Jesus made manifest — revealed, made more obvious — is the theme of the season we’re in now.
Happy New Year! We’re another year closer to the big and ultimate reveal, when Jesus comes again in glory and every knee will bow. Another Epiphanytide to carry us along on our journey from Glory to Glory about which I wrote back in November.
This time I want to remind you of (or introduce you to) some more “Glory to Glory” helpers in our Canadian Daily Offices — Canticles, Introductory Responses and Responsories. Not only do they make Jesus more manifest — more obvious — to each one who prays them, but they will also help launch us into the deep spiritual flow of Epiphanytide so the Jesus in us will become more obvious to the people around us.
CANTICLES
The Book of Alternative Services (BAS) Morning and Evening Prayer rubrics (or directions) state:
The readings may be followed by silence, a canticle, a responsory, an anthem or other music, or a hymn. A combination of these responses may be appropriate (pp 51 & 68).
A canticle??!! What’s a canticle? To quote St. Wikipedia: In the context of Christian liturgy, a canticle (/ˈkæntɪkəl/; from the Latin canticulum, a diminutive of canticum, “song”) is a psalm-like song with biblical lyrics taken from elsewhere than the Book of Psalms, but included in psalters and books such as the breviary.
The BAS provides a generous set of 27 Canticles for the Divine Office along with detailed suggestions, instructions and various seasonal arrangements for their use (pp72-95). The BCP also provides a shorter selection of Additional Canticles (pp25-29) with rubrics suggesting various seasonal alternatives in addition to the regular Benedictus, Magnificat and Nunc Dimmitus in Morning and Evening Prayer.
Essentially, canticles are worshipful responses to the readings in Morning and Evening Prayer. Learning them by heart is a particularly rich practice since it is with all our hearts we are to love The LORD our God (Mark 12:30).
INTRODUCTORY RESPONSES
The BAS rubrics tell us that, “Introductory responses may be used at the beginning of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer instead of O God, make speed to save us, etc., and O Lord, I call to you, etc. On weekdays they may replace all that precedes the Psalm. (p96)”
There are 10 of them.
Introductory Response 3 for Christmas and Epiphany, for example, is a lovely hymn that celebrates the ways Jesus became and remains manifest among us. It is very much worthy of allowing to soak into our hearts as we enjoy Epiphanytide. Check out the others as you pray from Glory to Glory through another church year.
RESPONSORIES
And then there are the Responsories (BAS, pp101-109) which are verses from Scripture arranged as anthems to be said or sung by a soloist and choir, or leader and congregation, or group —which doesn’t mean they shouldn’t also be used by solitary pray-ers. They provide a repetitive pause for worshipful reflection on what has just been heard in a lesson.
Some are keyed to particular seasons, such as Number 8 which is set for Incarnation of which Epiphanytide is a part. Also Responsory 12, entitled “The Holy Spirit–Thanksgiving” (p108) is dear to my Anglican Renewal Ministries heart. It is another good Glory to Glory prayer invoking the Holy Spirit:
You send forth your Spirit, O Lord;
* you renew the face of the earth.
One of the ways in which the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ sends out His Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth by continuing to make Jesus manifest in the world is through faithful Anglicans who choose to worship Him as they pray the Divine Office of the Church day, not just in Epiphanytide but day in and day out, from Glory to Glory, come what may.
