[Rank]
De II die Infra Octavam Concept. Immac. Beatae Mariae Virginis;;Semiduplex;;2.5;;vide Sancti/12-08

[Rule]
vide Sancti/12-08;
9 lectiones;
Doxology=Nat
No prima Vespera

[Lectio4]
!From the Dogmatic Bull of Pope Pius IX. 
God is unspeakable. His ways are mercy~
and truth; His Will is Almighty Power; and His wisdom reacheth mightily from one~
end to another, and sweetly ordereth all things. (Wisd. viii. 1.) He from all~
eternity foresaw the sorrowful fall of man by the transgression of Adam, and, in~
His mysterious purpose, He decreed, before the worlds were, that the Word should~
be made flesh, to the end that man, who had been seduced by the fraud of the~
devil, might not perish, but that as in the first Adam all die, in Christ all~
might be made alive. (1 Cor. xv. 22.) And to this end, the Eternal Creator from~
the beginning, and before all ages, chose and ordained a woman to be the Mother~
of His Only - begotten Son, of whom He should take flesh and be born, in the~
blessed fulness of time. (Gal. iv. 4.) And this woman He loved with so great a~
love that He allowed His Will to be freely wrought in her. (1 Thess. iv. 3.)


[Lectio5]
Therefore, He bestowed upon her, out of the treasure of the Divinity, such a~
wealth of gifts of grace as He hath bestowed upon none of the Angels and none of~
the Saints. He made her always free from any the slightest pollution of sin, so~
fair and so upright that no other of His works are like to her, and only~
Himselfcan we understand to excel her. Verily, this was most fitting, that this~
most worshipful Mother should be made bright with the brightness of~
uncontaminated holiness, and should conquer the old serpent by escaping~
altogether the stain of original sin, for she was that Mother to whom the~
Eternal Father was willing to give the Co-Eternal and Co-Equal Onlybegotten Son~
of His love, to be her Son also.

[Lectio6]
The Catholic Church, which, through the perpetual teaching of the Holy Ghost, is~
the pillar and ground of the truth, (1 Tim. iii. 15,) hath always held the~
original innocence of this most exalted Virgin to be bound up with her wonderful~
holiness, and her mighty dignity of Mother of God. This doctrine she hath felt~
herself to hold by the gift of God, and as part of that faith once delivered~
from heaven unto the Saints, (Jude 3,) and as time hath gone on, she hath~
continually explained, put forth, and upheld it. This belief is found strong in~
the earliest times, and rooted as it were in the hearts of Christ's faithful~
people; by the care and study of holy Bishops it hath been taught in all parts~
of the Catholic world; and the Church herself pointed to it when she allowed the~
Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be held as a feast, for exciting the~
piety and devotion of her children. In the case of the Saints the Church~
celebrateth only the day of their being made perfect at death, (but of her~
Divine Lord, of His Blessed Mother, and of St John the Baptist she venerateth~
the birth also, as of those sanctified in the womb.) When (therefore) she (goeth~
further and) maketh the case of the Blessed Virgin an exception to all others~
besides that of Christ, keeping holiday in honour of her conception (as well as~
of her birth,) it is manifest that she regardeth that Conception as altogether~
singular, wonderful, and different to all other conceptions, except only~
Christ's, namely, as holy.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Luke
!Luke 1:26-28
In that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called~
Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of~
David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And so on.
_
Homily by St Sophronius, Patriarch (of Jerusalem.)
!On the Annunciation.
When this blessed Angel was sent to the most pure virgin what did he say? In~
what words did he break the happy news of Redemption? Hail, thou that art full~
of grace, the Lord is with thee. (Now this word Hail is in the original~
Chaire, which being interpreted signifieth Rejoice.) The messenger of joy in his~
first word biddeth her rejoice. He knew well that his message was a message of~
good tidings of great joy to men, (Luke ii. 10,) yea, to all creatures, a~
message of healing to all sicknesses. He knew well that his message was a~
message of God's light to a dark world. He knew well that it proclaimed the end~
of error. He knew well that it blunted the sting of death. He knew well that it~
broke the power of corruption. He knew well that it brought victory over hell.~
He knew well that it told of salvation to all the fallen children of Adam,~
groaning under that yoke of malediction which fell on them when they were thrust~
out of Eden, and banished from that happy home. Therefore, when he began to~
speak, he spoke in tones of rejoicing, and opened his message with sounds of~
gladness. Therefore made he the name of joy to herald the tidings of good, which~
were to be for a joy unto all people, whosoever should believe.

[Lectio8]
And, of a truth, it was fitting that God's proclamation of joy should open with~
the accents of gladness. And this is the reason why the angel nameth joy first,~
because he knew the coming fruits of his message, and that his converse with the~
Virgin was to bring joy to the whole world. Can we find any joy or any~
brightness like the joy and the brightness of that salutation addressed to the~
Blessed Mother of gladness? Rejoice, O mother of joy more than heavenly! Rejoice, O~
thou that nourishest joy in the highest! Rejoice, O Lady, full of.the joy of~
salvation! Rejoice, O thou that bringest a joy that passeth not away! Rejoice, O~
mysterious treasury dispensing unspeakable joy! Rejoice, O most blessed fountain,~
overflowing with unfailing joy! Rejoice, O store-house of God, filled with the~
everlasting joy of eternity! Rejoice, O fair tree, bearing fruit of life-giving~
joy! Rejoice, O Maiden Mother of God! Rejoice, O thou that after child-birth~
remainest a virgin! Rejoice, O wonder, who, after all wonders, art still the~
most wonderful!

[Lectio9]
Who shall worthily set forth thy glory? Who shall make bold to say what thou~
art? Who will hold himself able to tell of all thy splendour? Thou art the~
exaltation of humanity; thou art made much higher than the Angels; thy~
brightness hath thrown the brightness of the Archangels into shadow; thou~
lookest down upon the lofty seats of the Thrones; thou makest the height of the~
Lordships to seem low; thy rank taketh precedence before the rank of the~
Principalities; compared with thee the Powers are weakness; thou art a Mighty~
one mightier than all the Mighty; thine earthly eyes see further than the~
contemplation of the Cherubim can reach; the Seraphim have six wings, but thy~
flight is nobler than their's; in a word, thou hast far excelled every other~
work of God; thou wast far purer than any other creature; and thou hast~
conceived the Creator of all creatures, carried Him in thy womb, and brought Him~
forth; thou hast been chosen, out of all that He has made, to be His mother. At~
Lauds a Commemoration is made of the Week-day.
&teDeum
