The Circumcision of Our Lord, & Octave of Christmas Day

From Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year.

Our newborn King and Savior is eight days old today; the Star that guides the Magi is advancing towards Bethlehem and, five days hence, will be standing over the Stable where our Jesus is being nursed by his Mother. Today, the Son of Man is to be circumcised; this first sacrifice of his innocent Flesh must honor the eighth day of his mortal life. Mysteries abound on this day: let us not pass one of them over, but honor them with all possible devotion and love.

But this Day is not exclusively devoted to the Circumcision of Jesus. The mystery of the Circumcision forms part of that other great mystery, the Incarnation and Infancy of our Savior—a mystery on which the Church fixes her heart, not only during this Octave, but during the whole forty days of Christmastide. Then, as regards our Lord’s receiving the Name of Jesus, a special Feast, which we shall soon be keeping, is set apart in honor of it. There is another object that shares the love and devotion of the Faithful on this great Solemnity. This object is Mary, the Mother of God. The Church celebrates today the august prerogative of this divine Maternity, which was conferred on a mere creature, and which made her the cooperatrix with Jesus in the great work of man’s salvation.

The holy Church of Rome used formerly to say two Masses on the first of January; one was for the Octave of Christmas Day, the other was in honor of Mary. She now unites the two intentions in one Sacrifice, in the same manner as, in the rest of this Day’s Office, she unites together the acts of her adoration of the Son, and the expressions of her admiration for, and confidence in, the Mother.

The Greek Church does not wait for this Eighth Day in order to pay her tribute of homage to Her who has given us our Emmanuel. She consecrates to Mary the first Day after Christmas, that is, the 26th of December, and calls it the Synaxis of the Mother of God, making the two Days one continued Feast. She is thus obliged to defer the Feast of St. Stephen to the 27th of December.

But it is today that we, the children of the Roman Church, must pour forth all the love of our hearts for the Virgin Mother and rejoice with her in the exceeding happiness she feels at having given birth to her and our Lord. During Advent, we contemplated her as pregnant with the world’s salvation; we proclaimed the glory of that Ark of the New Covenant, whose chaste womb was the earthly paradise, chosen by the King of Ages for his dwelling place. Now she has brought him forth, the Infant God; she adores him, Him who is her Son. She has the right to call him her Child; and He, God as he is, calls her in strictest truth his Mother.

Let us not be surprised, therefore, at the enthusiasm and profound respect wherewith the Church extols the Blessed Virgin and her prerogatives. Let us, on the contrary, be convinced that all the praise the Church can give her, and all the devotion she can ever bear towards her, are far below what is due to her as Mother of the Incarnate God. No mortal will ever be able to describe or even comprehend how great a glory accrues to her from this sublime dignity. For as the glory of Mary comes from her being the Mother of God, one would have first to comprehend God himself in order to measure the greatness of her dignity. It is to God that Mary gave our human nature; it is God whom she had as her Child; it is God who gloried in rendering himself, inasmuch as he is Man, subject to her: hence, the true value of such a dignity, possessed by a mere creature, can only be appreciated in proportion to our knowledge of the sovereign perfections of the great God who thus deigns to make himself dependent upon that favored creature. Let us therefore bow down in deepest adoration before the Majesty of our God; let us therefore acknowledge that we cannot respect, as it deserves, the extraordinary dignity of Her whom he chose for his Mother.

The same sublime Mystery overpowers the mind from another point of view—what were the feelings of such a Mother towards such a Son? The Child she holds in her arms and presses to her heart is the Fruit of her virginal womb, and she loves him as her own; she loves him because she is his Mother, and a Mother loves her child as herself, nay, more than herself: but when she thinks upon the infinite majesty of Him who has thus given himself to her to be the object of her love and her fond caresses—she trembles in her humility, and her soul has to turn, in order to bear up against the overwhelming truth, to the other thought of the nine months she held this Babe in her womb, and of the filial smile he gave her when her eyes first met his. These two deep-rooted feelings—of a creature that adores, and of a Mother that loves—are in Mary’s heart. The being Mother of God implies all this—and may we not well say that no pure creature could be exalted more than she? and that in order to comprehend her dignity, we should first have to comprehend God himself? and that only God’s infinite wisdom could plan such a work, and only his infinite power accomplish it?

