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December 18, 2024
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OSV Newsillustration/Dado Ruvic, Reuters
One of the most beautiful liturgical traditions which Mother Church has gifted us is the Rorate Caeli Mass, a votive Mass of the Virgin Mary celebrated in Advent.
A votive Mass is one set aside for a special occasion or purpose and as the Rorate Mass is Marian, the priest and altar are both dressed in white vestments.
The Mass takes its name from the opening words of the Latin text that begins the liturgy, “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness.” And that is what Montreal’s Mission St-Irénée-de-Lyons Parish recreated Dec. 14.
At the beginning of Mass, the candles, both on the altar and held by the faithful, provide the only light.
The most dramatic moment of the Rorate Mass, as unobtrusive and delicate as the workings of grace, is when the light from the rising sun gradually illuminates the interior of the church and the candles become superfluous. This moment often seems to coincide with that of the Consecration.
The liturgical atmosphere takes its cue from Mary as she must have been in the last stage of pregnancy, quiet and reflective, both heavy with child and hope as she awaited the birth of her son, the Son of God.
The congregation is unusually subdued as they, like Mary, ponder the mystery in their hearts.
St. John Henry Newman, in his Meditations and Devotions, explains the title of Mary, Stella Matutina, or the Morning Star, another name for the planet Venus, the third brightest object in the heavens after the sun and the moon. In what could be a reflection on the Rorate Mass, Newman says the Morning Star arrives “after the Dark Night, but always Heralding the Sun.”
“It is Mary’s prerogative to be the Morning Star … She does not shine for herself, or from herself, but she is the reflection of her and our Redeemer, and she glorifies Him. When she appears in the darkness, we know that He is close at hand.”
The Rorate Mass is most readily associated with those communities that celebrate what is called the Traditional Latin, or Extraordinary Form, Mass, but it is not unique to it.
At the conclusion of the Mass, the priest three times intones the antiphon, “Behold, the Lord will come, and with Him all His saints; and on that day there shall be a great light, alleluia.”
The celebration of the Rorate Mass is well-placed at the beginning of the liturgical year, for it is a preparation for not only the great feast of Christmas but for the entire paschal mystery as it is played out through the year.
(Photos by Peter Stockland)
A version of this story appeared in the December 22, 2024, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "‘Let the skies pour down righteousness’".
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