In principio erat Verbum et Verbum erat apud Deum et Deus erat Verbum
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...

ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST, et habitabit in nobis
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us...

...et vidimus gloriam eius gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre plenum gratiae et veritatis
And we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only-Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

I remember hearing the Prologue of St. John's Gospel as the Christmas Day Mass Gospel as a child, kneeling at the Incarnation verse "And the Word became flesh", and bursting into tears, overwhelmed by the Truth proclaimed therein and the sense that this was the eternal Christmas story, from the point of view of the Eternal, Loving Father who sent His only Son...for the world...for me. I have never "gotten over" the reaction of my heart whenever I hear or read this passage; when I hear it at the end of every Extraordinary Form Mass, I still am moved to tears.

The medieval Christmas carol 'Balulalow'--a lullaby of praise for the Baby Jesus--says it perfectly (here the words are modernised):

Last week, before the sinuses and Eustachian tubes fell victim, I did record two of my favorite Advent chants. The first is the Advent Prose, Rorate coeli:


http://www.christeluxmundi.org/Rorate%20coeli%20(chant)%20PRW.mp3


The second is Alma redemptoris mater, the Vespers Antiphon for the Magnificat sung between the Vigil Mass of the First Sunday of Advent and The Feast of the Presentation (Candlemas, 2 Feburary) inclusive, except for the days upon which the O Antiphons are sung:



http://www.christeluxmundi.org/Alma%20redemptoris%20(chant)%20PRW.mp3

The Magnificat Antiphons, including the O Antiphons, are very dear to me because the Magnificat is very deeply embedded in my heart. The Blessed Virgin Mary's spontaneous song, when greeted by her elderly cousin Elizabeth, has always stirred in me an immediate response. At different times in my life, different parts of the Magnificat would 'jump out' at me:

My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour....

He, remembering His mercy, hath holpen His servant Israel, as He promised to our forefathers....

He hath showed strength with His arm...

He hath filled the hungry with good things...

When I was in high school, our pastor once asked in a sermon, "What is your personal motto?" My response was immediate--the response of Our Lady to the Angel Gabriel, which is the last thing recorded before the Magnificat:

I had promised that I was going to record each of the O Antiphons with the Magnificat this year, but today finds me battling a sinus and ear infection. Perhaps I will post it later. In the meantime, my dear friend Argent on the Tiber, one of whose gifts is illuminating the Faith through Beauty, has on her blog a meditation on O Sapientia and a YouTube link which leads to a lovely rendition: http://sognodargento.blogspot.com/2009/12/o-sapientia.html

May Our Lord's wisdom illumine your mind and heart this Advent.

A quote I came across today while searching for something else:

Q. What is the Use of Singing and of Organs in the divine Service?
A. To help to raise the Heart to Heaven, and to celebrate with greater Solemnity the divine Praises.
--Richard Challoner, Vicar Apostolic of the London District, 1758-81

I was struck by the parallel to the Catechism's definition of why Our Lord created mankind:
"So that we may Know, Love, and Serve Him in this Life and to Enjoy Him in the next."

The purpose of music at the Mass and in the Office is not to entertain, not to pacify, but 'to raise the heart to heaven', to awaken in us the desire and the capacity to know, to love, to serve. And 'solemnity', in the Church, always means a deep joy infused with worship. C. S. Lewis understood this when he wrote: