Immaculati Cordis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis

The Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Behold thy mother. JJ Tissot.

O DOMINA mea, sancta Maria, me in tuam benedictam fidem ac singularem custodiam et in sinum misericordiae tuae, hodie et quotidie et in hora exitus mei animam meam et corpus meum tibi commendo. Omnem spem et consolationem meam, omnes angustias et miserias meas, vitam et finem vitae meae tibi committo, ut per tuam sanctissimam intercessionem et per tua merita, omnia mea dirigantur et disponantur opera secundum tuam tuique Filii voluntatem. Amen.    

O HOLY MARY, my Mistress, into thy blessed trust and special keeping, into the bosom of thy tender mercy, this day, every day of my life and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body. To thee I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through thy most holy intercession and thy merits, all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will and that of thy divine Son. Amen.

Written by St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-1591)

Mulier, ecce filius tuus.
Woman, behold thy son.

Ecce mater tua. Et ex illa hora accepit eam discipulus in sua.
Behold thy mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own. [John 19, 26 & 27]

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

A Chaucerian ABC dedicated to Our Lady

The Wilton Diptych. National Gallery [Public Domain]

Our sister blog has just published the last of a series of posts on a remarkable poem by Geoffrey Chaucer. His 'A.B.C.' reveals the poet's heartfelt and penitent prayers for Our Lady's help as he comtemplates his sins and his fear of God's impending judgement.

He begins with an appeal to his 'al merciable queene' and develops his theme with language and allusions that range from the beautiful to the sublime, before coming to rest at the end with an appeal to his 'lady brighte' to be 'merciable' to penitents who are 'mercy able.'

The poem consists of 23 stanzas, each  of which begins with a letter following the traditional order of the alphabet. There are only 23 because the letters J, U and W were not included.

The Wilton Diptych shows a young Richard II, his patron saints and the court of Heaven with Our Lord, Our Lady and angels. King Richard was a contemporary of Chaucer.


I have annotated each stanza, making extensive use of the Complete OED to explain some of the more obscure Middle English words and usages. The poem is dated to around 1360-1370.

The Wilton Diptych. 1395-99. National Gallery [Public Domain]

It is striking to read this poem some 650 years later and recognise the same moving sentiments and stirring language as found, for example, in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is powerful evidence of the great love for the Glorious Mayde and Mooder that was widespread in England, famous for being Mary's Dowry, before the Protestant looting operation tore down so much of the spiritual and physical fabric of the English faithful in the 16th and 17th centuries.



We are pleased to have been able to complete the A.B.C. project on the eve of our Mother's great feast, the Immaculate Heart of Mary; we pray that she may accept it as a prayer-gift, echoing the poet's own plea for her perpetual help, guidance, protection and intercession.

To read the poem with notes, continue to: A.B.C. A prayer to Our Lady. By Geoffrey Chaucer
and then follow the links.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

Update: The Little Office of Our Lady

The Little Office website launched yesterday, on the Feast of the Assumption, now has a new banner and livery.

To pay a visit, go to Officium Parvum Beatae Virginis Mariae.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Assumption of the Virgin

In Assumptione Beatæ Mariæ Virginis    I. classis

Ant.  Assúmpta est María in caelum, gaudent ángeli, laudéntes benedícunt Dóminum.
Ant. Mary is taken up into heaven, the angels rejoice, and with praises bless the Lord.

Ant.  María Virgo assúmpta est ad aethéreum thálamum, in quo Rex regum stelláto sedet sólio.
Ant. The Virgin Mary was taken up [to the heavenly chamber, where the King of kings sitteth on His starry throne].

These antiphons are from Lauds in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our new site, dedicated to the Little Office was completed yesterday in time for Our Lady's great feast day. We humbly entreat Mary to accept our site as a small present and as an earnest of our determination to offer reparation  as she requested in 1917 at Fatima.*

Master of James IV of Scotland. (Flemish,about 1510–1520). Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.

*O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.

Notes on the image

The text reads:

Conver    Ad co(m)mpletorium
te nos Deus Salutaris noster

Conv       At Compline
ert us God our Saviour

It is perhaps fitting that the text comes from the hour of Compline, the last of the hours in the Little Office, recited at the end of the day; the picture contains images from the end of Mary's earthly life.

On the left of the picture, a funeral procession makes its way towards a small bridge. The coffin is covered in drapes of gold and blue, colours associated with the Blessed Virgin. There are twelve figures depicted, including two armed men on the ground. There is a legend that the Apostles were miraculously brought to Mary's death-bed from all over the world. At the head of the procession is a young man who must be St John, the beloved disciple, to whom Christ entrusted the care of His mother as He was dying on the Cross. Mary was to live with St John at Ephesus for the rest of her mortal days.

