Nocturn I: Hosea 1:1-11
Reading 1: From the prophet Hosea - The word of the Lord, that came to Osee the son of Beeri, in the days of Ozias, Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias kings of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas king of Israel. The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee: and the Lord said to Osee: Go, take thee a wife of fornications, and have of her children of fornications: for the land by fornication shall depart from the Lord. So he went, and took Gomer the daughter of Debelaim: and she conceived and bore him a son.
R. Vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum, et plena erat omnis terra majestate ejus: * Et ea, quae sub ipso erant, replebant templum.
V. Seraphim stabant super illud: sex alae uni, et sex alae alteri.
R. Et ea, quae sub ipso erant, replebant templum.
|
R. I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and the whole earth was full of His glory * And His train filled the temple.
V. Above it stood the Seraphim each one had six wings.
R. And His train filled the temple.
|
Reading 2: And the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezrahel: for yet a little while, and I will visit the blood of Jezrahel upon the house of Jehu, and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. And in that day I will break in pieces the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrahel. And she conceived again, and bore a daughter, and he said to him: Call her name, Without mercy: for I will not add any more to have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly forget them.
R. Aspice Domine de sede sancta tua, et cogita de nobis: inclina Deus meus aurem tuam, et audi: * Aperi oculos tuos, et vide tribulationem nostram.
V. Qui regis Israël, intende, qui deducis velut ovem Joseph.
R. Aperi oculos tuos, et vide tribulationem nostram.
|
R. Look down, O Lord, from the dwelling-place of thine holiness, and take thought for us. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear. * Open thine eyes, and behold our desolation.
V. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou That leadest Joseph like a flock.
R. Open thine eyes, and behold our desolation.
|
Reading 3: And I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and I will save them by the Lord their God: and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. And she weaned her that was called Without mercy. And she conceived, and bore a son. And he said: Call his name, Not my people: for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.
R. Aspice Domine, quia facta est desolata civitas plena divitiis, sedet in tristitia domina Gentium: * Non est qui consoletur eam, nisi tu Deus noster.
V. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrimae ejus in maxillis ejus.
R. Non est qui consoletur eam, nisi tu Deus noster.
|
R. Consider, O Lord, how that the city sitteth solitary that was full of riches; how is she become as a widow, she that was great among the nations; * She hath none to comfort her, save thee, O our God
V. She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks.
R. She hath none to comfort her, save thee, O our God
|
Reading 4: And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, that is without measure, and shall not be numbered. And it shall be in the place where it shall be said to them: You are not my people: it shall be said to them: Ye are the sons of the living God. And the children of Juda, and the children of Israel shall be gathered together: and they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall come up out of the land: for great is the day of Jezrahel.
R. Redemit populum suum, et liberavit eum: et venient, et exsultabunt in monte Sion: et gaudebunt de bonis Domini super frumento, vino, et oleo: * Et ultra non esurient
V. Eritque anima eorum quasi hortus irriguus.
R. Et ultra non esurient
V. Gloria Patri...
R. Et ultra non esurient
|
R. He hath redeemed His people, and ransomed them therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall rejoice in the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil * And they shall hunger no more.
V. And their soul shall be as a watered garden.
R. And they shall hunger no more.
V. Glory be...
R. And they shall hunger no more.
|
Nocturn II: St Augustine, City of God Book 18 ch 28
Reading 5: From the City of God of St Augustine - As to the Prophet Hosea, the deeper his meaning, the harder to pierce. But somewhat may be gotten out of him, and, as I promised, I will give it here. He saith And it shall come to pass that, in the place where it shall be said unto them, Ye are not My people, there it shall be said unto them Ye are the sons of the living God. This was understood even by the Apostles as a Prophetic witness to the call of the Gentiles, who erst had not been God's people.
R. Super muros tuos Jerusalem constitui custodes: * Tota die et nocte non tacebunt laudare nomen Domini.
V. Praedicabunt populis fortitudinem meam, et annuntiabunt Gentibus gloriam meam.
R. Tota die et nocte non tacebunt laudare nomen Domini.
|
R. I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem * Which shall never hold their peace day nor night, to praise the name of the Lord.
V. They shall proclaim My might unto the nations, and declare My glory unto the Gentiles.
R. Which shall never hold their peace day nor night, to praise the name of the Lord.
|
Reading 6: And since the converted Gentiles are the spiritual children of Abraham, and are therefore rightly called Israelites, therefore he goeth on, and saith: Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land.
R. Muro tuo inexpugnabili circumcinge nos Domine, et armis tuae potentiae protege nos semper: * Libera Domine Deus Israël clamantes ad te.
V. Erue nos in mirabilibus tuis, et da gloriam nomini tuo.
R. Libera Domine Deus Israël clamantes ad te.
|
R. Hedge us about with thy wall that cannot be broken down, O Lord, and shield us continually with the arms of thy might. * O Lord God of Israel, deliver them that cry unto thee.
V. Deliver us also according to thy marvellous works, and give glory to thy Name.
R. O Lord God of Israel, deliver them that cry unto thee.
|
Reading 7: If we went on expounding this, we should water down the flavour of the prophetic draught. Let there be remembered, however, that Corner Stone, and let there be acknowledged those twain walls, (which It bindeth in one,) the Jews and the Gentiles, one called the children of Judah and the other the children of Israel, bound together under One Head, and coming up out of the land.
R. Sustinuimus pacem et non venit: quaesivimus bona, et ecce turbatio: cognovimus Domine peccata nostra: * Non in perpetuum obliviscaris nos.
