Liturgical Guide: Epiphany

The Epiphany of Our Lord is an ancient feast with it's origins in the Eastern Church. Beginning at paragraph #528, the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of it this way: "Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Savior of the world. The great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East,... In the magi, representatives of the neighboring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation. The magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations. Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament."

LITURGY OF THE HOURS (1975)
3. Sion, Sing
11. All You Nations
81. As with Gladness Men of Old
84. Songs of Thankfulness and Praise

DIVINE OFFICE (1974)
Bethlehem of Noblest Cities
Songs of Thankfulness and Praise

ROMAN BREVIARY
Hostis Herodes Impie / Crudelis Herodes, Deum
O Sola Magnarum Urbium


Commentary by Fr. James Kubicki of the Apostleship of Prayer

Hostis Herodes Impie / Crudelis Herodes, Deum

Ibant Magi, Quam Viderant

Hostis Herodes Impie is written by the 5th century Christian poet, Coelius Sedulius (d.450?). It is composed of verses 8, 9, 11, and 13 of a much longer poem: an abecedarius, in which each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the alphabet (Latin, in this case). The Paean Alphabeticus de Christo consisting of 23 quatrains of iambic dimeters recounts the life of Christ from birth to resurrection. In the Roman Breviary Hostis Herodes Impie is sung at Vespers on Epiphany. A later revision: Crudelis Herode, Deum (included below), differs only in the first two lines being changed. The first 7 verses of Sedulius' epic poem also comprise another hymn: A Solis Ortus Cardine, which is sung during Christmas season.


Hostis Herodes Impie performed by Grup de Cant gregorià de l'Ateneu de Sant Just Desvern

HOSTIS, HERODES IMPIE

1. Hostis, Herodes impie,
Christum venire quid times?
Non eripit mortalia,
qui regna dat caelestia.

2. Ibant Magi, quam viderant,
stellam sequentes praeviam:
Lumen requirunt lumine:
Deum fatentur munere.

3. Lavacra puri gurgitis
caelestis Agnus attigit:
peccata, quae non detulit,
nos abluendo sustulit.

4. Novum genus potentiae:
aquae rubescunt hydriae,
vinumque iussa fundere,
mutavit unda originem.

5. Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui apparuisti gentibus,
cum Patre, et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.
                  or
5. Gloria tibi, Domine,
qui apparuisti hodie,
cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.


CRUDELIS HERODES, DEUM

1. Crudelis Herodes, Deum,
regem venire quid times?
Non eripit mortalia,
qui regna dat cælestia.

2. Ibant Magi, quam viderant,
stellam sequentes praeviam:
Lumen requirunt lumine:
Deum fatentur munere.

3. Lavacra puri gurgitis
caelestis Agnus attigit:
peccata, quae non detulit,
nos abluendo sustulit.

4. Novum genus potentiae:
aquae rubescunt hydriae,
vinumque iussa fundere,
mutavit unda originem.

5. Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui apparuisti gentibus,
cum Patre, et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula. Amen.

Bethlehem of Noblest Cities / O Sola Magnarum Urbium

Fairer Than the Sun at Morning

Bethlehem of Noblest Cities is a translation of the Latin poem, O Sola Magnarum Urbium by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius (348-c.413). He was a lawyer and Governor in Northern Spain. Although likely brought up a Christian (for he never writes of a conversion), later in life he experiences a profound sense of regret for his past zeal for career and worldly affairs. From then on he adopts an austere and penitential life and devotes his efforts to writing for the Glory of God. O Sola Magnarum Urbium was composed during this period. It is drawn from the lyrical poem Quicumque Christum Quærtis (Hymn for the Epiphany) from his collection, Liber Cathemerinon. In 1568, it was introduced into the revised Breviary by St. Pius V as the Lauds Hymn on Epiphany. In 1849 it was translated by Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878). It is set to the tune, Stuttgart attributed to Christian Friedrich Witt (1660-1716) and first published in the Psalmodia Sacra of 1715. In the Divine Office, Bethlehem of Noblest Cities is used during Christmas, at Epiphany, and other Feast Days of the Nativity.

