Per Eundem Christum Dominum Nostrum

[Georgeanna Abson]

Thisis one of four Marian antiphons, with following versicles and prayers, traditionally said or sung after night prayer, immediately before going to sleep. It is said throughout Eastertide. (That is, from Easter Day through Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter.

V. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia.

R. For He whom you did merit to bear, alleluia.

V. Has risen, as he said, alleluia.

R. Pray for us to God, alleluia.

V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia.

R. For the Lord has truly risen, alleluia.

Let us pray. O God, who gave joy to the world through the resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, grant we beseech Thee, that through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Oremus. Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Iesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

ORATIO I. Prayer I A cunctis nos, quaesumus, Domine, mentis et corporis defende periculis, et intercedente beata et gloriosa virgine Dei genetrice Maria: cum beatis apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N. et omnibus sanctis, salutem nobis tribue benignus et pacem, ut destructis adversitatibus et erroribus universis, Ecclesia tua secura tibi serviat libertate. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Defend us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, from all dangers of mind and body. And by the intercession of the blessed and glorious virgin Mother of God, Mary, with Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and Blessed N., and all the Saints, grant us safety and peace in Thy goodness, so that with difficulties and error being brought to nothing, may Thy Church serve Thee secure in freedom. Amen. ORATIO II. Prayer II Exaudi nos, salutaris noster, ut per unigeniti Filii tui sacratissimae passionis virtutem a cunctis nos mentis et corporis hostibus tuearis, gratiam tribuens in praesenti, et gloriam in futuro. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Hear us, our Savior, that through the power of the sacred Passion of Thy only-begotten Son, protect us from every enemy of mind and body, and grant us grace in this present age and glory in the age to come. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. ORATIO III. Prayer III Mundet et muniat nos, quaesumus, Domine, unigeniti Filii tui pretiosissimus sanguis effusus et tibi oblatus in cruce, et intercedente beata virgine Dei genetrice Maria, cum beatis apostolis tuis Petro et Paulo, atque beato N. et omnibus sanctis, a cunctis nos reddas et perversitatibus expiatos, et adversitatibus expeditos. Per eundem Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. May we be cleansed and fortified, we beseech Thee, O Lord, by the most precious Blood of Thy only-begotten Son which has been poured forth and offered to Thee on the Cross. And by the intercession of the blessed virgin mother of God, Mary, with Thy blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and blessed N. and all the saints, purify us from every wrongdoing and free us from all adversity. Through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, Thy Son who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen. From the Coeleste Palmetum. Also see PL, Migne, Vol. CCXVII. Tr. MWM.

Today, 14 September, in both forms of the Roman Rite, is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Post-communion prayer in the ordinary form reads:

Refectione tua sancta enutriti, Domine Iesu Christe, supplices deprecamur, ut, quos per lignum crucis vivific redemisti, ad resurrectionis gloriam perducas. Qui vivis et regnas in scula sculorum.The English translation currently in use renders the prayer as follows:Lord Jesus Christ, you are the holy bread of life. Bring to the glory of the resurrection the people you have redeemed by the wood of the cross. We ask this through Christ our Lord.Other than the poor translation of the body of the prayer, what else is wrong? (I expect most readers have already caught it.)

Ordinarily, the prayers of the Sacred Liturgy are addressed to God the Father. This is one of those rare instances when a "presidential prayer" is addressed to the Son. Fine. But one might understandably ask whether the translators (and the Roman officials who approved the translation) were asleep at the switch, especially on this one. I know: mistakes crop up from time to time, despite the unflagging efforts of translators and proofreaders. But concluding a prayer addressed to the Son with the phrase "through Christ our Lord" is just plain asinine. So, why make an issue of it, when a new and improved translation is forthcoming?

