Absque Labe Concepta

Before the recent increasingly overt efforts to dilute or erase all traces of Christianity from Western civilization, the exchange of greetings such as 'Happy Christmas' or 'Merry Christmas' were common, if not a bit premature, at this time of year. Such greetings appearing in cards, signs, lights, wrapping paper, advertisements, songs, and more, formed a veritable industry that with the celebration of Christmas itself as a secular and religious holiday, were an undeniable manifestation of the profound effect Christianity had upon Western society, true 'inculturation' as it were, in which the culture had been enriched by faith before secular interests co-opted it for their own interests and profit.

Other greetings too, of much older origin, are signs of Christian inculturation, such as the German grüß Gott, French adieu, Spanish adios, and English goodbye (originally God be with ye). In the 19th century, supporters of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, especially in Spain and Portugal and their former colonies, adopted variations of the Latin Ave Maria Purissima! ‘Hail Mary Most Pure!’ to which the response is a vernacular version of absque labe concepta. This was meant not only to affirm the doctrine and its infallible declaration, ratified by the Blessed Virgin herself a few years later at Lourdes, but to stave off the spread of errors revived in Russia in opposition to belief in the Immaculate Conception, particularly regarding original sin, about which again the Blessed Virgin herself would warn a few decades later at Fatima.

Other errors, too, have become commonplace in the last century, even amongst churchmen: the notion that Saint Thomas Aquinas somehow denied or did not believe in the Immaculate Conception; the confusion between magisterium, which is the exercise of teaching authority exclusive to those who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and theology, which is the study of doctrine and its sources; and the exegetic presumption that what is not explicitly affirmed in Holy Scripture is therefore somehow repudiated. The second of these errors, and the unfortunate arrogance sometimes incident to academia, is countered by the Blessed Virgin Mary’s choice to appear to simple, rural children still learning the Catechism.

This third error, sometimes called the ‘critical method’ of reading sacred, ancient, or doctrinal texts, is often employed to reach specious conclusions, such as, for example, to deny early veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary, misinterpreting lack of specific mention of her as disregard, whereas indeed such lacuna are much more likely an indication of the highest regard. For instance, from its very beginning to its very end, Saint Benedict states quite explicitly that the venerable Rule he composed in the sixth century is intended for those who have ‘strayed by the sloth of disobedience’, for ‘slothful, ill-living and negligent people’ who are beginners on the path to Heaven and in need of the help of Christ. The Patriarch of monks and nuns was acutely aware of the sorry condition in which original and actual sin have left humankind, and of how contamination from them has polluted the rest of the world. For more than fifteen centuries in countless monasteries throughout the world that have given the Church by far the largest number of canonized saints, the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict has been a constant and reliable reminder of the ubiquitous corruption caused by sin, lest one be lulled into a false sense of security that what is ‘normal’ is safe or otherwise without danger. Although they may be naturally good in general, social, educational, business and political endeavors, even at their best, without grace cannot be meritorious or advance anyone towards Heaven.

As a faithful Christian who must have participated in the local cultus of the Blessed Virgin Mary while he was a student at Rome, and later as a learned monk familiar with the veneration of her passed down in patristic and monastic tradition, Saint Benedict also knew just as well how absolutely the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved from the blight of sin, just how most perfectly she retains pristine purity of body and soul undefiled, and just what the full meaning is of the Archangel Gabriel’s greeting to her as the One who is Full of Grace, she who has found grace with God. Without doubt he had read what Saint Jerome had written the previous century, read today in the Second Nocturn at Matins: quia ceteris per partes præstatur: Mariæ vero simul se tota infudit plenitudo gratiæ ‘to others grace cometh measure by measure; in Mary however the same dwelleth at once in all fulness’ … ideo immaculata, quia in nullo corrupta ‘she is without stain because in her hath never been any corruption.’

The preemptive purity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her fulness of grace are therefore for us who have been stained and corrupted by sin, beacons of hope, as are the Church and the Sacraments by which we may be not only cleansed from sin, but fortified against the inclination towards it with which we remain afflicted, and made able to acquire virtue by a normally gradual and incremented process, as in the days of Our Lord’s public ministry was the climb of Mount Horeb by pilgrims en route to Jerusalem to celebrate Holy Days in the Temple, chanting the Gradual Psalms as they made their ascent. Monks and nuns, too, chant these Psalms assigned by Saint Benedict to the ‘minor’ hours of the Divine Office most days of the week, often enough to commit them easily to memory. Yet though they may be repeated frequently, the Gradual Psalms nevertheless do not become routine; rather, like the steps of pilgrims, like each Advent season beginning a new liturigical year, they mark the pace of one’s advance toward Heaven, and the approach of the Coming of the Savior, measure by measure. 

Saint Benedict also knew from Christian and monastic tradition that before one can advance, however, one must first turn in the right direction. Hence his insistence on conversion of mores, a vow specific to sinners who acknowledge their need to turn convertere away from the devil and his works and pomps, and toward the Lord, just as in the liturgy Christians turn towards the east, whence Christ shall return. This redirecting of which we are in need is, because it is a work of grace, a mutual and cooperative process. As implored often throughout the Psalms, God turns His countenance towards us in mercy, and as repeated in one of the Gradual Psalms (125), God ends our captivity by turning us away from sin. In turn, we sinners are regularly admonished to turn our minds and hearts towards God, to re-turn to Him from Whom we have strayed, to alter our behavior and our morals, to walk along the path to righteousness (Psalm 22). Only then we can repeat with the Blessed Virgin Mary that other verse from Psalm 125: Magnificavit Dominus facere nobiscum ‘the Lord has done great things for us.’

Both the Immaculate Conception and the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict are extraordinary examples of the triumph over sin of God’s mercy and grace. And while it may not be immediate or unique, as is the privilege of the Immaculate Conception (beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suæ Conceptionis fuisse, singulari Dei privilegio, ab omni originalis culpæ labe præservatam immunem ‘the most blessed Virgin Mary was in the first instant of her Conception preserved, by a singular privilege granted unto her by God, from any stain of original sin’ – Third Nocturn at Matins), so described in the Post Communion of Holy Mass, it is a grace and a privilege nonetheless to live according to the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict. For it is the grace of God, the same grace the Blessed Virgin Mary received at the first instant of her existence, earned by the Sacrifice offered by Christ upon the Cross, as well as hope in God’s infinite mercy, that inspired Saint Benedict to found monasteries and to write his Holy Rule.

