The Royal Office

Why did Pius XI of happy memory appoint the last Sunday of October to be the Feast of the Kingship of Christ? He tells us in his encyclical: it is the Sunday before All Saints day. I recalled this when reading Matins of All Saints this morning, since the Invitatory for All Saints is:

Regem regum Dóminum veníte adorémus: * Quia ipse est coróna Sanctórum ómnium.

(The Lord, the King of kings, come let us worship: * For He is the crown of all the Saints.)

Compare this to the Invitatory of Christus Rex:

Jesum Christum, Regem regum: * Veníte, adorémus.

(Jesus Christ, the King of kings: * Come, let us worship.)

Just so, in the Byzantine Office, likewise inspired by Psalm 94, the cry resounds before reading the Psalter at each Hour:

O come let us worship and bow down to the King our God.

O come let us worship and bow down to Christ the King our God.

O come let us worship and bow down to Christ Himself the King and our God.

Most fittingly, before we celebrate the combined feast of all the triumphant citizens of the heavenly realm, the celestial kingdom, we first worship Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords: this seems to be the motive behind Pius XI's choice of the last Sunday in October for the new feast he instituted. 

On all feasts, singing Te Deum we confess that Tu Rex gloriæ, Christe – Thou art the King of glory, O Christ.

From His royal office derives our share therein, as St Leo the Great declaims at Christmas: Agnoscere, o Christiane, dignitatem tuam! – O Christian, know thy dignity! For we are sons and daughters of the Most High King, and have in prospect a heavenly inheritance: once we have conquered, by the grace of His conquest, we shall sit with Him on His and His Father's throne.

Hence the last of the blessings for Matins of nine lessons is:

Ad societatem civium supernorum perducat nos Rex Angelorum. Amen.

(To the company of the citizens above may the King of Angels bring us. Amen.)

Of course, every day in the Roman Breviary, we salute Christ the King at Prime, when praying the following prayer:

Dirigere et sanctificare, regere et gubernare dignáre, Dómine Deus, Rex cæli et terræ, hódie corda et córpora nostra, sensus, sermónes et actus nostros in lege tua, et in opéribus mandatórum tuórum: ut hic et in ætérnum, te auxiliante, salvi et liberi esse mereámur, Salvátor mundi: Qui vivis et regnas in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen. 

(Deign to direct and sanctify, rule and govern, Lord God, King of heaven and earth, today our hearts and bodies, our senses, words and actions, in Thy law and in the works of Thy commandments: that here and in eternity, Thou assisting, we may merit to be saved and set free, O Saviour of the world: Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.)

This short prayer to do God's will, addressed to the royal Son of God, is as it were a daily reconsecration of our selves, our souls and bodies, to Christ the King.

The transfer of this feast in the modern Roman Rite to the last Sunday before Advent has had the unfortunate effect of spiritualising away the social reign of Christ, making it but a private devotion to an eschatological hope – whereas it ought be a foretaste here and now of, and a spur to work to bring about imperfectly here below, what is ever perfect: since as every Collect sings, with His Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, He liveth and reigneth world without end.

Vale MMX

Farewell, 2010!

Don't forget to thank God for His favours and graces over the past year by praying the Te Deum.

O Canada

One's own worries are very small in the scheme of things; good is vastly greater than evil; God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.  Grace abounds...  

The latest signal instance of this is the just-released petition from the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada (part of the Traditional Anglican Communion), addressing Cardinal Levada as head of the competent dicastery, that of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and humbly asking the Holy See to establish an Anglican Personal Ordinariate in Canada, to set up an interim governing council, and to permit that council to submit a terna of names to the Holy Father, that he may appoint the first Ordinary thereof.

Perhaps British North America will see the first fruits of Anglicanorum cœtibus so very soon.

Let there be sung Te Deum laudamus (see my earlier posting of this)! - I certainly will be.

Te Deum for the Pope's Anglican Outreach

"Let us give thanks unto our Lord God. It is meet and right so to do." As you have no doubt read elsewhere (thanks, Rob, for alerting me to the news!), His Holiness the Pope, ever solicitous for the lost sheep of the House of Israel, and seeking to gather all Christians into the one fold of the Redeemer (Whose Vicar he is), will shortly issue an Apostolic Constitution providing for the corporate reunion of Anglicans seeking to swim the Tiber and come home to Rome, setting up personal ordinariates for them, and allowing them concessions such as married priests and special liturgical arrangements...

