries, more in the events we see than in the books we read. You know too how often we hear from other parts of the world, of earthquakes overwhelming cities; pestilences we suffer without respite. We do not yet openly behold signs in the sun, moon, and stars: but the alteration of the atmosphere betekens that they are not far off. Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth: and this is His name whereby He shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness. In His days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name whereby He shall be called: The Lord our Righteousness. Glory be to the Father, &c. The Lord our righteousness. (End of Matins. The Te Deum is not sung in Advent.) Lesson 7. Matt. xi. 2-9. (Homily of Pope Gregory.) Response 7. Lesson 8. SUNDAY 2. Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto Him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you and more than a prophet. So many signs and so many miracles, were to each beholder not an offence but a wonder. Yet the mind of unbelievers took this serious offence at Him, that after all His miracles He should be seen to die. Whence also Paul saith, We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the Gentiles foolishness. For it seemed to man to be foolish, that for man the Source of life should die; and thus man took offence at Him for the very thing, whence he ought to have felt himself the more His debtor. For God is so much the more worthy of honor from men, by how much He has for men undergone dishonor. The Lord shall come from Samaria to the Eastern Gate, and shall come to Bethlehem, walking upon the waters of the redemption of Judah: then shall every man be saved, for behold He cometh. And His throne shall be prepared in mercy, and He shall sit on it in truth. Then shall every man, &c. What means His saying, that he is blessed whosoever is not offended in Him, but to mark, in plain words, the abject and degrading nature of His death? as if He openly said, I do what is marvellous, yet I submit to suffer what is abject. Since then I shortly follow thee in dying, men must specially beware, lest, though venerating My signs, they despise My death. Response 8. Lesson 9. Response 9. Lesson 7. Make haste and tarry not, O Lord: and deliver Thy people. Come, O Lord, and do not tarry; absolve Thy people from their iniquities. And deliver Thy people. But let us hear what He said to the crowd concerning this same John, when He had dismissed John's disciples: What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? a reed shaken with the wind? which He means to be answered in the negative. For as the wind takes it, a reed moves this way or that. And what is the reed but the carnal mind? which, according as it falls in with popularity or reproach, at once inclines to the one side or the other. Behold the Lord shall come down with glory and His power with Him: to visit His people in peace, and to establish upon them everlasting life. Behold our Lord shall come with power. To visit His people, &c. To visit His people, &c. SUNDAY 3. (End of Matins.) And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. And they asked him, What then? art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes' latchet I am not worthy to unloose. (Homily of Pope Gregory.) Response 7. Lesson 8. Response 8. Lesson 9. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. was. From the words of this lesson, dearest brethren, we have proof of John's humility; who, whereas he had such grace that he was taken for the Christ, yet preferred to remain unmoveably in what he was, lest he should be carried away by human opinion into fancies above what he For he confessed and denied not, but confessed I am not the Christ. But in saying, I am not, he denied what he was not, not what he was that by speaking truth, he might become a member of Him, whose name he did not fraudulently appropriate. While then he is not ambitious of the name, he becomes a member of Christ; because in aiming at humbly confessing his own weakness, he was found worthy of truly possessing His majesty. Come, O Lord, and do not tarry; absolve Thy people Stir up, O Lord, Thy power, and come, and save us. But when we recollect our Saviour's saying in another passage, the words of this passage raise a perplexing question. For elsewhere when the Lord was asked by His disciples concerning the coming of Elias, He answered, Elias is already come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, and, if ye will know, John himself is Elias. Yet John when he was asked, said, I am not Elias. What means it, dearly beloved brethren, that what the truth affirms, the prophet of the truth denies? The two statements are very different; It is he, and, I am not he. How then is he the prophet of the truth, if he agrees not with the sayings of that truth itself? Behold, the root of Jesse shall come for the salvation of the people; unto Him shall the Gentiles seek: and His name shall be glorious. And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever. And His name, &c. But if we inspect the matter minutely, what seems inconsistent, will be found consistent. For the angel said to Zacharias concerning John, He shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias. He then is said to be coming |