The Liturgical Year Collection by Dom Guéranger, abbot of Solesmes from the 19th century. This is a classic for any Christian, so much information on saints, feast days, prayers (Vespers), and liturgical celebrations. It's 15 volumes for $160 currently, but well worth it!
A few examples - one of the O Antiphons:
DECEMBER 20.
FOURTH ANTIPHON.
| O Clavis David et Sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit; veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis. |
O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel! who openest, and no man shutteth: who shuttest, and no man openeth; come and lead the captive from prison, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. |
O Jesus, Son of David! heir to his throne and his power! thou art now passing over, in thy way to Bethlehem, the land that once was the kingdom of thy ancestor, but now is tributary to the Gentiles. Scarce an inch of this ground which has not witnessed the miracles of the justice and the mercy of Jehovah, thy Father, to the people of that old Covenant, which is so soon to end. Before long, when thou hast come from beneath the virginal cloud which now hides thee, thou wilt pass along this same road doing good [Acts, x. 36.], healing all manner of sickness and every infirmity [St Matth. iv. 23.], and yet having not where to lay thy head? [St. Luke, ix. 58.] Now, at least, thy Mother's womb affords thee the sweetest rest, and thou receivest from her the profoundest adoration and the tenderest love. But, dear Jesus, it is thine own blessed will that thou leave this loved abode. Thou hast, O Eternal Light, to shine in the midst of this world's darkness, this prison where the captive, whom thou art come to deliver, sits in the shadow of death. Open his prison-gates by thy all-powerful key. And who is this captive, but the human race, the slave of error and vice? Who is this Captive, but the heart of man, which is thrall to the very passions it blushes to obey? Oh! come and set at liberty the world thou hast enriched by thy grace, and the creatures whom thou hast made to be thine own Brethren.
ANTIPHON TO THE ANGEL GABRIEL.
| O Gabriel! nuntius coelorum, qui januis clausis ad me intrasti, et Verbum nunciasti: Concipies et paries; Emmanuel vocabitur. |
O Gabriel! the Messenger of heaven, who earnest unto me through the closed doors, and didst announce the Word unto me: Thou shalt conceive and hear a Son, and he shall he called Emmanuel,
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Or a simple Monday the 4th week of Advent:
MONDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT
| Prope est jam Dominus: venite adoremus. |
The Lord is now nigh: come, let us adore. |
| De Isaia Propheta.
Cap. xli.
Et tu Israel, serve meus, Jacob quem elegi, semen Abraham amici mei; in quo apprehendi te ab extremis terrae, et a longinquis ejus vocavi te, et dixi tibi: Servus meus ea tu, elegi te, et non abjeci te. Ne timeas, quia ego tecum sum: ne declines, quia ego Deus tuus: confortavi te, et auxiliatus sum tibi, et suscepit te dextera Justi mei. Ecce confundentur et erubescent omnes qui pugnant adversum te: erunt quasi non sint, et peribunt viri qui contradicunt tibi. Quaeres eos, et non invenies, viros rebelles tuos; erunt quasi non sint, et veluti consumptio homines bellantes adversum te: quia ego Dominus Deus tuus apprehendens manum tuam, dicensque tibi: Ne timeas, ego adjuvi te. Noli timere, vermis Jacob, qui mortui estis ex Israel: ego auxiliatus sum tibi, dicit Dominus, et redemptor tuus Sanctus Israel. Ego posui te quasi plaustrum triturans novum, habens rostra serrantia: triturabis montes, et comminues, et colles quasi pulverem pones. Ventilabis eos, et ventus tollet, et turbo disperget eos: et tu exsultabis in Domino, in Sancto Israel laetaberis.
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From the Prophet Isaias.
Ch. xli.
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend; in whom I have taken thee from the ends of the earth, and from the remote parts thereof have called thee, and said to thee: Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and have not cast thee away. Fear not, for I am with thee; turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just One hath upheld thee. Behold all that fight against thee shall be confounded and ashamed: they shall be as nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against thee. Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find the men that resist thee: they shall be as nothing, and as a thing consumed the men that war against thee: for I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand, and say to thee: Fear not, I have helped thee. Fear not, thou worm of Jacob, you that are dead of Israel: I have helped thee, saith the Lord, and thy Redeemer, the holy One of Israel. I have made thee as a new thrashing wain with teeth like a saw: thou shalt thrash the mountains, and break them in pieces: and shalt make the hills as chaff. Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the Lord, in the holy One of Israel thou shalt be joyful.