(Fr Rutler offers concise and penetrating commentary on all this.)

While it is as yet early days, well we may pray that, at the intercession of soon-to-be Blessed John Henry Newman (whose petitions before the Most Highest may well have obtained this blessing from heaven), many Anglicans may find the consummation of all their hopes in the embrace of Holy Mother Church, for the salvation of their souls and the greater glory of God. Non nobis, Domine, non nobis: sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

Let us therefore sing Te Deum. I append the Anglican version thereof, with suitable prayers from their books; the Order is modelled on the service of thanksgiving for the Anniversary of Her Majesty's happy reign, but with rather different collects - the first, addressed to God who works such wonders, for "the Pope [my own inclusion!], our Bishops, and Curates, and the congregations committed to their charge" (which may be read as referring to Catholics and those-soon-to-be such); then one for the Anglican Use (as already present in the approved Book of Divine Worship); one for those to be ordained (since the Church will have to be careful in her choice of suitable candidates), one, the General Thanksgiving (with its proper insert referring to those who give thanks for benefits received); second-last, the famous and beautiful Prayer for Unity; and finally the all-purpose Actiones nostras (reminding us that without God's grace sustaining us, all is in vain):

AN ORDER FOR

A SERVICE OF THANKSGIVING

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

WE praise thee, O God : we acknowledge thee to be the Lord.
All the earth doth worship thee : the Father everlasting.
To thee all Angels cry aloud : the Heavens, and all the Powers therein.
To thee Cherubin, and Seraphin : continually do cry,
Holy, Holy, Holy : Lord God of Sabaoth ;
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty : of thy Glory.
The glorious company of the Apostles : praise thee.
The goodly fellowship of the Prophets : praise thee.
The noble army of Martyrs : praise thee.
The holy Church throughout all the world : doth acknowledge thee ;
The Father : of an infinite Majesty ;
Thine honourable, true : and only Son ;
Also the Holy Ghost : the Comforter.

THOU art the King of glory : O Christ.
Thou art the everlasting Son : of the Father.
When thou tookest upon thee to deliver man : thou didst not abhor the Virgin's womb.
When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death : thou didst open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.
Thou sittest at the right hand of God : in the Glory of the Father.
We believe that thou shalt come : to be our judge.
We therefore pray thee, help thy servants : whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.
Make them to be numbered with thy Saints : in glory everlasting.

O LORD, save thy people : and bless thine heritage.
Govern them : and lift them up for ever.
Day by day : we magnify thee ;
And we worship thy Name : ever world without end.
Vouchsafe, O Lord : to keep us this day without sin.
O Lord, have mercy upon us : have mercy upon us.
O Lord, let thy mercy lighten upon us : as our trust is in thee.
O Lord, in thee have I trusted : let me never be confounded.

THE LORD'S PRAYER AND SUFFRAGES

[The Lord be with you.
[And with thy spirit.]

Let us pray.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

OUR Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. Amen.

O Lord, save thy servants ;
That put their trust in thee.
Send unto them help from thy holy place.
And evermore mightily defend them.
Let the enemy have no advantage of them ;
Nor the wicked approach to hurt them.
O Lord, hear our prayer.
And let our cry come unto thee.

Let us pray.

A PRAYER FOR THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who alone workest great marvels ; Send down upon the Pope, our Bishops, and Curates, and all Congregations committed to their charge, the healthful Spirit of thy grace ; and that they may truly please thee, pour upon them the continual dew of thy blessing. Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.

THE COLLECT FOR THE ANGLICAN USE

O HOLY Ghost the Lord, who on Pentecost gavest the Church the gift of tongues that Christ might be known, loved and served by peoples of divers nations and customs : watch over the Anglican heritage within thy Church, we pray thee, that, led by thy guidance and strengthened by thy grace, that Use may find such favour in thy sight that its people may increase both in holiness and number, and so shew forth thy glory ; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Son, one God world without end. Amen.

