Ember Week of Advent

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WEDNESDAY IN EMBER WEEK

Prope est jam Dominus: venite, adoremus. The Lord is now nigh; come, let us adore.
Taken from here.

To-day the Church begins the fast of Quatuor Tempora, or, as we call it, of Ember days: it includes also the Friday and Saturday of this same week. This observance is not peculiar to the Advent liturgy; it is one which has been fixed for each of the four seasons of the ecclesiastical year. We may consider it as one of those practices which the Church took from the Synagogue; for the prophet Zacharias speaks of the fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. (Zach viii. 19) Its introduction into the Christian Church would seem to have been made in the apostolic times; such, at least, is the opinion of St Leo, of St Isadore of Seville, of Rabanus Maurus, and of several other ancient Christian writers. It is remarkable, on the other hand, that the orientals do not observe this fast.

From the first ages the Quatuor Tempora were kept, in the Roman Church, at the same time of the year as at present. As to the expression, which is not unfrequently used in the early writers, of the three times and not the four, we must remember that in the spring, these days always come in the first week of Lent, a period already consecrated to the most rigorous fasting and abstinence, and that consequently they could add nothing to the penitential exercises of that portion of the year.

The intentions, which the Church has in the fast of the Ember days, are the same as those of the Synagogue; namely, to consecrate to God by penance the four seasons of the year. The Ember days of Advent are known, in ecclesiastical antiquity, as the fast of the tenth month; and St Leo, in one of his sermons on this fast, of which the Church has inserted a passage in the second nocturn of the third Sunday of Advent, tells us that a special fast was fixed for this time of the year, because the fruits of the earth had then all been gathered in, and that it behooved Christians to testify their gratitude to God by a sacrifice of abstinence, thus rendering themselves more worthy to approach God, the more they were detached from the love of created things. ‘For fasting,’ adds the holy doctor, ‘has ever been the nourishment of virtue. Abstinence is the source of chaste thoughts, of wise resolutions, and of salutary counsel. By voluntary mortifications, the flesh dies to its concupiscences, and the spirit is renewed in virtue. But since fasting alone is not sufficient whereby to secure the soul’s salvation, let us add to it works of mercy towards the poor. Let us make that which we retrench from indulgence, serve unto the exercise of virtue. Let the abstinence of him that fasts, become the meal of the poor man.’

Let us, the children of the Church, practise what is in our power to these admonitions; and since the actual discipline of Advent is so very mild, let us be so much the more fervent in fulfilling the precept of the fast of the Ember days. By these few exercises which are now required of us, let us keep up within ourselves the zeal of our forefathers for this holy season of Advent. We must never forget that although the interior preparation is what is absolutely essential for our profiting by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet this preparation could scarcely be real unless it manifested itself by the exterior practices of religion and penance.

The fast of the Ember days has another object besides that of consecrating the four seasons of the year to God by an act of penance; it has also in view the ordination of the ministers of the Church, which takes place on the Saturday, and of which notice was formerly given to the people during the Mass of the Wednesday. In the Roman Church, the ordination held in the month of December was, for a long time, the most solemn of all; and it would appear, from the ancient chronicles of the Popes, that, excepting very extraordinary cases, the tenth month was, for several ages, the only time for conferring Holy Orders in Rome. The faithful should unite with the Church in this her intention, and offer to God their fasting and abstinence for the purpose of obtaining worthy ministers of the word and of the Sacraments, and true pastors of the people.

The Church does not read anything, in the Matins of to-day, from the prophet Isaias: she merely reads a sentence from the chapter of St Luke, which gives our Lady’s Annunciation, to which she subjoins a passage from St Ambrose’s Homily on that Gospel. The fact of this Gospel having been chosen for the Office and Mass of to-day, has made the Wednesday of the third week of Advent a very marked day in the calendar. In several ancient Ordinaries, used by many of the larger churches, both cathedral and abbatial , we find it prescribed that feasts falling on this Wednesday should be transferred: that the ferial prayers should not be said kneeling on that day; that the Gospel Missus est, that is, of the Annunciation, should be sung at Matins by the celebrant vested in a white cope, with cross, lights, and incense, the great bell tolling meanwhile; that in abbeys, the abbot should preach a homily to the monks, as on solemn feasts. We are indebted to this custom for the four magnificent sermons of St Bernard on our blessed Lady, which are entitled: Super Missus est.