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It is thus Thou raisest us up from our abject lowliness, O eternal Son of the Father! It is thus Thou consolest us under the fear we so justly feel by reason of our sins. Thou sayest to us: Israel, my servant! Jacob, whom I have chosen! seed of Abraham, in whom I have called thee from the remote parts of the earth! fear not, for I am with thee. But, O divine Word, how low Thou hast had to come, that Thou mightest be thus with us! We could never have come to Thee, for between us and Thee there was fixed an immense chaos. Nay, we had not so much as the desire to see Thee, so dull of heart had sin made us: and had we desired it, our eyes could never have borne the splendour of Thy majesty. Then it was, that Thou didst descend to us in person, yet so that our weakness could look fixedly upon Thee, because veiled under the cloud of Thy Humanity. 'Who could doubt,' says St. Bernard, [First sermon of Advent.] 'of there being some great cause pending, seeing that so great a Majesty deigned to come down, from so far off, into so unworthy a place? Oh yes, there is some great thing at stake, for the mercy is great, and the commiseration is extreme, and the charity is abundant. And why, think you, did He come? He came from the mountain to seek the hundredth sheep that was lost. O wonderful condescension, a God seeking! O wonderful worth of man, that he should be sought by God! If man should therefore boast, he is surely not unwise; for he boasts not for aught that he sees in himself as of himself, but for his very Maker making such account of him. All the riches and all the glory of the world, and all that men covet in it, all is less than his glory, nay, is nothing, when compared to it. What is man, O Lord, that Thou shouldst magnify him? or why dost Thou set Thy Heart upon him.' [Job vii. 17.] Delay not, then, good Shepherd! show Thyself to Thy sheep. Thou knowest them; not only hast Thou seen them from heaven, Thou also lookest on them with love, from the womb of Mary where Thou still art concealed. They also wish to know Thee; they are impatient to behold Thy divine features, to hear Thy voice and to follow Thee to the pastures that Thou hast promised them.
HYMN FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT
(Composed by St. Ambrose. It is in the Ambrosian breviary for the sixth Sunday of Advent)
Mysterium Ecclesiae,
Hymnum Christo referimus,
Quem genuit Puerpera
Verbum Patris in filio.
Sola in sexu foemina
Electa es in saeculo:
Et meruisti Dominum
Sancto portare in utero.
Mysterium hoc magnum est;
Mariae quod concessum est,
Ut Deum per quem omnia
Ex se videret prodire.
Vere gratia plena es,
Et gloriosa permanes,
Quia ex te natus est Christus
Per quem facta sunt omnia.
Rogemus ergo, populi,
Dei Matrem et Virginem,
Ut ipsa nobis impetret,
Pacem et indulgentiam.
Gloria tibi, Domine,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et sancto Spiritu,
In sempiterna saecula.
Amen.
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It is a mystery of the Church, it is a hymn that we sing to Christ, the Word of the Father, become the Son of a Virgin.
Among women, thou alone, O Mary! wast chosen in this world, and wast made worthy to carry in thy holy womb him who is thy Lord.
This is a great mystery, that is given to Mary: that she should see the God, who created all things, become her own Child!
How truly art thou full of grace, ever glorious Virgin! for of thee is born the Christ, by whom all things were made.
Come then, ye people, let us pray to the Virgin Mother of God, that she would obtain for us peace and indulgent mercy.
Glory be to thee, O Lord, who wast born of the Virgin! and to the Father and the Holy Ghost, for everlasting ages.
Amen.
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PRAYER FROM THE AMBROSIAN MISSAL
(In the Mass of the fifth Sunday of Advent)
| Deus, qui hominem delapsum in mortem conspiciens, unigeniti Filii tui adventu redimere voluisti; praesta, quaesumus, ut, qui ejus gloriosam Incarnationem fatentur, ipsius etiam Redemptoris consortia mereantur. Qui tecum vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen. |
O God, who, seeing man fallen a prey to death, didst resolve to redeem him by the coming of thine only-begotten Son; grant, we beseech thee, that they who confess his glorious Resurrection, may deserve to be for ever with their Redeemer. Who, with thee, liveth and reigneth for ever. Amen.