FOR THOSE THAT ARE TO BE ADMITTED INTO HOLY ORDERS

ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who hast purchased to thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of thy dear Son ; Mercifully look upon the same, and at this time so guide and govern the minds of thy servants the Bishops and Pastors of thy flock, that they may lay hands suddenly on no man, but faithfully and wisely make choice of fit persons to serve in the sacred Ministry of thy Church. And to those which shall be ordained to any holy function give thy grace and heavenly benediction ; that both by their life and doctrine they may set forth thy glory, and set forward the salvation of all men ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A GENERAL THANKSGIVING

ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men ; particularly to those who desire now to offer up their praises and thanksgivings for thy late mercies vouchsafed unto them. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life ; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful, and that we shew forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives ; by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days ; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.

A PRAYER FOR UNITY

O GOD, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour, the Prince of Peace ; Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions. Take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatsoever else may hinder us from godly Union and Concord: that, as there is but one Body, and one Spirit, and one Hope of our Calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may henceforth be all of one heart, and of one soul, united in one holy bond of Truth and Peace, of Faith and Charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

A COLLECT

PREVENT us, O Lord, in all our doings with thy most gracious favour, and further us with thy continual help ; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify thy holy Name, and finally by thy mercy obtain everlasting life ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE GRACE (2 Corinthians 13:14)

THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.

Te Deum - or Canon?

A century ago, a learned Benedictine (Dom P. Cagin, in his Te Deum ou Illatio - Abbaye de Solesmes, 1906) proposed that the Te Deum is an expanded Preface (an Illatio) from the Gallican Liturgy.  What if it is more than that?

As all men know, this magnificent hymn of praise consists of three sections, as the text and music thereof demonstrate: the first (Te Deum laudamus... Paraclitum Spiritum) is in worship of God the Father, praising Him and introducing the angels singing the Sanctus, then allowing the saints and the Church to join in, praising the entire Trinity; the second part (Tu Rex gloriæ Christe... in gloria numerari) is in adoration of Christ as our Saviour, the Eternal Son Who abhorred not the Virgin's womb, and by His victory over death opened the gates of heaven to us, redeemed by His Precious Blood, who hope to be judged worthy of life with Him in glory; and the third section, considered to have been added later, is a catena of psalm verses (Salvum fac populum... in æternum) supplicating aid for us sinners who seek ever to praise God.

However, there are - it seems to me - two lacunæ in the Te Deum, marked by sudden leaps of thought, and one of these is not remarked upon.  The first of these is at the end of the first section, where, having confessed the Trinity, ending with the Holy Ghost, we move on at once to addressing the Son.  Some would have it that the Holy Ghost has been added in here to what was an earlier mention of the Father and Son only; but there may be another explanation...  The second of these gaps is within the section devoted to the Son: no sooner is Christ confessed as not having abhorred the Virgin's womb, than He is praised as the Victor over death - what of the course of His earthly life, and above all His one sacrifice on Calvary?

Now if, as Dom Cagin theorized, the Te Deum is an expanded Preface, then the Preface proper stretches from the opening words down to the start of the Sanctus: so we have the initial address to God (Te Deum... Te æternum Patrem...) and then the description of the angels worshipping Him (Tibi omnes Angeli, tibi cæli et universæ potestates.  Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:).  Next comes the Sanctus itself, in the Gallican form with majestatis gloriæ tuæ.  But the whole rest of the hymn would then correspond with the Canon of the Mass - with the Illatio or Anaphora (the two words mean much the same), which, at least in Mozarabic Spain, was considered to continue after the Sanctus down to the Consecration...

If the Te Deum from Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus onwards is a fragment of a Eucharistic Prayer, then, what does it contain, and what does it lack?  It certainly has a fine exordium, taking up the theme of the angelic choirs adoring the Lord by bringing in the apostles, prophets, martyrs and the whole Church throughout the world now lauding the Trinity.  Then it has part of what is styled the memorial or anamnesis, the recollection of Christ's mighty salvific works, addressed to Him as is the case in Syrian Anaphoras for example (recall that in the Gallican and Mozarabic Liturgies all prayers are indifferently addressed to the Father or to the Son, as a protest again Arianism and a confession of the divinity of Christ), and, like those Syrian formulæ, ending with mention of the fearful Last Judgement to come and a plea to escape hell and deserve heaven by reason of our trust in His all-availing Blood.  However, this anamnesis only commemorates the Incarnation, Resurrection, and Ascension to the Father's Right.  Finally, the whole concludes with intercession, albeit in a series of psalm verses that appear to be a later addition to the hymn (perhaps in place of a longer and more obviously Eucharistic impetration?).

What then is lacking from the Te Deum if considered a putative Eucharistic Prayer?  Three things above all: an epiclesis (which in the West was not always limited to an invocation of the Holy Ghost, and could be found before the words of the Lord, as also in the Alexandrian Rite), the words of the Lord in constituting the Sacrament, and the oblation of the Sacrifice in connexion with mention of His Passion.  

Where would these elements have been found?  My contention is that they would have fitted precisely in the two lacunæ I mentioned above: an epiclesis followed by the Verba Domini could easily have bridged the gap between Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum and Tu Rex gloriæ Christe, while the anamnesis could have been completed and linked to the oblation of the Sacrifice by a no longer extant statement recalling Christ's Passion and the Eucharist as our offering thereof.

Here is a reconstruction, very tentative, according to my theory:

TE DEUM AS AN ILLATIO

PREFACE

Te, Deum, laudamus:

te, Dominum, confitemur.

Te, aeternum Patrem,

omnis terra veneratur.

Tibi omnes Angeli;

tibi caeli et universae Potestates;

Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim

incessabili voce proclamant:

SANCTUS

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,

Dominus Deus Sabaoth.

Pleni sunt caeli et terra

majestatis gloriae tuae.

EXORDIUM

Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,

Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,

Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.

Te per orbem terrarum

sancta confitetur Ecclesia,

Patrem immensae maiestatis:

Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;

Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.

[EPICLESIS]

[Emitte eum, Domine: 

[et benedic hæc sancta sacrificia,

[ut nobis fiant Corpus et Sanguis dilecti Filii.]

[CONSECRATION]

[Qui pridie...]

ANAMNESIS [& OBLATION]

Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.

Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.

Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,

non horruisti Virginis uterum.

[Tu victima semel immolatus in ara crucis,

[Tu hostia semper vivens,

[Te offerimus Patri æterno.]

Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti

credentibus regna caelorum.

Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.

Judex crederis esse venturus.

Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni:

quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.

Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

INTERCESSION

Salvum fac populum tuum,

Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.

Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.

Per singulos dies benedicimus te;

Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.

Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.

Miserere nostri domine, miserere nostri.

Fiat misericordia tua,

Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.

In te, Domine, speravi:

Non confundar in æternum.

Remember, this is just an amateur's theory!

Te Deum

I've just bought a CD of yet another recording of Charpentier's Te Deum, but partnered with his rarer Messe pour plusieurs instruments au lieu des orgues: it even has a nice picture of Pope Benedict XIV* on the front. This music has been accompanying my tripping around Hobart and environs...

[* Wishful thinking on my part: it's actually Clement XIII!]

And how appropriate to have a Te Deum to hand: since I learn from Herr Schutz that Dr Adam Cooper, until now a Lutheran Pastor, together with his family, has just been received into the Church on the 28th of December, feast of the Holy Family. I have been hoping to have a chance to study under him for some time, since learning of his recent appointment as lecturer at the John Paul II Institute in Melbourne, and am delighted to sincerely congratulate him and his on this great step. Ut unum sint!

I think this makes at least four Aussie Lutheran pastors to have Poped in recent years, and I know two Canadian pastors who've done the same. Watch out world: these men are all Christ-loving, zealous and learned, and they play important roles in the New Evangelization.

Te, Deum, laudamus:
te, Dominum, confitemur.
Te, aeternum Patrem,
omnis terra veneratur.

Tibi omnes Angeli;
tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim
incessabili voce proclamant:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra
majestatis gloriae tuae.

Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.

Te per orbem terrarum
sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.

Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem,
non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti
credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Judex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni:
quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.

Salvum fac populum tuum,
Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
Per singulos dies benedicimus te;
Et laudamus Nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
Miserere nostri domine, miserere nostri.
Fiat misericordia tua,
Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
In te, Domine, speravi:
non confundar in aeternum.