From the Breviary according to the use of the Roman Curia, 1529, the continuation of the sermon for the fourth day in the Octave of All Saints.
And now, because by the gift of God, we celebrate the great festivity of all the Saints, before all their many ranks we must venerate and adore Him before Whom stand the Angels, to hear the sound of His words, Who calleth the stars, and they say “We are here!” It is He whose hands stretched out the heavens, Whose fingers set the mass of the earth in its place, upon Whom the Angels desire to look, at Whose beauty the sun and moon wonder. Although neither man nor angel, even of the highest order, can perfectly comprehend Him as He is in His nature, at least let us begin here for our small part. And indeed, we shall this do by His grace, that is, praise and magnify God forever and ever. Amen.
St. John the Evangelist beholds the Throne of God in Heaven, in the fourth chapter of the Apocalypse. French miniature ca. 1400 |