As the Mass of the Ember days is seldom sung, excepting in churches where the canonical Office is said, as also that we might not add unnecessarily to this volume, we have thought it advisable to omit the Masses of Ember Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of Advent. The Station for the Wednesday is at St Mary Major, on account of the Gospel of the Annunciation, which, as we have just seen, has caused this day to be looked upon as a real feast of the blessed Virgin.

Having to speak, later on, of this mystery, in the proper of the saints, we will conclude this Wednesday with a prose of the middle ages, in honour of our blessed Lady’s receiving the angel’s salutation, and with a prayer taken from one of the ancient liturgies.

PROSE IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

(Taken from the missal of Cluny of 1523)

Angelus ad Virginem
Subintrans in conclavi,
Virginis formidinem
Demulens, inquit ei:Ave, Regina virginum,
Coeli terraeque Dominum
Concipies et paries,
Intacta,
Salutem hominem;
Tu porta coeli facta,
Medela criminum.Quomodo conciperem,
Quae virum non cognovi?
Qualiter infringerem
Quae firma mente vovi?Spiritus sancti gratia
Perficiet haec omnia:
Ne timeas, se gaudeas,
Secura
Quod castimonia
Manebit in te pura,
Dei potentia.
Ad haec Virgo nobilis
Respondens inquit ei:
Servula sum humilis
Omnipotentis Dei.

Tibi coelesti nuncio,
Tanti secreti conscio,
Consentiens, et cupiens
Videre
Factum quod audio,
Parata sum parere
Dei consilio.

Angelus disparuit,
Et statim puellaris
Uterus intumuit,
Vi partus virginalis.

Qui curcumdatus utero,
Novem mensium numero,
Hinc exiit et iniit

Conflictum,
Affigens humero crucem,
Quae dedit ictum
Hosti mortifero.

Eia! Mater Domini,
Quae pacem reddidisti
Angelo et homini,
Quando Christum genuisti;

Tuum exora Filium
Ut se nobis propitium
Exhibeat, et deleat
Peccata,
Praestans auxilium
Vita frui beata,
Post hoc exsilium. Amen.


The angel, entering the Virgin's chamber, and gently bidding her not to fear, says to her:
Hail, Queen of the virgins! thou shalt conceive in thy womb the Lord of heaven and earth; and still remaining a Virgin, thou shalt bring forth the salvation of mankind, O gate of heaven bringing to the world the remedy of its iniquities!

How shall this be, replied the Virgin, for I know not man? How wouldst thou have me break the vow which I have sworn to keep?

The grace of the Holy Ghost shall accomplish all these things, said the angel. Fear not, by rejoice. I assure thee thy virginity shall be left intact: the power of God shall maintain it.

To this the noble Virgin answering, said to the angel: I am the lowly handmaid of the omnipotent God.

Consenting to thy word, O heavenly messenger, bearer of so great a secret, and desiring to see fulfilled what thou announcest, I am ready to obey the decree of God.

The angel left her, and in that moment her virginal womb conceived the Word made flesh from hers.

This was the chosen enclosure of nine months: then he left it, and began the great combat, carrying the cross upon his shoulders, wherewith he struck the enemy who brought death into the world.

O dear Mother of Jesus, who didst bring peace to angels and to men by giving birth to Christ, Pray for us to this thy Son, that he be merciful to us, and forgive us our sins, and give us his assistance, whereby, after this exile, we may possess the blessed joys of eternal life. Amen.

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PRAYER FROM THE MOZARABIC MISSAL

(Second Sunday of Advent, Illatio)

Dignum et justum est; vere aequum et salutare est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi adventum in mirabilibus praedicare: quem inter homines nasciturum coelestis nuntius nunciavit. Virgo terrena dum salutaretur audivit: Spiritus sanctus in utero, dum veniret creavit, ut Gabriele dicente, Maria credente, Dei Verbo Spiritu co-operante, sequeretur salutationem angelicam securitas, promissionem perficeret veritas; ut Altissimi obumbrante virtute, didicisset se esse foecundam virginitas. Ecce concipies in utero, et paries filium, angelus praedicavit; et: Quomodo fiet istud, Maria respondit. Sed quia haec credendo, non dubitando respondit, implevit Spiritus sanctus quod angelus spopondit. Virgo ante conceptum, Virgo semper futura post partum, Deum suum prius mente, dehinc ventre concepit; salutem mundi prima suscepit Virgo plena gratia Dei, et ideo vera Mater Filii Dei.

