I just wanted do a quick post
about the beauty of 1st Vespers for the Feast of the Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Dominican Rite.
I was home early enough from work
yesterday afternoon, so I grabbed my breviary and went out into the backyard to
pray 1st Vespers. More often
than not, I get home from work too late to pray Vespers, so it was a rare treat
for me.
In particular, I wanted to point
out the very long and beautiful super Psalm antiphon that is chanted before
chanting the five (5) Laudate Psalms:
Tota pulchra es, amíca mea, et mácula non est in
te: favus distíllans lábia tua, mel et lac sub lingua tua: odor unguentórum
tuórum super ómnia arómata: iam enim hiems tránsit, imber ábiit et recéssit:
flores apparuérunt, víneæ floréntes odórem dedérunt, et vox túrturis audíta
est in terra nostra. Surge, própera,
amíca mea: veni de Líbano, veni coronáberis.
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You are all fair, my love; there is no flaw in
you. Your lips distil nectar; honey
and milk are under your tongue; the fragrance of your oils are better than
any spice. See, the winter has past, the
rain is over and gone. The flowers
appear, the vines are in blossom and give forth fragrance, and the voice of
the turtledove is heard in our land.
Arise, come, my love, come from Lebanon, come and be crowned.
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As is typical of an office of Our
Lady, this antiphon consists of a compilation of some sublime allusions to the
Blessed Mother in the Song of Songs. Then,
after the Little Chapter, the responsory is equally long:
℟. Beáta es, Virgo María, Die Génetrix, quae
credidísti Dómino; perfécta sunt in te quæ dicta sunt tibi: ecce exaltáta es
super choros Angelórum. * Intercéde pro nobis
ad Dóminum Iesum Christum. ℣. Benedícta et venerábiles es, Virgo María, quæ sine tactu
pudóris invénta es Mater Salvatóris. – Intercéde. – Glória. _ Intercéde.
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℟. Blessed are you, Mary, who believed in the Lord. Those things that were spoken to you are fulfilled
in you. Behold, you have been exalted
above the choirs of angels. * Intercede for us
with the Lord Jesus Christ. ℣. You are blessed and
worthy of veneration, O Virgin Mary, who, without any violation of purity,
were found to be mother of the Savior. – Intercede. – Glory. – Intercede.
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This antiphon joins heartfelt
praise of Our Lady’s fiat with praise
of her miraculous dual state of virgin and mother…Mother of our Savior.
As Dominicans, we have the
glorious and blessed Mary, ever Virgin, as our patroness. Let us always remember to have loving and
confident recourse to her, under the protection of her mantle. And lest we forget, today is one of the days when Holy Mother Church allows us, as Dominican Tertiaries, to obtain a plenary indulgance.