Grace is, after all, a supernatural gift of God which confers on our souls a new life, a sharing in the life of God Himself. By His sole initiative, and through the Sacrifice of Christ, God acts upon us, working in us the Opus Dei that makes us holy and pleasing to God, adopted children of God, temples of the Holy Ghost and gives us the right to Heaven. This sanctifying grace, the same received at the Immaculate Conception and in the Sacrament of Baptism, is complemented by actual grace, which is a supernatural help of God that enlightens our mind and strengthens our will to do good and to avoid evil. By cooperating freely with actual grace, fallen man can resist the power of temptation and perform his own actions which merit a reward in Heaven, and thus take part in the marvelous work of grace that is the Opus Dei. Repeated frequently enough, such actions can become habitual, supernatural virtue. This then is why monks and nuns observe the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict: to cooperate freely and habitually in the Opus Dei of God’s grace, to resist temptation and to merit Heaven. 

Among the most important supernatural virtues is Faith, by which we firmly believe all the truths God has revealed and in the Word of God revealing them. But Faith in dogma or the affirmation of the Church’s magisterium alone is not enough, as might be inferred from the preponderance on the internet – which inflates the value of words and concepts and divorces them from reality on a scale that dwarfs exponentially that effect half a millennium ago of the printing press – of debates about what is to be believed, and the concomitant penury of discussion about virtues to be practiced. Another error revived and insinuated into popular thought, this sola fides is refuted not only by Saint Paul in the thirteenth chapter of his First Epistle to the Corinthians, but again by Saint Benedict in his Holy Rule, throughout which he professes not belief but behavior, considering not only nature but grace even more. Yes, one must hear the Word of God, of course, ausculta!, but not without keeping it! Saint Benedict echoes Our Lord Himself from the shortest scene depicted in the Gospel accounts (Saint Luke 11:27-28): imitate what His Blessed Mother did most perfectly by supernatural virtue, though one may not be able to do what she so admirably accomplished by nature. Our Lord’s reply to the woman among the crowd of listeners is anything but dismissive; He extols His Blessed Mother as a prime example for Christians to follow.

In his own way, Saint Benedict does the same. For the Immaculate Conception is not merely an instant in time, beautiful but static as are the artistic renderings to honor it. The grace that fills the Blessed Virgin Mary is far from passive; neither is the contemplative life. Yes, virtue is its own reward, but we must be wary not to let the consideration of our own perfection arouse in us spiritual pride, for the Light that we bear is not our own. What should motivate us is not to be pleasing to ourselves but to please God, to give Him glory, to magnify Him out of love. This is what inspired the Holy Mother of God, this is what inspired the holy father of monks: de bona observantia sua non se reddunt elatos; sed ipsa in se bona non a se posse sed a Domino fieri existimantes, operantes in se Dominum magnificant ‘not puffed up on account of their good works, but judging that they can do no good of themselves and that all cometh from God, they magnify the Lord’s work in them.’ This is Saint Benedict’s echo of the Our Lady’s Magnificat in his Prologue, before he quotes Our Lord directly about hearing His words and acting upon them. Then the Patriarch of Monks declares: Dominus expectat nos cotidie his suis sanctis monitis factis nos respondere debere ‘the Lord daily expects us to make our life correspond with His holy admonitions.’ A century later, Saint Gregory the Great will echo back, saying of his holy father, ‘he could not otherwise teach, than he himself had lived.’ (Dialogues Book 2, Chapter 36).

This is because Saint Benedict knows that virtue must be learned from example, the best of which he finds in the Gospels: ‘Let us therefore gird our loins with faith and the performance of good works, and following the guidance of the Gospel,’ he writes in the Prologue to his Holy Rule, which, written in divinely-inspired books, is a ‘most unerring rule of human life’ rectissima norma vitæ humanæ (Chapter 73). Of the monastic virtues described in the Holy Rule not a few are exemplified by the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Gospel accounts:

Prayer: A substantial portion of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict is devoted to prayer; so is the substantial portion of what is recorded in the Gospel accounts about the Blessed Virgin Mary. The two Gospel canticles to which Saint Benedict refers specifically were both related to Saint Luke directly by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself, as well as the Nunc Dimittis used in the Roman Breviary. (Zacharias, Simeon and the others were long dead by the time Saint Luke began compiling his Gospel account). The Magnificat reveals that already as a very young girl the Blessed Virgin Mary’s familiarity with the Psalms and prophesies rivals that of Zacharias, a priest of long experience. It also reveals the immediacy of prayer prescribed by Saint Benedict at the beginning of the Prologue to his Holy Rule, and a habit of prayer acquired by the frequent application he lists in Chapter 4 as a tool of good works, as well as the reverence and assiduity in prayer he mentions repeatedly elsewhere. 

Liturgical Piety: The Blessed Virgin Mary may not have prayed what today is called the Divine Office, at least not in the exact arrangement laid out by Saint Benedict in his Holy Rule, but we can be certain that she chanted the Gradual Psalms in pilgrimage to the Temple; Saint Luke twice mentions this was the Holy Family’s custom. (Saint Luke 2:27,41-42) Our Lord clearly kept this custom learned from His Blessed Mother: seven times is His going up to Jerusalem to observe liturgical feasts explicitly mentioned in the Gospel according to Saint John, twice with an allusion to the wedding at Cana, at which Our Lady figured prominently. (Having taken her in after Our Lord’s crucifixion, Saint John also heard directly from the Blessed Mother the memories she kept and pondered in her heart.)

Attentiveness: Besides Our Lord’s praise of Her mentioned earlier, Saint Luke’s record of the Annunciation (Chapter 1) reveals that receptivity depicted by Saint Benedict in his Prologue as ‘attentive ears’ attonitis auribus, echoing by ausculta! ‘harken!’, the first word of his Holy Rule, the first word uttered by the Archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary ave! ‘hail!’ or ‘hark!’ Notice also how, although the words are very similar reported by Saint Luke of the exchange first between Saint Gabriel and Zacharias and then by the Blessed Virgin Mary, the way they were pronounced was quite different: Zacharias’s tone is skeptical and intransigent, but the Blessed Virgin Mary’s remarks exemplify the docility Saint Benedict says in his 68th chapter that a monk should have when asked to do what seems impossible. Although she did not at first understand the angelic messenger, or later her twelve-year-old Son, Our Lady believed, kept and pondered all these things in her immaculate heart.

