Chants of the Vatican Graduale - MusicaSacra

66 The Holy Innocents
tians, a word of admonition, but at the same time a word of consolation
and joyful expectation.
Rass. gr., 7, 9, 417 ff.
THE HOLY INNOCENTS
(December 28)
INTROIT (Ps. 8:3)
1. Ex ore infantium, Deus, et 1. Out of the mouth of babes and
lactentium perfecisti laudem 2. of sucklings, O God, thou hast perpropter
inimicos tuos. Ps. Domine fected praise 2. because of thine
Dominus noster: * quam admira- enemies. Ps. 0 Lord, our Lord: *
bile est nomen tuum in universa how admirable is thy name in the
terral whole earth.
A holy awe hovers over the melody. Hence the three descending and
the three ascending fourths in these two short phrases. The first phrase
with its preponderating g has a cadence much favored by the second
mode; we heard it recently in the Introit of the Midnight Mass of
Christmas. The second phrase, in which / predominates, bears some
affinity to et lactentium of the first phrase.
The Holy Innocents offered God perfect praise; as the Collect of
the feast says, they glorified Him not by words, but by their death. It
is impossible for a creature to show greater glory than this to the Creator.
Furthermore, their praise was absolutely pure. Of them today's
Lesson from the Apocalypse speaks as follows: "They are virgins...
and in their mouth there was found no lie; for they are without spot before
the throne of God."
Thus should the praise of God resound in the universal Church; it
should be pure and perfect. It ought to be not only an avowal in words,
but rather one which manifests itself in a holy life.
GRADUAL—OFFERTORY (Ps. 123: 7, 8)
Anima nostra, sicut passer, erep- Our soul hath been delivered as a
ta est de laqueo venantium. "ft. 1. sparrow out of the snare of the
Laqueus contritus est, 2. et nos li- fowlers. $". 1. The snare is broken,
berati sumus: 3. adjutorium no- 2. and we are delivered: 3. our help
strum in nomine Domini, qui fecit is in the name of the Lord, who
caelum et terram. hath made heaven and earth.