{"id":2458,"date":"2006-11-21T22:47:54","date_gmt":"2006-11-21T22:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2006\/11\/ecce-sponsus-venit\/"},"modified":"2014-11-22T15:28:07","modified_gmt":"2014-11-22T14:28:07","slug":"ecce-sponsus-venit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2006\/11\/ecce-sponsus-venit\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecce, Sponsus Venit!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cecilia-3.jpg\"<\/a>Strong, Serene, Majestic, Invincible<\/strong><\/p>\n

When in 1867 Abbot Prosper Gu\u00e9ranger set about opening a Benedictine monastery for women at Solesmes, he placed the whole enterprise under the protection of Saint Cecilia. Jenny Bruy\u00e8re, the young woman who would become the first abbess of Sainte-C\u00e9cile, had taken the name of C\u00e9cile at the time of her confirmation; as a Benedictine her whole life would unfold under the patronage of the Roman virgin martyr.<\/p>\n

Abbot Gu\u00e9ranger recognized in Saint Cecilia, \u201can embodiment of the Roman Church of the first centuries, strong, serene, majestic, invincible.\u201d This fascination with Saint Cecilia was communicated to anyone who came within under the spiritual influence of Solesmes. When the young Suzanne Wrotnowska<\/a> was received as a Benedictine Oblate of the Abbey of Sainte-Marie de la Source in Paris, a monastery of the Solesmes Congregation, Saint Cecilia was among the saints held up for her imitation and veneration. Later, writing her meditations on the liturgy, she would offer her daughters memorable commentaries on the Mass and Office of Saint Cecilia.<\/p>\n

Her Heart Was Enkindled With Fire From Heaven
\n<\/strong>
\nIt is not surprising that Benedictines should feel a certain affinity with Saint Cecilia. One of the responsories for her Office aptly illustrates the monastic life: \u201cThe glorious maiden carried the Gospel of Christ always in her breast, and meditated therein day and night, talking with God and praying. V. She spread forth her hands and prayed unto the Lord, and her heart was enkindled with fire from heaven. R. Talking with God and praying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Led Into the Desert<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proper lectionary texts given us today present the monastic itinerary. In the First Reading (Hos 2:16bc, 17cd, 21-22) the bride led into the desert opens her heart to the word of the Lord; he espouses himself to her forever in love and in mercy. In a place of solitude, she comes to know the Lord, not with a knowledge that is notional and abstract, but with the deep knowing of the heart.<\/p>\n

Behold, the Bridegroom Comes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Responsorial Psalm (Ps 44: 11-12, 14-15, 16-17) prepares us for the First Sunday of Advent. It announces the advent of the Bridegroom; he comes in Word, he comes in the mysteries of his Body and Blood, he will come in glory. The bride, while waiting, inclines her ear. She forgets her people and her father\u2019s house. One thing only holds her attention: the Face of the Beloved who will make her night as bright as day. The Gospel is a call to vigilance. It is an Advent Gospel, an invitation to live in readiness for we know neither the day nor the hour.<\/p>\n

Cecilia, Named at the Altar<\/strong><\/p>\n

For centuries, the name of Cecilia was pronounced in every single celebration of Holy Mass. Today Cecilia will take her place close to the altar among the other virgin martyrs of the venerable Roman Canon. She is the first of the holy women whose names will bring warmth and light to the winter liturgy: Cecilia, Lucy, Anastasia, Agnes, Agatha, Felicity and Perpetua. Listen closely. You may hear Cecilia singing today in her native tongue: \u201cEcce sponsus venit!<\/em> \u2014 Behold, the Bridegroom comes!\u201d May it be given us to go forth to meet him with lighted lamps, today in the holy mysteries, and at the hour of our death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Strong, Serene, Majestic, Invincible When in 1867 Abbot Prosper Gu\u00e9ranger set about opening a Benedictine monastery for women at Solesmes, he placed the whole enterprise under the protection of Saint Cecilia. Jenny Bruy\u00e8re, the young woman who would become the first abbess of Sainte-C\u00e9cile, had taken the name of C\u00e9cile at the time of her <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homilies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVypq-DE","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8676,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions\/8676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}