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Or how about a part of the history of Advent:
CHAPTER THE FIRST
THE HISTORY OF ADVENT
The name Advent [From the Latin word Adventus, which signifies a coming] is applied, in the Latin Church, to that period of the year, during which the Church requires the faithful to prepare for the celebration of the feast of Christmas, the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. The mystery of that great day had every right to the honour of being prepared for by prayer and works of penance; and, in fact, it is impossible to state, with any certainty, when this season of preparation (which had long been observed before receiving its present name of Advent) was first instituted. It would seem, however, that its observance first began in the west, since it is evident that Advent could not have been looked on as a preparation for the feast of Christmas, until that feast was definitively fixed to the twenty-fifth of December; which was done in the east only towards the close of the fourth century; whereas it is certain that the Church of Rome kept the feast on that day at a much earlier period.
We must look upon Advent in two different lights: first, as a time of preparation, properly so called, for the birth of our Saviour, by works of penance; and secondly, as a series of ecclesiastical Offices drawn up for the same purpose. We find, as far back as the fifth century, the custom of giving exhortations to the people in order to prepare them for the feast of Christmas. We have two sermons of Saint Maximus of Turin on this subject, not to speak of several others which were formerly attributed to St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, but which were probably written by St. Cesarius of Aries. If these documents do not tell us what was the duration and what the exercises of this holy season, they at least show us how ancient was the practice of distinguishing the time of Advent by special sermons. Saint Ivo of Chartres, St. Bernard, and several other doctors of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, have left us set sermons de Adventu Domini, quite distinct from their Sunday homilies on the Gospels of that season. In the capitularia of Charles the Bald, in 846, the bishops admonish that prince not to call them away from their Churches during Lent or Advent, under pretext of affairs of the State or the necessities of war, seeing that they have special duties to fulfil, and particularly that of preaching during those sacred times.
The oldest document in which we find the length and exercises of Advent mentioned with anything like clearness, is a passage in the second book of the History of the Franks by St. Gregory of Tours, where he says that St. Perpetuus, one of his predecessors, who held that see about the year 480, had decreed a fast three times a week, from the feast of St. Martin until Christmas. It would be impossible to decide whether St. Perpetuus, by his regulations, established a new custom, or merely enforced an already existing law. Let us, however, note this interval of forty, or rather of forty-three days, so expressly mentioned, and consecrated to penance, as though it were a second Lent, though less strict and severe than that which precedes Easter.
Later on, we find the ninth canon of the first Council of Mâcon, held in 582, ordaining that during the same interval between St. Martin’s day and Christmas, the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, should be fasting days, and that the Sacrifice should be celebrated according to the lenten rite. Not many years before that, namely in 567, the second Council of Tours had enjoined the monks to fast from the beginning of December till Christmas. This practice of penance soon extended to the whole forty days, even for the laity: and it was commonly called St. Martin’s Lent. The capitularia of Charlemagne, in the sixth book, leave us no doubt on the matter; and Rabanus Maurus, in the second book of his Institution of clerics, bears testimony to this observance. There were even special rejoicings made on St. Martin’s feast, just as we see them practised now at the approach of Lent and Easter.
The obligation of observing this Lent, which, though introduced so imperceptibly, had by degrees acquired the force of a sacred law, began to be relaxed, and the forty days from St. Martin’s day to Christmas were reduced to four weeks. We have seen that this fast began to be observed first in France; but thence it spread into England. as we find from Venerable Bede’s history; into Italy, as appears from a diploma of Astolphus, king of the Lombards, dated 753; into Germany, Spain, &c., of which the proofs may be seen in the learned work of Dom Martène, On the ancient rites of the Church. The first allusion to Advent’s being reduced to four weeks is to be found in the ninth century, in a letter of Pope St. Nicholas I to the Bulgarians. The testimony of Ratherius of Verona, and of Abbo of Fleury, both writers of the tenth century, goes also to prove that, even then, the question of reducing the duration of the Advent fast by one-third was seriously entertained. It is true that St. Peter Damian, in the eleventh century, speaks of the Advent fast as still being for forty days; and that St. Louis, two centuries later, kept it for that length of time; but as far as this holy king is concerned, it is probable that it was only his own devotion which prompted him to this practice.
