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St Nicholas Prayer

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Things add up fast when you have many bodies to shop for and you hold off on items of “need” for a feast day.  

Today may not be an official commemoration of St. Nicholas in the Church since his feast falls on a Sunday in Advent this year,  but were still giving thanksgiving for him on the home front and bringing some much needed physical joy to our children.  

We observe a “mini-Lent “ during Advent so any feast day celebration seems to have an added impact on building up their joyful anticipation for the Christ Child (which is pictured, covered, in the mirror along with Mary & Joseph).  

Prayer of Petition to St. Nicholas

Holy Pontiff Nicholas, how great is your glory in God’s Church! You confessed the name of Jesus before the proconsuls of the world’s empire, and suffered persecution for his name’s sake; afterwards, you were witness to the wonderful workings of God, when he restored peace to his Church; and a short time after this again, you opened your lips, in the assembly of the three hundred and eighteen Fathers, to confess with supreme authority the Divinity of our Saviour Jesus Christ, for whose sake so many millions of Martyrs had already shed their blood. 

Receive the devout felicitations of the Christian people throughout the universe, who thrill with joy when they think of your glorious merits. Help us by your prayers during these days when we are preparing for the coming of Him, whom you proclaimed to be Consubstantial to the Father. 

Vouchsafe to assist our faith and to obtain fresh fervour to our love. You now behold face to face that Word by whom all things were made and redeemed; beseech him to permit our unworthiness to approach him. Be our intercessor with him. You have taught us to know him as the sovereign and eternal God; teach us also to love him as the supreme benefactor of the children of Adam. 

It was from him, charitable Pontiff, that you learned that tender compassion for the sufferings of your fellow men, which made all your miracles to be so many acts of kindness: cease not, now that you are in the company of the Angels, to have pity on and to succour our miseries.

Stir up and increase the faith of mankind in the Saviour whom the Lord has sent them. May this be one of the fruits of your prayer, that the Divine Word may be no longer unknown and forgotten in this world, which he has redeemed with his Blood. Ask for the pastors of the Church that spirit of charity, which shone so brilliantly in thee; that spirit which makes them like their divine Master, and wins them the hearts of their people.

Remember, too, O holy Pontiff, that Church of the East which still loves you so fervently. When you were on this earth, God gave you power to raise the dead to life; pray now, that the true life, which consists in Faith and Unity, may return once more and animate that body which schism has robbed of its soul. 

By your supplications, obtain of God that the sacrifice of the Lamb, who is so soon to visit us, may be again and soon celebrated under the cupolas of Saint Sophia. May the sanctuaries of Kiev and Moscow become re-sanctified by the return of the people to unity. May the pride of the Crescent be humbled into submission to the Cross, and the majesty of leaders be brought to acknowledge the power of the Keys of Saint Peter; that thus there may be henceforth neither Scythian, nor Barbarian, but one fold under one Shepherd.

Saturday of the First Week of Advent

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Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus.    Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.

De Isaia Propheta.   

From the Prophet Isaias.

Ch. vii.

Et adjecit Dominus loqui ad Achaz, dicens: Pete tibi signum a Domino Deo tuo, in profundum inferni, sive in excelsum supra. Et dixit Achaz: Non petam, et non tentabo Dominum. Et dixit: Audite ergo, domus David. Numquid parum vobis est molestos esse hominibus, quia molesti estis et Deo meo? Propter hoc dabit Dominus ipse vobis signum: ecce virgo concipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel.   

And the Lord spoke again to Achaz, saying: Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God either unto the depth of hell, or unto the height above. And Achaz said: I will not ask, and I will not tempt the Lord. And he said: Hear ye therefore, O house of David: Is it a small thing for you to be grievous to men, that you are grievous to my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.

Let our hearts be filled with hope and jy at hearing this fair and sweet prophecy: A Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son. These words contain the salvation of the world, as these others express its perdition: The woman took of the fruit of the tree, and did eat, and gave unto her husband. 

This Virgin promised to us is at length come: the divine Fruit is in her womb. By her, Eve’s disobedience is repaired, the world is raised from its fall, the head of the serpent is crushed, God himself is more glorified by the fidelity of this second Virgin, than he had been outraged by the disobedience of the first.

 The consent of Mary exercises an immense influence in the saving of the world. It is true that the Word himself is coming; “but,” says St. Bernard, “Mary is the way whereby he comes; it is from her virginal womb he issues, as the Bridegroom from the nuptial chamber. 