A Mother of God!—It is the mystery whose fulfilment the world, without knowing it, was awaiting for four thousand years. It is the work which, in God’s eyes, was incomparably greater than that of the creation of a million new worlds, for such a creation would cost him nothing; he has but to speak, and all whatsoever he wills is made. But that a creature should become Mother of God, he has had not only to suspend the laws of nature by making a Virgin Mother, but also to put himself in a state of dependence upon the happy creature he chose for his Mother. He had to give her rights over himself, and contract the obligation of certain duties towards her. He had to make Her his Mother, and Himself her Son.

It follows from this that the blessings of the Incarnation for which we are indebted to the love wherewith the Divine Word loved us, may and ought to be referred, though in an inferior degree, to Mary herself. If she be the Mother of God, it is because she consented to it, for God vouchsafed not only to ask her consent, but, moreover, to make the coming of his Son into this world depend upon her giving it. As this his Son, the Eternal Word, spoke his Fiat over chaos, and the answer to his word was creation; so did Mary use the same word Fiat:—let it be done unto me, she said. (Luke 1:38) God heard her word and, immediately, the Son of God descended into her virginal womb. After God, then, it is to Mary, his ever Blessed Mother, that we are indebted for our Emmanuel.

The divine plan for the world’s salvation included there being a Mother of God: and as heresy sought to deny the mystery of the Incarnation, it equally sought to deny the glorious prerogative of Mary. Nestorius asserted that Jesus was only man; Mary, consequently, was not Mother of God, but merely Mother of a Man called Jesus. This impious doctrine roused the indignation of the Catholic world. The East and West united in proclaiming that Jesus was God and Man, in unity of Person; and that Mary, being his Mother, was, in strict truth, “Mother of God” (Deipara and Θεοτόκος are the respective Latin and Greek terms). This victory over Nestorianism was won at the Council of Ephesus. It was hailed by the Christians of those times with an enthusiasm of faith, which not only proved the tender love they had for the Mother of Jesus, but was sure to result in the setting up of some solemn trophy that would perpetuate the memory of the victory. It was then that began, in both the Greek and Latin Churches, the pious custom of uniting, during Christmas, the veneration due to the Mother with the supreme worship given to the Son. The day assigned for the united commemoration varied in the several countries, but the sentiment of religion which suggested the Feast was one and the same throughout the entire Church.

The holy Pope Xystus 3rd ordered an immense Mosaic to be worked into the Chancel-Arch of the Church of St. Mary Major, in Rome, as a monument to the holy Mother of God. The Mosaic still exists, bearing testimony as to what was the faith held in the Fifth Century. It represents the various Scriptural types of our Lady, and the inscription of the holy Pontiff is still legible in its bold letters: Xystus Episcopus plebi Dei (Xystus Bishop to the People of God:), for the Saint had dedicated to the Faithful this his offering to Mary, the Mother of God.

Special Chants were also composed at Rome for the celebration of the great mystery of the Word made Man through Mary. Sublime Responsories and Antiphons, accompanied by appropriate music, were written to serve the Church and her children as the expression of their faith, and they are the ones we now use. The Greek Church makes use of some of these very Antiphons for the Christmas Solemnity; so that, with regard to the mystery of the Incarnation, there is not only unity of faith, there is also oneness of devotional sentiment.

Mass.—This Station is at St. Mary’s across the Tiber. It was but just that this Basilica should receive such an honor, for it is the most ancient of all the Churches raised by the devotion of the Faithful of Rome in honor of our Blessed Lady. It was consecrated in the 3rd century by St. Callixtus, on the site of the ancient Taberna Meritoria, celebrated even among the Pagans for the fountain of Oil which sprang up in that spot, in the reign of Augustus, and flowed into the Tiber. The piety of the Christians interpreted this as a symbol of the Christ that was afterwards born; and the Basilica is sometimes called, even to this day, Fons Olei.

The Introit is that of the Third Mass of Christmas Day, as are also most of the portions that are chanted by the Choir. It celebrates the Birth of the Child who is born unto us, and is today eight days old.

=======

INTROIT

A Child is born to us, and a Son is given to us: and the government is upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called the Angel of the great Counsel.

Ps. Sing to the Lord a new canticle: for he hath done wonderful things. ℣. Glory, etc. A Child.

In the Collect, the Church celebrates the Fruitful Virginity of the Mother of God, and shows Mary to us as the source whence God poured out upon mankind the blessing of the Incarnation. She expresses to God himself the hopes we have in the intercession of this privileged creature.

COLLECT

O God, who by the fruitful Virginity of Blessed Mary, hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience Her intercession, by whom we received the Author of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son. Who liveth, etc.