V. Peccavimus, impie gessimus, iniquitatem fecimus Domine in omnem justitiam tuam.
R. Non in perpetuum obliviscaris nos.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
R. Non in perpetuum obliviscaris nos.
|
R. We looked for peace, and it came not we asked for good, and behold trouble. We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness.* Forget us not for ever.
V. O Lord (our God) we have sinned, we have done ungodly, we have dealt unrighteously in all thine ordinances.
R. Forget us not for ever.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Forget us not for ever.
|
Reading 8: Concerning them that are now Israelites according to the flesh, that will not now believe in Christ, but shall believe hereafter, (that is, their children shall believe, for these shall die, and go to their own place,) this same Prophet giveth witness, where he saith The children of Israel shall abide many days without a King, and without a Prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an Altar, and without a Priest, and without oracles. To whom is it not manifest that such is the state of the Jews now.
R. Angustiae mihi sunt unique, et quid eligam ignoro.* Melius est mihi incidere in manus hominum, quam derelinquere legem Dei mei.
V. Si enim hoc egero, mors mihi est: si autem non egero, non effugiam manus vestras.
R. Melius est mihi incidere in manus hominum, quam derelinquere legem Dei mei.
V. Gloria Patri...
R. Melius est mihi incidere in manus hominum, quam derelinquere legem Dei mei.
|
R. I am straitened on every side, and know not what to choose. * It is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to sin against the law of my God.
V. For if I do this thing, it is death unto me and if I do it not, I cannot escape your hands.
R. It is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to sin against the law of my God.
V. Glory be...
R. It is better for me to fall into the hands of men, than to sin against the law of my God.
|
Nocturn III: Homily of St Jerome
Reading 9: From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew - At that time, Jesus said to to the people a parable: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. And so on.
Homily of St Jerome - The kingdom of heaven is the proclamation of the Gospel, and that knowledge of the Scriptures, which leadeth unto life, and whereof it is said to the Jews: The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Therefore is this kingdom like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field.
R. Laudabilis populus,* Quem Dominus exercituum benedixit, dicens: Opus manuum mearum tu es, hereditas mea Israël.
V. Beata gens, cujus est Dominus Deus, populus electus in hereditatem.
R. Quem Dominus exercituum benedixit, dicens: Opus manuum mearum tu es, hereditas mea Israël.
|
R. Blessed is the people * Whom the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying O Israel thou art the work of Mine own hands, thou art Mine own inheritance.
V. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.
R. Whom the Lord of hosts hath blessed, saying O Israel thou art the work of Mine own hands, thou art Mine own inheritance.
|
Reading 10: By the man that sowed it in his field, many understand to be meant the Saviour, because He is the Sower That soweth in the souls of believers; others understand every man that soweth good seed in his own field, that is, in himself and in his own heart. Who is he that soweth, but our own mind and soul, which take the grain from preaching, and by nourishing it in the soil, cause it to sprout in the field of our own breast?
R. Misit Dominus Angelum suum, et conclusit ora leonum:* Et non contaminaverunt: quia coram eo injustitia inventa non est in me.
V. Misit Deus misericordiam suam, et veritatem suam: animam meam eripuit de medio catulorum leonum.
R. Et non contaminaverunt: quia coram eo injustitia inventa non est in me.
|
R. The Lord hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that * They have not hurt me forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me.
V. God hath sent forth His mercy and His truth, (and delivered) my soul from among the lions' whelps.
R. They have not hurt me forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me.
|
Reading 11: The preaching of the Gospel is the least of all doctrines. He that preacheth, for his first lesson, God made man, Christ dead, and the stumbling-block of the Cross, receiveth at first but little credit. Compare such teaching as this with the doctrines of the Philosophers, with their books, their magnificent eloquence, and their rounded sentences, and thou shalt see how the grain of the Gospel, when it is sown, is the humblest of all seeds.
R. Indicabo tibi homo, quid sit bonum: aut quid Dominus requirat a te: * Facere judicium et justitiam, et sollicitum ambulare cum Deo tuo.
V. Spera in Domino, et fac bonitatem, et inhabita terram.
R. Facere judicium et justitiam, et sollicitum ambulare cum Deo tuo.
|
R. I will show thee, O man, what is good, and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to * Do justice and judgment, and to walk humbly with thy God?
V. l Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land.
R. Do justice and judgment, and walk humbly with thy God.
|
Reading 12: But when the doctrines of men grow up, there is therein nothing piercing, nothing healthy, nothing life-giving. The plant is drooping, and delicate, and soft. There are herbs and grass whereof it may truly be said that the grass withereth and the flower fadeth. . But the grain of Gospel seed, though, when it was sown, it seemed to be the least of all seeds, when once it is rooted in the soul of man, or in the whole world, groweth not into an herb, but becometh a tree so that the birds of the air (whereby we may understand, either the souls of believers, or the (angelic) powers bound to the service of God,) come and lodge in the branches thereof. I consider that the branches of the Gospel tree, which groweth from the grain of mustard-seed, are the divers developments of doctrine, on which the birds above mentioned find resting-places.
R. Duo Seraphim clamabant alter ad alterum: * Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth: * Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.
V. Tres sunt qui testimonium dant in caelo, Pater, Verbum, et Spiritus Sanctus: et hi tres unum sunt.
R. Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
R. Plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.
|
R. One Seraph cried unto another * Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts * The whole earth is full of His glory.
V. There are Three That bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost and these Three are One.
R. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of hosts
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. The whole earth is full of His glory.
|
Gospel: Matt 13:31-35
Another parable he proposed unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come, and dwell in the branches thereof. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitudes: and without parables he did not speak to them. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.
