Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

470 All Saints Day
Our souls come from the hand of God, and by His grace they are
justified; in God's hand they will rest secure as long as their will is in
accord with God's will. God will then protect His faithful ones as the
apple of His eye. Man's malice may try to subvert them in every possible
way, may try to entice and seduce and conquer them by threats and
violence, by chains and prisons, but all efforts will prove fruitless. It is
true, the lives of the saints were not free from temptation and storms,
pain and worry and misfortunes. Nevertheless, already in this life God
fulfilled in them the promise given by the mouth of the prophet: "Behold
I will bring upon him as it were a river of peace, and as an overflowing
torrent the glory" (Isa., 66: 12). Obviously the foolish man has
no conception of this rich, ample, bright and blissful state. For him life
is dreary and sad; it is a living death.
In the next world, how happy are the souls of the just in the hand
of God! How secure from all assaults of evil! There is found peace,
eternal peace in God.
Today during the celebration of the sacred Mysteries, we are privileged
to taste again of this peace; we are allowed to rest in God's hand,
to rest on His breast, and to drink of the fullness of His life.
The melody was explained on the feast of St. Michael. The happy
adaptation of this text was accomplished in the twelfth century. We are
tempted to ask why the small word autem was favored with such florid
neums. In the original we find them over ascendit, which easily lends
itself to tone-painting. But we must take into consideration not so much
the word as the entire thought. This part, with its jubilant melody,
forms a magnificent contrast to mori ("to die") with its low pitch in the
preceding phrase. Individually, the phrases, according to their text, are
shorter than those of the original. This might explain the omission of
the descent to the fourth below the tonic which we find there at the end
of the second, third, and fourth phrases.
"The priest offers up pure sacrificial gifts in the sight of God. With
these gifts also the earthly sufferings and heavenly joys of the saints
ascend to the throne of God. A most mysterious and most intimate connection
is thus forged between their lives and the life and death of
Christ. Their lives are woven into His sacrifice, and together with the
Eucharistic Sacrifice they are immolated to God. The singer recognizes
this; he would also have his song ascend to heaven bright and clear as
the clouds of incense which he sees rising from the altar" (C. 0., 50, 151).
COMMUNION (Matt. 5:8-10)
1. Beati mundo corde, quoniam 1. Blessed are the clean of heart,
ipsi Deum videbunt: 2. beati pact- for they shall see God: 2. blessed are