The main scene in the picture depicts the Assumption of Our Lady. She is wearing her traditional blue robe and cloak, edged with gold; and her hair is flowing loosely to represent her perpetual virginity.  She is being borne up to Heaven by the power of her Son Who is shown at the top of the image as Christ the King, gazing with love at His Mother. Mary returns His gaze and over her head is her crown, for Jesus is crowning her as Queen of Heaven.

There are seven Angels in attendance. Seven is perhaps a reference to the seven words she spoke that are recorded in the Gospels, or to the Seven Sorrows she suffered in her earthly life (as foretold by Simeon), or to the six days of her labours on earth, culminating with her seventh day of eternal rest in Heaven. It seems to me, however, that Our Blessed Mother has been incredibly busy in Heaven as she spearheads the war against Satan, his minions and his dupes.

[9] Who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?
Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata? [Canticles 6]

One of the angels is handing Our Lady's belt or girdle to a man: perhaps this is Thomas the Apostle, who famously required tangible evidence to support his acceptance of the supernatural Resurrection of Christ.**

**Update**

Assumption of the Virgin. Palma Vecchio. 1512 - 1514
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia [Public domain]

At the Assumption of Mary, where the other apostles were present, Thomas once again missed the occasion, being on his way back from India. The Virgin Mary, aware of Thomas' sceptical nature, appeared to him individually and dropped the girdle she was wearing down onto him, to give him a physical proof of what he had seen.

The legend is described briefly in the Golden Legend, with Thomas missing the Assumption and receiving the girdle later, and is, uniquely among the surviving English medieval mystery plays, covered in the York Mystery Cycle.

In Palma's Assumption (left), only eleven Apostles are shown in the foreground, gazing Heavenwards. Our Lady has noticed one Apostle is absent: Thomas. She has spotted him to her left running to join the others and she holds out her girdle as if to provide him with proof. Zoom in on the image to see his figure in the distance!




Questions for readers:
What is the reason for the armed men on the ground as the procession passes?
What are the three discs at the opening of the grave?

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

St Clare of Assisi

The wax figure of Saint Clare.
Basilica of Saint Clare, in Assisi.
Bocachete [Public domain]

Cofoundress of the Order of Poor Ladies, or Clares, and first Abbess of San Damiano; born at Assisi, 16 July, 1194; died there 11 August, 1253.

Clare was a virgin of noble birth, born at Assisi in Umbria. Imitating St. Francis, her fellow-citizen, she gave all her goods in alms to aid the poor. Fleeing from the noise of the world, she went to a country chapel and there received the tonsure from St. Francis, strongly resisting her kindred who were trying to bring her back.





Then he led her to the church of St. Damian, where she founded an Order of nuns, the government of which she undertook, yielding to the repeated requests of St. Francis.

She governed her monastery with care and prudence for forty-two years. When the Saracens tried to invade it, she commanded that the Blessed Sacrament be brought and prayed most humbly, and they at once took to flight. She went to heaven on the 12th day of August, and was enrolled among the holy Virgins by Pope Alexander IV. (From Matins, the Divine Office).

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

Psalm 148 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

This is the last of the series of posts on the Psalms in the Little Office of Our Lady: see our OfficiumParvum website. Below is Psalm 148, from Lauds, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalmus 148

Laudate Dominum de caelis. All creatures are invited to praise their Creator. Alleluia.

[1] Laudáte Dóminum de cælis: * laudáte eum in excélsis.
Praise ye the Lord from the heavens * praise ye him in the high places.

[2] Laudáte eum, omnes Ángeli ejus: * laudáte eum, omnes virtútes ejus.
Praise ye him, all his angels: * praise ye him, all his hosts.

[3] Laudáte eum, sol et luna: * laudáte eum, omnes stellæ et lumen.
Praise ye him, O sun and moon: * praise him, all ye stars and light.

[4] Laudáte eum, cæli cælórum: * et aquæ omnes, quæ super cælos sunt, laudent nomen Dómini.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: * and let all the waters that are above the heavens, praise the name of the Lord.

[5] Quia ipse dixit, et facta sunt: * ipse mandávit, et creáta sunt.
For he spoke, and they were made: * he commanded, and they were created.

[6] Státuit ea in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi: * præcéptum pósuit, et non præteríbit.
He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: * he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.

