II.
Before the resplendent throne of Thy majesty, O Lord, and the exalted and sublime throne of Thy glory, and on the awful seat of the strength of Thy love and the propiatory altar which Thy will hath established, in the region of Thy pasture, 1 with thousands of cherubim praising Thee, and ten thousands of seraphim sanctifying Thee, we draw near, adore, thank, and glorify Thee always, O Lord of all.
On commemorations and Fridays.
Thy name, great and holy, illustrious and blessed, the blessed and incomprehensible name of Thy glorious Trinity, and Thy kindness to our race, we ought at all times to bless, adore, and glorify, O Lord of all.
Responsory 2 at the chancel, as above.
Who commanded, etc.
To the priest, etc.
Prayer.
How breathes in us, O our Lord and God, the sweet fragrance of the sweetness of Thy love; illumined are our souls, through the knowledge of Thy truth: may we be rendered worthy of receiving the manifestation of Thy beloved from Thy holy heavens: there shall we render thanks unto Thee, and, in the meantime, glorify Thee without ceasing in Thy Church, crowned and filled with every aid and blessing, because Thou art Lord and Father, Creator of all.
-
[Rev. v. 6. The Apocalypse saturates these liturgies.] ↩
-
"The psalm, or verses of a psalm, sung after the Epistle, was always entitled gradual, from being chanted on the steps (gradus) of the pulpit. When sung by one person without interruption, it was called tractus; when chanted alternately by several singers, it was termed responsory."--Palmer, Origines Liturgicae, vol. ii. p. 46, note. ↩