The discipline of the Churches of the west, after having reduced the time of the Advent fast, so far relented, in a few years, as to change the fast into a simple abstinence; and we even find Councils of the twelfth century, for instance Selingstadt in 1122, and Avranches in 1172, which seem to require only the clergy to observe this abstinence. The Council of Salisbury, held in 1281, would seem to expect none but monks to keep it. On the other hand (for the whole subject is very confused, owing, no doubt, to there never having been any uniformity of discipline regarding it in the western Church), we find Pope Innocent III, in his letter to the bishop of Braga, mentioning the custom of fasting during the whole of Advent, as being at that time observed in Rome; and Durandus, in the same thirteenth century, in his Rational on the Divine Offices, tells us that, in France, fasting was uninterruptedly observed during the whole of that holy time.
This much is certain, that, by degrees, the custom of fasting so far fell into disuse, that when, in 1362, Pope Urban V endeavoured to prevent the total decay of the Advent penance, all he insisted upon was that all the clerics of his court should keep abstinence during Advent, without in an way including others, either clergy or laity, in this law. St. Charles Borromeo also strove to bring back his people of Milan to the spirit, if not to the letter, of ancient times. In his fourth Council, he enjoins the parish priests to exhort the faithful to go to Communion on the Sundays, at least, of Lent and Advent; and afterwards addressed to the faithful themselves a pastoral letter, in which, after having reminded them of the dispositions wherewith they ought to spend this holy time, he strongly urges them to fast on the Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, at least, of each week in Advent. Finally, Pope Benedict XIV, when archbishop of Bologna, following these illustrious examples, wrote his eleventh Ecclesiastical Institution for the purpose of exciting in the minds of his diocesans the exalted idea which the Christians of former times had of the holy season of Advent, and of removing an erroneous opinion which prevailed in those parts, namely, that Advent concerned religious only and not the laity. He shows them that such an opinion, unless it be limited to the two practices of fasting and abstinence, is, strictly speaking, rash and scandalous, since it cannot be denied that, in the laws and usages of the universal Church, there exist special practices, having for their end to prepare the faithful for the great feast of the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Greek Church still continues to observe the fast of Advent, though with much less rigour than that of Lent. It consists of forty days, beginning with November 14, the day on which this Church keeps the feast of the apostle St. Philip. During this entire period, the people abstain from flesh-meat, butter, milk, and eggs; but they are allowed, which they are not during Lent, fish, oil, and wine. Fasting, in its strict sense, is binding only on seven out of the forty days; and the whole period goes under the name of St. Philip’s Lent. The Greeks justify these relaxations by this distinction: that the Lent before Christmas is, so they say, only an institution of the monks, whereas the Lent before Easter is of apostolic institution. But, if the exterior practices of penance which formerly sanctified the season of Advent, have been, in the western Church, so gradually relaxed as to have become now quite obsolete except in monasteries [Our recent English observance of fast and abstinence on the Wednesdays and Fridays in Advent, may, in some sense, be regarded as a remnant of the ancient discipline. Note of the Tr.], the general character of the liturgy of this holy time has not changed; and it is by their zeal in following its spirit, that the faithful will prove their earnestness in preparing for Christmas.
The liturgical form of Advent as it now exists in the Roman Church, has gone through certain modifications. St. Gregory seems to have been the first to draw up the Office for this season, which originally included five Sundays, as is evident from the most ancient sacramentaries of this great Pope. It even appears probable, and the opinion has been adopted by Amalarius of Metz, Berno of Reichnau, Dom Martène, and Benedict XIV, that St. Gregory originated the ecclesiastical precept of Advent, although the custom of devoting a longer or shorter period to a preparation for Christmas has been observed from time immemorial, and the abstinence and fast of this holy season first began in France. St. Gregory therefore fixed, for the Churches of the Latin rite, the form of the Office for this Lent-like season, and sanctioned the fast which had been established, granting a certain latitude to the several Churches as to the manner of its observance.
