[Officium]
Dominica II in Quadragesima

[Ant 1]
Tell the vision that ye have seen to no man, * until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

[Oratio]
O God, Who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves, keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul.
$Per Dominum

[Lectio1]
Lesson from the book of Genesis
!Gen 27:1-10
1 Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, and he could not see: and he called Esau, his elder son, and said to him: My son? And he answered: Here I am.
2 And his father said to him: Thou seest that I am old, and know not the day of my death.
3 Take thy arms, thy quiver, and bow, and go abroad: and when thou hast taken some thing by hunting,
4 Make me savoury meat thereof, as thou knowest I like, and bring it, that I may eat: and my soul may bless thee before I die.
5 And when Rebecca had heard this, and he was gone into the field to fulfill his father's commandment,
6 She said to her son Jacob: I heard thy father talking with Esau thy brother, and saying to him:
7 Bring me of thy hunting, and make me meats that I may eat, and bless thee in the sight of the Lord, before I die.
8 Now, therefore, my son, follow my counsel:
9 And go thy way to the flock, bring me two kids of the best, that I may make of them meat for thy father, such as he gladly eateth:
10 Which when thou hast brought in, and he hath eaten, he may bless thee before he die.

[Responsory1]
R. Take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and bring me some of thy venison, that I may eat,
* and my soul may bless thee.
V. And when thou hast taken somewhat, make me thereof savoury meat, that I may eat.
R. And my soul may bless thee.

[Lectio2]
!Gen 27:11-20
11 And he answered her: Thou knowest that Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am smooth.
12 If my father shall feel me, and perceive it, I fear lest he will think I would have mocked him, and I shall bring upon me a curse instead of a blessing.
13 And his mother said to him: Upon me be this curse, my son: only hear thou my voice, and go, fetch me the things which I have said.
14 He went, and brought, and gave them to his mother. She dressed meats, such as she knew his father liked.
15 And she put on him very good garments of Esau, which she had at home with her:
16 And the little skins of the kids she put about his hands, and covered the bare of his neck.
17 And she gave him the savoury meat, and delivered him bread that she had baked.
18 Which when he had carried in, he said: My father? But he answered: I hear. Who art thou, my son?
19 And Jacob said: I am Esau thy firstborn: I have done as thou didst command me: arise, sit, and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me.
20 And Isaac said to his son: How couldst thou find it so quickly, my son? He answered: It was the will of God, that what I sought came quickly in my way.

[Responsory2]
R. See the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. May my God multiply thee as the sand of the sea.
* And give thee a blessing of the dew of heaven.
V. And God Almighty bless thee, and multiply thee.
R. And give thee a blessing of the dew of heaven.

[Lectio3]
!Gen 27:21-29
21 And Isaac said: Come hither, that I may feel thee, my son, and may prove whether thou be my son Esau, or not.
22 He came near to his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob; but the hands are the hands of Esau.
23 He said: Art thou my son Esau? He answered: I am.
25 Then he said: Bring me the meats of thy hunting, my son, that my soul may bless thee. And when they were brought, and he had eaten, he offered him wine also, which after he had drunk,
26 He said to him: Come near me, and give me a kiss, my son.
27 He came near, and kissed him. And immediately as he smelled the fragrant smell of his garments, blessing him, he said: Behold the smell of my son is as the smell of a plentiful field, which Lord hath blessed.
28 God give thee the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, abundance of corn and wine.
29 And let peoples serve thee, and tribes worship thee: be thou lord of thy brethren, and let they mother's children bow down before thee. Cursed be he that curseth thee: and let him that blesseth thee be filled with blessings.

[Responsory3]
R. God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth. Let people and nations serve thee.
* Be lord over thy brethren.
V. And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee.
R. Be lord over thy brethren.
&Gloria
R. Be lord over thy brethren.

[Lectio4]
From the Book against Lying written by St. Augustine, Bishop (of Hippo.)
!Ch. ix, tom. 4
If we consider faithfully and carefully what it was that Jacob did by the advice of his mother, and wherein he seemeth to have deceived his father, it will appear that (it hath an aspect in which) it is not a lie, but an allegory. If we denounce this (its mystic sense) as a lie, then must we also give the name of lies to even all parable, and to every figure devised to set forth the nature of anything, which is not to be taken in its literal sense, but in which one thing is to be understood under the name of another. And this be far from us. Whoso should do this, would bring the charge of falsehood against very many figures of speech, including that one called metaphor (in which a word is transferred from that meaning which belongeth to it, to some other) to which would, by such reasoning, be given the name of a lie.

[Responsory4]
R. As Jacob went out from his own land, he saw the glory of God, and said: How dreadful is this place.
* This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.
V. Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not.
R. This is none other but the house of God and this is the gate of heaven.

[Lectio5]
The deep meaning is given; but what is considered is the lie because men do not understand the way in which that signification, which is a truth, is set forth but the falsehood is plainly expressed, and believed. That we may understand this more plainly by taking some points in illustration, consider with me what Jacob did. It is certain that he covered his limbs with the skins of goats. If we consider his object in point of fact, we shall find that it was to lie, because he did this that he might be thought to be he who he was not. But if we consider this his deed in that deep typical sense which it undoubtedly possesseth, we find that by the goat-skins are represented sins, and by him who covered himself therewith Him Who bore not His own sins, but the sins of others.

