Ave Crux, Spes Unica... Hail the Cross Our Only Hope!
Tis the motto of the Congregation of Holy Cross (CSC) that founded Notre Dame...but it is not the patronal Feast. It is actually tomorrow, on the Feast of the Seven Dolors of Our Lady. They are from a town called Holy Cross (notice the missing "the" before Holy Cross in their title). It is, however, the feast of the sisters across the street at Saint Mary's.
Anywho, it comes from the Vespers Hymn of Passiontide, Vexilla Regis:
Vexilla Regis prodeunt;
Fulget Crucis mysterium,
Qua vita mortem pertulit,
Et morte vitam protulit.
Quae vulnerata lanceae
Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus,
Manavit unda et sanguine.
Impleta sunt quae concinit
David fideli carmine,
Dicendo nationibus:
Regnavit a ligno Deus.
Arbor decora et fulgida,
Ornata Regis purpura,
Electa digno stipite
Tam sancta membra tangere.
Beata, cujus brachiis
Pretium pependit saeculi,
Statera facta corporis,
Tulitque praedam tartari.
O Crux, ave, spes única,
Paschále quæ fers gáudium,
Piis adáuge grátiam,
Reísque dele crímina.
Te, fons salutis, Trinitas,
Collaudet omnis spiritus:
Quibus Crucis victoriam
Largiris, adde praemium.
Amen.
V. Hoc signum Crucis erit in caelo.
R. Cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit.
Fulget Crucis mysterium,
Qua vita mortem pertulit,
Et morte vitam protulit.
Quae vulnerata lanceae
Mucrone diro, criminum
Ut nos lavaret sordibus,
Manavit unda et sanguine.
Impleta sunt quae concinit
David fideli carmine,
Dicendo nationibus:
Regnavit a ligno Deus.
Arbor decora et fulgida,
Ornata Regis purpura,
Electa digno stipite
Tam sancta membra tangere.
Beata, cujus brachiis
Pretium pependit saeculi,
Statera facta corporis,
Tulitque praedam tartari.
O Crux, ave, spes única,
Paschále quæ fers gáudium,
Piis adáuge grátiam,
Reísque dele crímina.
Te, fons salutis, Trinitas,
Collaudet omnis spiritus:
Quibus Crucis victoriam
Largiris, adde praemium.
Amen.
V. Hoc signum Crucis erit in caelo.
R. Cum Dominus ad judicandum venerit.
---
Abroad the regal banners fly,
Now shines the cross’s mystery;
Upon it Life did death endure,
And yet by death did life procure.
Who, wounded with a direful spear,
Did, purposely to wash us clear
From stain of sin, pour out a flood
Of precious water mixed with blood.
That which the prophet-king of old
Hath in mysterious verse foretold,
Is now accomplished, whilst we see
God ruling nations from a tree.
O lovely and refulgent tree,
Adorned with purpled majesty;
Culled from a worthy stock, to bear
Those limbs which sanctifièd were.
Blest tree, whose happy branches bore
The wealth that did the world restore;
The beam that did that body weigh
Which raised up hell’s expected prey.
Hail, cross, of hopes the most sublime!
Now in this mournful passion time,
Improve religious souls in grace,
The sins of criminals efface.
Blest Trinity, salvation’s spring,
May every soul thy praises sing;
To those thou grantest conquest by
The holy cross, rewards apply.
Amen.
V. This sign of the Cross shall be in heaven.
R. When the Lord cometh to judgment.
Now shines the cross’s mystery;
Upon it Life did death endure,
And yet by death did life procure.
Who, wounded with a direful spear,
Did, purposely to wash us clear
From stain of sin, pour out a flood
Of precious water mixed with blood.
That which the prophet-king of old
Hath in mysterious verse foretold,
Is now accomplished, whilst we see
God ruling nations from a tree.
O lovely and refulgent tree,
Adorned with purpled majesty;
Culled from a worthy stock, to bear
Those limbs which sanctifièd were.
Blest tree, whose happy branches bore
The wealth that did the world restore;
The beam that did that body weigh
Which raised up hell’s expected prey.
Hail, cross, of hopes the most sublime!
Now in this mournful passion time,
Improve religious souls in grace,
The sins of criminals efface.
Blest Trinity, salvation’s spring,
May every soul thy praises sing;
To those thou grantest conquest by
The holy cross, rewards apply.
Amen.
V. This sign of the Cross shall be in heaven.
R. When the Lord cometh to judgment.
The hymn was first sung in the procession (November 19, 569) when a relic of the True Cross, sent by the Byzantine Emperor Justin II from the East at the request of St. Radegunda, was carried in great pomp from Tours to her monastery of Saint-Croix at Poitiers. I actually had the great privilege of venerating a relic of the True Cross today after Mass!!!
As I said, it is sung throughout Passiontide, especially Good Friday when the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament from the Altar of Repose to the High Altar takes place. It is, however, also the proper hymn to the Feasts of the Finding (May 3), of the Triumph of the Holy Cross (July 16) and of course, today, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!
Now here is something I love pointing out:
In Dante's Inferno (Canto 34), we read the first three verses:
«Vexilla regis prodeunt inferni
verso di noi; però dinanzi mira»,
disse 'l maestro mio, «se tu discerni
verso di noi; però dinanzi mira»,
disse 'l maestro mio, «se tu discerni
»
---
"The banners of Hell's Monarch do come forth
Toward us; therefore look,"
so spake my guide, "If thou discern him."
These are the words Vergilius to annouce the king of Hell...Satan.
Immediately, Vergilius juxtaposes Christ to Satan. Dante, the auctor, utilizes great irony here when the Christian hymn is flipped and subverted. Once a a beautiful and sacred poem written by a Christian for his King Christ, Vergilius profanes it as a pagan and dedicates it to Lucifer. Unable to dedicate it to Christ the True King whose law he opposed (Inferno 1:125), Vergilius dedicates it to his so-called king in Hell and must, therefore, pervert the hymn as Satan is but an utter perversion of Christ. God, the source of life and being and motion - Satan, frozen in ice, stuck while yelling an everlasting "non serviam."
Anywho, there you are. Goodnight!
"When one pauses to pray before a crucifix, looking at that pierced side, one cannot help but feel within oneself the joy of knowing that one is loved, and the desire to love and to make oneself an instrument of mercy and reconciliation." - Pope Benedict XVI, World Mission Sunday, 2006
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