It is meet and just, truly right and available to salvation that we should extol the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as one of the highest of God's wonderful works. A heavenly messenger announced that he would be born among men. A Virgin, dwelling on this earth, was saluted by the angel, and heard the great mystery. The Holy Ghost produced it in the Virgin's womb, when he came to her. So that thus, Gabriel announcing, Mary believing, and the Spirit co-operating with the Word of God, confidence followed the angelical salutation, and the promise was fulfilled by the reality that the Virgin should find herself to be made a mother, by the power of the Most High overshadowing her. Behold, said the angel, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son. How shall this be? answered Mary. But because she said it from faith, not from doubt, the Holy Ghost accomplished what the angel promised. Virgin before the conception, and Virgin after the birth of her Son, she had received her God in her soul, before possessing him in her womb. Virgin full of grace of God, she was the first to receive the salvation of the world, and therefore was chosen to be the true Mother of the Son of God.

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FRIDAY IN EMBER WEEK
Prope est jam Dominus; venite, adoremus. The Lord is now night; come, let us adore.
Taken from here.

The Church does not read anything from the prophet Isaias to-day; she merely gives, in the Office of Matins, a sentence of that chapter of St Luke's Gospel, which relates the mystery of our Lady's Visitation: and to this she subjoins a fragment of St. Ambrose's homily upon that passage. The considerations and affections with which this important event of our Lady's life ought to inspire the faithful, will be given further on in the proper of the saints.


The Station for to-day is in the church of the holy apostles, which many suppose to have been first built by Constantine. The glorious bodies of the two holy Apostles Philip and James the Less, lie buried under the altar, awaiting the second coming of Him who chose them as His co-operators in the work of the first, and who will give them, on the last day, to sit upon the thrones near His own, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (St Matt. xix. 28)

That we may better conform to the intentions of our holy mother the Church, who offers to our contemplation the Visitation of the blessed Virgin, let us recite the following hymn, composed in honour of the mystery during the ages of faith.

A PROSE IN HONOUR OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN

(Taken from the ancient Roman-French missals)

Ave, Verbi Dei parens,
Virginis humilitas.
Ave, omni nodo carens,
Humilis virginitas.Gaude, quae sic gravidaris
Nec gravaris Filio:
Gaude quae sic oneraris
Onere gratissimo.Salve, Jessu stirpe orta
Virgula fructifera.

Salve, clausa templi porta,
Soli Deo pervia.
Plaude, vellus Gedeonis,
Rore madens Pneumatis.

Plaude, pellis Salomonis,
Pulchrior prae caeteris. Vale, Jacob micans stella,
Circumlustrans maria.
Vale consignata cella,
Rubus in vi flammea.

Euge, sole quod amicta
Solem gignis stellula.
Euge, quod sis praeelecta,
Scala coeli fulgida.

Pange, aurora consurgens
Luce novi sideris;
Pange, arca trina ferens
Charismata miseris.

Eia! magnificat tua
Jesum Christum anima;
Eia! tecum ut laudemus
Ora, dulcis Maria. Amen.


Hail, Mother of the divine Word! Hail, most humble and most spotless Virgin!
Rejoice, thou Mother of a Son who supports thee! Rejoice, thy burden is a burden most sweet to bear!

Hail, branch of Jesse, Fruit-bearing branch! Hail gate of the temple, closed to all but God!

Be glad, thou fleece of Gedeon, full of the dew of the holy Spirit! Be glad, thou tent of Solomon, of the first in beauty!

Hail, shining star of Jacob, lighting up the sea! Hail, thou sealed-up sanctuary, thou burning bush!

What bliss in thine, that thou the humble star shouldst be clad with the Sun, and then bring forth the Sun! What bliss is thine, that thou shouldst be elected the bright ladder reaching up to heaven.

Sing to thy God, thou aurora rising in the light of the new Star! Sing, thou ark of the covenant, bearing unto us sinners thy three treasures.

Oh! let thy soul magnify Jesus! and oh! sweet Mary, pray that, with thee, we to may magnify him. Amen.

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PRAYER FROM THE GALLICAN SACRAMENTARY
(In Adventu Domini, Collect)

Purifica, Domine Deus, Pater omnipotens, pectorum arcana nostrorum, cunctasque propitius maculas ablue peccatorum: ac praesta, Domine, ut benedictione pietatis tuae a nostris criminibus mundati, metuendum terribilemque adventum Domini nostri Jesu Christi exspectemus interriti.

O Lord God, Father almighty, purify the recesses of our heart, and mercifully wash away all the stains of our sins; and grant, O Lord, that, cleansed from our sins by thy merciful blessing, we may await in confidence the dread and terrible coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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SATURDAY IN EMBER WEEK

Prope est jam Dominus; venite, adoremus. The Lord is now night; come, let us adore.