Tile sacramentary of St. Gelasius has neither Mass nor Office of preparation for Christmas; the first we meet with are in the Gregorian sacramentary, and, as we just observed, these Masses are five in number. It is remarkable that these Sundays were then counted inversely, that is, the nearest to Christmas was called the first Sunday, and so on with the rest. So far back as the ninth and tenth centuries, these Sundays were reduced to four, as we learn from Amalarius, St. Nicholas I, Berno of Reichnau, Ratherius of Verona, &c., and such also is their number in the Gregorian sacramentary of Pamelius, which appears to have been transcribed about this same period. From that time, the Roman Church has always observed this arrangement of Advent, which gives it four weeks, the fourth being that in which Christmas day falls, unless December 25 be a Sunday. We may therefore consider the present discipline of the observance of Advent as having lasted a thousand years, at least as far as the Church of Rome is concerned; for some of the Churches in France kept up the number of five Sundays as late as the thirteenth century.
The Ambrosian liturgy, even to this day, has six weeks of Advent; so has the Gothic or Mozarabic missal. As regards the Gallican liturgy, the fragments collected by Dom Mabillon give us no information; but it is natural to suppose with this learned man, whose opinion has been confirmed by Dom Martène, that the Church of Gaul adopted, in this as in so many other points, the usages of the Gothic Church, that is to say, that its Advent consisted of six Sundays and six weeks.
With regard to the Greeks, their rubrics for Advent are given in the Menaea, immediately after the Office for November 14. They have no proper Office for Advent, neither do they celebrate during this time the Mass of the Presanctified, as they do in Lent. There are only in the Offices for the saints, whose feasts occur between November 14 and the Sunday nearest Christmas, frequent allusions to the birth of the Saviour, to the maternity of Mary, to the cave of Bethlehem, &c. On the Sunday preceding Christmas, in order to celebrate the expected coming of the Messias, they keep what they call the feast of the holy fathers, that is the commemoration of the saints of the old Law. They give the name of Ante-Feast of the Nativity to December 20, 21, 22, and 23; and although they say the Office of several saints on these four days, yet the mystery of the birth of Jesus pervades the whole liturgy.
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Or, we have saints, like St Eusebius:
DECEMBER 16. SAINT EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF VERCELLI AND MARTYR.
When asked to tell the names of the saints who were foremost in defending the dogma of the Incarnation, we think at once of the intrepid Eusebius of Vercelli, as one of the glorious number. The Catholic faith, which was so violently attacked in the fourth century by the Arian heresy, was maintained at that time by the labours and zeal of four sovereign Pontiffs: Sylvester, who confirmed the decrees of the Council of Nicaea: Julius, the supporter of St. Athanasius; Liberius, whose faith failed not, and who, when restored to his liberty, confounded the Arians; and lastly, Damasus, who destroyed the last hopes of the heretics. One of these four Pontiffs appears on our Advent calendar is Damasus, whose feast we kept but a few days since. The four Popes have for their fellow-combatants, in this battle for the Divinity of the Incarnate Word, four great bishops, of whom it may be said that the defence of the dogma of the Consubstantiality of the Son of God was what they lived for, and that to say anathema to them was to say anathema to Christ Himself; all four most powerful in word and work, lights of the Churches of the world, objects of the people's love, and the dauntless witnesses of Jesus. The first and greatest of the four is the bishop of the second See of Christendom, St. Athanasius, the Patriarch of Alexandria: the second is St. Ambrose of Milan, whose feast we kept on the seventh of this month; the third is the glory of Gaul, St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers; the fourth is the ornament of Italy, St. Eusebius, bishop of Vercelli, whom we have to honour to-day. Hilary will come to us during Christmas-tide, and will stand at the crib of the Word, whose Divinity he so bravely confesses; Athanasius will meet us at Easter, and help us to celebrate, in the triumphant Resurrection, Him whom he proclaimed as God in those dark times, when human wisdom hoped to destroy, by fifty years of peace, that Church which had survived the storm of three centuries of persecution. St. Eusebius' place is Advent; and divine Providence has thus chosen him as one of the patrons of the faithful during this mystic season. His powerful prayers will help us to come devoutly to Bethlehem, and see in the Child, that is lying there, the eternal Word of God. So great were the sufferings which St. Eusebius had to undergo for the Divinity of Jesus, that the Church awards him the honours of a martyr, although he did not actually shed his blood. Let us now listen to the admirable account which the Church gives us of his life.