[7] Laudáte Dóminum de terra, * dracónes, et omnes abyssi.
Praise the Lord from the earth, * ye dragons, and all ye deeps:

[8] Ignis, grando, nix, glácies, spíritus procellárum: * quæ fáciunt verbum ejus:
Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds * which fulfill his word:

[9] Montes, et omnes colles: * ligna fructífera, et omnes cedri.
Mountains and all hills, * fruitful trees and all cedars:

[10] Béstiæ, et univérsa pécora: * serpéntes, et vólucres pennátæ:
Beasts and all cattle: * serpents and feathered fowls:

[11] Reges terræ, et omnes pópuli: * príncipes, et omnes júdices terræ.
Kings of the earth and all people: * princes and all judges of the earth:

[12] Júvenes, et vírgines: senes cum Junióribus laudent nomen Dómini: * quia exaltátum est nomen ejus solíus.
Young men and maidens: * let the old with the younger, praise the name of the Lord: For his name alone is exalted.

[13] Conféssio ejus super cælum et terram: * et exaltávit cornu pópuli sui.
The praise of him is above heaven and earth: * and he hath exalted the horn of his people.

[14] Hymnus ómnibus sanctis ejus: * fíliis Israël, pópulo appropinquánti sibi.
A hymn to all his saints: to the children of Israel, a people approaching him.

Notes

[1] Laudáte Dóminum de cælis: * laudáte eum in excélsis.
Praise ye the Lord from the heavens * praise ye him in the high places.
[2] Laudáte eum, omnes Ángeli ejus: * laudáte eum, omnes virtútes ejus.
Praise ye him, all his angels: * praise ye him, all his hosts.

The Angels, as residing in the supreme heavens, as it were, in the very palace of the eternal King, get the first invitation. The words “praise ye” are not used in a spirit of command or exhortation, as if the Angels were deficient in their duty, and needed such; it is spoken in a spirit of invitation and strong affection by the prophet, who is highly excited and inflamed with the love of God, as if he said, Oh that all created things would praise their Creator! and you, ye Angels, who hold the first place in creation, follow up the praise you daily offer him; “from the heavens,” indicates where the Angels reside, which he repeats when he adds, “praise ye him in the high places.”
This he explains more clearly when he adds who they are that dwell there, saying, “praise ye him, all his hosts,” meaning the heavenly powers, and not the sun, moon, and stars, as some will have it; (1) because nothing is more usual than such repetitions with David; (2), the holy fathers are unanimous that these words refer to the Cherubim, Seraphim, and the other Angels; (3), from Lk. 2, where the Angels are called “The multitude of the heavenly host;” and (4), from Psalm 102, where the Angels are more clearly indicated, when he says, “Bless the Lord, all ye his hosts; you ministers of his, that do his will.”

[3] Laudáte eum, sol et luna: * laudáte eum, omnes stellæ et lumen.
Praise ye him, O sun and moon: * praise him, all ye stars and light.
[4] Laudáte eum, cæli cælórum: * et aquæ omnes, quæ super cælos sunt, laudent nomen Dómini.
Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: * and let all the waters that are above the heavens, praise the name of the Lord.

From the Angels, who, as being endowed with reason and intelligence, praise God in the strict sense of the word, he descends to the heavenly bodies who do not offer that intellectual praise they are incapable of, but still praise him by reason of their greatness, grandeur, size, speed, efficacy, splendor, and beauty, just as every beautiful work redounds to the credit of its maker. He names the sun first, it being universally allowed to be the principal body in nature; next, the moon, it being apparently next in size to the sun; then he calls upon the stars, concluding with “the light,” (cf creation of light in Genesis 1, before the sun, moon and stars) by which he means the light derived from the sun, moon, and stars.
Having enumerated the heavenly bodies, he then calls upon “the heaven(s) of heavens,” that is, the superior heavens, beneath which lie the inferior heavens in which the clouds and the birds move about; whence we read in the Scriptures, “the birds of heaven, the clouds of heaven.” To those upper heavens he adds the waters that lie above the heavens, thus leaving no one thing in the superior part of the world without an invitation. In regard of those waters men are at liberty to argue to a certain extent, but in other respects they are not. (1), it is certain that the waters named here are material, not spiritual waters, an error into which Origen fell, and which was exposed by the holy fathers. (2), that these waters are above, and not in, the heavens, as some erroneously imagine, for the prophet indicates it clearly here, by calling on the “heaven of heavens” to praise him, and at once adds, “all the waters that are above the heavens,” those heavens, surely, that he had just quoted; and in Psalm 103, when speaking of the same heavens, he says, “Who stretchest out the heavens like a pavilion, who coverest the higher rooms thereof with water;” and Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis, clearly places water over the firmament, in which firmament he shortly after places the stars; and more clearly in Daniel 3, where all the works of the Lord are enumerated, in order; first are placed the Angels, then the heavens, then the waters that are over the heavens, then the sun, moon, stars, and other inferior beings. (3), these waters are incorruptible and eternal, for to them, as well as to the other things hereinbefore enumerated, applies what he subsequently adds, “He hath established them forever, and for ages of ages.”

