Magnificat

“ Can it be that they prefer to be among the proud whom He scatters in the conceit of their heart, among the mighty whom He puts down from their seat, among the rich whom He sends away empty? Can it be that they refuse to listen to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Who tells them that Mary is blessed among women? And yet they sing the Magnificat, which tells them how ready God is to "exalt the humble" and to "fill the hungry with good things." O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray for all those who honour thee by singing thy Magnificat, that they may honour thee also by understanding it. ”

“ For the Second Vespers the Antiphon to the Magnificat is then intoned by
a Chanter (or the Celebrant) and continued by the Choir.
Page 518-519
(For the Solemn Version of the Magnificat see No. 216)
The version given below is the simple setting.
Ad Magnificat
(In II. Vesperis)
Antiphon
Chanter
Beatam me dicent.
Choir
omnes generationes, quia ancillam humilem respexit Deus. Alleluia.
1. Magnificat anima mea Dominum.
2. Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.
3. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae:
ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. ”

“ The church, quite a cathedral in size, was crowded, boys' schools, girls' schools, men, women, of all sorts and ranks were there. Then I heard such a service as did the heart good to hear. It was only vespers—just five psalms, a hymn, and the Magnificat; nothing more. But the psalms were sung in alternate verses between the choir and the congregation, who knew every word and every note, and sang lustily from their hearts' depths, the plain old Gregorian tones with which many of us are so familiar at home. ”

“ Our Lady’s canticle of praise is called the “Magnificat”, because in Latin it begins with that word. This canticle of praise is always sung at Vespers, and we ought to join in it with devotion and joy, in thanksgiving to God for the gift of His Son, and for all the great graces of Redemption. ”

“ It comes to pass, by the bounty of the Lord, that if we were at all times to meditate upon the acts and sayings of the Blessed Virgin, the observance of chastity and the works of virtue will always continue with us. For, the excellent and salutary custom has grown up in Holy Church that all shall sing her hymn (the Magnificat) every day with the Vesper Psalms, in order that the recalling of the Lord's incarnation, by this means, may the oftener incite the souls of the faithful to devotion and that the consideration of the example set by His Mother may confirm them in the stability of virtue. ”

“ The vicars hooted and sang improper ditties, and played dice upon the altar, in a reaction from the wonted restraints of choir discipline. Familiarity breeds contempt, and it was almost an obvious sport to burlesque the sacred and tedious ceremonies with which they were only too painfully familiar. Indeed, the reverend founders and reformers of the feast had given a lead to this apishness by the introduction of the symbolical transference of the baculus at the Deposuit in the Magnificat. ”

“ It is a note of "joy." There are indeed strongly marked features of penitence and need. We come before God in our worship as those who are sinful and needy. We ever make approach through the sacrifice of the Cross. But we come also as those who have confidence in divine love and mercy. So praise, joyous praise, predominates. The Te Deum, the Benedicite, the Benedictus, the Jubilate, all ring out this note and give {29} joyousness to the service, while Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis tell of rejoicing and hope in what Christ has brought us by His Incarnation. ”

“ Two of them are apparently introduced as quotations, though not found elsewhere in the Scriptures. A third has not only rhythm, but rhyme. The thanksgiving prayer of the assembled disciples, recorded in Acts iv., is both in substance and in manner poetical; and in the canticles, “Magnificat,” “Benedictus,” &c., which manifestly followed the form and style of Hebrew poetry, hymns or songs, proper for liturgical use, have always been recognized by the church. ”

“ Certainly nothing that could be called a radical change has been brought to pass; but then, is there any reason to suppose that radical changes were either sought or desired by those who have been active in the movement? Certain distinct and indisputable gains may be counted up. The recovery of the great Gospel hymns come under this head. There are some of us who think that only to have succeeded in replacing the Magnificat and the Nunc Dimittis in the Evening Prayer is of itself a sufficient reward for years of effort, but this is only a small part of our harvest. ”