Let us endeavor, therefore, to go up to Jesus by Mary, for Jesus came down to us by her. By thee, O Blessed one that didst find Grace, O Parent of Life, O Mother of Salvation, may we have access to thy Son! May He, who was given to us by thee, receive us by thee. May he admit thy purity, and, for its sake, forgive our impurities; may he give us the pardon of our pride, because of the pleasure he took in thy humility. May thy abundant charity cover the multitude of our sins. May thy glorious fruitfulness get us fruitfulness of merit. Our Lady! our Mediatrix! our Advocate! reconcile us to thy Son, commend us to thy Son, present us to thy Son. By the grace thou didst find, by the prerogative thou didst merit, by the Mercy thou didst bring forth, grant, O Blessed Virgin! that Jesus, who deigned to become, through thy maternity, partaker of our weakness and misery, may, through thy intercession, make us partakers of his glory and bliss.”

Prose in Honor of the Blessed Virgin

(Composed by Abailard; it is found in all the Roman-French missals)

Mittit ad Virginem

Non quemvis angelum:

Sed fortitudinem

Suum Archangelum,

Amator hominis.   

God, the lover of man, sends to the Virgin no less an angel than him who is called God’s strength, the Archangel Gabriel.

Fortem expediat

Pro nobis nuncium,

Naturæ faciat

Ut præjudicium

In partu Virginis.   

May this strong messenger be speedily at his work; may he stay the rights and laws of nature in the Virgin’s delivery.

Naturam superet

Natus Rex gloriæ:

Regnet et imperet,

Et zyma scoriæ

Tollat de medio.   

May the King of glory, when born, triumph over nature; may he reign and command; may he take away from the midst of men all leaven and rust.

Superbientium

Terat fastigia:

Colla sublimium

Calcet vi propria,

Potens in prælio.   

May he humble proud heads; may this God, mighty in war, trample in his power on the necks of the haughty.

Foras ejiciat

Mundanum principem;

Secumque faciat

Matrem participem

Patris imperii.   

May he cast forth the prince of this world; and make his Mother share with him the empire which his Father has given him.

Exi qui mitteris,

Hæc dona dissere:

Revela veteris

Velamen litteræ,

Virtute nuncii.   

Go forth, messenger of God, announce these gifts; lift up, by the virtue of thy annunciation, the veil of the ancient Scripture.

Accede nuncia:

Dic: Ave, cominus.

Dic: Plena gratia:

Dic: Tecum Dominus:

Et dic: Ne timeas.   

Approach, tell thy announcement: say, when thou art in her presence: “Hail!” Say: “O full of grace!” Say: “The Lord is with thee!” And then: “Fear not!”

Virgo suscipias

Dei depositum,

In quo perficias

Casta propositum

Et votum teneas.   

Receive, O Virgin, the divine deposit; by him fulfill thy chaste purpose, and keep thy vow.

Audit et suscipit

Puella nuncium:

Credit et concipit

Et parit Filium,

Sed admirabilem,   

The Maid hears and accepts the announcement; she believes and conceives, and brings forth a Son, but he is the admirable.

Consiliarium

Humani generis:

Deum et hominem

Et Patrem posteris,

In pace stabilem.   

The counselor of mankind, God and Man, Father of the world to come, the Prince of peace.

Cujus stabilitas

Nos reddat stabiles,

Ne nos labilitas

Humana labiles

Secum præcipitet.   

May his firmness render us firm, lest human frailty should make us stumble into the abyss.

Sed dator veniæ,

Concessa venia,

Per Matrem gratiæ

Obtenta gratia,

In nobis habitet.   

But may the Giver of pardon, granting us pardon and grace, obtained by the Mother of grace, dwell within us.

Qui nobis tribuat

Peccati veniam:

Reatus deleat,

Donet et patriam

In arce siderum.   

May he that grants us pardon of our sins, wipe away all our guilt, and give us the country in the starry heaven.

Amen.    Amen.

Prayer From the Gallican Sacramentary

(Christmas Eve)

Emmanuel, nobiscum Deus, Christe Filius Dei, qui cum ex Virgine te nasciturum pronuntias, quia Mariam matrem creasti ut Dominus, de qua natus es filius: da nobis ut, qui cum illa a te, vel per te creati sumus ex nihilo, simili, ut ea, credulitatis remumeremur et præmio.   

O Emmanuel, God with us, Christ the Son of God, who didst announce that thou wouldst be born of a Virgin, and didst, as Lord, create Mary, the Mother whose Son thou art: grant us, that being, like her, created by thee out of nothing, we may be rewarded, like her, for our faith in thee.

The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

Friday of the First Week of Advent

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Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus.    Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.

De Isaia Propheta.   

From the Prophet Isaias.

Ch. vi.

In anno quo mortuus est rex Ozias, vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum; et ea quae sub ipso erant replebant templum. Seraphim stabant super illud: sex alae uni, et sex alae alteri; duabus velabant faciem ejus, et duabus velabant pedes ejus, et duabus volabant. Et clamabant alter ad alterum, et dicebant: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus Dominus, Deus exercituum; plena est omnis terra gloria ejus.   

In the year that king Ozias died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated: and his train filled the temple. Upon it stood the seraphims: the one had six wings, and the other had six wings: with two they covered his face, and with two they covered his feet, and with two they hew. And they cried one to another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory.

Such is the glory of the Lord in the highest heavens: who could see it and live? But now, contemplate this same Lord upon our earth, during the days which have dawned upon us. The womb of a Virgin contains Him, whom heaven cannot contain. To Angels his beauty is visible, but it dazzles them not; to men, it is not even visible. Not a single voice is heard saying unto him those words of heaven: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts! the Angels no longer say of him: All the earth is full of his glory; for the earth is witness of his abasement, and an abasement so abject and low, that the inhabitants of the earth do not even know it. At first, there was but one who knew the divine secret—the Virgin Mother; after her, Elizabeth was admitted to know that her cousin was Mother of God; and then, after the most painful and humiliating suspicions, the great mystery was revealed by an Angel to Joseph. So that only three on earth know that God has come down upon it! Thus humbly did he re-enter the world, after the sin of pride had driven him out of it. O God of the ancient Covenant, how great thou art! and who would not tremble before thee? O God of the new Covenant, how little thou hast made thyself! who would not love thee? Heal my pride, the source of all my sins! teach me to value what thou didst so much value. By thy Incarnation thou didst a second time create the world; and in this second creation, more excellent than the first, thou workest by silence, and thy triumph is won by self-annihilation. I wish to humble myself after thine example, and to profit by the lessons which a God came down so low to give me. Lay low all that is high and lifted up within me, O my Jesus, for this is one of the ends of thy Coming. I abandon myself to thee, as to my Sovereign Master! do with me and in me what thou wilt.

Hymn Taken From the Anthology of the Greeks

(December 23)

Antefestalia cantica christi nativitatis mentis alacritate præcanamus; nam qui Patri et Spiritui est æqualis, per misericordiam commiserans, massam indutus luti nasci debet in Bethlehem civitate; cujus nativitatem ineffabilem pastores cum angelis hymnificabunt.   

Let us sing, in gladness of heart, the canticles of the pre-vigil of the birth of christ; for he, who is co-equal with the Father and the Spirit, having, in his great compassion for our miseries, clothed himself with the leaven of our clay, is to be born in the city of Bethlehem; and shepherds with angels will hymn his ineffable birth.

In cymbalis resonemus, in canticis alalagmum personemus. Christi manifestatur ostensio, prophetarum finem habuerunt præconia; quem enim inter mortales dixerunt appariturum nascitur in sancta spelunca, et in præsepio reclinatur ut infans.   

Let us play loud on our cymbals, let us shout our songs of victory; Christ is to appear visibly; the predictions of the prophets are fulfilled; he, who they foretold would appear amongst mortals, is to be born in a holy cave, and to lie in a crib a little child.

Bethlehem præparare; Eden, aperire; omnis terra Juda, nunc adornare, lætentur cœli, exsultent homines, in præsepio vita, in spelunca dives, advenit per misericordiæ multitudinem paupertatem Adam restaurare, absque mutatione vel confusione.

Get thee ready, O Bethlehem! Eden, open thy gates! Land of Juda, put on thy best! let the heavens be glad, let men exult! To enrich the poverty of Adam by the abundance of his mercy, Life is in that crib, the rich One is in that cave, yet the divine Nature suffers no change or confusion.

Ad te de luce vigilio, qwui per misericordiam teipsum pro homine lapso exinanisti sine mutatione, et servi formam ex Virgine tulisti, Verbum Dei, pacem da mihi, Philanthrope.   