Eusebius natione Sardus, Romanae urbis lector, post Vercellensis episcopus, ad hanc regendam ecclesiam merito est creditus divino electus judicio: nam quem numquam ante constituti electores cognoverant, posthabitis civibus, simul ut viderunt et probaverunt, tantumque interfuit, ut probaretur, quantum ut videretur. Primus in Occidentis partibus in eadem ecclesia eosdem monachos instituit esse, quos clericos, ut esset in ipsis viris et contemptus rerum, et accuratio levitarum. Arianis impietatibus ea tempestate per Occidentem longe lateque traductis, adversus eas viriliter sic dimicavit, ut ejus invicta fides Liberium summum Pontificem ad vitae solatium erigeret. Quare hic sciens, in ipso fervere Spiritum Dei, cum ei significasset, ut penes imperatorem una cum suis legatis patrocinium fidei susciperet, mox cum illis profectus est ad Constantium, apud quem enixius agens, quidquid legatione petebatur, obtinuit, ut episcoporum nempe coetus celebraretur.
Collectum est Mediolani anno sequenti concilium, ad quod a Constantio invitatum Eusebium concupitumque, ac vocatum a Liberii legatis, tantum abest, ut malignantium synagoga Arianorum contra sanctum Athanasium furentium in suas partes adduceret, ut potius diserte statim ipse declarans, e praesentibus quosdam sibi compertos haeretica labe pollutos, Nicaenam immo fidem proposuerit iis subscribendam antequam cetera tractarentur. Quod Arianis acerbe iratis negantibus, nedum in Athanasium recusavit ipse subscribere, quin sancti Dionysii Martyris, qui deceptus ab ipsis subscripserat, captivatem simplicitatem ingeniosissime liberavit. Quamobrem illi graviter indignantes, post multas illatas injurias, exsilio illum mulctarunt: sed sanctus vir, excusso pulvere, nec Caesaris minas veritus, nec enses obstrictos, exsilium veluti sui ministerii officium accepit; missusque Scythopolim, famem, sitim, verbera, diversaque supplicia perpessus, pro fide strenue vitam contempsit, mortem non metuit, corpus carnificibus tradidit.
Quanta in eum tunc Arianorum crudelitas fuerit, ac effrons inverecundia, ostendunt graves litterae plenae roboris, pietatis, ac religionis, quas e Scythopoli scripsit ad Vercellensem clerum, et populum, aliosque finitimos; e quibus etiam est exploratum, ipsorum nec minis, inhumanaque saevitia potuisse umquam eum deterreri, nec serpentina blanda subtilitate ad eorum societatem perduci. Hinc in Cappadociam, postremoque ad superiores Aegypti Thebaidas pro constantia sua deportatus, exsilii rigores tulit ad mortem usque Constantii, post quam ad gregem suum reverti permissus, non prius redire voluit, quam reparandis fidei jacturis ad Alexandrinam synodum sese conferret: postque medici praestantis instar, peragrans Orientis provincias, in fide infirmos ad integram valetudinem restitueret, eos instituens in Ecclesiae doctrina. Inde salubritate pari digresso in Illyricum, tandemque in Italiam delato, ad ejus reditum lugubres vestes Italia mutavit: ubi postquam Psalmorum omnium expurgatos a se commentarios Origenis edidit Eusebiique Caesareensis, quos verterat de Graeco in Latinum: demum tot egregie factis illustris ad immarcescibilem gloriae coronam tantis aerumnis promeritam sub Valentiniano et Valente, Vercellis migravit.
