Song of Songs 2:8-14
#197 Weekday ! & II Context (December 21 of Advent)
#811 Ritual Mass (VIII. For the Consecration of Virgins and Religious Profession, 5.
#3A BVM Context (The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Advent 3)
Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!
“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
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Commentary on Sgs 2:8-14
From the Song of Songs we are given a love song, in this instance the bride seeing her love approach. The time of their meeting draws near and she begs for the time they can be together: “Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and you are lovely." This reading is a favorite at weddings for obvious reasons. Placed here, on the verge of Christmastide, we see a more complete purpose as the Church rejoices in the coming of her bridegroom, Christ.
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Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a
#801 Ritual Mass (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 7.)
Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
My lover belongs to me and I to him.
He says to me:
"Set a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether-world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire,
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away."
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Commentary on Sgs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a
This first sections of this passage contains distinct elements of the "Second Poem" from the Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon); a love poem. It focuses on the complete and utter acceptance of love. While the complete poem reflects the joy of love "day and night," we find in this part of the poem only references to the day; the beginning of understanding.
The final verse (v. 8:6-7) jumps to the epilogue of the book. It is the ultimate description of the enduring nature of love (within the allegory of the love of bride and groom this entire work as seen as the love of God and mankind). Love is all enduring and worth more than any possession.
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Song of Songs 2:10bc and 14ef; 4:8a and 9a,11cd and 12,15
#36O-2 BVM Context (The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Fairest Love)
R. (See 4:7) O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
Come from Lebanon, my bride,
you have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
And the fragrance of your garments
is the fragrance of Lebanon.
You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
You are a garden fountain, a well of water
flowing fresh from Lebanon.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
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Commentary on Sgs 2:10bc and 14ef; 4:8a and 9a,11cd and 12,15
This selection contains two different voices from the Song of Songs. In the verses from the second chapter (the first strophe) the woman expresses her wish to come away with her love. In the final three strophes from the fourth chapter, the bridegroom proclaims his love for the woman comparing her to a fragrant garden with fresh flowing streams of water. Used in the context of Marian devotion, we see the love of the bride of Christ, his Church for his mother and his own love for her as well.
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Song of Songs 3:1-4a
#603 Proper of Saints Context (St. Mary Magdalene, Jul 22)
The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves
I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves.
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Commentary on Sgs 3:1-4b
This passage from the Song of Songs describes by analogy the desperate search by God’s faithful, the "Bride," for the one whom she loves, the Lord. Not finding him close by, a search is made, and bystanders are consulted about his whereabouts
"The speaker is the beloved. United in love with the one she loves (v. 5), she looks back, recalling her first fruitless search (v. 1), and what happened then and her second failed attempt to find him (v. 2); then, at her third attempt -- success (vv. 3-4). The canto in this way describes a trial she has undergone; she overcomes, thanks to her perseverance." [3]
CCC: Sng 3:1-4 2709
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Song of Songs 4:6-7,9,12-15
#31O-2 BVM Context (The Blessed Virgin Mary, Fountain of Salvation, II)
Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of incense.
You are all-beautiful, my beloved,
and there is no blemish in you.
You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one bead of your necklace.
You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed.
You are a park that puts forth pomegranates,
with all choice fruits;
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all kinds of incense;
myrrh and aloes,
with all the finest spices.
You are a garden fountain, a well of water
flowing fresh from Lebanon.
In the allegorical reading, the various qualities of the beloved are applied to the Church, because "As a lover often sings the praises of the one he loves, and especially delights in her shapeliness and in the beauty of her face. God speaks of the elegant figure of the Church, the beauty of her members and the features of her face" (Fray Luis de Leon, In Canticiim Canticorum triplex explanatio. 4, 3). But it is the Virgin Mary who possesses the qualities of the bride to the highest degree, so it is not surprising that the Tradition of the Church should have read vv. 7 and 12-15 as announcing her preservation from sin (she is the Immaculate) and her perpetual virginity.
"In the Song of Songs, you are called the 'enclosed garden' and 'sealed fountain' by the spouse who came from you. An enclosed garden, because the sickle of corruption has not touched you, nor have you yet arrived at vintage; in all your innocence, you grew as the flower of the root of Jesse for all mankind, tended by the one, pure Holy Spirit. A sealed fountain, because the river of life, which sprang forth from you, flooded the whole earth, but no trace of a spouse was to be seen in the spring-water" (Hesychius, De Sancta Maria Deipard). [2]
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Song of Songs 8:6-7
#530 Proper of Saints Context (St. Scholastica, Feb 10)
#197 Weekday ! & II Context (December 21 of Advent)
#811 Ritual Mass (VIII. For the Consecration of Virgins and Religious Profession, 5.
#3A BVM Context (The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Advent 3)
Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come!
“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Sgs 2:8-14
From the Song of Songs we are given a love song, in this instance the bride seeing her love approach. The time of their meeting draws near and she begs for the time they can be together: “Let me see you, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and you are lovely." This reading is a favorite at weddings for obvious reasons. Placed here, on the verge of Christmastide, we see a more complete purpose as the Church rejoices in the coming of her bridegroom, Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a
#801 Ritual Mass (VI. For the Conferral of the Sacrament of Marriage, 7.)
Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
“Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
“O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.”
My lover belongs to me and I to him.
He says to me:
"Set a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether-world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire,
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Sgs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a
This first sections of this passage contains distinct elements of the "Second Poem" from the Song of Songs (also called the Song of Solomon); a love poem. It focuses on the complete and utter acceptance of love. While the complete poem reflects the joy of love "day and night," we find in this part of the poem only references to the day; the beginning of understanding.