“ Alleluia (H) is repeated; then choir proceeds immediately with the
Antiphon "Vespere." (I)
Vespere autem sabbati quae lucescit
in prima sabbati, Venit Maria
Magdalene, et altera Maria,
videre sepulcrum, alleluia.
To Magnificat No. 216, After the Magnificat the Antiphon "Vespere" (I)
is repeated, the celebrant then sings "Dominus Vobiscum" with proper
choir response, then after a short oration and another "Dominus" the
deacon sings the Paschal "Ite Missa Est" (J) the choir responding in the
manner indicated. (K)
Ite missa est, alleluia, alleluia. ”

“ The feast of the Epiphany on January 6, as we have seen, is in the eastern Church a commemoration of the Baptism of Christ. In the West it has become primarily the festival of the adoration 102of the Magi, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. Still in the Roman offices many traces of the baptismal commemoration remain, and the memory of yet another manifestation of Christ's glory appears in the antiphon at “Magnificat” at the Second Vespers of the feast:—
“We keep holy a day adorned by three wonders: to-day a star led the Magi to the manger ”

“ O, mothers and daughters, instead of going to the priest for pardon and salvation, go to Jesus, who is so pressingly inviting you, and the more so as you have more need of divine help and grace. Even if you are as great a sinner as Mary Magdalene you can, like her, wash the feet of the Saviour with the flowing tears of your repentance and your love, and like her, receive the pardon of your sins. ”

“ Then turning to the people with “Dominus Vobiscum” he reads the post-communion (one or more) ; turning once more to the congregation he uses the old dismissal formula “Dominus vobiscum” (R. “Et cum spiritu tuo”) , and “Ite, missa est” or “Benedicamus Domino,” in those masses from which Gloria in excelsis has been omitted (R. “Deo Gratias”) . Bowing down before the altar he offers the prayer “Placeat tibi, sancta Trinitas,” then turning round he makes the sign of the cross over the congregation with the words of the benediction (“Benedicat”) . ”

“ More translations have been made of it than of any other poem in the Latin language, or perhaps in any language. All Christendom rejoices in it as a common treasure, the gift of God through a devout Italian monk of the thirteenth century.
It was in an age full of vitality that this “hymn of the giants” was written—the most interesting century in the history of Christendom, Matthew Arnold says. In all directions we encounter the play or collision of great forces. ”

“ When an organ pours forth its sonorous and mellow notes and men's voices chant Gregorian music before the brilliantly lighted altar sparkling with golden ornament, when the solemn Latin liturgy is recited and the consecrated elements are raised by the priest, the average religious requirements of the French would seem to be satisfied. Those who do not find any satisfaction in watching and listening to these offices of the Roman Church as a rule drop into a state of agnosticism, if not of complete irreligion. ”

“ In a generous eclecticism, within the bounds of her liberty, and as by some providential power within her, she gathers and serviceably adopts, as in other matters so in ritual, one thing here, another there, from various sources—Gnostic, Jewish, Pagan—to adorn and beautify the greatest act of worship the world has seen. It was thus the liturgy of the church came to be—full of consolations for the human soul, and destined, surely! one day, under the sanction of so many ages of human experience, to take exclusive possession of the religious consciousness. ”

“ The Plea states: "He (God) is able to accomplish by the Holy Baptism, performed in the mysterious name of the ever adored Trinity, a work of regeneration in the heart of the little child." "The expression used in the Augsburg Confession, Art. II., is, regenerated by baptism and the Holy Ghost, (John iii. 5.) This doctrine, however, is not to be understood as if the new creation was fully completed by new generation. It is complete so far as a live seed is complete in itself. ”

“ One day, writes the Venerable Bede, forty monks led in solemn procession by St. Augustine, passed before the king singing a chant. After hearing this marvelous hymn, he became a Christian and gave permission to the English to become worshippers of Christ instead of Norse and Druid gods. ”