Taken from here.

The lessons from the prophet Isaias are interrupted to-day also; and a homily on the Gospel of the Mass is read in their place. As this Gospel is repeated to-morrow, in the Mass of the fourth Sunday of Advent, we will, for the present, omit it, and be satisfied with mentioning the reason of the same Gospel being assigned to the two days.

The primitive custom, in the Roman Church, was to hold ordinations in the night between Saturday and Sunday, just as Baptism was administered to the catechumens in the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. The ceremony too place towards midnight, and Sunday morning was always far advanced before the termination; so that the Mass of ordination was considered as the Mass of Sunday itself. Later on, discipline relaxed, and these severe vigils were given up; the ordination Mass, like that of Holy Saturday, was anticipated; and, as the fourth Sunday of Advent and the second of Lent had not hitherto had a proper Gospel, since they had not had a proper Mass, it was settled, about the tenth of eleventh century, that the Gospel of the Mass of ordinations should be repeated in the special Mass of the two Sundays in question.

The Station is at St. Peter's on account of the ordinations. This basilica was always one of the largest of the city of Rome, and was therefore the best suited for the great concourse of people.

Let us honour Mary upon this day of the week, which is consecrated to her; let us borrow a canticle from the oriental Church, ever profuse in its praise of the Mother of God.

HYMN TAKEN FROM THE ANTHOLOGY OF THE GREEKS
(December 15)

Ut thrones purpuriformis Creatorem fers; ut animatus thalamus regem circumdas, Deo gratissima.
Virga virtutis germinasti Christum in quo stabilimur; te enim figurabat virga Aaron, olim germinans inculta; casta columba, semper Virgo.

Hymnificare modum superadmirabilem, et omnem sensum superantem extraordinariae tuae graviditatis nesciunt omnium hominum catervae; omnen enim mentem et cogitationem praetergreditur, ac intelligentias, omnium et verborum virtutem.

Miraculum inenarrabile conceptionis atque immemorandum gestationis tuae prodigium videns Isaias, divina voce clamabat: Spiritus sanctus supervenit in te, Dei Mater! rubum te servans ut olim inconbustum; et ideo cum angelo clamamus: Gaude, Dei tabernaculum.

As a royal throne, thou carriest the Creator; as a living couch, thou encirclest the King, O creature most dear to God:
Branch most vigorous, thou didst bud forth the Christ on whom we lean and are supported; for Aaron's branch, which, of old, budded unplanted, was a type of thee, thou chaste dove, and ever a Virgin.

To sing the more than wonderful manner of thy extraordinary and incomprehensible maternity, is above the power of all the choirs of men: for no mind, no thought, no understanding, no words, can read the mystery.

Isaias, seeing the unspeakable miracle, the ineffable miracle of thy maternity, spoke thus divinely; The holy Spirit hath come upon thee, O Mother of God! preserving thee, as heretofore he kept entire the burning bush: and, therefore, we cry out with the angel: Rejoice, O thou tabernacle of God!

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PRAYER FROM THE MOZARABIC MISSAL
(Fifth Sunday of Advent, Illatio)

Dignum et justum est nos tibi gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater aeterne, omnipotens Deus, per Jesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum. Ejus incarnatio salus facta est mundi, et passio exstitit redemptio hominis procreati. Ipse igitur nos, omnipotens Pater, quaesumus, perducat ad praemium, qui redemit de tenebris infernorum. Ipse carnem nostram a delictis emaculet, qui eam suscepit ex Virgine. Ipse nos laesos tuae restituat majestati, qui nos tibi per sanguinem suum reconciliavit. Ipse nos secundi adventus examinatione justificet, qui in primo contulit donum gratiae suae. Ipse ad judicandum veniat mitis, qui olim apparuit humilis. Ipse in judicium ostendatur nobis mitissimus, qui dudum venit occultus.

It is meet and just that we give thee thanks, O holy Lord, eternal Father, almighty God, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord. His Incarnation was the salvation of the world, and his Passion the redemption of his creature man. Therefore we beseech thee, O almighty Father, may he lead us to heaven, who purchased us from dark hell. May he cleanse our flesh from its sins, who took to himself that flesh from the Virgin. May he again bring us from our treason to fidelity, who reconciled us to thee by His blood. May he make and find us just in the judgment of his second coming, who conferred upon us the gift of his grace in the first. May he come to judge us in meekness, who heretofore came in humility to dwell with us. May he show himself in gentlest meekness when he judges us, who heretofore hid himself in deepest humility when he redeemed us.