Obedience: While the vow of conversion is specific to sinners, how a vow of obedience is observed can be a hallmark of perfection. Again, the Blessed Virgin Mary’s response to the Annunciation is exemplary of the obedience Saint Benedict describes in the fifth chapter of his Holy Rule: obedientia sine mora ‘without delay’ …  si divinibus imperetur, moram pati nesciant in faciendo ‘a divine command cannot suffer any delay in executing …  non trepide, non tarde, non tepide, aut cum murmurio, vel cum responso nolentis efficiatur ‘not done timorously, or tardily, or tepidly, nor with murmuring nor the raising of objections.’

Humility: Saint Benedict knows that the docility that makes obedience pleasing to God and men is not possible without humility, so he echoes the two most perfect expressions of it in describing its first degree in Chapter 7: ut fiat illius voluntem in nobis ‘that [God’s] will be done in us.’ The Lord’s Prayer and Our Lady’s fiat also express perfectly the selflessness and love of God that are the second and third degrees of humility. The Blessed Virgin Mary’s obedience with a quiet mind and her holding fast to patience and enduring without tiring or running away when faced with the difficulties and contradictions of giving birth while travelling to Bethlehem for Caesar’s census, and even injustice, fleeing Herod’s massacre of the Innocents and witnessing Our Lord sham trial and execution, are all excellent examples as well of the fourth degree of humility. The stable at Bethlehem is also an example of her being content with the meanest and worst of things, the sixth degree of humility, as is her acceptance at the foot of the Cross of Saint John, and of us by extension, as her children. Undergoing the ceremonies of purification under the mosaic law, of which she had no need, is an example of her abiding by common practice as described in the eighth degree of humility. And everything else we know of the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary before her Assumption, and even her authentic apparitions since then, clearly and perfectly epitomizes the brevity and sobriety of speech and modest demeanor Saint Benedict describes in the ninth through twelfth degrees of humility.

Modesty: Our Lady’s words in the Magnificat also evidence the modesty Saint Benedict describes in Chapter 4 of his Holy Rule: to attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good one sees in oneself.

Holiness: The Magnificat is an example of another of the tools of good works as well: first to be holy, that one may more truly be called so.

Silence: The Blessed Virgin Mary’s ninth-degree-of-humility silence that occasioned Saint Joseph’s worries at her return from visiting her kinswoman Saint Elizabeth exemplify that virtue also described in the sixth chapter of the Holy Rule.

Reverence for the Old and Care for the Sick: The joyful mysteries of the Visitation and the Presentation are examples too not only of a tool of good works, but of the solicitude and affection Saint Benedict describes in the 36th and 37th chapters of his Holy Rule.

To Seek God: Another joyful mystery, the Finding in the Temple, is a dramatic and poignant series of events that can serve as an example of the motivation and persistence to be discerned in monastic vocations.

Stability: The words that Saint Jerome uses to translate the sorrowful mystery of the Blessed Mother’s calm strength at the foot of the Cross, taken up in the magnificent hymn Stabat Mater, evokes that other monastic vow of which she is a perfect model.

Chastity: Yet another of the tools of good works from the fourth chapter of the Holy Rule, Our Lady elevates chastity far above mere celibacy or continence, to the most fervent and pure love that inspires and exhibits fraternal charity inspired by the holy zeal Saint Benedict encourages in the 73rd Chapter of his Holy Rule.

Love of Christ: Anyone who honors and venerates her knows as well as Saint Benedict that no one has ever or will ever prefer more than the Blessed Virgin Mary, the love of Christ, her Divine Son; no one will ever do more than she by her example and her intercession to promote that preferential love of Christ in others.

In Conceptione Immaculata Beatӕ Mariӕ Virginis

 

