The best known feature of the Office of the Advent season is of course the O antiphons, which are now upon us, said each day at Vespers with the Magnificat. Their prominence has perhaps overshadowed some of the other riches of the Advent Office, which has an unusually large number of musical propers. In addition to the proper daily antiphons of the Benedictus and Magnificat, the psalms at Sunday Matins also have their own antiphons, (which is not true of either Lent or Passiontide,) and each individual Sunday has another set of five antiphons for the psalms of Lauds and Vespers. The last six ferias of the season before the vigil of Christmas also each have a proper set of antiphons to be sung with the psalms of Lauds, (but not with those of Vespers,) one of the most beautiful parts of the Gregorian repertoire. If December 17 is a Sunday, these begin on Monday the 18th; otherwise, on the 17th itself, along with the Os. I have here set them out in a table with the Latin on one side and an English translation on the other. Between the Latin and the English, I have indicated the psalms and canticles with which they are currently sung according to the Breviary of St. Pius X. Prior to his reform in 1911, the third psalm of Lauds each day was Psalms 62 and 66 said together as a single psalm, and the fifth was Psalms 148, 149 and 150, also said together as a single psalm. On the English side, I have noted the Biblical citations in the text; the reader will note that many of them are not Scriptural at all, and some of the them, such as the very first one (Ecce veniet Dominus), are quite vague or contain only a few words directly from the Bible. The traditional corpus of Breviary antiphons is very ancient, and some of the Biblical citations come from the Old Latin version of the Bible used before St. Jerome's Vulgate translation, such as the antiphon Deus a Libano which is said with the canticle of Habacuc.
Finally, on the 21st and 23rd, there are special antiphons to be said with the Benedictus, the last of these an especially fitting final word of the season, before the special office of the vigil of the Nativity.
Monday
Aña 1 Ecce
veniet Dominus, princeps regum terræ: beati, qui parati sunt occurrere illi. | Psalm 50 | Behold the Lord shall come, the Prince of the
kings of the earth: blessed are they that are prepared to meet him. (Apocalypse 1, 5) |
2 Cum venerit
Filius hominis, putas inveniet fidem super terram? | Psalm 5 | When the Son of
Man shall come, thinkest thou that He shall find faith upon the earth? (Luke 18, 8) |
3Ecce jam venit plenitudo
temporis, in quo misit Deus Filium suum in terras. | Psalm 28 | Behold, the fullness of time hath already
come, in which God hath sent His Son upon the lands. (Galatians
4, 4) |
4Haurietis aquas in
gaudio de fontibus Salvatoris | The
Canticle of Isaiah, chap. 12, 1-6 | Ye shall draw waters in joy from the
fountains of the Savior. (Isa. 12, 3) |
5Egredietur Dominus de
loco sancto suo: veniet ut salvet populum suum. | Psalm 116 | The Lord will go forth from His holy place,
He will come to save his people. |
Tuesday
Aña 1 Rorate,
cæli, desuper, et nubes pluant justum: aperiatur terra, et germinet Salvatorem. | Psalm 50 | Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and
let the clouds rain the Just One; let the earth be opened, and bud forth a Savior.(Isa. 45, 8) |
2 Emitte
Agnum, Domine, Dominatorem terræ, de Petra deserti, ad montem filiæ Sion? | Psalm 42 | Send forth, O
Lord, the lamb, the ruler of the earth, from Petra of the desert, to the
mount of the daughter of Sion. (Isaiah 16, 1) |
3Ut cognoscamus, Domine,
in terra viam tuam, in omnibus gentibus salutare tuum. | Psalm 66 | That we may know, o Lord, thy way upon earth:
thy salvation in all nations. (Psalm 66, 3) |
4Da mercedem, Domine, sustinentibus
te, ut prophetæ tui fideles inveniantur. | The
Canticle of Ezechiah, Isaiah 38, 10-20 | Reward them, o Lord, that patiently wait for Thee,
that thy prophets may be found faithful. (Ecclesiasticus
36, 18) |
5Lex per Moysen data
est, gratia et veritas per Jesum Christum facta est. | Psalm 134 | The law was given by Moses; grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. (John 1, 17) |
Wednesday
Aña 1 Prophetæ
prædicaverunt nasci Salvatorem de Virgine Maria. | Psalm 50 | The prophets foretold that the Savior would
be born of the Virgin Mary. |
2 Spiritus
Domini super me, evangelizare pauperibus misit me. | Psalm 64 | The spirit of
the Lord is upon me: He hath sent me to preach good tidings to the poor. (Isaiah 61,
1 as quoted in Luke 4, 18) |
3Propter Sion non
tacebo, donec egrediatur ut splendor justus ejus. | Psalm 100 | For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, till
her just one come forth as brightness. (Isaiah 62, 1) |
4Ecce veniet Dominus, ut
sedeat cum principibus, et solium gloriæ teneat. | The
Canticle of Anna, I Kings 2, 1-10 | Behold, the Lord shall come to sit with
princes, and hold the throne of glory. (I Kings 2, 8) |
5Annuntiate populis,
et dicite: Ecce Deus Salvator noster veniet. | Psalm 145 | Proclaim ye to the peoples, and say: Behold,
God our Saviour cometh. |
Thursday
Aña 1 De Sion
veniet Dominus omnipotens, ut salvum faciat populum suum. | Psalm 50 | From Sion shall come the Lord almighty, to
save His people. |
2 Convertere,
Domine, aliquantulum, et ne tardes venire ad servos tuos. | Psalm 89 | Return, o Lord,
a little while, and delay not to come to Thy servants. |
3De Sion veniet, qui
regnaturus est Dominus, Emmanuel magnum nomen ejus. | Psalm 35 | From Sion shall come the Lord, who is to
rule, Emmanuel, great is His name. |
4Ecce Deus meus, et
honorabo eum: Deus patris mei, et exaltabo eum. | The
Canticle of Moses in Exodus, 15, 1-19 | Behold my God, and I will honor Him, the God
of my father, and I will exalt Him. (Exodus 15, 2) |
5Dominus legifer
noster, Dominus Rex noster, ipse veniet, et salvabit nos. | Psalm 146 | The Lord is our law-giver, the Lord is our
king, He will come and save us.(Isaiah 33, 22) |
Friday
Aña 1 Constantes
estote, videbitis auxilium Domini super vos. | Psalm 50 | Be ye steady, you shall see the help of the
Lord over you. (II Chronicles 20, 17) |
2 Ad te,
Domine, levavi animam meam: veni, et eripe me, Domine, ad te confugi. | Psalm 142 | To Thee, o Lord,
I have lifted up my soul: come and deliver me, o Lord; to thee have I fled. (Psalm 142,
8-9) |
3Veni, Domine, et noli
tardare: relaxa facinora plebi tuæ Israël. | Psalm 84 | Come, o Lord, delay Thou not; forgive the
crimes of Thy people Israel. |
4Deus a Libano veniet,
et splendor ejus sicut lumen erit. | The
Canticle of Habacuc, 3, 1-19 | God will come from the Lebanon, and His
brightness shall be as the light. (Habacuc 3, 3 and 4) |
5Ego autem ad Dominum
aspiciam, et exspectabo Deum Salvatorem meum. | Psalm 146 | But I will look towards the Lord, I will wait
for God my Saviour. (Micheas 7, 7) |
In the Breviary of St. Pius V, there is no special set of antiphons for Saturday; since one of these sets will always be impeded by the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle on December 21st, the impeded set is said on Saturday. (Obviously, the probably is avoided if Saturday itself is the 21st.) The Canticle of Moses in Deuteronomy did however, have its own antiphon, which is given below. This custom was changed in the Breviary reform of St. Pius X, in which Saturday was given a full set, and the antiphons impeded on St. Thomas' day are simply omitted. Of the four new antiphons, the first and fifth (Intuemini and Paratus esto) are found in several very old chant manuscripts, and were widely used in the Middle Ages; the second and third (Multiplicabitur and Ego Dominus) appear to be new compositions made specifically for this reform.
Saturday
Aña 1 Intuemini,
quantus sit gloriosus iste, qui ingreditur ad salvandos populos | Psalm 50 | Behold ye, how glorious is this one, that
cometh in to save the peoples |
2 Multiplicabitur
ejus imperium, et pacis non erit finis. | Psalm 91 | His empire shall
be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace. (Isaiah 9,
7) |
3Ego Dominus prope
feci justitiam meam, non elongabitur, et salus mea non morabitur. | Psalm 63 | I the Lord have brought my justice near, it
shall not be afar off: and my salvation shall not tarry. (Isaiah 46, 12) |
4Exspectetur, sicut
pluvia, eloquium Domini: et descendat, sicut ros, super nos Deus noster. | The
Canticle of Moses in Deuteronomy 32, 1-43 | Let the word of the Lord be awaited, like the
rain, and let our God descend upon us like the dew. (Deuteronomy
32, 2) |
5Paratus esto, Israel,
in occursum Domini, quoniam venit. | Psalm 150 | But I will look towards the Lord, I will wait
for God my Saviour. (Amos 4, 12) |
AñaNolite timere: quinta
enim die veniet ad vos Dominus noster. | December 21 | Fear ye not, for on the fifth day our God
will come to you. |
Aña Ecce completa sunt omnia, quae dicta sunt per Angelum de Virgine Maria. | December 23 | Behold, all things are fulfilled which were
said by the Angel about the Virgin Mary. |
