.
Focus
on ... Advent  | St.
Martin * |
Introit
for the 1st Sunday of
Advent
Ad
te levavi anima meam: Deus meus in te confido,
non
erubescam: neque irredeant me inimici mei:
etenim
universi qui te expectant, non confundentur.
Ps.
Vias tuas, Domine demonstra mihi:
et
semitas tuas edoce
me.
Gloria
Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto:
Sicut
erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,
et
in secula seculorum. Amen.
Click
on any of the verses above to hear
a Gregorian Chant of the
Introit.
{You
need to have Real Player installed.} The
season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian liturgical
year. The earliest record places the beginning of the celebration
of Advent around 581 A.D. At that time, Advent began with the
Feast of St. Martin on November 11th, which the Orthodox Church
continues to acknowledge. Near the beginning of the 7th century,
Pope Gregory I instituted the celebration of the First Sunday of Advent
on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, the day when the Roman Catholic,
Lutheran, Anglican, and Episcopal churches now celebrate it. Traditionally,
Advent is a time of penance in preparation for the birth and, by
association, the Second Coming of the Christ. For this reason,
traditional vestments for the season are violet {usually called purple},
except for the 3rd Sunday of Advent when Rose is worn, the color of joy
during penitential seasons. It is also on the 3rd Sunday of Advent
that the traditional song -- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel -- is sung. Over
the years, various other traditions have arisen in connection with
Advent, including the making of Advent wreaths, the lighting of Advent
candles, and, perhaps most popular of all, Advent calendars -- usually a
flat panel which most often was constructed with small windows to reveal
different scenes for each day of the season. *
from the Breviary of the Benedictine Abbey of Chertsey, in Latin
(fragments and cuttings) England; 14th century, first quarter, 1307 or
later. Bodlian Libray. Oxford.
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