Per Horas	Antiphons
Total pulchra es, María, * mácula originális non est in te.	Thou art all fair, Mary, and the stain of original sin is not in thee.
Vestiéentum tuum * cándidum quasi nix, et fácies tua sicut sol.	Thy garments are white as snow, and thy face is as the sun.
Tu glória Jerúsalem, * tu lætítia Ísraël, tu honorificéntia pópuli nostri.	Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people.
Benedícta es tu, * Virgo María, a Dómino Deo excélso præ ómnibus muliéribus super terram.	Blessed are thou, O Virgin Mary, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth.
Trahe nos, * Virgo immaculáta, post te currémus in odórem unguentórum tuórum.	Draw us, O Virgin Immaculate; we will run after thee to the odor of thy ointments.
In Vesperis	Hymn
Ave maris stella, Dei Mater alma, Atque semper Virgo, Felix cæli porta. Sumens illud Ave Gabriélis ore, Funda nos in pace, Mutans Hevæ nomen. Solve vincla reis, Profer lumen cæcis Mala nostra pelle, Bona cuncta posce.  Monstra te esse matrem: Sumat per te preces, Qui pro nobis natus, Tulit esse tuus.  Virgo singularis, Inter omnes mites, Nos culpis solútos, Mites fac et castos.  Vitam præsta puram, Iter para tutum: Ut vidéntes Iesum Semper collætémur.  Sit laus Deo Patri, Summo Christo decus, Spirítui Sancto, Tribus honor unus. Amen.	Hail, O Star of the ocean, God’s own Mother blest, ever sinless Virgin, gate of heav’nly rest. Taking that sweet Ave, which from Gabriel came, peace confirm within us, changing Eve’s name. Break the sinners’ fetters, make our blindness day, Chase all evils from us, for all blessings pray.  Show thyself a Mother, may the Word divine born for us thine Infant hear our prayers through thine.  Virgin all excelling, mildest of the mild, free from guilt preserve us meek and undefiled.  Keep our life all spotless, make our way secure till we find in Jesus, joy for evermore.  Praise to God the Father, honor to the Son, in the Holy Spirit, be the glory one. Amen.
In I Vesperis	Magnificat Antiphon
Beátam me dicent * omnes generatiónes, quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, allelúia.	All generations shall call me blessed, because He Who is mighty, hath done great things to me, alleluia.
Ad Matutinum	Hymn
Præclára custos vírginum, Intácta Mater Núminis, Cœléstis aulæ jánua, Spes nostra, cœli gáudium.  Inter rubéta lílium, Columba formosíssima, Virga e radíce gérminans Nostro medélam vúlneri.  Turris dracóni impérvia, Amíca stella náufragis, Tuére nos a fráudibus, Tuáque luce dírige.  Erróris umbras díscute, Syrtes dolósas ámove, Fluctus tot inter, déviis Tutam reclúde sémitam.  Glória tibi, Dómine, Qui natus es de Vírgine, Cum Patre, et almo Spíritu In sempitérna sǽcula. Amen.	Blest guardian of all virgin souls, Portal of bliss to man forgiven, Pure Mother of Almighty God, Thou hope of earth and joy of heaven!  Fair Lily found among the thorn, Most beauteous Dove with wings of gold, Rod from whose tender root upsprang That healing Flower so long foretold.  Thou Tower against the dragon proof, Thou Star to stormtossed voyagers dear; Our course lies o’er a treacherous deep, Thine be the light by which we steer.  Scatter the mists that round us hang; Keep far the fatal shoals away; And while through darkling waves we sweep, Open a path to light and day.  O Lord, born of the Virgin bright, Immortal glory be to Thee; Praise to the Father infinite And Holy Ghost eternally. Amen.
Nocturn I	Genesis 3:1-15
Sérpens erat callídior cunctis animántibus terræ quæ fécerat Dóminus Deus. Qui dixit ad mulíerem: Cur præcépit vobis Deus ut non comederétis de omni ligno paradísi? Cui respóndit múlier: De fructu lignórum, quæ sunt in paradíso, véscimur: de fructu vero ligni quod est in médio paradísi, præcépit nobis Deus ne comederémus, et ne tangerémus illud, ne forte moriámur. Dixit autem serpens ad mulíerem: Nequáquam morte moriémini. Scit enim Deus quod in quocúmque die comedéritis ex eo, aperiéntur óculi vestri, et éritis sicut dii, sciéntes bonum et malum. Vidit ígitur múlier quod bonum esset lignum ad vescéndum, et pulchrum óculis, aspectúque delectábile: et tulit de fructu illíus, et comédit: dedítque viro suo, qui comédit. Et apérti sunt óculi ambórum; cumque cognovíssent se esse nudos, consuérunt folia ficus, et fecérunt sibi perizómata. Et cum audíssent vocem Dómini Dei deambulántis in paradíso ad auram post merídiem, abscóndit se Adam et uxor ejus a fácie Dómini Dei in médio ligni paradísi. Vocavítque Dóminus Deus Adam, et dixit ei: Ubi es? Qui ait: Vocem tuam audívi in paradíso, et tímui, eo quod nudus essem, et abscóndi me. Cui dixit: Quis enim indicávit tibi quod nudus esses, nisi quod ex ligno de quo præcéperam tibi ne comderes, comedísti? Dixítque Adam: Múlier, quam dedsti mihi sóciam, dedit mihi de ligno, et comédi. Et dixit Dóminus Deus ad mulíerem: Quare hoc fecísti? Quæ respóndit: Serpens decépit me, et comédi. Et ait Dóminus Deus ad serpéntem: Quia fecísti hoc, maledíctus es inter ómnia animántia, et béstias terræ: super pectus tuum gradiéris, et terram comédes cunctis diébus vitæ tuæ. Inimicítias ponam inter te et mulíerem, et semen tuum et semen illíus: ipsa cónteret caput tuum, et tu insidiáberis calcáneo ejus.	Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why hath God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God hath commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God doth know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? And he said: I heard Thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. And He said to him: And who hath told thee that thou wast naked, but that thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat? And Adam said: The woman, whom Thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why hast thou done this? And she answered: The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
Nocturn II	Sermo sancti Hieronymi Presbyteri. De Assumptione B. M. V.
Qualis et quanta esset beáta, et gloriósa semper Virgo María, ab Ángelo divínitus declarátur, cum dícitur: Ave grátia plena, Dóminus tecum: benedícta tu in muliéribus. Tálibus namque decébat Vírginem oppignorári munéribus, ut esset grátia plena, quæ dedit cœlis glóriam, terris Dóminum, pacémque refúdit, fidem Géntibus, finem vítiis, vitæ órdinem, móribus disciplínam. Et bene plena, quia céteris per partes præstátur: Maríæ vero simul se tota infídit plenitúdo grátiæ. Vere plena, quia etsi in sanctis Pátribus, et Prophétis grátia fuísse créditur, non tamen eátenus plena: in Maríam vero totíus grátiæ, quæ in Christo est, plenitúdo venit, quamquam áliter. Et ídeo inquit: Benedícta tu in muliéribus: id est plus benedícta, quam omnes mulíeres. Ac per hoc quidquid maledictiónis infúsum est per Hevam, totum ábstulit benedíctio Maríæ. De ipsa Sálomon in Cánticis, quasi in laudem ejus: Veni, inquit, colúmba mea, immaculáta mea. Jam enim hiems tránsiit, imber ábiit, et recéssit. Ac deínde inquit: Veni de Líbano, veni, coronáberis. Non immérito ígitur veníre de Líbano jubétur, quia Líbanus candidátio interpretátur. Erat enim candidáta multis meritórum virtútibus, et dealbáta nive candídior, Spíritus sancti munéribus, simplicitátem colúmbæ in ómnibus repræséntans, quóniam, quidquid in ea gestum est, totum púritas et simplícitas, totum véritas et grátia fuit; totum misericórdia et justítia, quæ de cælo prospéxit: et ídeo immaculáta, quia in nullo corrúpta. Circúmdedit enim virum in útero, sicut Jeremías sanctus testátur, et non aliúnde accépit. Fáciet, inquit, Dóminus novum super terram, et múlier circúmdabit virum. Vere novum, et ómnium novitátum superéminens nóvitas virtútum, quando Deus (quem ferre non potest mundus, neque vidére áliquis, ut vívere possit) sic ingréssus est hospítium ventris, ut córporis claustrum nescíret: sicque gestátus, ut totus Deus in eo esset: et sic exívit inde, ut esset (sicut Ezéchiel fatétur) porta omníno clausa. Unde cánitur in eísdem Cánticis de ea: Hortus conclúsus, fons signátus, emissiónes tuæ paradísus. Vere hortus deliciárum, in quo cónsita sunt univérsa florum génera, et odoraménta virtútum: sicque conclúsus, ut nésciat violári, neque corrúmpi ullis insidiárum fráudibus. Fons ítaque signátus sígillo totíus Trinitátis.	