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Eusebius, by birth a Sardinian, was a lector in the Church at Rome, and afterwards Bishop of Vercelli. It may well be said that it was God himself who chose him to be the pastor of this Church; for the electors, who had never before seen him, no sooner set their eyes upon him, than they preferred him before all their fellow-citizens; and this instantly, and as soon as they first saw him. Eusebius was the first of the bishops in the western Church, who established monks in his Church to exercise the functions of the clergy; he did it in order that he might thus unite, in the same persons, the detachment from riches and the dignity of levites. It was during this time that the impious doctrines of the Arians were devastating the whole of the west; and so vigorously did Eusebius attack them, that Pope Liberius' greatest consolation was the unflinching faith of this holy man. It was on this account, that the same Pope, knowing that the Spirit of God burned in Eusebius' soul, commissioned him to go, accompanied by his legates, to the emperor, and plead the cause of the true faith. Eusebius and the legates being come before Constantius, the saint pleaded so powerfully, that the emperor granted what he asked, namely, that a council of the bishops should be convened.
That Council was held the following year, at Milan; Eusebius was invited by Constantius to be present at it, which was what the legates of Liberius had desired and begged. So far was he from being duped by the synagogue of the malicious Arians to side with them against St. Athanasius, that he openly declared from the first that several of those present were known to him to be heretics, and he therefore proposed that they should subscribe to the Nicene Creed before proceeding any further. This the Arians, infuriated with anger, refused to do; whereupon, he not only refused to subscribe to what was drawn up against Athanasius, but he also, by a most ingenious device, succeeded in having the name of St. Denis the martyr blotted out from the decree, which the craft of the Arians had induced him to sign. Wherefore, they being exceedingly angry against Eusebius, loaded him with injuries, and had him sent into banishment. The holy man, on his side, shaking off the dust from his feet, caring little either for the threats of the emperor, or the sword which was held over him, submitted to banishment as to something which belonged to his episcopal office. Being sent to Scythopolis, he there endured hunger, thirst, blows, and sundry other punishments; he generously despised his life for the true faith, feared not death, and gave up his body to the executioners.
How much he had to put up with from the cruelty and insolence of the Arians, we learn from the admirable letters, full of energy, piety, and religion, which he addressed, from Scythopolis, to the clergy and people of Vercelli, and to other persons of the neighbouring country. It is evident from these letters that the heretics were unable, either by their threats or by their inhuman treatment, to shake his constancy, or to induce him by the craft of their flattery or arguments to join their party. Thence he was taken into Cappadocia, and lastly into Thebaïs of Upper Egypt, in punishment of his refusing to yield. Thus did he suffer the hardships of exile until the death of Constantius: after which he was allowed to return to his flock; but this he would not do, until he had assisted at the Council which was being held at Alexandria for the purpose of repairing the injuries done by heresy. This done, he travelled through the provinces of the east, endeavouring, like a clever physician, to restore to perfect health such as were weak in the faith, by instructing them in the doctrine of the Church. Animated by the like zeal for the salvation of souls, he passed over into Illyricum; and having at length returned to Italy, that country put off its mourning. He there published the commentaries of Origen and Eusebius of Caesarea on the Psalms, which two works he translated from the Greek into Latin, with such corrections as were needed. At length, having rendered himself celebrated by a life spent in such actions as these, he died at Vercelli, in the reign of Valentinian and Valens, and went to receive the immortal crown of glory which his so many and great sufferings had merited for him.
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Valiant soldier of Jesus, Eusebius, martyr and pontiff, how much labour and suffering thou didst undergo for the Messias! And yet, they seemed to thee to be little in comparison with what is due to this eternal Word of the Father, who, out of His pure love, has made Himself the Servant of His own creatures, by becoming Man for them in the mystery of the Incarnation. We owe the same debt of gratitude to this divine Saviour. He is born in a stable for our sake, as He was for thine; pray, therefore, for us that we may be ever faithful to Him both in war and in peace; and that we may resist our temptations and evil inclinations with that same firmness, wherewith we would confess His name before tyrants and persecutors. Obtain for the bishops of our holy mother the Church such vigilance, that no false doctrines may surprise them, and such courage that no persecution may make them yield. May they be faithful imitators of the divine Pastor, who gives His life for His sheep; and may they ever feed the flock entrusted to them in the unity and charity of Jesus Christ.