[5] Quia ipse dixit, et facta sunt: * ipse mandávit, et creáta sunt.
For he spoke, and they were made: * he commanded, and they were created.
[6] Státuit ea in ætérnum, et in sæculum sæculi: * præcéptum pósuit, et non præteríbit.
He hath established them for ever, and for ages of ages: * he hath made a decree, and it shall not pass away.

The reason why all those things aforesaid should praise God is, because they were all made by him, and will remain forever incorrupt; and what is much more wonderful, they were made without any labour, without any loss of time, by one word or command brought from nonexistence to existence, and that for eternity. He merely said, “Let there be light, and there was light.” He commanded a thing that had no existence to start into existence, and at once it, in obedience to his command, appeared. “He hath established them forever, and for ages of ages.” He endowed them with immortality, in order that, like the inferior bodies, they may not rise up and die again. “He hath made a decree,” passed a decree on this matter; “and it shall not pass away,” a decree that will not evaporate or become a dead letter, but will remain, and by remaining will preserve the very things it has reference to, so that they shall not pass away.

[7] Laudáte Dóminum de terra, * dracónes, et omnes abyssi.
Praise the Lord from the earth, * ye dragons, and all ye deeps:

He now passes to the perishable elements and to the world below, which consists of the earth, the air, the water, the beasts, fishes, fowl, as also the thunder, lightning, hail, winds, and other such matters. And as he first said, “Praise ye the Lord from the heavens,” he now says, “Praise the Lord from the earth;” and as he classified all the superior beings under the head of the things belonging to heaven which is the seat of the Angels, so he deems it right now to bring all the inferior things under the head of those belonging to the earth, it being the seat of man. Hence, his reason for not naming fire, or air, or water; in the first place, because the earth constitutes the second part of the world, and all other things, whether fire, air, or water, are subject to man, who inhabits it. “Praise the Lord from the earth,” all you who live on the earth, or belong to it, and he mentions first the waters and the fishes who dive in the depths of the earth; for the dragons mean the sea monsters; and the deeps, the deep seas in which they reside; as we read in Psalm 103, “The sea dragon which thou hast formed to play therein,” that is, the sea; and in Psalm 73, “Thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.” (cf dinosaurs, post-Bellarmine)

[8] Ignis, grando, nix, glácies, spíritus procellárum: * quæ fáciunt verbum ejus:
Fire, hail, snow, ice, stormy winds * which fulfill his word:

From the waters he passes to the air, where the fires exist; viz., lightning, thunderbolts, coruscations, as also hail, snow, ice, and the stormy winds, those furious winds that cause the storms and bring so much rain with them, all of which “fulfil his word;” that is, obey his commands, which last expression he adds with a view to let us see that all those accidents, that are looked upon by man as so many calamities, come from the hand of God, who makes use of them as so many instruments of his justice or of his mercy to punish the wicked or to deter the just from sin; and, therefore, that they do not come from chance, nor should they be called calamities but blessings, being the instruments of a good and gracious God.

[9] Montes, et omnes colles: * ligna fructífera, et omnes cedri.
Mountains and all hills, * fruitful trees and all cedars:
[10] Béstiæ, et univérsa pécora: * serpéntes, et vólucres pennátæ:
Beasts and all cattle: * serpents and feathered fowls:

From the air he now reverts to the earth, and first alludes to the more striking parts of it, the “mountains and hills,” which, of course, include the plains and the valleys, for you cannot have one without the other. He then passes to the products of the earth, naming the trees first that produce fruit, and then those that do not, such as the cedar, which however, serves for house and shipbuilding. He then touches on the animals that are to be found on the earth, briefly enumerating the principal ones, the wild, the domestic, and the beasts of burden; and finally, the serpents that crawl along the ground, and the birds that fly aloft in the air. He calls upon and challenges them all to praise God, not that they are capable of any such thing, but that man, by reflecting on their use and benefit to him, may praise God, and return him due thanks for them. But what benefit do the wild beasts, the lions, serpents, even the gnats and the wasps confer on man? A great deal, for, whether they inspire us with terror, or annoy and torment us, they are calculated to remind us of our weakness and infirmity, and to what we have come through the disobedience of our first parents, by which we lost a great part of the dominion we previously had over all animals.


[11] Reges terræ, et omnes pópuli: * príncipes, et omnes júdices terræ.
Kings of the earth and all people: * princes and all judges of the earth:
[12] Júvenes, et vírgines: senes cum Junióribus laudent nomen Dómini: * quia exaltátum est nomen ejus solíus.
Young men and maidens: * let the old with the younger, praise the name of the Lord: For his name alone is exalted.

He finally invites all mankind to praise God, and, in order to comprehend all manner of people, he mentions three different classes of people in respect of power, sex, and age. “Kings and people,” they who command and they who obey; and, as all those who do command are not equal in authority, he adds, “princes,” having supreme power, “and all judges of the earth,” having subordinate authority; and here is the difference of power. “Young men and maidens,” which includes the sexes, “the old with the younger,” to comprehend all ages. All, then, be they princes or subjects, men or women, old or young, are summoned to praise the Lord. “For his name alone is exalted;” for there is no other name truly sublime, and worthy of all praise, but the name of God. Created things, however great, when compared with God’s greatness, sink into insignificance; and whatever greatness or excellence they may be possessed of they have entirely from him, who alone is called, and justly is, the Most High.

[13] Conféssio ejus super cælum et terram: * et exaltávit cornu pópuli sui.
The praise of him is above heaven and earth: * and he hath exalted the horn of his people.


He assigns a reason for having said, “For his name alone is exalted,” because, says he, “The praise of him is above heaven and earth;” that is, everything in heaven and on earth declare his praise so full of everything of his glory, or, as Habacuc has it, “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth is full of his praise;” therefore “his name alone is exalted.” And “he hath exalted the horn of his people;” he, of himself, alone exalted and sublime, has exalted the power and glory of his people Israel, because he selected them as his own people, gave them divine laws, written with his own finger, and cared them with a special providence.

[14] Hymnus ómnibus sanctis ejus: * fíliis Israël, pópulo appropinquánti sibi.
A hymn to all his saints: to the children of Israel, a people approaching him.

“A hymn to all his saints; to the children of Israel, a people approaching to him, Alleluia.” This is the conclusion of the Psalm, as it were to say, The hymn, then, to be sung to God should be specially sung by all his saints; that is, by all those dedicated and consecrated to him, the children of Israel especially, inasmuch as they come nearer to God than any other people, through true knowledge and faith, true worship and adoration, true filial confidence and love. This, however, as St. Augustine properly observes, applies not to the children of Israel according to the flesh, but according to the spirit; for the former being stiff necked never made any approach to God, as St. Stephen reproached them. “You always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did so do you also. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain those who foretold of the coming of the Just One, of whom you have been the betrayers and murderers;” and the Apostle, Rom. 9, points out who are the true children of Israel when he says, “For all are not Israelites that are of Israel; neither are all they who are the seed of Abraham’s children;” that is to say, not they who are the children of the flesh are the children of God, but they that are the children of the promise are counted for “the seed.” And in the same epistle, chap. 4, he tells them that they were the children of Abraham “who follow the steps of the faith that our father Abraham had,” be they circumcised or not circumcised. Nor should we exclude all the children of Israel according to the flesh, for in such case we would exclude the prophets and the Apostles; we exclude those only who are Israelites according to the flesh alone, of whom St. Stephen speaks as above, and to whom the Precursor said, “Ye offspring of vipers, who hath shown you to flee from the wrath to come? do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our father,” and to whom the Lord himself said, “If you be the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham—you are of your father the devil.” Finally, such are they, who, after having renounced the Lord, are scattered all over the world, without a king, a priesthood, and even without a God.

Psalm 147 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 147, from Vespers, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalmus 147

Lauda, Jerusalem. The church is called upon to praise God for his peculiar graces and favours to his people. In the Hebrew, this psalm is joined to the foregoing. Alleluia.

[1] Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: * praise thy God, O Sion.

[2] Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates * he hath blessed thy children within thee.

[3] Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.
Who hath placed peace in thy borders: * and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

[4] Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.
Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: * his word runneth swiftly.

[5] Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.
Who giveth snow like wool: * scattereth mists like ashes.

[6] Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?
He sendeth his crystal like morsels: * who shall stand before the face of his cold?

[7] Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.
He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: * his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.

[8] Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.
Who declareth his word to Jacob: * his justices and his judgments to Israel.

[9] Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.
He hath not done in like manner to every nation: * and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.

Notes

[1] Lauda, Jerúsalem, Dóminum: * lauda Deum tuum, Sion.
Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: * praise thy God, O Sion.

Jerusalem is a holy city, the more noble part of which is mount Sion, where the temple of the Lord was built, and is often used to express the city itself; and, therefore, “praise the Lord, O Jerusalem,” and “praise thy God, Sion,” signify one and the same thing. If it be referred to the Jerusalem above (the heavenly Jerusalem), nothing more appropriate could be applied to it; for in that heavenly city no one need be occupied in it providing for their personal wants, or those of their neighbors, there being no poor, no needy, to be found therein, and can, therefore, devote their whole time, as they really do, in praising God. Most justly, then, does he address the city, saying, “Praise the Lord,” for you have nothing else to do; for you are specially bound thereto by reason of the signal favours he has conferred on you; and, finally, because it has been your great good fortune to get so close a view of the beauty and the excellence of the Lord. The Church, in her exile, should also praise the Lord; but the whole Church cannot, nor can the Church at all times do it, in the midst of the cares and troubles that frequently disturb her. And if the Church cannot accomplish it, much less can the synagogue.

