Friday in Ember Week in Advent

Friday in Ember Week in Advent

The Mass of today sums up perfectly the whole spirit of Advent, which is, so to speak, the first act of the great drama of the Incarnation. It might be called "The Expectation of Christ" and pictured in a triptych: On the left the prophets, and in particular Isaias, who search the horizon and announce to us the coming of Christ (Epistle), the sun of justice; on the right St John the Forerunner, who from the womb of his mother salutes Jesus (Gospel), and, as the friend of the bridegroom, presents Him as the Messias to His bride the Church; in the centre panel the Virgin, in her first and second joyful mysteries, the Annunciation and the Visitation, of which we read in the Gospels for the Wednesday in Ember week, and for today.

Prope es Tu, Dómine, et omnes viae tuae véritas: inítio cognóvi de testimóniis, quia in aetérnum tu es. * Beáti Immaculáti in via: qui ámbulant in lege Dómini.
Thou art near, O Lord, and all Thy ways are truth: I have known from the beginning concerning Thy testimonies, and Thou art forever. * Blessed are the undefiled in the way; who walk in the way of the Lord.
(Ps. 118: 1)

Excita, quaesumus, Dómine, poténtiam tuam, et veni: ut hi, qui in tua piétáte confídunt, ab omni cítius adversitáte liberénter:
Bestir, O Lord, Thy might, we pray Thee and come; that these who trust in Thy kindness and love, may the more speedily be delivered from all adversity.
(Collect)

Lesson from Isaias the Prophet.
Thus saith the Lord God: There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness, and He shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge according to the sight of the eyes, nor reprove according to the hearing of the ears. But He shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. And justice shall be the girdle of His loins: and faith the girdle of His reins.

The continuation of the holy Gospel according to Luke.

At that time, Mary rising up, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda. And she entered into the house of Zachary, and saluted Elizabeth. And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: and she cried out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord; and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.