Who and what was the blessed and glorious Mary, always a Virgin, hath been revealed by God by the message of an Angel, in these words, Hail, thou that art full of grace, the Lord is with thee blessed art thou among women. It was fitting that a fulness of grace should be poured into that Virgin who hath given to God glory and to man a Savior, who hath brought peace to earth, who hath given faith to the Gentiles, who hath killed sin, who hath given law to life, who hath made the crooked ways straight. Verily, she is full of grace. To others grace cometh measure by measure; in Mary grace dwelleth at once in all fulness. Verily, she is full of grace. We believe that the holy Fathers and Prophets had grace; but they were not full of grace. But into Mary came a fulness of all the grace which is in Christ, albeit otherwise (than as it is in Him.) Therefore, is it said Blessed art thou among women, that is, Blessed art thou above all women. The fulness of blessing in Mary utterly neutralized in her any effects of the curse of Eve. In her praise Solomon writeth in the Song of Songs, Rise up, my dove, my fair one, for the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. And again, Come from Lebanon, my Spouse, come, thou shalt be crowned. Not unjustly then is she bidden to come from’ Lebanon, for Lebanon is so named on account of its stainless and glistening whiteness. The earthly Lebanon is white with snow, but the lonely heights of Mary’s holiness are white with purity and grace, brilliantly fair, whiter far than snow, sparkling with the gifts of the Holy Ghost she is undefiled like a dove, all clean, all upright, full of grace and truth. She is full of mercy, and of the righteousness that hath looked down from heaven, and therefore is she without stain because in her hath never been any corruption. She hath compassed a man in her womb, saith holy Jeremiah, but she conceived not by the will of fallen man. The Lord, saith the Prophet, hath created a new thing in the earth; a woman shall compass a man. Verily, it is a new thing. Verily, it was a new work of power, greater than all other works, when God, Whom the world cannot bear, and Whom no man shall see and live, entered the lodging of her womb, breaking not the blissful cloister of her virgin flesh. And in her body He was borne, the Infinite enclosed within her womb. And from her womb He came forth, so that it was fulfilled which was spoken of the Prophet Ezekiel, saying, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the Lord, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. Hence also in the Song of Songs it is said of her, A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed, thy perfumes are a garden of delights. Verily a garden of delights, filled with the perfumes of all flowers, rich with the sweet savor of grace. And the most holy Virgin herself is a garden enclosed, whereinto sin and Satan have never entered to sully the blossoms, a fountain sealed, sealed with the seal of the Trinity.
Ex Actis Pii Papæ IX
Deíparæ autem Vírginis in sua Conceptióne de tetérrimo humáni géneris hoste victóriam, quam divína elóquia, veneránda tradítio, perpétuus Ecclésiæ sensus, singuláris episcopórum ac fidélium conspirátio, insígnia quoque summórum Pontíficum acta atque constitutiónes mirífice jam illustrábant, Pius nonus Póntifex Máximus totíus Ecclésiæ votis ánnuens státuit suprémo suo atque infallíbili oráculo solémniter proclamáre. Itaque sexto Idus Decémbris anni millésimi octingentésimi quinquagésimi quarti in basílica Vaticána ingénti sanctæ Románæ Ecclésiæ patrum Cardinálium, et Episcopórum ex díssitis étiam regiónibus astánte cœtu, universóque plaudénte orbe solémniter pronuntiávit ac definívit: Doctrínam quæ tenet beatissímam Vírginem Maríam in primo instánti suæ Conceptiónis fuísse, singulári Dei privilégio, ab omni originális culpæ labe præservátam immúnem, esse a Deo revelátam, ac proínde ab ómnibus fidélibus fírmiter constantérque credéndam.	The fact that the Virgin Mother of God had at the moment of her conception triumphed over the foul enemy of man, hath ever been borne out by the Holy Scriptures, by the venerable tradition of the Church, and by her unceasing belief, as well as by the common conviction of all Bishops and faithful Catholics, and by marked acts and constitutions of the Holy See. At length the Supreme Pontiff Pius IX, in compliance with the wishes of the Universal Church, determined to publish it as a truth of faith, on his own absolute and unerring authority, and accordingly, on the 8th day of December, 1854, in the Vatican Basilica, in presence of a great multitude composed of the Fathers Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and Bishops from all parts of the earth, he, with the consent and jubilation of the whole world, declared and defined as follows That doctrine which declareth that the most blessed Virgin Mary was in the first instant of her Conception preserved, by a special privilege granted unto her by God, from any stain of original sin, is a doctrine taught and revealed by God, and therefore is to be held by all faithful Christians firmly and constantly.
Nocturn III	Luke 1:26-28
In illo témpore: Missus est Ángelus Gábriel a Deo in civitátem Galilǽæ, cui nomen Názareth, ad Vírginem desponsátam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen Vírginis María. Et réliqua.	In that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And so on.
Homilía sancti Germáni Epíscopi. In Præsentatióne Deipáræ	Homily by St German, Patriarch of Constantinople On the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin
Ave María, grátia plena, Sanctis sánctior, et cœlis excélsior, et Chérubim gloriósior, et Séraphim honorabílior, et super omnem creatúram venerabílior. Ave colúmba, quæ nobis et fructum fers olívæ, et Servatórem a spiritáli dilúvio, ac portum salútis annúntias, cujus pennæ deargentátæ, et posterióra dorsi in pallóre auri sanctíssimi et illuminántis Spíritus fulgóre irradiántur. Ave amœníssimus et rationális Dei paradísus, benevolentíssima et omnipoténti eiúsdem dextra hódie ad Oriéntem plantátus, et ipsi suáve olens lílium, et rosam immarcescíbilem gérminans in eórum medélam, qui pestíferam animǽque exitiálem amaritúdinem mortis ad Occidéntem ebíberant: paradísus, in quo ad veritátis agnitiónem lignum vivíficum effloréscit, e quo qui gustáverint, immortalitátem consequúntur. Ave sacrosáncte ædificátum, immaculátum, purissimúmque Dei summi Regis palátium, eiúsdem Dei Regis magnificéntia circumornátum, omnésque hospítio recípiens, ac mýsticis refíciens delíciis; in quo non manufáctus et vário decóre nitens situs est spirituális sponsi thálamus; in quo Verbum errántem humánam stirpem revocáre volens, carnem sibi desponsávit, ut eos, qui voluntáte própria extórres facti fúerant, Patri reconciliáret. Ave Dei mons præpínguis et umbrósus, in quo enutrítus Agnus rationális peccáta atque infirmitátes nostras portávit: mons, e quo devolútus ille, nulla manu præcísus lapis, contrívit aras idolórum, et factus est in caput ánguli, mirábilis in óculis nostris, Ave sanctus Dei thronus divínum donárium, domus glóriæ, perpúlchrum ornaméntum, cimélium eléctum, et totíus orbis propitiatórium, cœlúmque Dei glóriam enárrans. Ave urna ex puro auro conflata, et suavíssimam animárum nostrárum dulcédinem, Christum scílicet, qui manna est, cóntinens. O puríssima et omni laude et obséquio digníssima Virgo, Deo dicátum donárium omni creaturárum conditióni præcéllens, terra non secta, inarátus ager, vitis floridíssima, fons aquas effúndens, virgo génerans: et mater viri néscia, innocéntiæ thesáurus abscónditus, et sanctimóniæ decus; acceptíssimis tuis ac matérna auctoritáte válidis précibus ad Dóminum ac Deum ómnium Conditórem Fílium tuum ex te sine patre génitum, ecclesiástici órdinis gubernácula fac dírigas, et ad portum tranquíllum perdúcas. Sacerdótes justítia, et probátæ, immaculátæ ac sincéræ fidei exsultatióne splendidíssime indúito. Orthodóxis princípibus, qui præ omni púrpuræ aut auri splendóre, et præ margarítis ac lapídibus pretiósis, te nacti sunt diadéma et induméntum ac firmíssimum regni sui ornaméntum, in tranquíllo ac próspero statu sceptra dírige. Male fidas natiónes in te, ac Deum ex te génitum blasphemántes, eórum pédibus sternens subjícito: subjectúmque pópulum, ut secúndum Dei præcéptum in suávi obediéntiæ obséquio persevéret, confirmáto. Tuam hanc civitátem, quæ te tamquam turrim ac fundaméntum habet, victóriæ triúmphis coronáto, et fortitúdine circumcíngens custodíto Dei habitatiónem, templi decórem semper conserváto; laudatóres tuos ab omni discrímine et ánimi angóre éxime; captívis redemptiónem tribúito; peregrínis tecto, et quovis præsídio destitútis, solámen te éxhibe. Univérso mundo auxiliatrícem manum tuam pórrige, ut in lætítia et exsultatióne solemnitátes tuas simul cum ista, quam modo celebrámus, festivitáte splendidíssimo éxitu transigámus, in Christo Jesu universórum Rege ac vero Deo nostro, cui glória et fortitúdo una cum sancto vitǽque princípio Patre, et coætérno et consubstantiáli et conregnánte Spíritu, nunc et semper et in sǽcula sæculórum. Amen.	Hail, Mary, full of grace, holier than the Saints, higher than the heavens, more glorious than the Cherubim, more honorable than the Seraphim, and the most worshipful thing that the hands of God have made. Hail, O dove, bearing in thy beak the olive-branch of peace that telleth us of salvation from the spiritual flood, dove, blessed omen of a safe harbor, whose wings are of silver, and thy feathers of gold, shining in the bright beams of the Most Holy and Light-giving Spirit. Hail, thou living garden of Eden, planted towards the East by the right hand of the Most Merciful and Mighty God, wherein do grow to His glory rich lilies and unfading roses, for the healing of them that have drunk in death from the blighting and pestilential breezes of the bitter West; Eden, wherein hath sprung that Tree of life, Whereof if any man eat he shall live forever. Hail, stately Palace of the King, most holy, stainless, purest, House of the Most High God, adorned with His Royal splendor, open to all, filled with Kingly dainties; Palace wherein is that spiritual bridal chamber, not made with hands, nor hung with divers colors, in the which the Eternal Word, when He would raise up fallen man, wedded flesh unto Himself, that He might reconcile unto the Father them who had cast themselves away. Hail, O rich and shady Mountain of God, whereon pastured the True Lamb, Who hath taken away our sins and infirmities, mountain, whereout hath been cut without hands that Stone which hath smitten the altars of the idols, and become the head-stone of the corner, marvelous in our eyes. Hail, thou holy Throne of God, thou divinest store-house, thou temple of glory, thou bright crown, thou chosen treasure, thou mercy-seat for the whole world, thou heaven declaring the glory of God. Hail, thou vessel of pure gold, made to hold the manna that came down from heaven, the sweet food of our souls, even Christ. Hail, O purest Virgin, most praiseworthy and most worshipful, hallowed treasury for the wants of all creatures; thou art the untitled earth, the ploughed field; thou art the vine full of flowers, the well overflowing with waters, Maiden and Mother; thou art the Mother that knew not a man, the hidden treasure of guilelessness, and the clear, bright star of holiness; by thy most acceptable prayers, strong from thy motherly mouth, obtain for all estates of men in the Church that they may continually tend unto Him Who is the Lord, and God, and Maker of thee, and of them, and of all, but of thee the Son also, conceived without man’s intervention; obtain this, O Mother, pilot them to the harbor of peace. Be it thine to clothe God’s priests with righteousness, and to make them shout aloud for joy, in approved and stainless, and upright and glorious faith. thine be it to guide in peace the scepters of orthodox princes, even of princes who put their trust in thee to be the crown of their Majesty, and the Royal Robe of their greatness, and the firm foundation of their dominion, more than in purple, or fine gold, or pearls, or precious stones; thine be it to put under their feet the unfaithful nations, nations that blaspheme thee, and the God That was born of thee; thine be it to keep in meek obedience the people that are under them, according to the commandment of God. Behold, this is thine own city, which hath thee for her towers and her foundations, crown her with victory, gird the house of God with strength, keep undefiled the loveliness of His tabernacles, as for them that praise thy name, be thou their deliverer from strife and bitterness of spirit. Free thou the prisoner, protect the wanderer, and if there be any that hath no refuge, be thou to him a consolation. Stretch forth thine hand and help the whole earth so shall we year by year keep this and all thy feasts, and at last be found with thee in Christ Jesus, Who is Lord of all, and verily our God. To Him, with the Holy Father, Who is the Fountain of Life, and the coeternal Spirit, Three Persons and One Substance, even as there is one Kingdom, be glory and strength, now and forever. Amen.
Introitus	Psalm 24:1-3
Gaudens gaudébo in Dómino, et exsultábit ánima mea in Deo meo: quia índuit me vestiméntis salútis: et induménto justítiæ circúmdedit me, quasi sponsam ornátam monílibus suis. Psalm 29:2 Exaltábo te, Dómine, quóniam suscepísti me: nec delectásti inimícos meos super me. V. Glória Patri.	I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God: for He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation: and with the robe of justice He hath covered me, as a bridegroom decked with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels. Psalm 29:2 I will extol Thee, O Lord, for Thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. V. Glory be.