[2] Quóniam confortávit seras portárum tuárum: * benedíxit fíliis tuis in te.
Because he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates * he hath blessed thy children within thee.

The reason why Jerusalem should bless the Lord arises from the fact of his having conferred on her that abundance and security of which human happiness consists. Security, without abundance, is no better than poverty, and abundance, without security, is replete with fear and danger. God, therefore, so strengthened the bolts of the gates of Jerusalem that they could not possibly be stormed, and those inside are quite safe, inasmuch as no enemy can enter, no friend will be excluded; nothing bad can come in, nothing good will go out; and the divine blessing brought an abundance of all good things into this highly fortified city; for it was not a particular blessing that God gave the holy city, but a general, an absolute one, to use the expression of the Apostle, “Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.” These two things perfectly apply to the Jerusalem above, where the security is eternal, and the blessing consists in the enjoyment of the supreme good.
They also apply, to a certain extent, to the Church in her exile, though not so entirely; “for the gates of hell will not prevail against her,” and she has many blessings within her; but, meanwhile, many wicked enter into her, and good revolt from her; she has the chaff mixed with the grain, the good with the bad fish, the kids with the lambs. There are other points of agreement also with the earthly Jerusalem, inasmuch as by reason of her being situated in the mountains, she appeared to be well fortified, and abounded, at one time, with inhabitants and with wealth; but, as she was more than once sacked and destroyed, it does not appear that the expression, “he hath strengthened the bolts of thy gates,” is quite applicable to her. One would rather say the expression in Lament. 2 was, “Her gates are sunk into the ground: he hath destroyed and broken her bars; and the bulwark hath moved; and the wall hath been destroyed together.” Nor was there such an abundance in the city at the same time, when we read, “They said to their mothers, where is corn and wine? when they fainted away as the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their souls in the bosoms of their mothers.”

[3] Qui pósuit fines tuos pacem: * et ádipe fruménti sátiat te.
Who hath placed peace in thy borders: * and filleth thee with the fat of corn.

Not only is the holy city of Jerusalem highly fortified, but it is even exempt from the dangers of war, hence its name, Jerusalem, which signifies “The vision of peace,” and the first that attempted to disturb that peace was expelled with such violence as to cause the Lord to say, “I saw Satan as lightning falling from heaven.” “Who hath placed peace in thy borders;” who hath established universal peace through the length and breadth of Jerusalem. And further, not only does this city enjoy abundance, but even the most exquisite dainties, as conveyed in the expression, “the fat of corn;” and these without limit, as we can infer from the expression, “who filleth.” All this applies to our heavenly country in the strict sense of the words, for there alone will our inferior be in strict peace with our superior parts, and our superior parts with God; and there, too, will be strict peace between the citizens of all grades, high and low; for there will be one heart, one soul, and as the Lord expresses it, Jn. 7, “Made perfect in one.” There, too, “will all be filled with the fat of corn,” for truth and wisdom being the food of the soul, they will have actual truth as it is in itself, and not in figures or enigmas, and they will taste of the sweetness of the Word Eternal without being enveloped by the sacraments or the Scriptures; they will drink of the fountain of wisdom, instead of applying to the streams that flow from it, or to the “showers falling gently upon the earth.” They will be so filled that they will never again hunger nor thirst for all eternity.
In the Church militant also, which, to a certain extent, is the Jerusalem, we have peace with God, though we, at the same time, suffer pressure from the world. We do what we can to keep in peace with all; but we are in the midst of those who hate peace, and, therefore, “Combats without, fears within,” are never wanting, and though we may feed on “the fat of corn,” it is enveloped by too many coverings. We have the Word of God, but in the flesh; and though we eat of the flesh it is covered by the sacrament. We drink of the waters of wisdom, but it is from the shower of the Scriptures, and we are, therefore, never so satiated with those blessings as to make our happiness consist in hungering and thirsting for more. Much less applicable is all this to the earthly Jerusalem, the old synagogue of the Jews, to which it was applicable in a figurative sense only.

[4] Qui emíttit elóquium suum terræ: * velóciter currit sermo ejus.
Who sendeth forth his speech to the earth: * his word runneth swiftly.