The final verse (v. 8:6-7) jumps to the epilogue of the book. It is the ultimate description of the enduring nature of love (within the allegory of the love of bride and groom this entire work as seen as the love of God and mankind). Love is all enduring and worth more than any possession.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song of Songs 2:10bc and 14ef; 4:8a and 9a,11cd and 12,15
#36O-2 BVM Context (The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Fairest Love)
R. (See 4:7) O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
Come from Lebanon, my bride,
you have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
And the fragrance of your garments
is the fragrance of Lebanon.
You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
You are a garden fountain, a well of water
flowing fresh from Lebanon.
R. O Mary, you are all fair; there is no blemish in you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Sgs 2:10bc and 14ef; 4:8a and 9a,11cd and 12,15
This selection contains two different voices from the Song of Songs. In the verses from the second chapter (the first strophe) the woman expresses her wish to come away with her love. In the final three strophes from the fourth chapter, the bridegroom proclaims his love for the woman comparing her to a fragrant garden with fresh flowing streams of water. Used in the context of Marian devotion, we see the love of the bride of Christ, his Church for his mother and his own love for her as well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Song of Songs 3:1-4a
#603 Proper of Saints Context (St. Mary Magdalene, Jul 22)
The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves
I sought him but I did not find him. I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him. The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Sgs 3:1-4b
This passage from the Song of Songs describes by analogy the desperate search by God’s faithful, the "Bride," for the one whom she loves, the Lord. Not finding him close by, a search is made, and bystanders are consulted about his whereabouts
"The speaker is the beloved. United in love with the one she loves (v. 5), she looks back, recalling her first fruitless search (v. 1), and what happened then and her second failed attempt to find him (v. 2); then, at her third attempt -- success (vv. 3-4). The canto in this way describes a trial she has undergone; she overcomes, thanks to her perseverance." [3]
CCC: Sng 3:1-4 2709
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Song of Songs 4:6-7,9,12-15
#31O-2 BVM Context (The Blessed Virgin Mary, Fountain of Salvation, II)
Until the day breathes cool and the shadows lengthen,
I will go to the mountain of myrrh,
to the hill of incense.
You are all-beautiful, my beloved,
and there is no blemish in you.
You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes,
with one bead of your necklace.
You are an enclosed garden, my sister, my bride,
an enclosed garden, a fountain sealed.
You are a park that puts forth pomegranates,
with all choice fruits;
nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,
with all kinds of incense;
myrrh and aloes,
with all the finest spices.
You are a garden fountain, a well of water
flowing fresh from Lebanon.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Sgs 4:6-7,9,12-15
Commentary on Sgs 4:6-7,9,12-15
In the allegorical reading, the various qualities of the beloved are applied to the Church, because "As a lover often sings the praises of the one he loves, and especially delights in her shapeliness and in the beauty of her face. God speaks of the elegant figure of the Church, the beauty of her members and the features of her face" (Fray Luis de Leon, In Canticiim Canticorum triplex explanatio. 4, 3). But it is the Virgin Mary who possesses the qualities of the bride to the highest degree, so it is not surprising that the Tradition of the Church should have read vv. 7 and 12-15 as announcing her preservation from sin (she is the Immaculate) and her perpetual virginity.
"In the Song of Songs, you are called the 'enclosed garden' and 'sealed fountain' by the spouse who came from you. An enclosed garden, because the sickle of corruption has not touched you, nor have you yet arrived at vintage; in all your innocence, you grew as the flower of the root of Jesse for all mankind, tended by the one, pure Holy Spirit. A sealed fountain, because the river of life, which sprang forth from you, flooded the whole earth, but no trace of a spouse was to be seen in the spring-water" (Hesychius, De Sancta Maria Deipard). [2]
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Song of Songs 8:6-7
#530 Proper of Saints Context (St. Scholastica, Feb 10)
#641B Proper of Saints
Context (St. Hildegard of Bingen, Sep 17)
#731 Commons Context (Common of Virgins)
#811 Ritual Mass Context (VIII. For the Consecration of Virgins and Religious Profession, 6.)
#852 Mass for Various Needs Context (I. For the Holy Church, 7. For Religious, Second Option)
Set me as a seal on your heart,
as a seal on your arm;
For stern as death is love,
relentless as the nether world is devotion;
its flames are a blazing fire.
Deep waters cannot quench love,
nor floods sweep it away.
Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love,
he would be roundly mocked.
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Commentary on Sgs 8:6-7
This short phrase from a love song in Song of Songs begins with the notion of undying fidelity in love. ("Set me as a seal on your heart – Seal: this could be worn bound to the arm, as here, or suspended at the neck, or as a ring (Jeremiah 22:24). It was used for identification and signatures. Stern . . . relentless: in human experience, death and the nether world are inevitable, unrelenting; in the end they always triumph. Love, which is just as certain of its victory, matches its strength against the natural enemies of life; waters cannot extinguish it nor floods carry it away. It is more priceless than all riches.”)[1] In this context the image of chaste love of God reflects the virgin’s virtue.
CCC: Sgs 8:6-7 1611; Sgs 8:6 1040, 1295
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[1] See NAB footnote for Song of Songs 8:4-7
[2] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms and the Song of Songs”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 504
[3] The Navarre Bible: “Psalms and the Song of Songs”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p.502
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