EPISTLE
Lesson of the Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to Titus 2:11-15

Dearly Beloved: The grace of God our Saviour hath appeared to all men; Instructing us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, Looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and might cleanse to himself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works. These things speak, and exhort: in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These counsels of our great Apostle, who warns the Faithful of the obligation they are under of making a good use of the present life, are most appropriate to this first day of January, which is now the beginning of the New Civil Year. Let us therefore renounce all worldly desires; let us live soberly, justly, and piously, and permit nothing to distract us from the expectation of that blessedness which is our hope. The great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who shows himself to us these days of his mercy, in order to instruct us—will come to us, in a second coming, in order to give us our reward. The beginning of a New Year tells us plainly enough that this last day is fast approaching—let us cleanse ourselves from all iniquity, and become a people acceptable to our Redeemer, a people doing good works.

The Gradual proclaims the grand tidings of the Birth of our Jesus, and invites all nations to give praise to him, as also to the Eternal Father, who had promised him by the Prophets,and at length sent him.

GRADUAL

All the ends of the earth have seen the Salvation of our God: sing joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

℣. The Lord hath made known his Salvation; he hath revealed his justice in the sight of the Gentiles.

Alleluia, alleluia.

℣. God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spoke in time past to our fathers, by the Prophets, last of all, in these days, hath spoken to us by his Son. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Sequel of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke 2:21

At that time: After eight days were accomplished, that the child should be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, which was called by the Angel, before he was conceived in the womb.

The Child is circumcised: he is now not only a member of the human race, his is made today a member of God’s chosen People. He subjects himself to this painful ceremony, to this symbol of one devoted to the Divine service, in order that he may fulfil all justice. He receives, at the same time, his Name: the Name is Jesus, and it means a Savior. A Savior! Then, he is to save us? Yes; and he is to save us by his Blood. Such is the divine appointment, and he has bowed down his will to it. The Incarnate Word is upon the earth in order to offer a Sacrifice, and the Sacrifice is begun today. This first shedding of the Blood of the Man-God was sufficient to the fulness and perfection of a Sacrifice; but he is come to win the heart of the sinner, and that heart is so hard that all the streams of that Precious Blood, which flow from the Cross on Calvary, will scarcely make it yield. The drops that were shed today would have been enough to satisfy the justice of the Eternal Father, but not to cure man’s miseries, and the Babe’s Heart would not be satisfied to leave us uncured. He came for man’s sake, and his love for man will go to what looks like excess—he will carry out the whole meaning of his dear name—he will be our “Jesus,” our Savior.

The Offertory extols the power of our Emmanuel. Now that he is humbled by the wound of the Circumcision, it must be our delight to proclaim his power, his riches, his independence. Let us also magnify his love for us, for it is in order to cure our wounds that he so humbly condescends to feel their smart himself.

OFFERTORY

Thine are the heavens, and thine is the earth: the world, and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded: justice and judgment are the preparation of thy throne.

SECRET

Receive, O Lord, our offerings and prayers: cleanse us by these mysteries, and mercifully hear us. Through, etc.

At the Communion, the Church rejoices in the Jesus, the Savior, who visits her, and acts up to his sweet Name with such perfection, by redeeming the inhabitants of the whole earth. In the Postcommunion, she prays that, by the intercession of Mary, the Holy Communion may cure our hearts of their sins, that thus we may offer to God the homage of that spiritual circumcision of which the Apostle so often speaks.

COMMUNION

All the ends of the earth have see the salvation of our God.

POSTCOMMUNION

May this communion, O Lord, cleanse us from sin: and by the intercession of Blessed Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, make us partakers of thy heavenly remedy. Through, etc.

SECOND VESPERS

The Antiphons and Psalms are the same as in First Vespers. The Capitulum and Hymn of yesterday are repeated; after which are said the following:

℣. The Lord hath made known, alleluia.

℟. His salvation, alleluia.

ANTIPHON OF THE MAGNIFICAT

ANT. Great is the mystery of our inheritance! The womb of a most pure Virgin became the Temple of God. He is not defiled assuming to himself Flesh from her. All nations shall come, saying: Glory be to thee, O Lord!

LET US PRAY

God, who by the Fruitful Virginity of the Blessed Mary, hast given to mankind the rewards of eternal salvation; grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience Her intercession, by whom we received the Author of Life, our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son. Who liveth, etc.

Commemoration of the Octave of St. Stephen

ANT. But Stephen, full of grace and fortitude, did great signs among the people.