Trinitarian attentiveness, that's why. (At least, that's what I like to call it.) The late Jesuit theologian Karl Rahner once observed that Christians, despite their professed faith in God as a Trinity, are "practical unitarians" who do not understand or live trinitarian faith. For most Christians, "God" means God the Father, even if they would never consciously deny the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit. It probably has something to do with that fact that, in the liturgy of the Western Church, it is nearly always the Father who is invoked as Deus (God) or Domine (Lord), with the default conclusion "through [our Lord Jesus] Christ...". Prayers addressed to the Son are few; where they do occur, the conclusion is: "You who live and reign [with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit]...".

The fact that the liturgical books vary the conclusion according to which divine Person is invoked is evidence of trinitarian attentiveness. On the other hand, the conclusion of today's Post-communion (the English translation, that is) is a glaring example of editorial oversight (at best) or trinitarian oblivion (at worst).

I cannot help but think that such carelessness was somehow facilitated by the omission, in the Missal of 1970, of one little word. In the extraordinary form, when reference to the Son is made at the beginning or in the body of a prayer, or when mention is made of the Person of the Holy Spirit, the word "same" (eiusdem or eundem) appears in the conclusion, just before the reference to the aforementioned divine Person. Take, for example, the Collect of the Mass of Pentecost Sunday:Deus, qui hodierna die corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti.... Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate eiusdem Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia scula sculorum... (O God, who this day hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Spirit.... [We ask this] through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.)The eiusdem recalls the mention of the Paraclete in the body of the prayer. Trinitarian attentiveness is enhanced by that single word. Granted, without the eiusdem it is still obvious that the Spirit mentioned in the prayer and the Spirit mentioned in the conclusion are one and the same Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, the eiusdem implicitly acknowledges that the Spirit has already been referred to. Similarly, in prayers referring to the Son, the eundem in Per eundem D. N. Iesum Christum underscores the fact that Christ has already been mentioned. This, to me, suggests a great deal of attentiveness, not only to Whom we are praying, but also to what we have prayed about.

Maybe I'm making too much of it. Still, I would be interested to know why the postconciliar liturgical reformers thought it expedient to discontinue the use of eiusdem/eundem. And I wonder whether others share my suspicion that this omission has weakened an already weak trinitarian consciousness in the West. (I would welcome a scholarly paper on this subject for possible publication in Antiphon.)

O God, who by the resurrection of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ hast given joy unto the world: grant we beseech thee; that through his mother the Virgin Mary we may obtain the joys of everlasting life. Amen.

This is the translation I use devoutly and find nothing in it wanting, but am eager to restore my decayed Latinity prior to going to University as a mature student after a long illness so am beginning to produce my own word-by-word and have struck a few curiosities I am sure you can clear up.

Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui, Domini nostri Jesu Christi, mundum laetificare dignatus es: praesta, quaesumus; ut per eius Genetricem Virginem Mariam, perpetuae capiamus vitae aeternae. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, hast been pleased to gladden the world*: grant (Stelten), we beseech thee, that by his Mother the Virgin Mary we may obtain (Stelten, capio, capere, cepi, captum is "to seize, to take hold of" more usually) the joys of everlasting life.

The difficulty I seem to have is with "mundum". I presume "Deum" in the antiphon itself has a laconically omitted "ad" requiring the accusative (ad governing the accusative, to not unto). Am I correct, following HPV Nunn, that mundum is the subject of laetificare as a verb (extrem. lit. hast been pleased the world to gladden) (HPV Nunn, An introduction to Eccl. Latin, p. 50) and is in the accusative for that reason - as the subject of an infinitive per Nunn?

No tickets are required to attend the Angelus, but we recommend arriving around 11:30 a.m. in order to allow plenty of time to pass through security. To find out if an Angelus is scheduled, please visit the website of the Prefecture of the Papal Household for the official schedule.

Ave Maria, gratia plena;

Dominus tecum:

benedicta tu in mulieribus,

et benedictus fructus ventris tui Iesus.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei ora pro nobis peccatoribus,

nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

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