Tune: Stuttgart

BETHLEHEM! OF NOBLEST CITIES by Edward Caswall, 1849 (Public Domain)

1. Bethlehem! of noblest cities
none can once with thee compare;
thou alone the Lord from heaven
didst for us Incarnate bear.

2. Fairer than the sun at morning
was the star that told His birth;
to the lands their God announcing,
hid beneath a form of earth.

3. By its lambent beauty guided,
see the eastern kings appear;
see them bend, their gifts to offer:
gifts of incense, gold, and myrrh.

4. Solem things of mystic meaning!
Incense doth the God disclose;
Gold a royal Child proclaimeth;
Myrrh a future tomb foreshows.

5. Holy Jesu, in Thy brightness
to the Gentile world displayed,
with the Father and the Spirit,
endless praise to Thee be paid.


O SOLA MAGNARUM URBIUM

1. O Sola magnarum urbium
maior Bethlehem, cui contigit
ducem salutis caelitus
incorporatum gignere.

2. Haec stella, quae solis rotam
vincit decore ac lumine,
venisse terris nuntiat
cum carne terrestri Deum.

3. Videre postquam illum Magi,
eoa promunt munera:
stratique votis offerunt
thus, myrrham, et aurum regium.

  4. Regem Deumque annuntiant
 thesaurus, et fragrans odor
 thuris Sabaei, ac myrrheus
 pulvis sepulchrum praedocet.

5. Iesu, tibi sit gloria,
qui apparuisti gentibus,
cum Patre, et almo Spiritu,
in sempiterna saecula.

Of the Father's Love Begotten / Corde Natus Ex Parentis

Evermore and Evermore

Of the Father's Love Begotten is a translation of the Latin poem, Corde Natus Ex Parentis by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius (348-c.413). It is drawn from his work Liber Cathemerinon, comprised of 12 poems that contemplate the canonical hours, and liturgical feast days and seasons. The original 1851 English translation by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) was later edited and re-edited by Henry W. Baker (1821-1877) and Roby Furley Davis (1866–1937) for various hymnals of the Church of England. It is set to the tune, Divinum Mysterium, first published in 1582 in the Piae Cantiones, and based upon an ancient plainchant melody (see 2nd video). In the Divine Office, Of the Father's Love Begotten is used during the Christmas Season and related Feast Days of the Nativity.





Corde natus ex parentis
Ante mundi exordium
A et O cognominatus,
ipse fons et clausula
Omnium quae sunt, fuerunt,
quaeque post futura sunt.
Saeculorum saeculis.

As with Gladness Men of Old

As with joyful steps they sped.

As with Gladness Men of Old was written by William Chatterton Dix (1837-1898). It was composed on the 6th of January 1859, while confined to bed, convalescing from a serious illness. It would be later included in his self-published collection: Hymns of Love and Joy (1867). It is sung to the tune: Dix, an adaption by William Henry Monk (1823-1889) of the chorale, Treuer Heiland, Wir Sind Heir (1838) by German composer Conrad Kocher (1786-1872). In the Liturgy of the Hours, As with Gladness Men of Old is used on the Solemnity of the Epiphany.



AS WITH GLADNESS, MEN OF OLD by W.C. Dix, 1859 (Public Domain)

 1. As with gladness men of old
did the guiding star behold;
as with joy they hailed its light,
leading onward, beaming bright;
so, most gracious Lord, may we
evermore be led to thee.

2. As with joyful steps they sped,
Savior, to thy lowly bed,
there to bend the knee before thee,
whom heaven and earth adore;
so may we with willing feet
ever seek thy mercy seat.

3. As they offered gifts most rare
at thy manger, rude and bare,
so may we with holy joy,
pure and free from sin’s alloy,
all our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to thee, our heavenly king.

4. Holy Jesus, every day
keep us in the narrow way;
and when earthly things are past,
bring our ransomed souls at last
where they need no star to guide,
where no clouds thy glory hide.