Oratio
Deus, qui per immaculátam Vírginis Conceptiónem dignum Fílio tuo habitáculum præparásti: quǽsumus; ut, qui ex morte ejúsdem Filii tui prævísa eam ab omni labe præservásti, nos quoque mundos ejus intercessióne ad te perveníre concédas. Per eundem Dominum.	O God, Who by the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, prepared a worthy dwelling for Thy Son, and Who, by Thy Son’s death, foreseen by Thee, preserved her from all taint, grant, we beseech Thee, through her intercession, that we too may come to Thee unstained by sin. Through the same, our Lord.
Lectio	Proverbs 8:22-35
Dóminus possedit me in inítio viárum suárum, ántequam quidquam fáceret a princípio. Ab ætérno ordináta sum, et ex antíquis, ántequam terra fíeret. Nondum erant abýssi, et ego jam concépta eram: necdum fontes aquárum erúperant: necdum montes gravi mole constíterant: ante colles ego parturiébar: adhuc terram non fécerat et flúmina et cárdines orbis terræ. Quando præparábat cœlos, áderam: quando certa lege et gyro vallábat abýssos: quando ǽthera firmábat sursum et librábat fontes aquárum: quando circúmdabat mari términum suum et legem ponébat aquis, ne transírent fines suos: quando appendébat fundaménta terræ. Cum eo eram cuncta compónens: et delectábar per síngulos dies, ludens coram eo omni témpore: ludens in orbe terrárum: et delíciæ meæ esse cum filiis hóminum. Nunc ergo, filii, audíte me: Beáti, qui custódiunt vias meas. Audíte disciplínam, et estóte sapiéntes, et nolíte abjícere eam. Beátus homo, qui audit me et qui vígilat ad fores meas cotídie, et obsérvat ad postes óstii mei. Qui me invénerit, invéniet vitam et háuriet salútem a Dómino.	The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made any thing from the beginning. I was set up from eternity, and of old before the earth was made. The depths were not as yet, and I was already conceived. neither had the fountains of waters as yet sprung out: The mountains with their huge bulk had not as yet been established: before the hills I was brought forth: He had not yet made the earth, nor the rivers, nor the poles of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was present: when with a certain law and compass He enclosed the depths: When He established the sky above, and poised the fountains of waters: When He compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters that they should not pass their limits: when He balanced the foundations of the earth; I was with Him forming all things: and was delighted every day, playing before Him at all times; Playing in the world: and my delights were to be with the children of men. Now therefore, ye children, hear me: Blessed are they that keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and refuse it not. Blessed is the man that heareth me, and that watcheth daily at my gates, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord.
Graduale	Judith 13:23
Benedícta es tu. Virgo María, a Dómino, Deo excélso, præ ómnibus muliéribus super terram, Judith 15:10 Tu glória Jerúsalem, tu lætítia Israël, tu honorificéntia pópuli nostri.	Blessed art thou, O Virgin Mary, by the Lord the most high God, above all women upon the earth. Judith 15:10 Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honor of our people.
Allelúia, allelúia, Cant 4:7 Tota pulchra es, María: et mácula originális non est in te. Allelúia.	Alleluia, alleluia. Canticle 4:7 V. Thou art all fair, O Mary, and there is no stain of original sin in thee. Alleluia.
Evangelium	Luke 1:26-28
In illo témpore: Missus est Ángelus Gábriël a Deo in civitátem Galilǽæ, cui nomen Názareth, ad Vírginem desponsátam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen Vírginis María. Et ingréssus Ángelus ad eam, dixit: Ave, grátia plena; Dóminus tecum: benedícta tu in muliéribus.	At that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Offertorium	Luke 1:28
Ave, María, grátia plena; Dóminus tecum: benedícta tu in muliéribus, allelúia.	Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Alleluia
Secreta
Salutárem hóstiam, quam in sollemnitáte immaculátæ Conceptiónis beátæ Vírginis Maríæ tibi, Dómine, offérimus, súscipe et præsta: ut, sicut illam tua grátia præveniénte ab omni labe immúnem profitémur; ita ejus intercessióne a culpis ómnibus liberémur. Per Dóminum.	Accept, O Lord, the sacrifice of salvation which we offer Thee on the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin Mary; and grant that as we profess that she was kept from all taint of evil, by Thy anticipating grace, so, through her intercession, may we be freed from all sin. Through our Lord.
Prӕfatio	de Beata Maria Virgine
Vere dignum et justum est, ӕquum et salutáre, not tibi semper, et ubíque grátias ágere: Dómine sancte, Pater omnípotens, ӕtérne Deus: Et Te in Conceptióne Immaculáta beátӕ Maríӕ Víginis collaudáre, benedícere et prӕdicáre. Quӕ et Unigénitum Tuum Sancti Spíritus obumbratióne concépit: et virginit”atis glória permanénte, lumen ӕtérnum mundo effúdit, Jesum Christum Dóminum nostrum. Per quem majestátem tuam laudant Ángeli, adórant Dominatiónes, tremunt Potestátes. Cӕli, cӕlorúmque Virútes, ac beáta Séraphim, sócia exultatióne concélebrant. Cum quibus et nostras voces, ut admítti júbeas, deprecámur, súpplici confessióne dicéntes:	It is truly meet and just, right and availing unto salvation, that we should at all times and in all places give thanks unto Thee, O holy Lord, Father almighty and evelasting God. That on the Immaculate Conception of the blessed Virgin Mary, we should praise, bless, and proclaim Thee. For she conceived Thine only-begotten Son by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost; and losing not the glory of her virginity, gave forth to the world the everlasting light, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through whom the angels praise Thy majesty, the dominions worship it, and the power stand in awe. The heavens and the heavenly hosts, and the blessed seraphim join together in celebrating their joy. With these we pray Thee join our voices also, while we say with lowly praise:
Communio	Psalm 84:13
Gloriósa dicta sunt de te, María: quia fecit tibi magna qui potens est.	Glorious things are said of thee, O Mary, for He Who is mighty has done great things for thee.
Postcommunio
Sacraménta quæ súmpsimus, Dómine, Deus noster: illíus in nobis culpæ vúlnera réparent; a qua immaculátam beátæ Maríæ Conceptiónem singuláriter præservásti. Per Dóminum.	May the sacrament we have received, O Lord our God, heal in us the wounds of that sin from which by a singular privilege, Thou kept immaculate the conception of blessed Mary. Through our Lord.
In II Vesperis	Magnificat Antiphon
Hodie egressa est * virga de radíce Jesse: hódie sine ulla peccáti labe concepta est Maria: hódie contrítum est ab ea caput serpentis antiqui, allelúia.	This day is a rod sprung from the root of Jesse: this day is Mary conceived without any stain of sin: this day hath she bruised the head of the old serpent, alleluia.

