Rorate, cæli, désuper, et nubes pluant iustum: aperiátur terra, et gérminet Salvatórem. Cæli enárrant glóriam Dei: et ópera mánuum eius annúntiat firmaméntum. | Let the Just One descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop Him down. Let the earth open and a Saviour bud forth. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. |
The Offertory and Communion recall the devotion of Mary to the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus, during the months before the first Christmas. Her preparation inspires us to pray for priests who have been called by her Christ as the "dispensers of the mysteries of God (Epistle); and to hearken to their "voice ... crying in the wilderness" of a world awaiting its God ... "prepare ye the way" (Gospel).