Advent responsory: Make haste O Lord and do not tarry - and preparing for the last week of Advent in the Office (Responsories Pt 8)

 

First, a reminder that we are coming into the last week of Advent, when things become particularly complicated in the Office, so make sure you set up your ribbons and prayer cards in advance!

Advent between December 17 and 23

In particular, keep in mind that the days between December 17 and 23 are Class II days, and at Lauds to Vespers a set of antiphons for the psalms for each day of the week in the period December 17-23 are used, set out at MD 37*/AM 212 ff.

At Lauds the Benedictus antiphons are normally of the day of the week in the third week of Advent, but there are specific antiphons said on December 21 and 23.

At Vespers, the 'O Antiphons' for the Magnificat are of the date (MD 35-6*/AM 208 ff), displacing the Magnificat antiphon of the Advent day.  you can listen to ta recording of the first of the set above.

At Matins there is a proper Invitatory antiphon for the season (Prope est, NM 14).

Advent responsory: Festina ne tardaveris

Today's Advent responsory is the second responsory for Saturday in the second week of Advent, also said as the tenth of the Second Sunday.  

R. Festína, / ne tardáveris, Dómine: * Et líbera pópulum tuum. V. Veni, Dómine, et noli tardáre: † reláxa facinóra plebi tuæ. R. Et líbera pópulum tuum.

R. Make haste, O Lord, make no tarrying. * And deliver thy people. V. O Lord, come and make no tarrying loose the bonds of thy people. R. And deliver thy people.

The text

The text is non-Scriptural,  but perhaps loosely based on Habakukk 2 which says:

Write down thy vision, the Lord said, on a tablet, so plain that it may be read with a glance a vision of things far distant, yet one day befall they must, no room for doubting it. Wait thou long, yet wait patiently; what must be must, and at the time appointed for it. 

[Quia adhuc visus procul; et apparebit in finem, et non mentietur: si moram fecerit, exspecta illum, quia veniens veniet, et non tardabit]

The wording also, though, has echoes of  the final verse of  Psalm 39, a psalm which prophesizes the Incarnation, as these couple of extracts illustrate:

2 Patiently I waited for the Lord’s help, and at last he turned his look towards me... 8 See then, I said, I am coming to fulfil what is written of me, where the book lies unrolled; 9 to do thy will, O my God, is all my desire, to carry out that law of thine which is written in my heart... 17 Rejoicing and triumph for all the souls that look to thee; Praise to the Lord, will ever be their song, who now long for thy aid. 18 I, so helpless, so destitute, and the Lord is concerned for me! Thou art my champion and my refuge; do not linger, my God, do not linger on the way. [Adjutor meus et protector meus tu es; Deus meus, ne tardaveris.]

Which are the oldest responsories?

I have included it in part firstly because although the liturgists would argue that its non-Scriptural text makes it more likely a later composition, it seems on the face of it to be very old indeed.  

It appears, for example, in the surviving Old Roman manuscripts (possibly capturing at least part of the seventh century repertoire of responsories in Rome), as well as multiple other sources.  

But the other key point of note is that it has a very short respond, and is musically very straightforward indeed - at least as short and straightforward to sing, if not more so, as many of the psalm based responsories that the liturgists argue represent the oldest layer of responsories.

But more on this anon!