Audito ut Præconio

In response to the inquiry by the disciples of Saint John the Baptist, Our Lord directs them, as He has us these past few weeks, to signs to be observed. To know whether it is He Who is to Come, as to know when He is Coming, one must watch for signs.

Signs are things perceptible to the senses that direct attention to other things, and when these other things can be understood, signs have meaning. When that meaning is perceptible to the intellect elevated by faith, the sign is spiritual. Such is the case with the signs Our Lord enumerated today and in past weeks, and with the signs He instituted and entrusted to the Church He established. ‘A Sacrament is a perceptible sign,’ we were taught as children, ‘instituted by Christ to give grace.’ The spiritual realities to which sacramental signs direct our attention may be imperceptible to the senses, but they have meaning to those who believe, for example, that the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ are truly present under the appearance of bread and wine.

Signs come in many forms. As Our Lord Himself tells us today, they can be heard or seen, witnessed, spoken, reported or written. Some are miraculous or unusual; others are part of the ordinary course of events. Some announce, others warn. Not all are noticed or understood by everyone. Faith makes spiritual signs meaningful. Our Lord affirms this frequently by referring to the faith of those He heals. Conversely, Our Lord also laments the little faith that confounds those scandalized by those same signs.

“The sight of so many signs and so many mighty works should have been a source of wonder, and not a stumbling-block,” Saint Gregory the Great comments in the Third Nocturn at Matins. “And yet the unfaithful found these very works a rock of offence.” 

For not only do signs come in many forms, but they are encountered in different ways. Some are unavoidable, like those that are to come in the heavens. Others can be missed or ignored. Others need to be watched for or sought. This is why the Church so frequently exhorts, especially during the Advent season: Ecce! Behold! This is why Saint John the Baptist listened, even while in prison, and from there sent disciples to Christ.

But this Sunday and the next we also have examples of other signs sought for different reasons. “A reed shaken with the wind?” continues Saint Gregory. “Here our Lord teacheth not by assertion, but by negation. Now a reed is a thing so made that as soon as the wind bloweth upon it, it bendeth it over toward the opposite quarter. And the fleshly-minded man is like a human reed. As he is praised or blamed so he bendeth himself in the one direction or the other.” Some such signs are the superficial status symbols of worldlings: soft garments and houses of kings, or ephemera of trending trivia and viral whatnots. Other more nefarious signs sought by worldly men include: praise, blame, scandal, controversy, and the like.

Some signs are signs of signs, such as words, which are spoken and written with sounds and symbols that are themselves signs of those words signifying the ideas or realities they mean. In the Second Nocturn at Matins, Saint Jerome gives an example of how faith enlightens the true interpretation of the words written in Holy Scripture:

We, however, understand that the rod out of the root of Jesse signifieth the holy Virgin Mary. She was a clean stem that had as yet put forth no shoot; as we have read above: Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son. And the flower we believe to mean the Lord our Redeemer who hath elsewhere compared himself to a flower: I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valley. The Spirit of the Lord then shall rest upon this flower; this flower which shall come forth from the stem and roots of Jesse by means of the Virgin Mary.

Recall how even a doctor learned in the Law who correctly cited the greatest commandments still needed Christ’s help to enlighten him about who was his neighbor. Holy Scripture cannot be understood by studying alone. It is not a source of Faith, but a sign of it, and with other sacred signs part of the deposit of Faith.

Saint Paul describes in today’s Epistle how all of these signs work together so admirably well and how the Faithful cooperate in preparing for the Coming of the Savior and His Kingdom.

May then the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of one mind towards one another according to Jesus Christ; that, one in spirit, you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive one another, even as Christ has received you to the honor of God. For I say that Christ Jesus has been a minister of the circumcision in order to show God’s fidelity in confirming the promises made to our fathers, but that the Gentiles glorify God because of His mercy, as it is written.

This unity of faith and worship is itself a sign: unity of faith enlightening the true interpretation of Holy Scripture, unity of worship in the Sacraments instituted by Christ. It a mark of His Church and of the very small remnant left that awaits Him in the hope that, as the prophet Isaias foretells in the First Nocturn at Matins:

He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth.