WDTPRS: Last Days of Advent: 17 December

We are in the last day of Advent.  Observe this period with greater intensity of preparation, remembering especially that Advent is mostly about preparation for the Second Coming of the Lord, even as we rejoice that the Son took up our humanity and was born into the world for our salvation.

Notice in the Missal that the Mass formularies skip from Feria Sexta … Friday of the 3rd Week of Advent to the 4th Sunday of Advent.  Apparently there is no Sabbato … Saturday in the 3rd Week.

“But Father! But Father!”. some of you are saying”  “What gives? Did they just forget Saturday?  Is this a mistake by the horrible oppressors in Rome who refused to consult with The People and who forced a new translation on us against our baptismal rights?”

In the older, traditional Missal they sure didn’t forget Saturday.  Today is Ember Saturday.

It is not possible to have a Saturday of the 3rd Week of Advent which is not within the stronger Advent days (17-23 December), which have their own Mass formularies.  So, they don’t even include a page for the Saturday in the book.

Today, therefore, we have in the Ordinary Form a proper Collect.

Deus, humanae conditor et redemptor naturae,
qui Verbum tuum in utero perpetuae virginitatis
carnem assumere voluisti,
respice propitius ad preces nostras,
ut Unigenitus tuus, nostra humanitate suscepta,
nos divino suo consortio sociare dignetur
.

This ancient prayer is from Gelasian Sacramentary as well as Rotulus 31 published together with the Veronese Sacramentary. It was not in any pre-Conciliar edition of the Missale Romanum.

LITERAL WDTPRS VERSION:
O God, creator and redeemer of human nature,
who desired Your Word to assume flesh
in a womb of perpetual virginity,
look propitiously on our prayers,
so that, now that our humanity has been taken up,
Your Only-Begotten may deign to integrate us into His own fellowship.

You see in this prayer how the will of the Father and the Son are perfectly in harmony. We ask the Father that the Son will deign…

We have again a confluence of the different Advents of the Lord, at Bethlehem in the past and as Judge in the future. Christ took up our flesh in the Incarnation. He took up our flesh in His own Person at the Assumption. He desired to share our lot (Latin sors). We ask to be sharer is of His lot (con-sors).

NEW CORRECTED TRANSLATION
O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature,
who willed that your Word should take flesh
in an ever-virgin womb,
look with favor on our prayers,
that your Only Begotten Son,
having taken to himself our humanity,
may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity
.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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3 Comments

  1. RichR says:

    I had to do a double take today, too, when I couldn’t find Vespers for Saturday. It took a few seconds to figure it out. December 17 trumps other days of Advent. Even if we have a full 4th weeks of Advent (like this year), you still can’t back up 8 days from Christmas (Dec. 17) and get a Saturday of Advent III.

    Liturgical trivia for liturgeeks.

  2. jbpolhamus says:

    Little story: I noticed that last night, when setting up my breviary for this morning. Saturday, which seems at first glance to be missing, is proper – this year – to the 17th. This this afternoon, my parish priest comes up to us musicians while we were beginning to rehearse for mass, missal in hand, saying “We’re missing a day! It goes from Friday straight to Sunday!” He was, if not gloating, preparing to gloat at a supposed mistake in the new missal. I enlightened him before the assembled crowd. Ostensibly relieved, he went his way.

  3. inara says:

    went to Confession Saturday…*now* I feel prepared! Really trying to get in a once-a-month habit…any longer & that nebulous feeling of angst settles on me, that nothing else can cure! ;o)

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