Having exhorted the holy city to thank God for the favours conferred on itself, he now exhorts it to praise God for the favours conferred on other nations, from which they may learn how much more liberal he has been in their regard. He, therefore, exhorts them to praise that God, “who sendeth forth his speech to the earth,” who issues the precepts and decrees of his providence to the whole world; and “his word runneth quickly;” such precepts and decrees are borne with the greatest expedition to all created beings, penetrate all things, and are put into immediate execution. These words explain the order of divine providence that extends itself to everything, and that with the greatest velocity because God is everywhere, “upholding all things by the word of his power,” Heb. 1; and “reaches from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly,”—Wisdom 8. Hence, David says, in Psalm 118, “All things serve thee.”

[5] Qui dat nivem sicut lanam: * nébulam sicut cínerem spargit.
Who giveth snow like wool: * scattereth mists like ashes.

From God’s universal providence he now takes up one particular effect of it, in which the admirable power and wisdom of God are most conspicuous, and for which he deserves merited praise, even from the citizens above, exempt as they are from such changes. The wonderful effects of God’s power and wisdom, which, however, are most familiar and visible to us all, are to be found in his creation of heat and cold in the air. In certain countries, snow, frost, and ice will so abound, at certain times, that lakes, rivers, and even seas will become so congealed, that wagons, heavily laden, will be carried over them, as they would through so many roads or fields. The ice becomes so hard that bars of iron will hardly break it; and yet, God, when it pleaseth him, by a simple change in the wind, in one instant causes all to melt, and streams of water flow down from the housetops, from the hills, and the mountains. Thus, God, in one moment, converts the extreme cold into a most agreeable warmth.
To enter into particulars. “Who giveth snow like wool;” who rains down snow in such abundance, that every flake of it looks like flocks of wool, not only by reason of its whiteness, but also of its size. “Scattereth mists like ashes;” raises mists so dense, that they seem more like a cloud of ashes than of vapour.

[6] Mittit crystállum suam sicut buccéllas: * ante fáciem frígoris ejus quis sustinébit?
He sendeth his crystal like morsels: * who shall stand before the face of his cold?

“He sendeth his crystal like morsels;” who congeals the water when forming it into hail, so as to appear in small crystals like crumbs of bread. “Who shall stand before the face of his cold?” An apostrophe of the prophet in admiration of God’s great power in producing so much cold; as much as to say, who can stand or bear so much cold?

[7] Emíttet verbum suum, et liquefáciet ea: * flabit spíritus ejus, et fluent aquæ.
He shall send out his word, and shall melt them: * his wind shall blow, and the waters shall run.

Having described the extreme cold caused by the snow, frost, and ice, he now shows with what ease and celerity God causes them all to disappear. “He shall send out his word,” his simple command, “and shall melt them,” the snow, frost, and ice, and, at once, the cold disappears; and he explains how simply God effects that, when he adds, “His wind shall blow, and the waters shall run;” at his command the wind shifts to the south, causing the snow and the ice to thaw, and thus converting them into water.

[8] Qui annúntiat verbum suum Jacob: * justítias, et judícia sua Israël.
Who declareth his word to Jacob: * his justices and his judgments to Israel.
[9] Non fecit táliter omni natióni: * et judícia sua non manifestávit eis.
He hath not done in like manner to every nation: * and his judgments he hath not made manifest to them.

He concludes by showing how differently God, in his providence, deals with his own people, and with other nations, because he instructed other nations, merely by natural causes and effects, so as to know their Creator through the things created by him; (from high philosophy to common sense: Plato, Aristotle et al)   but he taught his own people through the prophets. “Who declareth his word to Jacob;” that is to say, Jerusalem praise that Lord, “who declared his word to his people Jacob,” by speaking to them through Moses, and the prophets, and who pointed out “his justices and his judgments to Israel,” through the same Moses, to whom he gave the law, in order to hand it over to his people of Israel, and from it you will be able to understand “that he hath not done in like manner to every nation,” because to you alone, and to none others, “hath he made manifest his judgments,” meaning his laws. All this applies literally to the Jerusalem on earth, to whom God sent his prophets to announce his words, and explain his laws; but it is much more applicable to the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church, that received the incarnate word of God himself, through the preaching of the Apostles, and learned a much more sublime law, judgments and justifications. It is more applicable, again, to the Jerusalem above, to which God openly announces his word; and in his word all its inhabitants behold the judgments of God, the order, disposition, and secrets of his divine providence, that to us are a great abyss.

Psalm 130 (after Bellarmine)

David introduces the Psalms. Master Jean de Mandeville,
(French, active 1350 - 1370) [Getty Museum]

We are continuing to build the pages of the Little Office website. Below is Psalm 130, from Compline, with notes based on St Robert Bellarmine's explanations.

Totus tuus ego sum 
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum tutus semper sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam

[ ]  Footnotes are not hyperlinked but refer to the notes after the Psalm.

Psalmus 130

Domine, non est. The prophet's humility.
 
