medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Offertorium – 44
The Exsultet continues:
Haec nox est, quae hodie per universum mundum, in Christo credentes, a
vitiis saeculi, et caligine peccatorum segregatos, reddit gratiae,
sociat sanctitati.
One more ‘haec nox est’:
Haec nox est, in qua destructis vinculis mortis, Christus ab inferis
victor ascendit.
A transitional reflection:
Nihil enim nobis nasci profuit, nisi redimi profuisset.
Then a series of apostrophes:
O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio!
O inestimabilis dilectio caritatis: ut servum redimeres, Filium
tradidisti!
O certe necessarium Adae peccatum, quod Christi morte deletum est!
O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!
O vere beata nox, quae sola meruit scire tempus et horam, in qua
Christus ab inferis resurrexit!
‘O truly necessary sin of Adam ... O happy fault’ are striking poetic
ideas; whether they are good Theology is open to discussion.
We return to the ‘haec nox est’ theme:
Haec nox est, de qua scriptum est: Et nox sicut dies illuminabitur: Et
nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis. Hujus igitur sanctificatio noctis
fugat scelera, culpas lavat: et reddit innocentiam lapsis, et moestis
laetitiam. Fugat odia, concordiam parat, et curvat imperia.
At this point in the old rite the deacon inserts five ‘grains of
incense’ into the Candle. Originally these were real grains of incense,
which would burn when the candle had burnt down to them, giving off a
pleasant smell. Nowadays they are enclosed in metal studs, and their
piercing of the Candle represent the wounds of Christ. In the modern
rite the ‘incense grains’ are inserted into the Candle before the
Exsultet begins, with the words:
1. By his holy
2. and glorious wounds
3. may Christ our Lord
4. guard us
5. and keep us. Amen.
However in the old rite they are inserted while the deacon is singing
the Exsultet, which continues:
In huius igitur noctis gratia, suscipe, sancte Pater, incensi huius
sacrificium vespertinum: quod tibi in hac Cerei oblatione solemni, per
ministrorum manus de operibus apum, sacrosancta reddit Ecclesia. Sed
jam columnae huius praeconia novimus, quam in honorem Dei rutilans
ignis accendit.
Only at this point in the old rite does the deacon light the Candle; I
was mistaken about that point in my previous posting. In the modern
rite it is lit at the beginning of the service, but not so formerly.
Having lit the Candle, the deacon continues:
Qui licet sit divisus in partes, mutati tamen luminis detrimenta non
novit. Alitur enim liquantibus ceris, quas in substantiam pretiosae
huius lampadis, apis mater eduxit.
Thanks, Mother Bee. Here, in the old rite, the lamps are lit. Nowadays
the lights are not switched on until the Exsultet is complete; and we
must leave its completion for the morrow.
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