Another post inspired by the Bishop of Aberdeen. In his column for the splendid diocesan quarterly magazine Light of the North, Bishop Hugh quotes this extraordinary passage from the life of Saint Mechtilde:
During the Mass In excelso throno she saw the Lord Jesus on the altar as on a royal throne, saying, 'Here I am with all my divine power, to heal all your wounds.' But Mechtilde thought, "Oh, if he would offer a perfect praise to God the Father for me, I'd be far happier.' Our Lord replied, 'This sorrow of your heart in never being able to praise God as much as you desire is precisely the wound I wish to heal, in supplying myself for your incapacity.'
Click on the link to read the Bishop's reflections on that episode; but I just wanted to point out that the Mass In excelso throno was (in St Mechtilde's day) celebrated on the Sunday after Epiphany (i.e. today), and as is customary it takes its name from the Introit chant. The new translation of the Roman Missal renders the Introit antiphon thus: "Upon a lofty throne, I saw a man seated, whom a host of angels adore, singing in unison: Behold him, the name of whose empire is eternal." I can only find one performance of it on the internet: take it away, Yoshihiro Kurebayashi!
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