From the dawn of day I watch for thee, who, in mercy for fallen man, didst empty thyself, yet still remaining God, and didst take form a Virgin the form of a servant, O thou Word of God, O Lover of men! I beseech thee, give me peace.

Stillent ex alto aquam nebulæ: qui nubes posuit descendit ipse adorandus in nebula Virgine, ut luceat ab eo lumen inocciduum his qui antea in tenebris periculisque erant.   

Let the clouds drop down dew from on high. He who puts the clouds in the air, he the adorable God, has descended in a cloud, and that cloud is the Virgin: he has done this, that light everlasting may shine from him on those who heretofore were in darkness and peril.

O dulcissimum Puerum, quomodo nutriam te? Quomodo te apprehendam, qui omnia nutu tuo tenes? Quomodo te fasciis involvam, qui omnem terram involvis nebuls? clamabat sancta Domina.   

O most sweet Child, how shall I feed thee? said the blessed Lady. How shall I take thee into my arms, thou that holdest all things in thy power? How shall I wrap thee in swathing bands, that coverest the whole earth with clouds?

Sol, fili mi, quomodo recondam te fasciis? Quomodo retinebo te qui omnia contines? Quomodo te sine metu intueri potero, quem non audent contemplari qui multos habent oculos? aiebat Christum tenens nuptinescia.   

My Babe, said the Virgin Mother of Christ, how shall I hide thee, bright Sun, in swaddling clothes? How shall I so imprison thee that holdest all things? Shall I be able to fix my gaze on thee, whom the many-eyed spirits dare not look upon?

Bethlehem, adesdum, præpara quæ ad partum pertinent. I, Joseph, inscribere cum Maria; venerandum præsepium, Deiferæ fasciæ; ubi Vita involuta mortis funes disrumpet, alligans immortalitati mortales, Christus Deus noster.   

Get ready, then, O Bethlehem, all that is needed for the birth. And thou, Joseph, go and be enrolled with Mary. O crib ever venerable! O ye bands that swathe our God, holding in your folds the Life that breaks the bands of death, and ties us mortals to immortality, Christ Jesus our God.

Prayer From the Mozarabic Missal

(In the Mass of the Fifth Sunday of Advent)

In proximo quidem est, Domine, Dies adventus tui: sed quæsumus ut, antequam venias, expiari mereamur ab omni contagione delicti. Prius dilue, rogamus in nobis omne quod in illa futura examinatione puniturus es; ut cum, justus adveneris judex, non in nobis invenias quod condemnes.   

The day of thy Coming, O Lord, is near, indeed, at hand; but before thou comest, we beseech thee make us worthy to be purified from every contagion of sin. First remove from us, we entreat thee, whatsoever there is in us which thou wouldst have to punish in that future examination; that so, when thou comest as our just Judge, thou mayest find naught in us to condemn.

The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

Family Devotions in Advent

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Below are our Nightly Family Devotions in Advent:

  • One verse of Veni Veni Emmanuel

  • Christmas Novena

  • Holy Rosary*

  • Prayers for the Pope (to gain the plenary indulgences)*

  • Family Litany of Saints*

  • Deliverance Prayers (prayed over family by Dad)*

  • Full Hymn of Veni Veni Emmanuel (Latin & English, as many times as desired)

  • More family devotions*

*these devotions are constant 

https://joyfilledfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2ef87b04d54d418f92edcc5e1b7e46db.mov

This is an ancient Advent hymn based upon the seven “O” Antiphons, which are recited/sung before & after the Magnificat at Vespers from Dec. 17- 23.

Veni veni, Emmanuel

Captivum solve Israel,

Qui gemit in exsilio,

Privatus Dei Filio.


Gaude! Gaude! Emmanuel,
Nascetur pro te Israel!   

O Come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.


Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel


Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Veni, O Sapientia,

Quae hic disponis omnia,

Veni, viam prudentiae

Ut doceas et gloriae. 

O come, Thou Wisdom, from on high,

And order all things far and nigh;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go. 

Veni, veni, Adonai,

Qui populo in Sinai

Legem dedisti vertice

In maiestate gloriae. 

O come, o come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height

In ancient times did give the law,

In cloud, and majesty, and awe. 

Veni, O Iesse virgula,

Ex hostis tuos ungula,

De spectu tuos tartari

Educ et antro barathri. 

