De Assumptione Virginis Mariae
The Queen Ascending
The Church celebrates Mary's rise above the celestial spheres as she is crowned by the Son who took flesh from her.
This heavenly and glorious Lady, who once seemed to the world such humble earth—today I know well that she rises above every sphere: so the Church speaks of her among us.1 He who makes her Lady of the Seraphim is the One who took true human flesh from her; and all of Heaven comes down, company after company, to honor her and give her the crown.✦✦2
A Pilgrim's Longing
The speaker reflects on the glory of Mary's ascent and expresses a humble, longing desire to offer her worthy praise.
What glory, what triumph, O sweet Brother, is made of her pilgrim ascent into the high heaven by those graceful spirits?3 Happy is the one, O Queen, who can offer you a sweet hymn of the kind I don't know how to speak, and who can touch your blessed garments.4
Read the original Latin
Questa celeste e gloriosa Dona, Che al mondo già parea sì poca tera, Oggi so ben che va sopra ogne spera: Così fra noi la Chiesa ne ragiona.
Quel che la fa di Seraphim Madona, Che da lei prese umana carne vera; E tutto el Ciel descende a schiera a schiera Per fargli onor e dargli la corona.
Qual gloria, qual trionfo, o dolce Frate, Si fa del peregrino suo salire Ne l’alto ciel da quei leggiadri spirti?
Felice quel, Regina, che pò dirti Un inno dolce qual io non so dire, E pò toccar le veste toe beate.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.1.14;Gal.4.4 — And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. Gal.4.4 — But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
- ↩Rev.12.1 — And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
Notes
- 1 ↩Medieval Italian poca tera (poca terra): lowly earthly substance/clay, stressing Mary's former humility against her Assumption above the celestial spheres.
- 2 ↩Older Italian gli in fargli/dargli can serve as dative for a feminine referent; context (Assumption of Mary) requires her, not him.
- 3 ↩"Ne l'alto ciel" is archaic Italian for "nel alto ciel" ("in/into the high heaven"), not Latin negative-purpose "ne". The supplied connective gloss is a deterministic fallback error.
- 4 ↩toe = archaic/dialectal form of tue ('your'); veste = garments/robes (pl.).
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