[1] Canticum graduum David. 
Dómine, non est exaltátum cor meum, neque eláti sunt óculi mei,
Lord, my heart is not exalted: nor are my eyes lofty.

neque ambulávi in magnis, neque in mirabílibus super me.
Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me.

[2] Si non humíliter sentiébam, sed exaltávi ánimam meam;
If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul:

sicut ablactátus est super matre sua, ita retribútio in ánima mea.
As a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul. 
 
[3] Speret Israël in Dómino, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. 
Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.
 

Notes

[1] Canticum graduum David. 
Dómine, non est exaltátum cor meum, neque eláti sunt óculi mei,
Lord, my heart is not exalted: nor are my eyes lofty.
neque ambulávi in magnis, neque in mirabílibus super me.
Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me.

The prophet, being quite certain of saying nothing but the truth, directly addresses God, whom no one can deceive, and asserts that he was never subject to pride, either in his interior or his bearing. Many, with a semblance of humility, are full of interior pride and self importance; and many look down upon their neighbours without the slightest effort at concealing their pride and impudence; while David’s “heart was not exalted, nor were his eyes lofty;” he was humble in his heart, and he expressed it in his looks. “Neither have I walked in great matters, nor in wonderful things above me.” Having thus disposed of interior and exterior pride, he now comes to the pride arising from our words and our actions. Some are fond of boasting of being able to do, or of having done, or of being about to do greater or more wonderful things than they could possibly do; and thus, “they walk in things above them,” as to their speech; and others undertake to do what they are quite unequal to, and “they walk in things above them,” in their actions or in their works; but David, grounded in true humility, knew his own place; neither in word nor deed “walked above himself in great and wonderful things;” that is to say, never boasted of having done great and wonderful things beyond his strength, nor attempted to do what he felt himself unequal to.

[2] Si non humíliter sentiébam, sed exaltávi ánimam meam;
If I was not humbly minded, but exalted my soul:
sicut ablactátus est super matre sua, ita retribútio in ánima mea.
As a child that is weaned is towards his mother, so reward in my soul.

Not satisfied with having declared to God, the searcher of hearts, that he always had the greatest abhorrence of all manner of pride, he confirms it by an oath or imprecation, in order to make it more thoroughly believed by all; and therefore, says, “If I was not humbly minded” about myself, “but exalted in my soul;” and thus, looking down upon others; “as a child that is weaned is towards his mother;” as a child recently weaned, lies crying and moaning on its mother’s lap or breast, by reason of being deprived of that usual nourishment that was so sweet and agreeable to it; “so reward in my soul;” so may my soul be deprived of the sweetness of divine consolation, my especial, and nearly my only delight.
They alone who have been filled with the same spirit, and have tasted how sweet God is, can form an idea of the amount of punishment the holy prophet thus imprecates on himself; for the Psalms that were composed, like so many amatory ditties, testify to his disregard for the wealth of this world or the glory of a throne, as compared with his love for God. Take a few of the numberless proofs of it. “O! how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee.” “O taste and see, that the Lord is sweet.” “My heart hath said to thee, my face hath sought thee; thy face, O Lord, will I still seek. Turn not away thy face from me.” “My soul refused to be comforted, I remembered God, and was delighted.” “Give joy to the soul of thy servant, for to thee, O Lord, I have lifted up my soul, for thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild.” “But I will take delight in the Lord.” “And I will rejoice under the cover of thy wings; my soul hath stuck close to thee.” “For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what do I desire upon earth? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion forever; but it is good for me to adhere to my God;” as much as to say, let others run after ideal happiness, whether in air or on earth, “My good is to adhere to my God;” he is my supreme happiness, he is “the God of my heart;” my share, my inheritance, my portion, my all; with him alone I am, and ever will be, content. When David, then, in his humility and his simplicity, like a child just weaned, placed all his happiness in the milk of divine love, he could not have wished himself a greater evil than to be in the position of a child prematurely weaned, who refuses all manner of consolation on being debarred from its mother’s breast.

[3] Speret Israël in Dómino, ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum. 
Let Israel hope in the Lord, from henceforth now and for ever.

The conclusion of the Psalm explains the object of the great praise so conferred on humility; for the holy soul did not mean or intend to hold himself up as an example of it, but he wanted to admonish the people how little they ought to confide in themselves, and how much in God; and he, therefore, says, “Let Israel hope in the Lord.” If I, a king and a prophet, dare not take a shine out of myself by reason of my power and my wisdom, and, instead of relying on myself, cast all my hope on God, it certainly is only right that Israel, my people, and who are also God’s people, should not “imagine that they are something when they are nothing,” nor confide in their own strength, but hope in the Lord—they will hope in him, not only today and tomorrow, but forever and ever.