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem,

From ev’ry foe deliver them

That trust Thy mighty power to save,

And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. 

Veni, Clavis Davidica,

Regna reclude caelica,

Fac iter tutum superum,

Et claude vias inferum. 

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heav’nly home,

Make safe the way that leads on high,

That we no more have cause to sigh. 

Veni, veni O Oriens,

Solare nos adveniens,

Noctis depelle nebulas,

Dirasque mortis tenebras. 

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,

And cheer us by thy drawing nigh;

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death’s dark shadow put to flight. 

Veni, veni, Rex Gentium,

Veni, Redemptor omnium,

Ut salvas tuos famulos

Peccati sibi conscios. 

O come, Desire of nations, bind

In one the hearts of all mankind;

Bid every strife and quarrel cease

And fill the world with heaven’s peace.

Wednesday of the First Week of Advent

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Regem venturum Dominum, venite, adoremus. Come, let us adore the King, our Lord, who is to come.

De Isaia Propheta.   

From the Prophet Isaias.

Cap. iii.   

Ecce enim Dominator, Dominus exercituum, auferet a Jerusalem et a Juda validum et fortem, omne robur panis, et omne robor aquæ; fortem, et virum bellatorem, judicem, et prophetam, et ariolum, et senem; principem super quinquaginta, et honorabilem vultu et consiliarium, et sapientem de architectis, et prudentem eloquii mystici. Et dabo pueros principes eorum, et effeminati dominabuntur eis; et irruet populus, vir ad virum, et unusquisque ad proximum suum; tumultuabitur puer contra senem, et ignobilis contra nobilem. Apprehendet enim vir fratrem suum, domesticum patris sui: Vestimentum tibi est, princeps esto noster, ruina autem haec sub manu tua. Respondebit in die illa, dicens: Non sum medicus, et in domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum: nolite constituere me principem populi. Ruit enim Jerusalem, et Judas concidit, quia lingua eorum et adinventiones eorum contra Dominum, ut provocarent oculos majestatis ejus. Agnitio vultus eorum respondit eis; et peccatum suum quasi Sodoma prædicaverunt, nec absconderunt. Væ animæ eorum, quoniam reddita sunt eis mala! Dicite justo quoniam bene, quoniam fructum adinventionum suarum comedet. Vae impio in malum! retributio enim manuum ejus fiet ei.   

For behold the sovereign the Lord of hosts shall take away from Jerusalem, and from Juda the valiant and the strong, the whole strength of bread, and the whole strength of water. The strong man, and the man of war, the judge, and the prophet, and the cunning man, and the ancient. The captain over fifty, and the honourable in countenance, and the counsellor, and the architect, and the skillful in eloquent speech. And I will give children to be their princes, and the effeminate shall rule over them. And the people shall rush one upon another, and every man against his neighbour: the child shall make it tumult against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. For a man shall take hold of his brother, one of the house of his father, saying: Thou hast a garment, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand. In that day he shall answer, saying: I am no healer, and in my house there is no bread, nor clothing: make me not ruler of the people. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Juda is fallen: because their tongue, and their devices are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his majesty. The shew of their countenance hath answered them: and they have proclaimed abroad their sin as Sodom, and they have not hid it: woe to their souls, for evils are rendered to them. Say to the just man that it is well, for he shall eat the fruit of his doings. Woe to the wicked unto evil: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

Jerusalem is tending to her destruction; therefore she is losing all power and, with the rest, the power of understanding. She no longer knows whither she is going, and she sees not the abyss into which she is plunging. Such are all those men who never give a thought to the Coming of the Sovereign Judge; they are men of whom Moses said in his Canticle: They are a nation without counsel and without wisdom: O that they would be wise and would understand, and would provide for their last end! 

The Son of God comes now in the swaddling clothes of a weak Babe, and the humility of a servant, and, to speak with the Prophets as the dew which falls softly drop by drop; but it will not always be so. This earth also, which now is the scene of our sins and our hardheartedness, will perish before the face of the angry Judge; and if we have made it the one object of our love, to what shall we then cling? 

“A sudden death which has happened in your presence,” says St. John Chrysostom, “or an earthquake, or the bare threat of some dire calamity, terrify and prostrate you; what then shall it be when the whole earth shall sink beneath your feet; when you shall see all nature in disorder; when you shall hear the sound of the last trumpet; when the Sovereign Master of the universe shall appear before you in the fulness of his Majesty? Perchance, you have seen criminals dragged in punishment: did they not seem to die twenty times before they reached the place of execution, and before the executioner could lay his hands on them, fear had crushed out life?” 