℣. Stephen saw the heavens opened.

℟. He saw and entered; blessed man, to whom the heavens opened.

PRAYER

O Almighty and eternal God, who didst consecrate the first-fruits of Martyrdom in the blood of blessed Stephen the Levite; grant, we beseech thee, that he may intercede for us, who begged mercy, even for his persecutors, of our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son. Who liveth, etc.

We now give a short selection, from the Offices of this Octave of Christmas Day, which will assist the Faithful in their devotion to the Holy Mother of God. We begin with the Roman Breviary, and take from it the following Responsories of the Matins of the Circumcision.

℟. Rejoice with me all ye that love the Lord: * For that I, when I was little in my own eyes, pleased the Most High, and gave birth to Him that is God and Man.

℣. All generations shall call me Blessed, because God hath regarded the humility of his Handmaid. For that I.

℟. The heart of the Virgin was strengthened, wherein at the message of the Angel, she conceived the divine mysteries. Then did she receive into her chaste womb Him, that is beautiful above all the children of men: * And She, that is Blessed for ever, brought forth unto us Jesus, God and Man.

℟. Blessed and venerable art thou, Virgin Mary! that wast found to be Mother of the Saviour, yet still the purest Virgin: * He was laid in the Crib, and yet filled heaven with his brightness.

℣. I have heard thy hearing, and I feared; I meditated on thy works, and I trembled: between two animals * He was laid in the Crib, and yet filled heaven with his brightness.

℟. A purest Virgin-Mother, brought forth, without travail, * The Saviour of the world: He, that was very King of Angels, drank at the breast of the Virgin-Mother the food that heaven gave.

℣. This chastest living Dwelling becomes, in an instant, God’s own Temple: the purest of Virgins conceives, at the Angel’s word, her Son: * The Saviour.

The Greek Church, on the 26th December, (the day she consecrates to the Mother of Jesus,) pours forth to Mary her praises with her wonted profusion. We take from the Mensea the two following strophes, the former of which is also the Benedictus-Antiphon for the Feast of the Circumcision, in the Roman Breviary.

An admirable mystery is this day revealed: the two Natures are united in a new way, God is made Man: he remained what he was, and he assumed what he was not, suffering neither confusion nor division.

When the mystic Vine had produced, without human aid, the Grape-bunch, she carried him in her arms, as the branches their fruit; and she said to him: Thou art my Fruit, thou art my Life, and I know from thyself, my God, that I am what I was: the treasure of my virginity is preserved, and therefore do I confess thee to be the Immutable One, the Word made Flesh. Man I know not; but I acknowledge thee as the Redeemer of lost man. Thy Birth impaired not the purity thou gavest me, for what I was when thou didst enter into my womb, that thou didst leave me at thy Nativity. Therefore is it, that every creature sings to me saying: Rejoice, full of grace!

On this the Eighth Day since the Birth of our Emmanuel, let us consider the great mystery which the Gospel tells us was accomplished in his divine Flesh — the Circumcision. On this day, the earth sees the first-fruits of that Blood-shedding, which is to be its Redemption, and the first sufferings of that Divine Lamb, who is to atone for our sins. Let us compassionate our sweet Jesus, who meekly submits to the knife which is to put upon him the sign of a Servant of God.

Mary, who has watched over him with the most affectionate solicitude, has felt her heart sink within her, as each day brought her nearer to this hour of her Child’s first suffering. She knows, that the justice of God does not necessarily require this first sacrifice, or might accept it, on account of its infinite value, for the world’s salvation : and yet, the innocent Flesh of her Son must, even so early as this, be torn, and his Blood flow down his infant limbs.

What must be her affliction at seeing the preparations for this painful ceremony! She cannot leave her Jesus, and yet, how shall she bear to see him writhe under this his first experience of suffering? She must stay, then, and hear his sobs and heartrending cries; she must bear the sight of the tears of her Divine Babe, forced from him by the violence of the pain. We need St. Bonaventure to describe this wonderful mystery. “And if he weeps, thinkest thou his Mother could keep in her tears? No she, too, wept, and when the Babe, who was standing on her lap, perceived her tears, he raised his little hand to her mouth and face, as though he would beckon to her not to weep, for it grieved him to see Her weeping, whom he so tenderly loved. The Mother, on her side, was touched to the quick at the suffering and tears of the Babe, and she consoled him by caresses and fond words; and as she was quick to see his thoughts, as though he had expressed them in words, she said to him: If thou wishest me to cease weeping, weep not thou, my Child! If thou weepest, I must weep too. Then the Babe, from compassion for the Mother, repressed his sobs, and Mary wiped his eyes and her own, and put his Face to her own, and gave him her Breast, and consoled him in every way she could.” (Meditation on the Life of Christ, by St Bonaventure)

