There are three precious gifts which the wise men offered to the Lord on this day, and they have within them divine mysteries:
* in the gold, that the power of a King may be shown; in the frankincense, consider the great Priest, and in the myrrh, the burial of the Lord.
V. The wise men worshipped the author of our salvation in the crib, and from their treasures, they offered to Him the mystical honor of gifts.
In the gold... (
The first responsory of Matins during the Octave of the Epiphany.)
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| The Monforte Altarpiece, by Hugo van der Goes, ca. 1470 (Click to see in high resolution, which is always especially rewarding and interesting with Flemish painters.) |
R. Tria sunt múnera pretiósa, quae obtulérunt Magi Dómino in die ista, et habent in se divína mysteria:
* In auro, ut ostendátur Regis potentia: in thure, Sacerdótem magnum consídera: et in myrrha, Domínicam sepultúram.
V. Salútis nostrae auctórem Magi veneráti sunt in cunábulis, et de thesauris suis mýsticas ei múnerum species obtulérunt.
In auro...