Oh! the terror of that Last Day! How is it that men can expose themselves to such misery when, to avoid it, they have but to open their hearts to Him who is now coming to them in gentlest love, asking them to give him a place in their souls, and promising to shelter them from the wrath to come if they will be receive him! 

O Jesus, who can withstand thy anger at the Last Day? Now thou art our Brother, our Friend, a Little Child who is to be born for us: we will therefore make covenant with thee; so that, loving thee now in thy first Coming, we may not fear thee in the second. When thou comest in that second one, bid thy Angels approach us, and say to us those thrilling words: It is well!

Hymn of Advent

(Roman breviary, the Office of Matins)

Verbum supernum prodiens

E Patris æterni sinu,

Qui natus orbi subvenis,

Labente cursu temporis.   

O sovereign Word, begotten of the bosom of the eternal Father, yet born in the fleeting course of time, thou bringest succor to the world.

Illumina nunc pectora,

Tuoque amore concrema,

Ut cor caduca deserens

Cœli voluptas impleat.   

Enlighten now our hearts, and inflame them with thy love, that, being detached from earthly things, they may be filled with the joys of heaven.

Ut cum tribunal Judicis

Damnabit igni noxios,

Et vox amica debitum

Vocabit ad cœlum pios.   

That when form his tribunal the Judge shall condemn the wicked to the flames, and lovingly call the good to the heaven they have won,

Non esca flammarum nigros

Volvamur inter turbines;

Vultu Dei sed compotes

Cœli fruamur gaudiis.   

We may not be hurled into the dark pool of fire, but, admitted to the vision of God, may enjoy the bliss of heaven.

Patri, simulque Filio,

Tibique, sancte Spiritus,

Sicut fuit sit jugiter

Sæclum per omne gloria.   

To the Father, and to the Son, and to thee, O Holy Ghost, may there ever be, as there ever hath been, glory for ever and ever.

Prayer From the Mozarabic Missal

(In the Mass of the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Illation)

Dignum et justum est, vere et nobis per omnia expedibile, tuam nos elementiam, omnipotens Pater, quibus possumus semper laudibus prædicare; qui bonitate nos ingenuitateque condidisti ac serpentis antiqui fraude decepti, gratuita miseratione a morte velis eripere; qui Filium tuum, quem pro nobis in carne missururs eras ad terras venturum nasciturumque de Virgine longe antea prædixisti, ejus nativitatis adventum prætonantibus sanctis prænuntiasti; ut exspectatus diu qui fuerat repromissus, magnum mundo faceret gaudium in plenitudine temporum præsentatus. Unde petimus et rogamus ut qui plasma tuum, sicut vere pius et misericors, perire non passus es; sed per humilem adventum Filii tui Domini nostri, quod perierat revocasti; quod jam inventum et reparatum ac revocatum est, sic protegas, sic custodias, sic sanes, sic defendas, sic liberes: ut in illo adventu terribili quo iterato illos venturus est judicare, a quibus et pro quibus est judicatus, tales inveniat quod redemit, ut in æternum possideat quod pretio sui sanguinis acquisivit.   

It is meet and just, and available to us in all things, that we always should extol, by all possible praises, thy clemency, O Almighty Father; who didst create us in holiness and nobleness, and, when the fraud of the old serpent had seduced us, didst in pure mercy deliver us from death. 

Thou didst foretell, in past ages, that the Son, whom thou wast to send in the flesh for us, would come on this earth and would be born of a Virgin, and by thy holy prophets didst foretell the advent of his birth; and this to the end that he, who had been promised, having been long expected, might give great joy to the world when he should come in the fullness of time. 

Wherefore we pray and beseech thee, that thou, who didst not suffer thy creature to perish, because thou art truly compassionate and merciful but didst restore what was lost by the humble coming of thy Son, wouldst now so protect, so keep, so heal, so defend, so free, what thou has found and repaired and restored, that in that dread coming whereby thy Son shall come a second time, to judge those by whom and for whom he himself was judged, he may so find the creatures that he has redeemed, that he may eternally possess those whom he purchased with the price of his blood.

The Liturgical Year, Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

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