"Ego omnipotenti Deo, qui unus et verus est, immolo quotidie, non taurorum carnes, nec hircorum sanguinem, sed immaculatum Agnum in altari; cuius carnem posteaquam omnis populus credentium manducaverit, Agnus qui sacrificatus est integer perseverat et vivus."
I've put the most important words in red. If you suss those out, you've already done quite wel!!
Sometimes people like a bit of this as a break from a Crossword or a Sudoku. The above sentence, from today's Divine Office of S Andrew, was, I suspect, in the mind of S John Henry as he composed the last pages of his Second Spring sermon.
He was, even in his Anglican days, an addict of the Traditional Roman Breviary.
3 comments:
My schoolboy Latin is very rusty, but I cannot resist a challenge:
"Ego omnipotenti Deo, qui unus et verus est, immolo quotidie, non taurorum carnes, nec hircorum sanguinem, sed immaculatum Agnum in altari; cuius carnem posteaquam omnis populus credentium manducaverit, Agnus qui sacrificatus est integer perseverat et vivus."
Day by day I sacrifice to the almighty God, not the flesh of bulls, nor the blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb upon the altar; afterwards, His flesh having been eaten by all the faithful, the Lamb who is sacrificed remains whole and living.
Daily, I immolate upon the altar to Almighty God, who is The One and True, not the flesh of bulls nor the blood of goats, but a spotless Lamb; The Lamb who was sacrificed, whose flesh, after all believing peoples have partaken, remains whole and alive.
I always appreciate and enjoy your quizzes and puzzles, Father. I make this one out as follows: "On the altar I offer daily to God Almighty, who is the one and the true [God], not the flesh of bulls, neither the blood of goats, but the spotless Lamb; and after the entire people of believers has eaten his flesh, the Lamb who has been sacrificed continues whole and alive."
This passage occurs within Lesson 5 of Nocturns of S. Andrew in the 1568 Breviarium Romanum (p. 679; text no. 4283 in the anastatic facsimile ed. Sodi and Triaca as vol. 3 of Monumenta Liturgica Concilii Tridentini). Here it is in a 1570 printing, where it's on p. 653: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/de/view/bsb10147678?q=%28breviarium+romanum%29&page=713
The text as given in the breviary seems to be an abridgement of the Passio Andreae (BHL no. 429) §6, ed. Maximilianus Bonnet in R. A. Lipsius and M. Bonnet (eds.), Acta apostolorum apocrypha, part 2, vol. 1 (Leipzig: Mendelssohn, 1898), pp. 13–14 (accessible online here: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_G4ydpWeFpdEC/page/n488/mode/1up). The Passio dates from at least the early ninth century, when a copy of it was written in Montpellier, École de Médecine, H 055. Here is the section from which the breviary passage seems to have been distilled:
Aegeas dixit: Ista uerba illis narrare debes qui tibi credunt, mihi autem nisi hoc consentias ut sacrificium diis omnipotentis offeras, in ipsa cruce quam laudas te fustigatum adfigi praecipiam.
(Aegeas said: You should save these words of yours for people who believe you. As for me, however, unless you agree to offer a sacrifice to the almighty gods, I will have you clubbed and will order you nailed to the same cross that you praise.)
Andreas respondit: Omnipotenti deo, qui unus et uerus est, ego omni die sacrifico, non turis fumum nec taurorum mugientium carnes nec hyrcorum sanguinem, sed inmaculatum agnum cotidie in altare crucis sacrifico, cuius carnes posteaquam omnis populus credentium manducauerit et eius sanguinem biberit, agnus qui sacrificatus est integer perseuerat et uiuus, et cum uere sacrificatus sit et uere carnes eius manducatae sint a populo et uere sanguis eius sit bibitus, tamen ut dixi integer permanet et inmaculatus et uiuus.
(Andrew replied: To the Almighty God, who is the one and the true God, I do indeed sacrifice every day—not the smoke of incense, neither the flesh of bellowing bulls, nor the blood of goats, but the spotless lamb I sacrifice daily on the altar of the cross, and after the whole people of believers has eaten his flesh and drunk his blood, the lamb who has been sacrificed continues whole and alive, and although he has been truly sacrificed and his flesh has been truly eaten by the people, and his blood has been truly drunk, nevertheless, as I have said, he continues whole and spotless and alive.)
Aegeas dixit: Quomodo potest hoc fieri?
(Aegeas said: How is it possible for this to be done?)
Andreas respondit: Si uis discere quomodo potest hoc fiere, adsume formam discipuli, ut possis doceri quod quaeris.
(Andrew replied: If you wish to learn how it is possible for this to be done, take on the form of a student, so that you may be able to be taught what you seek to know.)
To readers who would like to know more about Newman's engagement with the breviary before his reception into the Catholic Church, I can recommend the following book: Donald A. Withey, John Henry Newman: The Liturgy and the Breviary; Their Influence on His Life as an Anglican (London: Sheed and Ward, 1992).
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