Sunday, August 15, 2021

Mercifully grant that, saved like her by the mystery of your redemption, we may, through her prayers and in imitation of her humility, merit to be exalted by you on high.

Fra Angelico, Gardner Museum
"O God, who, looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary, raised her to this grace, that your Only Begotten Son was born of her according to the flesh and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory, grant through her prayers, that, saved by the mystery of your redemption, we may merit to be exalted by you on high.  Through."

"Deus, qui beatam Virginem Mariam, eius humilitatem respiciens, ad hanc gratiam evexisti, ut Unigenitus tuus ex ipsa secundum carnem nasceretur, et hodierna die superexcellenti gloria coronasti, eius nobis precibus concede, ut, redemptionis tuae mysterio salvati, a te exaltari meremur.  Per."

     Collect for the Vigil of the Assumption, current Missale Romanum.  This, which replaced the Collect of 1962, first composed in 1950 (?), is a modification of that assigned to the Day (without distinction) on p. 421 of the Missale Cluniacense (Missale monasticum, ad usum sacri ordinis Cluniacensis) of 1733 (Cuthbert Johnson, OSB, "The sources of the Roman Missal (1975):  Proprium de tempore, Proprium de sanctis," Notitiae 32, nos. 1-3 =354-356 (Ian.-Mar. 1996), 135 (7-179):  135).  Here are the two prayers as translated and boldfaced by Lauren Pristas ("The post-Vatican II revision of collects:  solemnities and feasts," Liturgy in the twenty-first century:  contemporary issues and perspectives, ed. Alcuin Reid (London:  T & T Clark, Bloomsbury, 2016), 63-64 (51-90)):

1733:

O God, who, looking upon her humility, brought the Virgin Mary to this grace, that as your Only-Begotten Son was from her according to the flesh, and on this day have crowned her with surpassing glory:  mercifully grant that as, through her prayers and in imitation of her, we humble ourselves in all things, we may be deemed worthy to be glorified/raised up by you.

Deus, qui Virginem Mariam, ejus humilitatem respiciens, ad hanc gratiam evexisti, ut Unigenitus tuus ex ipsa secundum carnem nasceretur, & hodierna die superexcellenti gloria coronasti:  concede propitius, ut ejus precibus & imitatione, nosmetipsos in omnibus humiliantes, a te exaltari mereamur.  Per.

1962:

1975 and following (above):

O God, who, looking upon her humility, brought the Blessed Virgin Mary to this grace, that as your Only-Begotten Son was from her according to the flesh, and on this day have crowned her with surpassing glory:  grant us through her prayers that, having been saved through the mystery of your redemption, we may be made worthy to be glorified/lifted up/exalted by you.

     Pristas gives her own summary of the modifications, but this is what stands out to me:  1) the emphasis has been placed on salvation by Christ, while 2) that on the graciously gifted merit of an analogous assumption has been detached from the meritorious humilitas of both a) Mary and b) ourselves, not to mention c) her prayers to that specific end in our lives.  Yet, as my headline indicates, the construction of a both-and would not have been impossible.

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