Let us consider how our blessed Lady, having returned to Nazareth, is overwhelmed with joy to feel living within her Him, who gives being to every created thing, and whom she loved with all the intensity of the Mother of God. Joseph, the faithful guardian of her virginity, tenderly loves this his spouse, and blesses God for having entrusted such a treasure to his keeping. The angels crowd round this favoured house wherein dwell their sovereign Lord, and she whom He has chosen to be His Mother. Never was there happiness like that which fills this little dwelling; and yet, God has decreed to visit it with a heavy trial, in order that He may give an occasion to Mary to exercise heroic patience, and to Joseph an occasion of meriting by his exquisite prudence. Let us listen to the Meditation of St. Bonaventure, in which he thus ponders the Gospel narrative:
'But while our Lady and Joseph her spouse were thus dwelling together, the Infant Jesus grew within His Mother's womb. Then Joseph, perceiving that Mary was with Child, was above all measure grieved. Here give, I pray thee, all thine attention, for thou hast many fair things to learn. If thou wouldst know wherefore it was that our Lord wished that His Mother should have a husband, whereas He always wished that she should be a Virgin, I answer thee that He so wished on three accounts: firstly, that she might not be disgraced when it was seen that she was a Mother: secondly, that she might have Joseph's aid and company; and thirdly, that the birth of the Son of God might be concealed from the devil.
'Now, Joseph did look many times on Mary, and grief and trouble of heart fell upon him, and his displeasure was seen in his face, and he turned his eyes away from her as one that was guilty of that which he perforce suspected. See how God permits His servants to be afflicted and sorely tried, that they may so receive their crown. Now Joseph was minded to put her away privately. In very truth may it be said of this holy man, that his praise is in the Gospel, for the Gospel says of him that he was a just man, that is, a man of great virtue. For albeit they say that no shame, nor suffering, nor insult can befall a man so grievous as that of his wife's unfaithfulness; yet did Joseph restrain himself withal, and would not accuse Mary, but bore this great injury patiently. He sought not how to avenge himself, but, overcome with pity, and wishing to forgive, he was minded to put her away privately. But herein also had our Lady her share of tribulation, for she took notice of Joseph's trouble, and it sorely grieved her. Yet did she humbly hold her peace, and hide the gift of God. Better did it seem unto her that evil should be thought of her than that she should reveal the divine mystery, and say aught of herself which would come nigh to boasting. Therefore did she beseech our Lord that Himself would right this matter, and make pass this grief from Joseph and herself. Here thou mayst learn what great tribulation and anxiety was theirs. But God came unto their assistance.
'He therefore sent His angel, who spake unto Joseph in his sleep, and told him that his spouse had conceived of the Holy Ghost, and that he was to abide with her in all surety and joy. Whereupon, the tribulation ceased, and they were both exceedingly comforted. So likewise would it befall us if we would suffer patiently, for after a storm God brings a calm. Neither oughtest thou to doubt this, for God suffereth not His servants to be afflicted save for their good. After this, Joseph requested our Lady to narrate unto him what had happened; and she faithfully narrated all unto him. Whereupon Joseph remains with his blessed spouse, and lives with her in all contentment, and loves her above what words can say, and diligently provides her with whatsoever she needed. So also our Lady continues to remain confidently with Joseph, and they live right joyfully in their poverty.'
PRAYER FOR THE TIME OF ADVENT
(The Mozarabic breviary, Wednesday of the first week of Advent, Capitula)
| Deus, cui omnia terra praeconans jubilat laudem; cujus gloriam canora psalmi conclamant voce; cujusquo terribilem in tuis operibus fatentur virtutem; notum facito salutare tuum in conspectu omnium nostrum. Revela justitiam tuam, qua possimus te nostrum agnoscere Creatorem: et esto memor misericordiae tuae, qua nostrorum criminum mereamur invenire remissionem: ut videntes salutare tuum, jubilemus tibi hymnum, cantemus in exsultatione psalmum, et perfrui mereamur tuae beatitudinis praemio. Amen. |
O God, to whom the whole earth proclaims its glad praise; whose glory is celebrated in the sweet melody of the psalms; and whose mighty power is confessed by thy works; make known thy Saviour unto all of us thy servants. Reveal thy justice, whereby we may acknowledge thee to be our Creator: and be mindful of thy mercy, whereby we may deserve to find the forgiveness of our sins; that seeing the Saviour whom thou sendest, we may hymn thee our hymns of joy, and sing our psalms in gladness, and deserve to enjoy the reward of thy blessed sight. Amen.
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