[Responsory5]
R. If the Lord my God will be with me, in this way that I go, and will keep me, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, and will bring me again safely.
* The Lord shall be my refuge, and this stone shall be a sign.
V. So Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it, and said:
R. The Lord shall be my refuge, and this shall be a sign.

[Lectio6]
It is impossible to apply the term a “lie” to that mystic aspect of this transaction in which it was true and such an aspect there is, not only in the acts, but in the words. When Isaac said to Jacob: “Who art thou, my son” and Jacob answered: “I am Esau, thy first-born”, if we take this in its sense relative to the two brothers, it will be apparent that it was a lie. If, however, we look at it relatively to that for the sake of which these words and deeds were written down, we shall see that Christ is here signified in His mystic body, the Church. Concerning her, (the younger covenant,) He saith (to them of the older covenant): “Ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the Prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.” (Luke xiii. 28-30.) Thus did the younger take away the title and inheritance from the elder, and acquire it to himself.

[Responsory6]
R. The Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be called God's house, and of all that Thou shalt give me;
* I will offer tithes and peace-offerings to thee.
V. If I come again to my father's house in peace.
R. I will offer tithes and peace-offerings unto thee.
&Gloria
R. I will offer tithes and peace-offerings unto thee.

[Lectio7]
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew
!Matt 17:1-9
At that time, Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And so on.
_
Homily by Pope St. Leo (the Great.) 
!From a homily on the Transfiguration of the Lord
Jesus took Peter, and James, and John his brother, and brought them up into an exceeding high mountain apart, and manifested forth the brightness of His glory. Hitherto, though they understood that there was in Him the Majesty of God, they knew not the power of that Body which veiled the Godhead. And therefore He had individually and markedly promised to some of the disciples that had stood by Him (Matth. xvi. 28) that they should “not taste of death till they had seen the Son of Man coming in His kingdom”, that is, in the kingly splendour, which is the right of the Manhood taken into God, and which He willed to make visible to those three men. This it was that they saw, for the unspeakable and unapproachable vision of the Godhead Himself which will be the everlasting life of the pure in heart, (Matth. v. 8) can no man, who is still burdened with a dying body, see and live.

[Responsory7]
R. The Angel said unto Jacob
* Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he blessed him there.
V. And when Jacob arose, behold there wrestled a man with him, until the breaking of the day and, when he saw that he prevailed not, he said unto him
R. Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said: I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he blessed him there.

[Lectio8]
When the Father saith: “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him” did they not plainly hear Him say: “This is My Son, Whose it is to be of Me and with Me without all time. For neither is He That begetteth, before Him That is begotten, neither He That is begotten, after Him That begetteth Him.” This is My Son between Whom and Me, to be God is not a point of difference to be Almighty, a point of separation nor to be Eternal, a point of distinction. “This is My Son not by adoption, but My very Own; not created from, or of another substance, or out of nothing, but begotten of Me not of another nature, and made like unto Me, but of Mine own Being, born of Me, equal unto Me.”

[Responsory8]
R. I have seen God face to face;
* And my life is preserved.
V. And he said unto me: thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name.
R. And my life is preserved.

[Lectio9]
“This is My Son by Whom all things were made, and without Whom was not anything made that was made, (John i. 3) Who maketh likewise all things whatsoever I make and what things soever I do He doeth likewise, (v. 19), inseparably and indifferently.” This is My Son Who thought it not robbery, nor hath taken it by violence, to be equal with Me, but, abiding still in the form of My glory, that He may fulfill Our common decree for the restoration of mankind, hath bowed the unchangeable Godhead even to the form of a servant. (Phil, ii. 6, 7.) Him therefore in Whom I am in all things well pleased, by Whose preaching I am manifested, and by Whose lowliness I am glorified, Him instantly hear ye. For He is the Truth and the Life, (John xiv. 6,) My Power, and My Wisdom. (1 Cor. i. 24.)

[Responsory9]
R. When Jacob heard that Esau came to meet him, he divided his sons and his wives, saying: If Esau smite the one company, then the other shall escape.
* Deliver me, O Lord, Who saidst unto me: I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.
V. O Lord, Who saidst unto me: Return unto thy country O Lord, Which feedest me still from my youth up.
R. Deliver me, O Lord, Who saidst unto me:
&Gloria
R. I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.

[Ant Laudes]
O Lord, open Thou my lips, * and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
The right hand of the Lord * hath done valiantly, the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me.
My God * hath been my help.
Let us sing the Song of the Three Children, * even the Song that they sang when they blessed the Lord in the burning fiery furnace.
He hath established them * for ever and ever: He hath made a decree which shall not pass.

[Capitulum Laudes]
!1 Thess 4:1
v. For the rest therefore, brethren, we pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us, how you ought to walk, and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more.
$Deo gratias

[Ant 2]
Jesus took His disciples, * and went up into a mountain, and was transfigured before them.

[Ant Prima]
Lord, it is good for us to be here; * if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

[Ant Sexta]
Let us make here three tabernacles, * one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

[Capitulum Sexta]
!1 Thess 4:3-4
v. For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour.
$Deo gratias

[Capitulum Nona]
!1 Thess 4:7
v. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification in Christ Jesus our Lord.
$Deo gratias