And now, what shall we give in return to this Saviour of our souls for the Circumcision, which he has deigned to suffer, in order to show us how much he loved us? We must, according to the teaching of the Apostle, circumcise our heart from all its evil affections, its sins, and its wicked inclinations; we must begin, at once, to live that new life, of which the Infant Jesus is the sublime model. Let us thus show him our compassion for this his earliest suffering for us, and be more attentive, than we have hitherto been, to the example he sets us.

The following beautiful Sequence will assist us to praise this mystery of the Divine Infancy. We have taken it from the ancient Missals of the Church of Paris.

SEQUENCE

This day, there hath been shown to us the wonderful power of grace, in the Circumcision of the Infant-God.

A Name of heaven’s making, a Name that means Salvation — and it is “Jesus” — is given to him.

This Name imports Salvation to man: it is the Name which the month of the Lord hath uttered from eternity.

The Angel revealed it, months ago, to the Mother of God, and to her holy spouse.

Sacred name! thou conquerest Satan’s wicked power, and the sins of the world.

“Jesus,” our ransom! “Jesus,” hope of the afflicted! our souls are sick — do thou heal them.

What is wanting in man, supply by thy Name, which means and gives salvation.

May thy Circumcision be the cleansing and the healing of our heart’s wounds.

May the Blood thou didst shed purify our stains, refresh our parched hearts, and give consolation to the sad.

We are beginning now a New Year, when friends give Gifts to friends; let thine, dear “Jesus,” be the preparing us our recompense.

Amen.

Adam of Saint-Victor offers us one of his Hymns, to help us to speak the praises of the Holy Mother of Jesus. It is an extremely graceful poem, and, for a long period, was to be found in the ancient Roman-French Missals.

SEQUENCE

Hail, Mother of the Saviour! Vessel elect, Vessel of honour, Vessel of heavenly grace!

Vessel predestined from eternity, Vessel of singular beauty, Vessel formed by the hand of the All- Wise One.

Hail, holy Mother of the Word! the Flower that grew midst thorns, thyself the thornless Flower, that decked the thorny Earth.

The thorny earth are we, bleeding from the prickly thorns of sin: and thou, Oh! thou art free from thorns.

Thou art the Gate of the sanctuary closed for the Prince. Thou art the Fountain of the gardens, the Casket of sweet ointments and perfumes.

Thy fragrance is sweeter than that of Cinnamon, or Myrrh, or Frankincense, or aromatic Balm.

Hail, Virgin of Virgins! Mediatrix of men! Mother of the Jesus who saved us.

Myrtle of temperance, Rose of patience, Spikenard most fragrant!

Vale of humility! Soil most fruitful, though untilled!

Flower of the field! matchless Lily of the valley, that broughtest forth Christ!

Heavenly Paradise! Cedar-tree untouched, yet breathing forth such sweetness!

Purity and beauty, sweetness and fragrance, are all in thee above measure.

Thou art the Throne of Solomon, the throne rich above all others in form and substance.

The whiteness of the Ivory prefigures thy Chastity; the glittering Gold, thy Charity.

The palm thou holdest is like no other: thou hast no equal among creatures on earth or in heaven.

Thou art the glory of the human race, and art privileged with virtues above Angels and men.

As the sun is brighter than the moon, and the moon is brighter than the stars; so is Mary exalted above all creatures.

The sun’s light, which no eclipse quenches, is Mary’s virginal purity: the sun’s unfailing heat, is her undying charity.

Hail, Mother of Mercy! Thou art the noble dwelling of the blessed Trinity;

But, for the majesty of the Incarnate Word, thou didst prepare a special sanctuary.

O Mary, Star of the Sea! Peerless Queen, set above all the heavenly choirs!

Seated on thy lofty throne, commend us to thy Son; nor suffer our enemies to defeat us by strength or craft.

In the battle we are fighting, may we be safely shielded by thy protection. Our enemy’s obstinacy and skill must needs yield to thy power, and his treachery to thy watchful care.

O Jesu! Word of the Eternal Father! save us the devoted servants of thy Mother. We are guilty, absolve us. Save us by thy grace, and make us like to thee in the brightness of thy glory.

Amen.