Dominican Lauds of the Holy Cross

After Mass at St Francis, Riverside, this morning (where, thanks be, the strange weekday arrangement of chairs around the altar has at last been abolished, at length, since our priest has gently and patiently been working to improve matters liturgical without fuss, suppressing the contrary practice that had grown up there, and in peace I could kneel in the pews like a Catholic), I took the chance to read Lauds from my Dominican Diurnal – and what beautiful words.

Mass, especially given the use of the Roman Canon in the new corrected translation, had been marvellous, of course, and most marvellous in the offering of the Sacrifice and the reception of Our Lord in His Sacrament – but now I would like to present the sacred texts of Lauds, Dominican-style, which differ significantly from the Roman, in that only four antiphons (three for the psalms, one for the Benedictus) and the collect are the same in both, and the hymn in particular is noteworthy:

Ante Laudes V/.  Dicite in nationibus.

R/.  Quia Dominus regnavit a ligno.

AD LAUDES

Aña 1.  O magnum pietatis opus! Mors mortua tunc est, in ligno quando mortua Vita fuit.

Psalmus Dominus regnavit etc.

Aña 2.  Ecce Crucem Domini: fugite, partes adversæ: vicit Leo de tribu Juda, Radix David, alleluja.

Aña 3.  Nos autem gloriari oportet in Cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi.

Aña 4.  O Crux admirabilis, evacuatio vulneris, restitutio sanitatis!

Aña 5.  Crux benedicta nitet, Dominus qua carne pependit atque cruore suo vulnera nostra lavit.

Capitulum (Gal. 6)

Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in Cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi: per quem mihi mundus crucifixus est, et ego mundo.

Hymnus

Originale crimen necans in Cruce,

Nos a privatis, Christe, munda maculis:

Humanitatem miseratus fragilem,

Per Crucem sanctam lapsis dona veniam.

Protege, salva, benedic, sanctifica

Populum cunctum Crucis per signaculum:

Morbos averte corporis et animæ:

Hoc contra signum nullum stet periculum.

Sit Deo Patri laus in Cruce Filii,

Sit coæqualis laus Sancto Spiritui:

Civibus summis gaudium sit Angelis,

Honor sit mundo Crucis Exaltatio.  Amen.

V/.  Tuam Crucem adoramus, Domine.

R/.  Tuam gloriosam recolimus passionem.

Ad Bened. aña.  Super omnia ligna cedrorum tu sola excelsior, in qua Vita mundi pependit, in qua Christus triumphavit, et mors mortem superavit, alleluja.

Oratio

Deus, qui nos hodierna die Exaltationis sanctæ Crucis annua solemnitate lætificas: præsta, quæsumus, ut, cujus mysterium in terra cognovimus, ejus redemptionis in cælo præmia consequamur.  Per eundem...