“ The sacramental elements having previously been placed on the altar or on a credence table, the celebrant enters the church and takes his stand before the lowest step of the altar, having the deacon on his right and the subdeacon on his left. After invoking the Trinity (In nomine Patris, &c.) he repeats alternately with those who are with him the psalm “Judica me, Deus,” which is preceded in the usual way by an antiphon (Introibo ad altare Dei) , and followed also by the Gloria and Antiphon. ”

“ So much is the testimony of a very learned man, and a most unsuspicious witness.
But there is a separate line of evidence to be drawn from another and perhaps even still more convincing source: I mean the ancient liturgies of the Church which have come down to us, and tell us in what way the early Christians worshipped God; the place which they assigned to the Holy Eucharist, and the light in which they regarded it in connection with sacrifice, altar, and priesthood. ”

“ Heart of my Jesus, where shall I find Thee if [pg 258] not where Thou art really present—in the Adorable Eucharist? Be Thou blessed a thousand times, my Jesus, Who hast provided so sweet a source of comfort for us poor exiles in this vale of tears. I behold Magdalen approach Thee, her heart full of shame, and I behold her leaving Thee, her heart full of peace and love. I see Augustine filled with the malice of sin, and all at once he becomes one of Thy brightest saints. Is, then, Thy power shortened? No, no, Thou never failest in coming to those who in lowliness of heart cry to Thee for help. ”

“ Hence the form of Baptism is: "I baptize thee," and the form of Confirmation is: "I sign thee with the sign of the cross, and I confirm thee with the chrism of salvation," because these sacraments are perfected in the use of their matter: while in the sacrament of the Eucharist, which consists in the very consecration of the matter, the reality of the consecration is expressed in the words: "This is My Body." ”

“ What sure hope then could I ever have of pardon or remission of sins? What voice of priest or monk, the holiest on earth, could ever assure me I had been honest with myself? What absolution could ever give me a right to believe that the baptismal robes, soiled as they told me "before I had left off my infant socks," could once more be made white and clean?
Then, for the first time in my life the thought flashed on me, of the monastic vows, the cloister and the cowl. I knew there was a virtue in the monastic profession which many said was equal to a second baptism. ”

“ No musical sound is heard, except the deep-toned voices of the psalm, or plain chaunt singers. After a few preparatory prayers, and the dramatized history of the Passion, already described, the officiating priest, (the archbishop at the cathedral) in a plain albe or white tunic, takes up a wooden cross six or seven feet high, which, like all other crosses, has for the last two weeks of Lent been covered with a purple veil; and standing towards the people, before the middle of the altar, gradually uncovers the sacred emblem, which both the clergy and laity worship upon their knees. ”

“ Very early it was incorporated in the liturgy of the eucharist, continuing an ageless form of the praise of God from the old dispensation into the new.
The evolution of the Great Doxology from the words of the angelic song,
Glory to God in the highest,
to the Gloria in excelsis illustrates the expanding thought of the Church, corresponding to the growth of the Christian body within the culture of the Roman Empire. ”

“ At Prime let three Psalms be said, separately and not under one “Glory be to the Father.” The hymn of that Hour is to follow the verse “Incline unto my aid, O God,” before the Psalms begin. Upon completion of the three Psalms let one lesson be recited, then a verse, the “Lord, have mercy on us” and the concluding prayers.
The Offices of Terce, Sext and None are to be celebrated in the same order, that is: the “Incline unto my aid, O God,” the hymn proper to each Hour, three Psalms, lesson and verse, “Lord, have mercy on us” and concluding prayers. ”

“ Where else is God awarded the first place, and religion paramount? Where else is devotion to the blessed sacrament practised as it is in Rome? To say nothing of the countless masses, of the churches open from early dawn to dusk; the kneeling worshippers; no day in the year but what, in the beautiful devotion of the Forty Hours, the blessed sacrament is exposed to the adoration of the faithful—now here, now there—the Son of God upon his earthly throne; lights burning as they burn nowhere else ”