Illuminations
Light of Light
by Anthony Esolen
In these essays I have been like someone who wanders about a great mansion that has fallen into disrepair because for a long time no one has taken care of it, though many a wise and blessed squatter has come to visit once in a while and has saved from rain and rust, from moth and mouse and worm, some precious vessel or silken robe, some work of piety and beauty that past generations of Christians have bequeathed to our ungrateful, inattentive, and insipid age.
Often enough I myself do not know what I am looking at. A few weeks ago, I lectured on the imagination to a large group of Catholic schoolteachers, and we began with a streamlined version of Morning Prayer. The teachers didn't know what that was, so they had to be instructed by my host, as we all followed along from some printed pages. I couldn't blame them, because although I have been a Catholic all my life, it has been only very recently that I have learned to pray the hours, from the Roman Breviary. Mine is published by Baronius Press, and the only reason I have it at all is that I was asked to translate for it some hundred of the psalms.
I don't have the space here to describe what is involved in praying the hours—the psalms, the hymns, the Little Chapters, the Canticle of Zachary ("Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel"), the Canticle of Mary ("My soul magnifies the Lord"), readings from the Old and New Testaments, and so much more. I'll focus on the one feature of the hours that I find most moving, and artful in a subtle and profound way: the antiphonal verses that follow the readings.
They are not distinguished by authorial cleverness, by poetic imagery, or by dramatic effusions. The art comes by selection, juxtaposition, progression, and repetition. Let me explain by providing examples, from matins for the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6).
Transfiguration Verses
The first of the nine lessons of matins for this day follows three psalms, the third of which, Psalm 45, is the great hymn to the king of Israel, who is a foreshadowing of Christ: "You are fairer in beauty than the sons of men." The lesson itself comes from the Second Epistle of Peter, that witness of the transfigured Lord, ending at 1:14:
"I think it right to arouse you by a reminder, knowing as I do that the putting off of my tabernacle is at hand, just as our Lord Jesus Christ signified to me."
What verse follows? It isn't from the psalm, and it isn't from Peter's epistle, but it has to do with both, and the connections are more powerful for being left implicit. It is a beautiful rendering of Isaiah 60:1–3.
Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem; for your light has come.
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
And the Gentiles shall walk in your light, and kings in the brightness of your glory.
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Palestrina composed an astonishing motet for the Latin (Surge, illuminare, Jerusalem), with voices rising like larks in sound and like eagles in might. For Christ is the light that shines into the shadows of the Old Testament, the flesh upon its suggestions and specters.
The second lesson continues with 2 Peter, ending with verse 17, the words of the Father from the cloud, as Peter, James, and John saw Christ transfigured upon the mountain. The verses repeat but also, by subtle and significant variation, interpret the words of Peter and of the Gospel:
In a resplendent cloud the Holy Spirit was seen; the Father's voice was heard.
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him."
A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and the voice of the Father thundered.
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him."
The thunder of the Father's voice recalls the scene at Mount Sinai, when the children of Israel were terrified by his might, and only Moses could encounter him. The overshadowing recalls the angel's words to Mary, that she would be covered by the Holy Spirit, and would conceive a child, the Son of God in the flesh. So we have three epiphanies, and in each one the three-personed God makes himself manifest.
The third lesson ends with verse 21: "For not by will of man was prophecy brought at any time; but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." Here we have Peter insisting that we cannot interpret the word of God by our own lights. The light instead is given by the Holy Spirit, not only that we should hear aright the words that are before our eyes, but that we should see how all of the words of Scripture are one: illuminated by one light, and testifying to the Light of Light.
What verses should now interpret these words? We have had the anticipatory verses from Isaiah. We have had the account of the Transfiguration itself. Now we move beyond them both. We move from seeing things by the Light, to being partakers of that Light. The verse comes from the words of the sublime John (1 John 3:1–2), also a witness upon the mountaintop:
Behold what manner of love God the Father has bestowed upon us,
That we should be called children of God; and such we are.
We know that, when He appears, we shall be like to Him, for we shall see Him just as He is.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
That we should be called children of God; and such we are.
Riches & Instruction
That is just a taste, a small taste, from the music of one of the hours for one feast, one of all the days in the year. Riches, great riches everywhere, and wise instruction in the art of understanding the word of God. I cannot claim expertise in the matter, nor do I claim to be any more than an inconsistent beginner. But if I had to sum up what these prayers can bring, and how refreshing they are, I could do no better than to end with the verses after the fourth lesson of this same feast:
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house.
From your delightful stream you give them to drink.
For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we shall see light.
From your delightful stream you give them to drink.Anthony Esolen is Distinguished Professor of Humanities at Thales College and the author of over 30 books, including Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (Tan, with a CD), Out of the Ashes: Rebuilding American Culture (Regnery), and The Hundredfold: Songs for the Lord (Ignatius). He has also translated Dante’s Divine Comedy (Random House) and, with his wife Debra, publishes the web magazine Word and Song (anthonyesolen.substack.com). He is a senior editor of Touchstone.
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