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medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture Offertorium – 23 The Introit, Gradual, Offertory and Communion for the Second Sunday in Lent are the same as those for the Ember Wednesday which precedes it. Someone wiser than myself will know which came first. Unlike those for the previous Sunday, the chants for Lent 2 are not all from the same psalm, but from several different sources: Psalms 24, 105, 118 and 5. Nor do they relate very closely to the readings. The Gospel, for example, is Matthew 17:1-9, the story of the Transfiguration: a striking and theologically highly significant passage, but the Antiphonist does not plunder it for liturgical material. The Antiphon to the Introit is in fact Psalm 24 verses 6, 3 and 22: Reminiscere miserationum tuarum, Domine, et misericordiae tuae, quae a saeculo sunt: ne unquam dominentur nobis inimici nostri: libera nos, Deus Israel, ex omnibus angustiis nostris. There follow verses 1-2 of the same psalm: Ad te, Domine, levavi animam meam: Deus meus, in te confido, non erubescam. We have already seen this as the Antiphon to the Introit for Advent 1. By using the selection of verses mentioned above, however, the Antiphonist has given the psalm a more definitely penitential tone, as befits the more solemn season of Lent. He chooses some more suitably penitential verses from the same psalm for the Gradual, ps. 24:17-18 Tribulationes cordis mei dilatatae sunt: de necessitatibus meis eripe me, Domine. Vide humilitatem meam, et laborem meum: et dimitte omnia peccata mea. The Tract is rather lighter in tone, praising God for his mercy. His aid is invoked – ‘visita nos’ – but there is not the sense of urgency implied by ‘tribulationes cordis mei’ or ‘eripe me’. It consists of ps. 105:1-4 Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus: quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius. Quis loquetur potentias Domini: auditas faciet omnes laudes eius? Beati qui custodiunt judicium, et faciunt justitiam in omni tempore. Memento nostri, Domine, in beneplacito populi tui: visita nos in salutari tuo. The lighter tone is continued in the Offertorium, ps. 118:47-48, part of a psalm which is an extended meditation on God’s law, and the joys of keeping it: Meditabor in mandatis tuis, quae dilexi valde: et levabo manus meas ad mandata tua, quae dilexi. However the Communio, psalm 5:2-4, returns to the urgent tone of the Introit and Gradual, calling insistently on God for help: Intellige clamorem meum: intende voci orationis meae, Rex meus, et Deus meus: quoniam ad te orabo, Domine. Once again there is no obvious connection in thought between Offertorium and Communio. Bill. ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html