Let us pray (in silence) [that the message of God coming to save us may transform our lives]
Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, [or Pour forth, we beseech you, O God,]
your grace into our hearts,
that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an angel,
may, by his passion and cross,
be brought to the glory of his resurrection,
through Jesus Christ, our Saviour,
who is alive with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
This is part of my collects with history and commentary.
This collect has been with us at least since the 8th century Hadrianum. It is in the Sarum Missal, the Book of Common Prayer, the 1962 Missal, and the Roman Rite after Vatican II. It is one of the well-known collects that has been sadly abandoned by the NZ Anglican Prayer Book.
Gratiam tuam, quaesumus Domine,
mentibus nostris infunde,
ut qui, Angelo nuntiante,
Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus,
per passionem eius et crucem
ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur.
It is well-known by those of us who pray the Angelus.
You can read more of the history and my reflection on this collect here or below.
Lectionary Readings Introduction
This site provides something different: many sites and books provide a brief summary of the reading – so that people read out or have in their pew sheet an outline of what they are about to hear. They are told beforehand what to expect. Does this not limit what they hear the Spirit address them? This site provides something different – often one cannot appreciate what is being read because there is no context provided. This site provides the context, the frame of the reading about to be heard. It could be used as an introduction, printed on a pew sheet (acknowledged, of course), or adapted in other ways. This is an experimental venture and I will see how useful it appears.
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16
The king in this passage is David. There are two other places where Nathan’s oracle is recorded: Psalm 89 and 1 Chronicles 17. There is wordplay on “house” בַּיִת (bayith). 2 Sam 7:6-7 may be reworking by the final editor of 2 Samuel of an earlier oracle which seems to advocate that the ark should be housed in a tent rather than a permanent building. The final editor reworks material into the Deuteronomistic History from Deuteronomy through 2 Kings. 2 Samuel is part of the prophetic grouping of Nevi’im in the Hebrew Bible. Wether the work is anti monarchy is open to discussion.
Romans 16:25-27
This passage is missing from many manuscripts – it is likely an addition later when Paul’s letters were collected together. This passage appears sourced from liturgy.
Luke 1:26-38
Houses were constructed to have an inner room or courtyard – the proper place unmarried women. Mary is betrothed (μεμνηστευμένην mnēsteuō) a term found only in this story and in Matthew 1:18. In this Mediterranean shame culture, signs of virginity need to be produced (Deut 22:13-21). Mediterranean artists acknowledge this by separating Mary from the angel by an object. In the scene in the story, Mary understands that this will have consequences for both families involved in the betrothal in the first century culture that this story is set in.
THE O ANTIPHONS OF ADVENT
The NZ Lectionary booklet has O Sapientia in italics on 17 December. I wonder how many people reading that know what it refers to? There is no further mention of any of the other great O Antiphons. There is a lot on this site on these wonderful antiphons – the search box on the top right, as always, is the friend of those who want to explore. And the liturgy facebook page keeps you up to date, day by day.
December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
December 18: O Adonai (O Lord)
December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the nations)
December 23: O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)
The first letters taken backwards form a Latin acrostic “ero cras” – Latin for “Tomorrow, I will come”.
There was an alternative English medieval practice of moving all of the antiphons forward by one day (commencing on 16 December) and adding an eighth antiphon, O Virgo virginum (O Virgin of virgins), on 23 December, (the acrostic became Vero cras, “truly, tomorrow”). This was followed in the CofE, but has been abandoned in its Common Worship. NZ Anglicanism followed this – the last year being 1990. Then it had several years of no mention of these Antiphons. In 1999 its lectionary booklet began following the more common practice.
Reflection on the Collect
Thomas Cranmer translated the Latin collect quoted above for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer as:
WE beseche thee, Lorde, powre thy grace into our heartes; that, as we have knowen Christ, thy sonnes incarnacion, by the message of an Angell; so by hys crosse and passion, we maye be brought unto the glory of his resurreccion; Through the same Christe our Lorde.
Since Vatican II it has been the collect for Advent 4.
Mentibus refers to our inner life of mind, heart, conscience and intention.
Infundo means “to pour in, upon, or into” in this construct it can mean “communicate, impart”.
Angelo nuntiante – “as the angel announces”
cognovimus, “we have come to know” – in the perfect tenses, means “to know”
Perduco, means “to lead, to bring through, to guide to a certain goal”. It can also mean “to drink” linking back to infundo. That we may be led through his passion and cross to the glory of the resurrection.
Annunciation, incarnation, and Christ’s passover (in death and resurrection) is one many-faceted jewel. The dating of Christmas (25 December) may derive from a dating of (exactly nine months after) the Annunciation/incarnation as 25 March – being the Western calculation as the date of Christ’s passover. This is not merely the story of a cute baby – swaddling clothes link to burial wrappings, manger to sepulchre, incense and myrrh to anointing.
OTHER RESOURCES
Original, Southern Hemisphere Advent collects
An outline example and resources for an Advent Eucharist
Advent in the Southern Hemisphere
O Antiphons chants
#SlowAdvent
Off this site:
Resources for Preaching Down Under
Textweek
Girardian reflections on the lectionary
In the comments below, please continue adding quality Advent resources and ideas.
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image: Tanner, Henry Ossawa, 1859-1937. Annunciation, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
